2 Highly Entertaining Achieving Your Goals Videos

In the film, Sean Connery plays Edward Simms, a con man and thief extraordinaire. He enlists the help of fellow thief Donald Sutherland, among others, to rob the monthly shipment of gold being shipped to the Crimean war effort.

Such a feat was deemed impossible at the time, and the authorities never gave it a thought. That is where the genius of Edward Simms comes into play. He sees an opportunity and never stops to think whether it’s possible. He sets a goal to steal the gold, and never looks back. He is the very model of Persistence.

Based on Michael Crichton’s excellent historical novel, The Great Train Robbery takes great pains to show how Simms and his gang create goals for themselves. They don’t set little goals. No, in fact, they set goals so high that even they aren’t even sure they can be done. Here are some of their goals.

1- Make a copy of the key worn at all times around the neck of the train station master of the bank supplying the gold.
2- Make a copy of the key hidden in the mansion of the bank president.
3- Make a copy of the two keys located in the office of the train station master.
4- Find a way to get on the train without arousing suspicion of the guards.
5- Get inside the locked gold shipment carriage car from the outside while the train is moving.
6- Replace the gold bars with bars of lead that weigh the same amount as the gold.
7- Bribe the guard inside the gold shipment carriage to look the other way during a robbery.
8- Get back to the private carriage before the train reaches its destination, while the train is still moving at top speed.
9- Get away scott free with the gold.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Each of these goals acquires great timing and not small bit of luck. The film, much like the film The Sting, is a great caper movie filled with meticulous and nail-biting details concerning the robbery. Each goal has you on the edge of your seat, as you wonder what could go wrong next.

For your enjoyment, here is the entire movie to watch.

As for failures and setbacks, no caper film would work unless something went wrong. In The Great Train Robbery, all sorts of things go wrong at first. The first key’s location proved to be nearly impossible, as the gang rack their brains trying to find a weakness in their rigid and regimented bank president. One of the gang is arrested for petty theft and turns traitor on the gang. Simms discovers his clothing is covered with coal soot from the engine, and must find a way to get a new set of clothes before the train gets to the station. Each of these challenges must be overcome or the whole plan will fall apart.

If you want to be entertained while watching a great movie about setting goals, you couldn’t do much better than The Great Train Robbery. It stars Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley Anne Down.

I would also recommend picking up and listening to the soundtrack to The Great Train Robbery. Composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith, it’s my favorite of Mr. Goldsmith’s soundtracks. Filled with adventure and whimsy, it’s excellent music for writing your blog post to.