Research from Harvard Business School shows that inspiration is not a random variable and can be self-activated. Why do this?
Psychologists Todd Thrash and Andrew Elliott found that inspired people are more open to new experiences and engaged in their tasks. Those who experience inspiration more often have more faith in themselves and their abilities, they have better self-esteem and more optimism.
For those who lack inspiration, we have made a selection of motivational stories about people with strong character and a desire to change their lives.
"The Pursuit of Happiness"
IMDb: 8.0
The true story of a single father and his five-year-old son struggling to survive and achieve the American dream in San Francisco in 1981.
Chris Gardner, played by Will Smith, is trying to make a living selling portable X-ray machines, but things aren't going well. The family does not have money to rent housing and pay bills, and as a result, father and son end up on the street. Having lost all hope, Chris takes an unpaid internship at a brokerage firm. They promise to hire one intern out of twenty. Will it come out?
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
- USA, 1994.
- Drama, melodrama, comedy, history, military.
- Duration: 142 minutes.
- IMDb: 8.8.
A still from the film “Forrest Gump”
The film tells the life story of a mentally retarded man, Forrest Gump. Fate had prepared many unimaginable events for him: from a reception at the White House to meeting Elvis Presley. And most importantly - meeting your true love.
The film has become a legend of modern cinema. He earned 38 awards from various film awards and convinced everyone of the genius of Robert Zemeckis as a director and Tom Hanks as an actor. Quotes from the film became catchphrases, and the soundtrack collection entered the top 100 best-selling US albums of all time.
The life story of Forrest Gump can inspire and reassure even the most inveterate pessimists.
Watch on iTunes → Watch on Google Play →
"Big Eyes"
IMDb: 7.0
Tim Burton's film is about deception, psychological abuse and a strong woman who was not afraid to speak up for herself. Margaret Ulrich paints incredible pictures in which all her characters have big eyes. The paintings are credited to her husband, Walter Keene. The unique style quickly becomes recognizable, and Keane is elevated to the rank of king of pop art.
But one day Margaret can’t stand it and announces that her husband is a fraudster, and she is the real author of the paintings. The film teaches you to stand up for your rights and fight for the truth.
The Incredible Life of Walter Mitty
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
- USA, UK, 2013.
- Comedy, adventure, fantasy, drama, melodrama.
- Duration: 114 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.3.
Walter Mitty is an employee in the illustration department of a major magazine. He is a decent but very timid man, and his lifestyle is boring and dull. However, in his own imagination, Walter is a real hero who gets into all sorts of troubles. One day life throws him a challenge. And now Walter has to be as brave in reality as in his dreams.
This film is the most striking and worthy work of director Ben Stiller, who played the main role in the film. And the screenwriter was Steve Conrad. He is known for the films “The Pursuit of Happyness” and “Miracle,” which are as inspiring as “Walter Mitty.”
Watch on iTunes → Watch on Google Play →
"The Social Network"
IMDb: 7.7
Did you know that the predecessor to Facebook, Facemash, was created by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard University dorm? Its only functionality was voting for the attractiveness of a particular student. The site worked for several days, and then the author was accused of violating the rights to personal information and was almost expelled from the university.
The film tells the story “from a dorm room to the world’s most popular social network,” or how Mark Zuckerberg became the youngest billionaire in the world.
wild
Wild
- USA, 2014.
- Drama, biography.
- Duration: 115 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.1.
Cheryl Strayed recently experienced a series of tragic events. Having fallen into severe depression, she became addicted to drugs and began to lead an undignified lifestyle. However, at some point, something turns upside down in the girl’s mind. She is going on a hike and wants to go through a difficult trail alone. Cheryl believes that such a test will allow her to become a new person.
The main role in the film was played by Reese Witherspoon. Comic potential did not prevent the actress from revealing all the facets of her talent in a deep dramatic film. That's why six different film awards have nominated Reese for Best Actress.
Watch on iTunes → Watch on Google Play →
"The Man Who Changed Everything" (Moneyball)
IMDb: 7.6
A sports drama based on the true success story of the man who connected baseball and mathematics - Oakland Athletics CEO Billy Beane.
The team suffers a series of defeats due to the fact that the best players left for other clubs. Bean's assistant, Yale graduate Peter Brand, calculated the effectiveness of the players on the field and is convinced that several good players are better than one professional.
Left with a roster of newcomers and backups, Billy Beane takes a risk and recruits little-known athletes to the team. This action will lead to either failure or great triumph.
Life of Pi
Life of Pi
- USA, Taiwan, UK, Canada, 2012.
- Fantasy, drama, adventure.
- Duration: 127 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.9.
An adaptation of Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi. Pi Patel is the son of a zookeeper, and at the same time an employee of a menagerie. While transporting animals by water from India to Japan, a storm causes the ship to sink. Pi is the only one in the whole family who manages to get into the lifeboat. However, refugees from the camp of pets joined him, and now the young man will have to surf the ocean in the company of a tiger, zebra, monkey and hyena.
"Life of Pi" is a bright representative of the Robinsonade genre. Its main task is to show how a person changes in natural conditions and in isolation from society. Throughout the film, we watch as Pi rethinks his life and comes to God. And he ends the journey with a completely different personality.
The images of animals leave a special mark after watching the film. It's rare to see a realistic film in which animals are full-fledged characters on a par with people.
Watch on iTunes → Watch on Google Play →
“Not yet played in the box” (The Bucket List)
IMDb: 7.4
This is a film worth watching at any age. The main characters of the story are two men with cancer who find themselves in the same room: one is a billionaire, the other is a car mechanic. Realizing that they have very little time left to live, they make a list of things they want to accomplish during this period.
The whole film is a journey of two elderly people who again enjoyed life: they rejoice at seeing the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal, and even more so at meeting their relatives.
