When One Door Closes, Build Your Own

What would you do if you were striving for a critical goal and the person who held the keys told you no?

That’s what happened to the producers of the 1995 summer blockbuster thriller, Crimson Tide. Starring Denzel Washington and the late Gene Hackman, it’s a tense, high-stakes drama set aboard a U.S. nuclear submarine… the USS Alabama. But here’s what most people don’t know…

When the filmmakers went to the U.S. Navy for help — access to subs, technical guidance, accurate details — the Navy shut them down. Hard. They didn’t like the idea of a story about mutiny on a U.S. vessel.

This put the producers in a tight bind.

How could they make a film about the U.S. Navy… without the help of the U.S. Navy? They started filming August 1994, and though all the primary footage was complete by December of that year… they were missing one final shot for the opening sequence of the voyage: a nuclear submarine heading out to sea.

But without the Navy’s support, no such luck. With the summer release a few months away, what were they going to do? Most production teams would’ve said, “Well, I guess we’ll scale it back.”

Not these guys. They were going to get the shot one way or another.

First, they checked the rules.

Turns out, there was no law against filming U.S. submarines from a distance. What if they could get the shot… without the Navy’s permission… by surreptitiously following an ACTUAL nuclear submarine?

Next, they flew out to Hawaii and put cameras on some speedboats and helicopters and camped out near Pearl Harbor. There they waited until January 31st of 1995 when, over a month since the film had been completed, a real-life submarine left port. The crew carefully followed it out to sea, cameras rolling. The best part? It was ironically the USS Alabama… the real setting of the film.

Cautiously keeping their distance, the filmmakers stayed out of the way and got every inch of footage they needed. Especially the money shot: the submarine diving below the surface.

The film captured, the crew raced back to Hollywood where they edited it in time for the May 12th release.

And the rest was movie history. The film was nominated for three academy awards, raked in millions, and today stands as one of the great Naval thrillers of all time.

(Image: Can you imagine dodging a nuclear submarine in one of these?)

What does this have to do with influence and success?

Simple.

Sometimes the door is locked. Sometimes the person who holds the keys says, “No.” And sometimes, the people who should help you… won’t.

In those moments, most people throw in the towel. They say, “I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

But the people who stand out, the people who make things happen, don’t stop at the first ‘No.’

They persistently look for another way in.

The producers of Crimson Tide didn’t fold their hands and sulk when the Navy declined. They found the side angle. They got creative, worked within the rules, and got the footage that made their film iconic. (And by the way…footage of the real USS Alabama? You can’t make this stuff up.)

The point? When it matters most, people who aspire for real influence don’t wait for permission.

Influential people are problem-solvers. They’re builders. Instead of waiting for someone to open the door, they make a new door entirely.

And they understand something critical: No one is going to hand you the perfect opportunity tied up with a ribbon. You have to go out and get it. Even if that means flying to Hawaii, renting a helicopter, and chasing down a nuclear submarine.

Now, I’m not suggesting you hop a flight to Pearl Harbor and follow the Navy around. But what I am saying is this:

The path to influence and success is rarely a straight line. Sometimes you have to zig when others zag.

Sometimes you have to find a way around when the usual path is closed.

And the people who can do that? They’re the ones who get noticed. They’re the ones who win. They’re the ones who influence.

(Photo: The REAL USS Alabama)

Here’s my challenge to you this week:

Take a hard look at an area in your life or business where you’ve hit a roadblock.

• Where have you heard “No” and stopped?
• Where have you been waiting for permission?
• What would happen if you shifted your energy from waiting… to creating?

Because no one ever stood out by sitting still.

Remember: When one door closes, build your own.

And when you do, you’ll find that people take notice — sometimes the very people who told you “No” in the first place.

Initiative combined with persistence? That’s much more potent than nuclear power.

Christian

CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his wife. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com