Ever since I noticed the academy award nominations for “best screenplay”, “best story”, “best sound editing” and all those other stuff, I started to pay attention to all the script-writing that goes into each movie. Turns out, I’ve been neglecting tiny details, like all the dialogues and the artwork in any movie. For example, in Star Wars, Yoda says “Do, or do not; there is no try.”; I only realized the awesomeness of that dialogue after I started to notice each tiny detail in a movie.
So, after doing this for a while, I compiled a list of movies that every aspiring entrepreneur must watch. The movie might not be about starting a business, but it certainly teaches you lots of lessons, when you listen to each dialogues among other things.
10 movies for every entrepreneur-
1. The Pursuit Of Happyness.
Like I said, the movie might not be about starting a company, but the struggles the lead character goes through to get a regular job so he can provide for his family is intense. Every entrepreneur must know what real struggle is and this movie projects it perfectly while making you shed a tear or two.
2. The Social Network.
This is one of the best entrepreneurial movies I have watched till date. This is a straightforward movie about creating a company and that process is portrayed brilliantly. Whether the facts are just rumors or not, the story is perfect to inspire anyone to get going on the entrepreneurial path. FYI – If you have no clue about this movie, it’s about the creation of Facebook.
3. Chef.
A brilliant and creative chef loses his restaurant and starts his own thing. As simple as that. But you find out about how important social media is and how important marketing is in this movie. Talent can take you only so far, but that can only be recognized with the right use of the available, FREE marketing tools. Also, the dialogues in the movie are just too intense. It speaks about commitment and how customer satisfaction comes before everything.
4. The Pirates Of Silicon Valley.
I haven’t watched many Steve Jobs movies; just two, one of which is this. And this was the best one among the two. It’s the story of the two giants, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. It’s about how Apple and Microsoft came into existence and about their rivalry. It’s an old movie, but it definitely portrays both characters close to the original characters. It doesn’t fuel your drive to start a company, but you definitely have to watch this to find out about the very tiny details which led to the success of each company.
5. Limitless.
Yeah, I know the movie is about this drug which buzzes your brain to be productive, but this is more than that when you think about it from an entrepreneur’s perspective. It speaks about organization, ambition, clarity and confidence that is required in a person to be taken seriously by ANYONE. Credibility builds with these essential things. Although this movie is completely about the drug I mentioned, it is definitely worth a watch.
6. Jerry Maguire.
This a Tom Cruise classic! It’s about doing things from the bottom of your heart and doing what you truly believe in, and how that pays off in the end. Yes, the journey might be filled with rocky paths like you never imagined or even dreamed of, but in the end, it all pays off. This is about how Jerry gets fired and starts his own company. It also teaches you how important it is to take care of your customers and treat them like family.
7. The Wolf Of Wall Street.
Oh, how awesome this movie is! I would’ve just called DiCaprio and given him the “best actor” academy award. He has portrayed the sales giant, Jordan Belfort perfectly. This movie is about how a team gathers to break the rules, dupe people by using their own greed against them. Although the story revolves around the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, the lessons to be learned while he creates his company, Stratton Oakmont is invaluable. The sales pitches and the basics of selling are taught in an effective way. PS – DiCaprio totally deserved an Oscar for his performance in this movie.
8. Catch me If You Can.
Another DiCaprio classic! This is another true story, about a young conman who successfully impersonated an airline pilot, doctor, lawyer and history professor during his stint as fraudulent cheque casher. What’s amazing about this film and the life of Frank Abegnale Jr. is how much he managed to achieve in a much tougher environment and under more stress than most people are used to. Whether it’s legal or not, business is business and Frank was one of the best at what he did.
9. The Shawshank Redemption.
This is one of the best movies ever made and it’s still at the top of the IMDB top 250 movies. It’s about how the lead character makes the best out of the worst and uses his wit to get the best for his friends and him. He finally uses his wits for one final act and while he goes through this ordeal, the amount of hope he hangs on to tells us that hope is a good thing, even in the worst of situations.
10. The Aviator.
I must be a sucker for DiCaprio’s movies. He picks his movies like a boss! This is a biopic depicting the early years of director and aviator Howard Hughes’ career from the late 1920’s to mid 40’s. It wasn’t the money he made or the time he spent that made him so great, it was the attention to detail and perfection that he strived for that set him apart from his competition. He faced many obstacles along the way from rival companies and malicious rumors, but nothing stopped him from becoming exactly who he wanted to be.
I might have missed out on a couple movies.
The Godfather, Fight Club, Inception, Wall Street, etc., Only because I felt that the top 10 list I made weighed more than these movies, in terms of the lessons to be learned.