“Welcome to Jurassic Park.” 🦖
These infamous words welcomed the masses into the exciting world of science, dinosaurs, and amusement parks. For me, Jurassic Park is a fun movie that sparks joy, at least until the dinosaurs start acting up! Spoiler alert. The scientists’ attempt to create an epic theme park resulted in, well, total chaos. Yet the movie came with some pretty important lessons that translate into different aspects of life – including your finances!
Without further ado, here are my favorite money lessons from Jurassic Park:
1. Always have a back-up plan 💰
“I hate being right all the time” – Dr. Ian Malcom
After the park’s electric fence is deactivated by Dennis, the computer programmer, Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, and the rest of the crew are stranded in the park with vicious dinosaurs. They had to think on the spot in order to narrowly escape a deadly situation. Don’t make the same mistakes in your life! While it’s not exactly the same scenario, having a back-up plan, specifically in regards to money, can be life-saving. Putting away a small amount of savings to cover you if you get sick or during a job loss can be one way to create a life-saving money contingency plan.
2. Think carefully through important decisions 💭
“Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think whether they should.” – Dr. Ian Malcom
In Jurassic Park, Dr. Ian Malcom gives an impressive speech about the ethics of creation. He accuses the scientists and investors of the park of not considering the true effects of their scientific manipulations. In a similar manner, we also need to think through our important decisions. While none of us are creating deadly dinosaurs (that I know of), we do have to make our fair share of important, consequential decisions. When it comes to money, make sure you take your time when mulling over important choices. Whether you’re thinking of buying a house or considering taking a special vacation, it’s vital that you take the time to think through any potential consequences! That way, you will feel more prepared and ready to go when it’s time to take action.
3. Difficult problems require clever solutions 👩💻
“Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution, have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we have the slightest idea of what to expect?” – Dr. Alan Grant
It would be an understatement to say that dinosaurs being set loose in Jurassic Park is a difficult problem. Especially considering the nefarious intentions of John Hammond’s corporate rival— to steal fertilized dinosaur embryos. Ultimately, Dr. Grant, Dr. Sackler and the rest of the crew responded creatively during a crisis to ensure their safety. We can learn from their creativity in difficult times. In regards to money, if you are in a bind, finding clever solutions may be the best way to make it through a turbulent time. Finding another stream of income through freelance work or sites such as Upwork and Etsy can allow you to make money creatively!
4. Follow your instincts 🦕
“T-Rex doesn’t want to be fed. He wants to hunt. Can’t just suppress 65 million years of gut instinct.” – Dr. Alan Grant
Dinosaurs like all other animals are very instinctive creatures. It’s easy for us to forget that we have natural instincts as well! While we no longer need our gut instinct that tells us which berries are poisonous or not, we can still use our instincts in other ways. If you feel a certain way about your spending habits, trust your intuition! You know yourself better than anyone.
5. Be careful where and how you spend your money! 💸
“All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, NOTHING worked.” – John Hammond
“Yeah, but John, if Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.” – Ian Malcolm
The Jurassic Park investors spent huge swaths of money in order to bring the dinosaur theme park to life. Was that actually a smart investment? They originally thought they would be able to charge guests thousands of dollars, bringing in millions of revenue. Obviously, things did not go according to plan. So what can we learn from these unfortunate investors? Be careful where and how you spend your money! Think through risky investments and don’t jump on a money-making scheme just because it seems popular, cool, or cutting edge. Take your time to really make sure any investment you make is worthwhile.
I love Jurassic Park just as much, if not more, than the next person. There are so many lessons to be learned from the chaos that goes into a dinosaur theme park. Most of which can have practical applications in terms of money! Who would’ve thought? I’m sure that the next movie installment will teach us even more.
