Most things you see in movies are complete fiction, but every so often there are messages in them that are true and should be taken to heart. Below is collection of some inspirational movie clips that contain truth in what it takes to be successful in life. I’ll discuss what is true about them, and end with an actual speech not from a movie, but is so good that it needs to be viewed over and over again!
Scene from the Pursuit of Happiness
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In this scene, Will Smith’s character is telling his son about holding on to your dream. We all have dreams in our lives, but to be successful you must pursue those dreams with everything you have. You will have obstacles, and you will have critics. No one who ever achieved anything great did it without being criticized in the process, it’s part of the price of success. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.
Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right. – Henry Ford
The Death Crawl from Facing the Giants
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Although what happens in this clip is from a movie and not a real experience, the principle it portrays is absolutely true. You have a player who doesn’t believe he can go very far in the death crawl. When blindfolded he goes as far as he can because his mind isn’t tricking him into believing he reached his limit. This clip portrays the idea from the quote above. If he were not blindfolded, and only believed he could do 20 yards, his body would have collapsed on him when he reached the limit of his beliefs. Because he did not know he reached his limit he kept on going, proving he had more in him.
If your going to be successful at anything in life, you first have to believe that you can be successful. We all have limiting beliefs and it is not always easy to overcome them, but there is some great material out there that can help. After watching these videos, I would suggest reading the book ‘The Magic of Thinking Big‘ by David J. Schwartz
Michael Jordan “Failure” Nike Commercial
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Believing you can do something does not mean you will succeed on your first try. Like we saw above, you have to pursue your dreams no matter what. Anybody you see with successful results got it through failing and learning from their failures. The only time you truly failure in any endeavor is when you quit. Michael Jordan’s basketball career began when he was cut from his high school basketball team. He didn’t quit, and trained even harder until he finally became the legend he is today
A failure is a man who has blundered but is not able to cash in on the experience – Orville Hubbard
Rocky’s speech to his son in Rocky Balboa
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This video is another good illustration of how life isn’t easy, and to be successful you will have to overcome many obstacles. What I like about this video is that it doesn’t mention the need to fail in order to succeed, but how whether you like it or not, life will throw obstacles in your path. The key is not to point fingers and blame others for your failures. You need to take personal responsibility for where you are and decide that your going change, that your going to get better. Nobody is going to change you, you can only change yourself. If you start blaming others for where you are in life, then you are telling yourself that it’s OK to be where you are since it’s not your fault. Success is about continually striving toward your goals no matter what happens to you in the process. This video has one of my favorite quotes about striving for success.
It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward – Rocky Balboa
Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday
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The speech in this clip is probably one of my favorites. Life will provide you with many obstacles, and many opportunities. The key is to see those opportunities for what they are and grab them while you can. Sometimes you will miss some, but don’t let that stop you! You will have to fight continuously to achieve your goals, and you need to do it a little bit at a time. When you have a big dream or goal, break it down into small goals that you can see yourself achieving. Fight for each of those small goals continuously. It’s the person that is willing to do whatever it takes to move forward, the person who will not negotiate the price of success, that will succeed. But don’t do it alone. No one has achieved great success on their own. They always have mentors or a team at their side. The key is to work together for common goals. If you are working together in a team for a common purpose, you can multiply the effort exponentially that is being exerted to reach your goals.
Art Williams – Do it
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This video is not from a movie, but it goes through everything stated above. This is a very instructive and motivational. Although this video is old, the ideas are timeless. Art Williams mentions how business degrees in school is almost worthless when it comes to success, and that it still true today. Schools will teach you how to run a business, but not how to succeed in business. Art goes over the need to have a dream. He explains how you have to believe in what your doing, and never say ‘I can’t’. Your going to have critics if your going to succeed. I like how he points out that the only way to avoid having critics is to be average and ordinary. He goes into the idea that you will fail many times, and the key is to get back up and commit to moving on. What the successful person does that others don’t, is that he pays the price of success. He will do that little bit extra that the unsuccessful person will not do. Others will put in the minimum work to get by, while the successful person will put in all he can. Success will take hard work, and the successful person will do it.
One of the most important things he talks about in becoming successful is the need to be a leader. Leadership is everything. The most important thing you can do in your life is to get on board a leadership training system. If you listen to just a couple talks on leadership and read a book every month, it’s amazing the difference this will have in your life and your career!
Define what success is for you in life, determine the price, and pay it!
Leadership to Freedom 