Your Life, Your Movie | Life Lessons From The Movies

A Scene From The Movie ‘STRANGER THAN FICTION’:

Harold Crick is a boring IRS auditor who suddenly realizes his life is being narrated by a voice only he can hear. It turns out this voice is author Karen Eiffel describing his less-than-exciting life and how he’s about to die.

Karen Eiffel: …And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are, in fact, here for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives.

A Thought For Your Life:

Too often, in the pursuit of happiness, daily details are ignored. Every moment, no matter how brief, coincidental or seemingly innocuous, contains within it opportunities. Is it possible you could discover some happiness today in the little things?

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A Scene From The Movie ‘SAY ANYTHING’:

Lloyd is an underachiever looking to change his luck by dating ‘out of his league’. He discusses his desire for change with his friend, Constance.

Lloyd Dobler: Why can’t you be in a good mood? How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood once in a while?

Constance: Gee, it’s easy.

A Thought For Your Life:

It’s easy to forget sometimes that each of us is in charge of our thoughts and feelings. One thing is certain – every day, life throws challenges in front of us. It’s a choice as to how to react (or overreact) to these events. Could it be just as easy to choose a good mood over a bad?

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Your Life, Your Movie | Life Lessons From The Movies

A Scene From The Movie ‘NANNY MCPHEE’:

Nanny McPhee is a nanny with special powers who arrives at a widower’s home to teach his prankster children that their behaviour has serious consequences. She shares her teaching philosophy with her new boss, the widower.

Nanny: I have five lessons to teach. What lessons they learn is entirely up to them.

A Thought For Your Life:

We only have control over how our message is transmitted, not how it will be received. All we can do is our best work with our best intentions using our best efforts. After that, it may be a surprise to realize it’s all out of our hands. How’s this for a definition of faith: letting go and moving on?

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What are your thoughts this week?

Your Life, Your Movie | Life Lessons From The Movies

A Scene From The Movie ‘CONTACT’:

Intelligent aliens make first contact with earth. People are divided as to the meaning and impact this contact has on human life and spirituality.

Palmer Joss is a renowned Christian philosopher who becomes romantically involved with Ellie, an atheist scientist who makes first contact with aliens.

Palmer Joss: I think it’s because we’re looking for the meaning. Where is the meaning? We have mindless jobs, we take frantic vacations, deficit finance trips to the mall to buy more things that we think are going to fill these holes in our lives. Is it any wonder that we’ve lost our sense of direction?

A Thought For Your Life:

What can we do when we’ve lost our sense of direction? How about love more – ourselves and each other? Eat when we’re hungry (not just because there is food around).  Sleep when we’re tired (not because a clock tells us it’s time). Nurture our relationships by showing and sharing our love.

How can your expression of love help ground you in the winds of change?

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A Scene From The Movie ‘AIRPORT’:

An airport manager tries to keep his airport open during a paralyzing snowstorm with one plane stuck in snow on the runway and another plane under threat by a suicidal bomber.

Ada Quonsett, an elderly woman who often sneaks aboard flights confides: My late husband taught me to be thorough. He was a teacher of geometry. He always said: “You must consider every angle.”

A Thought For Your Life:

When it comes to problem solving, all skills are transferable if you allow them to be. Anything you learn in one area of life can always be applied in another area. The trick is in the realizing of this fact as much as in the applying of it.

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A Scene From The Movie ‘SAY ANYTHING’:

The consummate underachiever, Lloyd Dobler falls in love with the class valedictorian the summer before she goes off to college. He tries to convince her disapproving father he is a worthy suitor.

Lloyd: I am looking for a ‘dare to be great’ situation.

A Thought For Your Life:

It’s easy to think that a ‘dare to be great’ situation has to be big. But looking for the ‘big’ thing can cause us to wait. Then, when situations present themselves we get stumped, “Is this where I need to step up and be great?”

The truth is, every situation, no matter how mundane or insignificant seeming, has the potential to be a ‘dare to be great’ situation. We just need to decide if we want it to be so and if we’re willing to make the effort on a small scale, as well as the large scale.

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A Scene From The Movie ‘NANNY MCPHEE’:

Nannny is a magical woman with special powers brought in to tame seven ill-behaved children who have previously scared off 17 nannies.

Nanny: There is something you should understand about the way I work. When you need me but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go. It’s rather sad, really, but there it is.

[Nanny McPhee turns around to walk out of the room, but stops once she hears Simon.]

Simon: We will never want you!

Nanny: Then I will never go.

A Thought For Your Life:

Is there a person or people in your life with an ‘annoying’ message that, deep down, you know you need to hear (but are resisting and don’t want to hear?) What if it’s only when you ‘get’ their message that they (and others like them) will leave you be and let you move on to meet the next ‘annoying’ challenge in your life?

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A Scene From The Movie ‘A BEAUTIFUL MIND’:

John Nash, a brilliant mathematician who prefers spending time lost in his own thoughts rather than with people, struggles with his antisocial behaviour.

Alicia: It’s called “life”, John. Activities available; just add meaning.

