10 Lessons from The Pursuit of Happyness

I caught Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness Z b=-0987
]=4WQ2A21QW ./=yesterday and came away highly affected. The movie shows how strong will and determination can change a person's life. After reflecting on the movie on the ride back home, I decided to come up with 10 lessons that I had learnt from the movie.

Where The Title Comes From
"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" of man.

Movie Summary
Based on true events, The Pursuit of Happyness (the incorrect spelling is explained in the film) follows Chris Gardner (Smith) as he struggles to achieve the American dream. Chris has everything going against him. His wife (Thandie Newton) left him and he's raising his 5-year-old son alone, without any real income. Determined to provide for his son Christopher (Jaden Smith) no matter what, Chris enters an unpaid internship program at a brokerage firm in hopes of landing the one paid position available at the end of the training program.

Sleeping in bathrooms, homeless shelters, and shabby hotels when he's got the money to afford a room, Chris never gives up on the idea he can land a job and provide his son with a better life. Will Chris be able to grab the brass ring? Will his son be raised in an environment of love? If you watched the 20/20 special on the real Gardner, you know exactly how this story turns out.

10 Lessons From The Pursuit Of Happyness

1. Necessity is the mother of invention
People like to be in their comfort zone. We tend to ignore problems until they become too painful to do so. That is why inventions seem so hard to come by. It is also the reason why insurance and saving plans are so hard to sell. People just prefer to ignore them at their own peril. How do we promote invention? You can start on a personal level by asking yourself the following questions: "Why is it this way? How can I make it better? What do I need? Who do I benefit" They are basic questions that we rarely ask ourselves.