Life is all about struggles, but at the end of your struggles, you must also achieve happiness. Well, today we have a tale to share with you, the tale of Chris Gardner, the protagonist of “The Pursuit Of Happiness”– An Award-Winning Inspirational Movie. Today, we will be discussing some of the important life lessons that we can learn from this movie, after all, it was meant to inspire us!
What’s The Synopsis?
Many of you will be hearing about this movie for the first time, which is we want to start with the plot of the movie. The film is directed by Gabrielle Muccino and Fabricio Samaniego. It features a star-studded cast that includes, Will Smith (Chris Gardner), Jaden Smith (Christopher), Thandie Newton (Linda), and more.
The movie revolves around Chris Gardner and his son Christopher as they are forced to experience the harsh realities of the world when their family crumbles down. Chris then fights every day for a chance of being successful and for a position at a prestigious stock market firm. The whole movie is about his struggles, and how much he is willing to sacrifice to be a better father and also the best version of himself. Although he isn’t educated enough, he does know how to interact with people and is very street-smart.
Values Showcased In The Movie
There are a lot of values that are shown in the movie, the movie is all about perseverance, self-improvement, and patience. If you master all of these values, then you will find success eventually. You can start small but meaningful and then work from there.
Let’s discuss what are the important life lessons that we can learn from The Pursuit Of Happyness.
Never Give Up On Yourself
The one main thing which is something all of us must do is to endure and survive. This means never giving up on yourself, but some people still admit defeat and give up on themselves. As the movie revolves around Chris Gardner, he is overwhelmed with a lot of obstacles, but he never gives up on himself. With each new struggle, he finds a profound advantage and it allows him to become better than before.
He goes through many tough scenarios, he sleeps in toilets, motels, and even trains. The harsh reality of life actually motivates Chris to do better, which he does. The movie clearly teaches us to face every obstacle in life, whenever a problem arises, we must find the necessary solutions for it.
You Can Achieve Anything You Set Your Mind To
If you have set your mind and heart on something, the whole universe conspires for you to have it. This is one of the most beautiful sayings that I have come across. Once you have made up your mind on something, there is nothing in this world that can stop you from achieving it.
Chris knows this in the movie, he knows that he possesses the necessary skills and talents to land a job in the stock market firm. Once you start believing in yourself, the possibilities become endless.
Never Let Anyone Limit Your Potential
In life, you will come across a lot of people, some will support you while some will try to limit your potential. You can find these types of people almost anywhere, at work, amongst your friend circle, or at the place you study. They will make you feel miserable at times, and will also compare you with them. They will come up with hurtful stuff, this is something that you will have to ignore. Even though they can’t or haven’t been able to achieve their life goals doesn’t mean that you can’t.
In the movie, Chris faces the same backlash from his own wife, she calls him a failure. Although Chris is hurt at first, he starts a journey to prove her wrong and he succeeds! Never let anyone in life hold back your true potential.
Always Be On The Hunt For Opportunities
Life will try to hold you back by throwing obstacles in your path but it also presents amazing opportunities. In the movie, Chris lands his dream job at the stock market firm but he didn’t get there in one day, he had to go through many opportunities. He used to sell medical devices first and when that was no longer viable, he looked for more options.
If you want to achieve something in life, then look for opportunities to make it happen!
Use Your Talents To Your Advantage
Sometimes your talents will actually help you land your dream job or more. The trick over here is to use your resources or possessions to your advantage. In the movie, when Chris Gardner manages to have a meeting with Jay Twistle, he impresses him by solving the Rubiks Cube. This really impresses Jay Twistle who then lands Chris a job interview at the stock market firm.
If you can showcase your skills in a very productive matter then never shy away from that!
Always Be Ready To Take A “No”
Life is never going to be a walk in the park for you, you have to be ready for the tough and nasty moments. Remember when Chris meets a very important client and goes to watch a soccer game with him, he thinks that all will work in his favor until it doesn’t. The client refuses his offer and presents him with a big, fat NO.
You must always be ready to take that no because who knows, it actually turns out good for you. Chris only gets to meet other important clients AFTER he gets refused by that first client. Just be confident in yourself and watch the magic happen!
Be Ready To Put The Work In
If you want to achieve your goals, you must be ready to invest all of yourself in the process. Your loved ones will always be there to support you on your journey but the strength will only come from yourself to achieve the impossible.
In the movie, Chris Gardner is motivated by the friends that he makes along the way and his son, but the main effort actually comes from himself.
Inspirational Quotes and Sayings From The Pursuit Of Happyness
The story of Chris Gardner and his struggles has become very popular and inspirational. Here are some of the famous quotes from the movie to uplift you!
The balance in your life is more important than the balance in your checking account.
The money thing will come. I know so many people who have so much more money than I. They are miserable. It is so important to be happy.
I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.
Don’t just talk that talk, walk it and go forward. Also, the walk didn’t have to be long strides; baby steps counted too. Go forward.
Always, always, pursue happiness.
It can be done, but you have to make it happen.
Others may look for all kinds of ways to diminish your worth. But what is inside you no one can take from you or tarnish.
Wealth can also be that attitude of gratitude with which we remind ourselves everyday to count our blessings.
There is no plan B for passion.
Don’t ever let someone tell you, you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period.
I was homeless, but I wasn’t hopeless. I knew a better day was coming.
The world is your oyster. It’s up to you to find the pearls.
Strong people stand up for themselves. Stronger people stand up for others.
I am strong because I’ve been weak. I am fearless because I’ve been afraid. I am wise because I’ve been foolish.
You can only count on yourself. The cavalry ain’t coming.
The secret to success: find something you love to do so much, you can’t wait for the sun to rise to do it all over again.
It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?
The future was uncertain, absolutely, and there were many hurdles, twists, and turns to come, but as long as I kept moving forward, one foot in front of the other, the voices of fear and shame, the messages from those who wanted to believe that I wasn’t good enough, would be stilled.
Watch: The Pursuit Of Happyness Trailer
If you haven’t seen the Pursuit Of Happyness yet then you have missed out on a lot. Watch the trailer for the deeply moving tale of Chris Gardner!
Recap
The Pursuit Of Happyness is a deeply moving tale and there is a lot that we can learn from it. The inspirational tale of Chris Gardner actually allows us to be stronger and so much better in life. The movie teaches us to pursue our dreams no matter the consequences or obstacles.
One of the main reasons this movie became a cult classic is because it actually shows the harsh reality of life, it shows how hard life can be for a father who has to look after his child singlehandedly. We can all be like Chris Gardner, just be sure to never give up and follow your dreams!
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