It may not be #motivationmonday, but you can never have enough inspiration to get you through the week. Why movies? I firmly believe that there’s infinite amounts of wisdom and ideas that can be gleaned from watching movies. They are after all a direct result of someone’s creativity and the skill of several contributors. I love movies. Netflix and Xfinity Ondemand have made my movie addiction far worse, but it also gives me some “Aha!” moments of inspiration. Here’s a short collection of some of the best inspiration movie quotes.
1. “Great men are not born great, they grow great.” – Mario Puzo, from The Godfather
One of my favorite classic movies, and an endless source to inspire your cutthroat business side. The harder you work in every aspect of business, the more likely you are to succeed.
2. “Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.” – Rocky, from Rocky Balboa
I’m a big fan of Rocky Balboa. Any time I need to get pumped up I’ll throw on the “Eye of the Tiger” and picture myself knocking out Ivan Drago. No matter how successful you are you’re going to have some crazy things come your way. Maybe your sales numbers are lower than you expect mid-month, and the “Eye of the tiger” is about pushing forward as hard as you can until you reach that goal.
3. “Oh yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it, or learn from it.” – Rafiki, from The Lion King
Maybe you ran a marketing campaign that absolutely bombed. You can either dwell on it and throw yourself a pity party, or you can learn and grow.
4. “Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something, not even me. Alright? You dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.” – Chris Gardner, from The Pursuit of Happyness
This one goes out to all the entrepreneurs out there. Once upon a time, people said we’d never walk on the moon. Now, Elon Musk and several other organizations have privatized space travel and getting recreational flights together.
5. “Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It’s not about winning. It’s about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didnt let them down because you told them the truth. And that truth is you did everything you could. There wasnt one more thing you could’ve done. Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, and love in your heart, with joy in your heart? If you can do that gentleman – you’re perfect!”– Coach Gary Gaines, from Friday Night Lights
To me, this is all about passion and integrity. It’s about knowing that you’re putting everything you can into every single day that you’re working.
6. “Calling someone fat doesn’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesnt make you any smarter. All you can do in life is try and solve the problem in front of you.” – Cady, from Mean Girls
Inter-office politics can get tricky at times. Sometimes it’s easier for you to point the blame at someone else, but regardless that never solves the actual problem.
7. My number one rule is, ‘Hope for the best, plan for the worst.— The Bourne Ultimatum
In a world of uncertainties it pays to be prepared. Matt Damon may be the ultimate boy scout in the Bourne Films, but having contingencies in place, or at least an explanation to for your superiors or board will pay off when things go awry.
8.” Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.” — Van Wilder
Why spend your time worrying when you can spend it doing something proactive? Worried about your sales numbers? Stop worrying and do something about it!
9. “Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So, I figured that if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn’t be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason.” — Hugo
In a small and growing business, there’s rarely budget or want for unnecessary parts. You run lean and you run fast. Every member of that team is crucial, but in hustle and bustle sometimes you or they may forget how valuable they are. The trick for business owners is to make sure your employees know how important they are, and for employees don’t forget that you were hired because they saw something special in you.
10. “Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.” – Dory, from Finding Nemo
Are there any movie quotes that have inspired you? Share them with us!