A Thought For Your Life:

Too often we look for things, events, activities or people to do the heavy lifting by offering us their meaning in our lives. Finding the meaning in things is up to each of us. Whether it’s riding a bike, writing a book or cooking a meal – you get to decide if it’s a chore or chance, something to overcome or something to embrace.

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We’d also love to hear your thoughts.  What Life Lessons have you gained from the movies lately?

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A Scene From The Movie ‘Rob Roy’:

At a table in a tavern Guthrie spoils for a fight and holds a sword on an uninterested Rob Roy.

Rob Roy: What’s your business with me, Guthrie?

Will Guthrie: Business best done outside.

Rob: We have no quarrel.

Guthrie: That can be remedied.

Rob relents.

Rob: The first cut?

Guthrie: Aye.

Rob calmly cuts his own hand across Guthrie’s blade revealing the ‘first cut’.  Rob looks at a stunned Guthrie.

Rob: Well done.

The Thought For Your Life:

Knowing when, and how, to pick your battles is something of a lost art. Begin reviving it in your life when you’re confronted with something; before marching forward onto the obvious path, look around for available side doors. When you find yourself verbally cornered, instead of going blow-by-blow with each statement, look for a way to skip to your desired result.

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A Scene From The Movie ‘Princess Bride’:

Inigo:  Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

This statement was repeated in the same intense tone, at best estimate, over a dozen times during the course of the 100 minute movie.

The Thought For Your Life:

If you know your life’s purpose, repeat it often (and with conviction) and share it with everyone you meet. Just your sheer bullheadedness will attract others to your cause.  Like what happened to Inigo, who knows who will show up to fulfill your destiny?

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These short life lessons from the movies are available once a week from www.ThoughtsByEmail.com.  They’re a great way to keep yourself awake and thinking about life, but not too seriously.  There’s no charge to get your weekly copy in your email inbox. Why not go to the website and sign up?

Any other Life Lessons From The Movies you can think of? Add yours by posting below.

3 Funny Things Chris Anderson Said at #TED 2009

If you’ve ever sat through the speech-giving part of a wedding reception, you have first-hand knowledge of the difference an MC makes.  A great one, and even the poorest of chicken dinners and dullest of distant friends can be put up with.  A terrible one and I don’t care how much love is in the air, something else is too, and it’s the pheromones from hundreds of people cringing.

I was more than a little curious about what Chris Anderson, Curator of TED would be like. I was sure he wouldn’t be cringe-worthy, but his online presence gave me surprisingly little sense of who he was, which, it turns out, is a shame, and even his photo (at link above) isn’t representative.

Here are 3 things Chris said, and what he said them to:

(1) Nobel laureate Kary Mullis was at first admonished by Chris, not something that happens at many conferences, but is done without flinching at TED, especially if the speaker has gone over time. “That’s a terrible slide.” And it was actually completely incomprehensible to this social science major.  Still he said it not in an aside but out loud during the speaker’s time.

To his credit, Kary agreed, still minding the TEDclock and realizing the sand had run out. Shrugging, “It’s not a very good slide.”  And then, triumphantly, “BUT if you were a mouse with anthrax you would be interested in this slide!!” Wild applause from the audience on behalf of the mouse and speaker.

Still, being the Curator has its benefits and one of them is having the last word: “I’ve just realized my role to set up our speakers for great comebacks.”

(2) Nalini Nadkarni was definitely one of my favorite speakers of the conference.  Known as the ‘queen of canopy research’ this was one of those talks that might easily have been well-meaning and earnest. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

But instead, we saw slides of recycled Barbie dolls dressed up in jungle gear, shipped to schools as ambassadors.  We heard of projects enlisting prison inmates to grow specialized mosses because they have the time, and no sharp objects are needed to grow moss. We heard that she has an ant named after her and we saw a dance at TED by Capacitor that was inspired by some of her work with plants.

After the talk of her life (so far) in TED’s 18 minutes, she had charmed all of us, but Chris fell a little deeper:

“In the most appropriate of ways, Nalini, I think I’m a little bit in love with you.”

Nicely put, Chris, since Nalini’s husband, the ant professor, was in one of her slides, and Chris’ wife was in the front row, I think.

But really, the art of facilitating so many speakers can boil down to the pressing need to express a genuine thank you originally and meaningfully, even if it’s the 20th of the day.  Super nice to see it being done so well; SO well in fact that it’s become a signature memory of my TED experience.

(3) Last but not least, a third funny thing Chris said was in response to Cindy Gallop’s 3-minute rampage about her new website ‘Make Love Not P0rn’ [NSFW].  Based on her first-hand experience dating younger men, NYC advertising exec Cindy declared she had come (her word, not mine!) to realize hard c0re p0rn had taken on the role of sex education for today’s younger men. As a result, they were milling around thinking p0rn was real-life.  You know, “Hey, what’s wrong with you, all women love that! They always love it in the movies…”

I don’t want to have this website banned for repeating what Cindy said, exactly how she said it, examples and all, but it was a talk I was glad not to have to translate to my English-as-a-Second language parents, even Dad, who tends to be pretty jolly about that kind of thing.

