Imagine being broke, evicted, not knowing where your next paycheck is coming from and supporting your young son. How could you possibly overcome those odds to come out on top?
I watched The Pursuit of Happyness over the weekend, and it’s based on the true story of Chris Gardner who did just that. It was a difficult show to watch, because you have to watch a loving father and a good man struggle through many tough times.
But you also feel inspired by how he kept himself going when he had all those odds against him, and every reason to believe he’d fail. In fact, he had no references for success around him, just his drive, his faith and his love for his son to keep him going.
I felt inspired, humbled and mostly grateful. Grateful for the wealth and riches I already enjoy, but don’t always take the time to recognize.
Watch this clip for a short trailer and interviews with actor Will Smith and the man behind the story, Chris Gardner.
March 20th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Hey Alvin, thanks for sharing this review. It sure sounds like my type of movie, I will catch it if possible, if not, then it’d be the DVD for me
March 21st, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Alvin, thanks for the sharing. I watched the short video clip and it’s really inspiring. In another words, what he said was whatever dreams I have, go for it. Don’t let people stop me. That is well said as many a times whenever someone passes a comment/s, majority of us will not follow thru what we want to pursue. We just let it slip by. At the end of the say, we will say… if only I should do this … that etc. Well, it is too late by then.
My 2 cents worth…. take some time off to recognize the wealth and riches that you already have and other loads of good things. I have learnt to recognized all the good things that I have and most importantly I am grateful for it. :>
Cheers!
March 24th, 2007 at 4:16 am
It is very easy to forget how wealth we really are. In the US, people living at the poverty line are often better of than people in some other countries by several orders of magnitude.
It seems like people’s perception of themselves is more important than their actual situation.
March 25th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
How wealthy one is, can often be overlooked and forgotten because the word is totally associated with money. Having wisdom is wealth, having health can make one feel wealthy, spending time with ones family can mean you are wealthy.
Perception should be based on what wealth means to each individual.
First step in all wealth is loving oneself.
March 27th, 2007 at 3:07 am
Sounds like a must-watch movie for me Alvin! Better go catch it before it finishes it’s showing boy…
April 5th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Just caught the movie. Personally, the movie does appear to inspire at its root levels of motivation through the love between father and son, but brings out other dilemmas for us.
(1) do we seek our destiny and leave people who might have been with us a long time?
(2) should we strive to achieve our success even though we might fail… particularly if those failures mean far more disappointment not just for us, but for people who depend on us. If that’s the case, then do we think about the people around us first or pursue our dreams first.
I know that sounds pretty either-or in thinking, but I just wanted to throw up some ideas while it’s fresh in my mind.
In my opinion, Happiness is not running away from us. Life gives us the blanks – we’re the ones who fills them in.
What are you attracting?
July 10th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Wealth is not the things you have surrounded yourself with – it’s within you: your knowledge, experiences, skills, and talents from your journey so far.