“The Pursuit of Happyness” 2006

Christopher Gardner Jr: Hey dad, I’m going pro!

Christopher Gardner Jr: I’m going pro!

Chris Gardner: Ooh! Ok I don’t know. you know you’ll probably be as good as I was. That’s kind of the way it works. I was below average. So you’ll probably ultimately rank somewhere around there so… You’ll excel at a lot of things just not this. So I don’t want you out here shooting this ball around all day and night. All right?

Christopher Gardner Jr: All right

Chris Gardner: All right go ahead…

Chris Gardner: Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something. Not even me. All right?

Christopher Gardner Jr: All right.

Chris Gardner: You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.

In this powerful scene between a father and his son we really get a glimpse of the impact of words on a individual. In everyday life it is a lot more subtle and unlike Chris Gardner most people are never aware of the impact of their words. Chris is able to reduce the impact of his discouraging comments by offering some positive advice to his son. In all likelihood, the damage has already been done. The reality is that negative experiences have a greater impact than positive ones. Christopher’s disposition makes it quite obvious that his father’s words hit really hard. The only way to undo the negative impact would be through continuous positive reinforcement.

In my experience it is not uncommon to predict someone’s ability to complete a task based on our own abilities.

I am very guilty of this myself. Chris projects his own shortcomings as a basketball player onto his son. He uses himself as a measuring stick for his son. The result is he a he saps away all of Christopher’s enthusiasm. At this point he has very little interest in continuing shooting the basketball.

Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something.

One of most important characteristics that successful people have is that they do not accept “no” for an answer. It is their belief that anything is possible for them. Will smith teaches his son a very valuable life lesson. Sometimes those closest to us are the ones who discourage us the most. We value what they input and often take their words to heart.

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Will Smith: I have this discussion with friends of mine all the time. Umm, the only thing that I can see, you can never really look at yourself, the only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill right. I will run…

Tavis Smiley: You will not be outworked

Will Smith: I will not be outworked period you know. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me, you might be all of those things you got it on me in nine categories. But if we get on the treadmill together right, there’s two things: You’re getting off first, or I’m going to die. It’s really that simple. Right? So let’s go back to the question about whether people block me out. There’s gonna be two options, I’m gonna get back in or I’m gonna be dead right. It’s like, you’re not going to outwork me. It’s a very, it’s such a simple basic concept. The guy who is willing to hustle the most is going to be the guy that just gets that loose ball. It’s uh, he got the… oh okay he got two. Ooo God, he grabbed that one, that was gonna be out of bounds but he saved it back in. And it’s like the commodity that I see the majority of people who aren’t getting the places they want or aren’t achieving the things that they want in this business it’s strictly based on hustle. It’s strictly based on being out-worked; it’s strictly based on missing crucial opportunities. I say all the time if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready.

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Will Smith: Umm it’s what my grandmother told me I had to do you know. Um I was sitting with Tyrese a couple of weeks ago, you know just coming off the transformers, with him just talking just about the business and just tryna really just he and I get on the same wave length so I could be of some assistance if I can and there’s a concept that… I don’t want to be an icon. I want to be an idea you know. I want to  represent an idea. I want to represent possibilities. Um I want to  represent magic. Right, that you’re in a universe and 2 + 2 = 4. 2 + 2 only equals 4 if you accept that 2 + 2 = 4. 2 + 2 is gon be what I want it to be you know and… There’s a there’s a redemptive power that making a choice has you know, rather than feeling like you’re at affect to all the things that are happening. Make a choice right, You just decide what it’s gonna be, who you’re gonna be , how you’re gonna do it. Just decide. And then from that point, the universe is gon get out your way. It’s like, it’s water, it wants to move and go around stuff you know. So for me, I want to represent possibilities, I want to represent the idea that you really can make what you want. One of my favorite books is the Alchemist Paulo Coelho and I just believe that. I believe that I can create whatever I want to  create. If I can put my head on it right, study it, learn the patterns and you know just… It’s hard to put into words metaphysical esoterical non sense but I feel very strongly that we are who we choose to be.

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