For once – duck the recommended movies and time travel to another world with TOGO.
A heartwarming feature based on a true story, airing on Disney+ Hotstar.

Movies have always been a true source of inspiration for me. Sometimes a poster is enough to ignite the imagination of a narrative that will leave you spell bound. Trailers that will make your heart stop and mark the dates of the release. And finally the movie that will leave you with a message for a very very long time.  

I have been a movie buff ever since I have seen them, they are like my go to stress busters. When I married the love of my life, my wife, we got married to a ritual – a Friday evening dedicated to three hours of escapes. We traverse through genres, discuss story lines, empathize and take sides of characters. We make the story a part of ours. And while mostly these stories entertain, often we come across a masterpiece that just seeps into our existence and leaves an impression on us forever.

This article is inspired by one such masterpiece. TOGO. A heartwarming feature based on a true story, airing on Disney+ Hotstar. 

If you are also beating the lockdown boredom by streaming popular content and consuming the auto recommendations, chances are you have already overdosed on red robbers in a dali mask or super cops in khaki tops. And if that’s not all – serial killers, drug peddlers and comedians are always under the “MOST RECOMMENDED” by the OTT AI algorithms.

It is amidst this that gems like TOGO go unnoticed. They are treasure that needs to be found. And here I offer you this treasure and its profoundness.

For once – duck the recommended movies and time travel to another world with TOGO.

Give yourself and your family a visual treat. 
Go on an Alaskan journey. 
Witness the spirit of a sled dog. 
Be touched by the relationship of a man and his canine. 
Get inspired by their unbelievable feat. 

It will light a humble flame of change in you, a change that stands strong on three lessons. 

01. Tenacity is your only passport to success.
02. Trusting your gut for big decisions.
03. The peak of a mountain is the start of another.

Before I share these lessons in depth let me take you through the movie’s plot. Inspired by true events airing on Disney+ Hotstar, TOGO tells the amazing story of a sled dog (TOGO) and his master, Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe), a champion dogsled trainer who initially finds pup TOGO, a Siberian husky, a disgrace to his band of trained dogs. Only to be surprised that this underdog is a leader. 

The movie has a dramatic start as a deadly epidemic amongst kids strikes Nome, a small town in Alaska and an antidote is 700 miles away. With a harsh storm facing the town and no transport, Seppala is tasked to deliver this serum. Faced with impossible odds, Seppala turns to TOGO, an unassuming, undersized and aging dog to lead the mission.  

Throughout the movie you are mesmerized by the Alaskan landscape but also kept on the edge by the harsh weather and challenges faced by the master and his lead dog as they brave it together. Heartwarming scenes of trust and camaraderie between TOGO, Seppala and his wife, Constance (Julianne Nicholson) love for TOGO add much warmth to this screen filled with harsh cold. I will leave the climax for you to discover. Enjoy the movie. 

Now that you know the premise and the plot let me share what was left within me after I watched this piece of beauty. It was a process of distillation, at first you consume the story, the characters, their journey, their challenges and are blown away by the crescendo. And then slowly the excitement settles and what remains are the lessons that lived way beneath the layers of the movie. TOGO left me with 3. Here is what I learnt. 

01. Tenacity is your only passport to success. 

tenacity 
noun 
the quality or fact of being very determined; determination.

Tenacity is a potent weapon in the armory of those few destined to become far more successful than others. It’s a fuel to sustain those who continue the long trek on the narrow road when others have decamped and built their modest homesteads in the safer plains of mediocrity. –

From one of my favourite book, The Narrow Road by Felix Denis

In my two decades of entrepreneurship, one filled with crazy ups and downs, days filled with no hope, mental fatigue and almost on the verge of business closure, I believe it is the strength to face the rough weather that was the only saving grace. Likewise, between you and your goal, there are various forces always acting against you. If you are only a ‘wanna be’ dreamer who starts to step back at the sight of challenges, you will give in instantly, lay down on your knees and succumb to this force. But if you are a ‘True gonna be’, with tenacity in you, then you will look into the eye of the odds, smirk, take a step forth and pass through it. Only to be ready for the next till you have reached your destination just like TOGO. 

As a pup, TOGO is seen as the runt of the litter by Sepp (Willem Dafoe), who has his proud band of sled dogs, he has trained and built the – A team. As much as TOGO tries to gain his attention to be in the band, Sepp disowns him. “He’s more trouble than he’s worth.” we hear the master speak aloud.

But boy, TOGO is a ball of aggression and a tenacious Siberian husky. Sepp’s attempt to chain, lock and quarantine TOGO are only defeated by TOGO’s tenacity to dig hole in the field and come out on the other side. This tenacity finally gets Sepp’s attention and he acknowledges TOGO as a leader of his A team as he proves to be the fastest amongst all. 

The journey from disowning him to acknowledging him as a leader and knowing that TOGO is his only lead for his most challenging mission is a true testament of Tenacity, your only passport to success.

Ask yourself – To what degree are you prepared to dedicate yourself to your goals? 

02. Trusting your gut for big decisions.

In matters of high stakes, the one critical thing that a leader must do is DECIDE. In the face of information overload, mounting risks and uncertainty, and intense pressures to make the right decisions, there is often debilitating evidence that delays our decision making. We put the choice off, rather than deciding. Trusting your gut allows leaders the freedom to move forward. In several studies conducted looking at high-stakes decisions, early-stage investors deciding how to allocate millions of dollars in startup capital or sometimes when I was hiring an executive with no relevant experience but the inner instincts in me nudges me to hire him, I feel that the role of instincts is often to inspire a leader to make a call, particularly when the decision is risky.

On their way to a farm, Sepp and his A team are speeding through the Alaskan range and we see an unusual movement from TOGO. He has been the best caribou chaser and right here in front of him is a herd of caribou but TOGO doesn’t drift and continues covering the land at his top speed. Sepp is shocked to see this behaviour but in hindsight he sees dark clouds over the horizon. Sepp is amused by TOGOs instinct and decision to save the lives of his tribe. On return when people ask him, what does he think of the biblical weather, Sepp answers

“When an animal denies his nature and runs for the barn because he fears the storm, man better fear the storm.”

Remember there are some things you can’t quantify and sometimes you’re using your intuition to do something other than what the data tells you to do. And when that’s the case, your gut feel can help you make a bold decision. Believe in it!

03. The peak of a mountain is the start of another. 

“Got one more in ya, pup?” says Sepp to TOGO as they embark on their new mission to save the village children from a deadly disease. Sepp knows that his dog is aging but the boy has a heart of a survivor and is always looking for this next big challenge. 

Personally I have a goal book of my own that has diagrammatic representations of my goals and the goals ahead of them. I believe that it’s the next big goal that keeps the fire inside me burning, moving and wanting to achieve the next. The next peak that gets me moving at 5 am to plan, to work and to reclaim the day. 

Sometimes we get carried away by our success and indulge in celebrating it for more than needed. A good habit to learn from one of the soccer teams – The 24 Hour thumb rule – a concept of winning soccer teams to shake the feeling and get back to practice the next day and aim for the next big goal. Follow this simple principle and next time when you win something, aim for the next! 

These 3 were my key takeaways. If you relate to something, please come back and share in my comments section. 

I found one more blog very interesting about the movie, a 1on1 chat with Julianne Nicholson and her narrative about the movie, working with Willem Dafoe and the Director of movie, Ericson Core, who is himself a nature and animal lover and his fondness for both is clearly seen in the movie – TOGO. Check it out here

Go ahead, enjoy the show.