At the end of the whoops and hollers as Cindy finished, Chris stepped to the stage saying proudly:

“There just aren’t many places where you can hear a talk like that.”

Post-TED, I realize I just didn’t know where to look in order to get to know Chris and other members of the TED team. It’s one of my criteria when deciding what events might be a fit for me and perhaps you’ll be interested too.

The thing is, they’re on Twitter, followable like anyone else! And not only tweeting about TED either.  Then, there are snippets of them on the TEDtalk videos, though it’s tough to find them on purpose – maybe that will change when they begin keyword indexing for their videos.  And then of course, there’s Chris’ own TEDtalk, given in 2002, in just under 13 minutes. Where, in a sense, it all began. Enjoy! I did.

Your Life, Your Movie | Life Lessons From The Movies

A Scene From The Movie ‘Big’:

Paul pitches the idea of a new toy in a meeting where Josh is present.  Josh is the boy trapped in a grown man’s body, as played by Tom Hanks.

PAUL:  These tests were conducted over a six month period using a double-blind format of eight overlapping demographic groups.  Every region of the country was sampled, the focus testing showed a solid base in the 9- to 11-year-old bracket — with a possible carry-over into the 12-year olds.

When you consider that Nobots and Transformers pull over 37 percent market share, and that we are targeting the same area, I think that we should see one quarter of that and that is one fifth of the total revenue from all of last year.  Any questions?  Yes?  Yes?

JOSH:  I don’t get it.

PAUL:  What exactly don’t you get?

JOSH:  It turns from a building into a robot, right?

PAUL:  Precisely.

JOSH:  Well, what’s fun about that?

The Thought For Your Life:

Sometimes, no amount of research can replace instinct, especially when it comes to what’s fun. It’s either fun or it isn’t. When pursuing your goals, use both your head and your heart.  But above all, try to silence the shoulds; don’t be swayed by how you’re ‘supposed’ to feel.

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These short life lessons from the movies are available once a week from www.ThoughtsByEmail.com.  They’re a great way to keep yourself awake and thinking about life, but not too seriously.  There’s no charge to get your weekly copy in your email inbox. Why not go to the website and sign up?

Any other Life Lessons From The Movies you can think of? Add yours by posting below.

Your Life, Your Movie | Life Lessons From The Movies

A Scene From The Movie ‘Chicken Run’:

Bunty: In all my life, I’ve never heard such a fantastic load of tripe. Oh, face the facts, ducks. The chances of us getting out of here are a million to one.

Ginger: Then there’s still a chance.

A Thought For Your Life:

Are you a pessimist or optimist? Put another way, are you an idealist, realistic, or something in between?  Is there something beneficial for you to explore about the opposite of your default?

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These short life lessons from the movies are available once a week from www.ThoughtsByEmail.com.  They’re a great way to keep yourself awake and thinking about life, but not too seriously.  There’s no charge to get your weekly copy in your email inbox. Why not go to the website and sign up?

Any other Life Lessons From The Movies you can think of? Add yours by posting below.

Your Life, Your Movie | Life Lessons From The Movies

A Scene From The Movie ‘Forrest Gump’:

After running for over three years, Forrest, disciples in tow, suddenly stops.

Young Man (running): Quiet, quiet! He’s about to say something!

Forrest Gump: I’m pretty tired…I think I’ll go home now.

Forrest walks toward the group. The group parts for Forrest as he walks down the middle of the road.

Young Man (standing): Now what are we supposed to do?

A Thought For Your Life:

If your ‘leader’ (boss/mentor/guru) was to suddenly change direction or stop leading altogether would you be willing, able, and/or prepared to continue on without them? If not, why not?

Many people in life are walking around umbilical cord in hand, looking for a place to plug it.  If that is you, what would be the benefit of waking up and growing up?

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These short life lessons from the movies are available once a week from www.ThoughtsByEmail.com.  They’re a great way to keep yourself awake and thinking about life, but not too seriously.  There’s no charge to get your weekly copy in your email inbox. Why not go to the website and sign up?

Any other Life Lessons From The Movies you can think of? Add yours by posting below.

Your Life, Your Movie | Life Lessons From The Movies

The Scene From The Movies:

It’s night. T-800 (the terminator – a killing machine) has just randomly shot and seriously wounded a thug who young John was teasing in the parking lot of a bar.

John: You can’t just go around killing people!

T-800: Why?

John: What do you mean why? Cause you can’t.

T-800: Why?

John: Because you can’t, okay? Trust me on this.

The Thought For Your Life:

When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail, even a flower. If you’re tired of ‘nailing flowers’ and getting the opposite results to what you’re after, next time you encounter a nail try using your screwdriver.

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These short life lessons from the movies are available once a week from www.ThoughtsByEmail.com.  They’re a great way to keep yourself awake and thinking about life, but not too seriously.  There’s no charge to get your weekly copy in your email inbox. Why not go to the website and sign up?

Any other Life Lessons From The Movies you can think of? Add yours by posting below.

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