Knockin 'on Heaven
Year of release: 1997.
Country of origin: Germany.
Key roles: T. Schweiger, T. Van Verweke, Jan Josef Liefers.
They met in the hospital, where both were given a death sentence. Life is counted practically on the clock.
Is it painful to die in a hospital room? Or escape from the hospital by stealing a car with a million German marks in the trunk?
Well, of course the second option! Even if hired killers and police are on your heels, and death is breathing down your neck.
A film with a powerful message to all living things - don’t use every hour of your life in vain! Make your dreams come true right away while you still have the opportunity.
"The Shawshank Redemption"
IMDb: 9.3
An adaptation of Stephen King's novel about Andy Dufresne, convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. True, he does not remember anything that happened that night.
After the trial, he was sent to one of the strictest prisons to serve two life sentences. In prison, he makes friends, restores the local library and teaches other prisoners. Having accidentally learned that he was convicted unfairly, he decides to escape. But will it work?
Joker 2021
- USA, Canada
- Genre: thriller, drama, crime
- Rating: KinoPoisk - 8.5, IMDb - 8.5
- Director: Todd Phillips
Details
Joker is truly a masterpiece of 2021, probably one of the best Hollywood films of the decade. No one has ever managed to bring a comic book into reality so realistically and vitally, so frighteningly and so attractively. Everything is wonderful here: directing, acting, music, cinematography. The main message of the film is the problem of a small person in a big system, class privilege, undervaluation and lack of recognition of genius. Our world is ruled by money and corruption, and poor people remain in the shadows, driven mad by powerlessness and confusion.
According to the plot, Arthur Fleck works as a clown and tries (albeit unsuccessfully) to build a career as a stand-up comedian, but only evokes pity and ridicule from the audience. He has serious mental health problems and cannot control his laughter. But hard times come, there is no money for medicine, there is no more support to be expected from social services, the truth is revealed from Arthur’s real father, and dismissal from work becomes the icing on the cake. All of this weighs on him, forcing Arthur to eventually take on a new identity - the Joker.
“Always Say Yes” (Yes Man)
IMDb: 6.8
Bank worker Carl Allen is used to turning everyone down: he prefers to sit at home alone and watch DVDs rather than hang out with friends at the local bar.
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One day, Carl attends a self-development seminar, where a mentor offers him a deal: say “yes” to any opportunity, request or offer. Otherwise, the punishment of fate will await him.
The film is based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Denny Wallace, who set himself a challenge - he answered “yes” to all requests and questions for a year. An inspiring film that teaches you to look at things from a different angle and not miss opportunities that can change your life.
A thousand words
Year of release: 2009.
Country of origin: USA.
Key roles: Ed. Murphy, K. Curtis, K. Duke.
The main character of the film is something of a bastard. He talks incessantly, sometimes without even thinking about what he said.
But a fateful meeting turns his life upside down. Now every word is worth its weight in gold for him, because he only has a thousand words left to live...
A picture with the comedic, familiar actor Eddie Murphy, which, at a minimum, will make you stop and think.
A film with deep meaning - incredibly motivating.
Live, 2011
She led a riotous, inappropriate lifestyle and became addicted to alcoholic beverages, for which she paid with the lives of her two little daughters. She remembers every minute of their funeral and the pitiful glances thrown at her on the sly, but she is not going to accept her cruel fate.
They were such happy lovers that even a quick wedding in a small village church did not spoil their impression of the long-awaited day. But soon the new husband crosses the wrong people's path and they beat him to death, leaving his heartbroken wife to mourn the unexpected loss.
He had long wanted to see his father, but his mother was against these meetings. And now there is no one else to meet, because the parent could not stand the bitter loneliness and committed suicide.
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This depressing story about how not all mothers love their children and not all children renounce their parents after growing up in such conditions will not leave its viewers indifferent. She was still just a little girl, but she already clearly understood that she did not need her own mother. She grew up in poverty and dirt, but always forgave her parent for just one affectionate look and a fleeting smile. The neighbors stubbornly called her a wolf cub, and the little girl was not ashamed of this nickname, firmly realizing that even in adulthood she would still forgive her beloved mother, if, of course, she at least once asked her for forgiveness.
Sister
Children of war are a special generation that grew up to the sounds of bombs exploding, gunfire and the groans of the dying. These children rarely know their fathers, but they always wait for their return from an invisible and such a distant front. They know how to hide after just one word from their mother and know exactly which people to avoid if strangers appear in their area.
The little boy Yamil, a resident of a Bashkir village, is very much waiting for his father, whom he had previously only seen in photographs. One day his mother goes shopping in the city and returns with a blond girl, whom the boy must henceforth treat as his own sister.
Top 20: Films about the meaning of life
Heartfelt films where the main characters question the meaning of existence.
Somehow I wanted to think about life, its meaning, to look at everything from a new point of view. And the best way to provoke such thoughts is to watch soulful films where the main characters question the meaning of existence.
1. Into the Wild
Year: 2007
Country: USA
Director: Sean Penn
After graduating from Emory College, one of its leading students and athletes, Christopher McCandless, leaves all his belongings, donates $24,000 to a charitable foundation, and hitchhikes to Alaska to plunge into the wild. Along the way, Christopher meets different people who influence his life in one way or another.
2. The Giant Mechanical Man
Year: 2011
Country: USA
Director: Lee Kirk
This is a film about two outcasts. One is an underrated man-statue street performer. The second is a girl who has never found herself in life, whose younger sister is obsessively trying to arrange her personal life. They need money and randomly get a job at a zoo...
3. Dialogue with my gardener/Dialogue avec mon jardinier
Year: 2007
Country: France
Director: Jean Becker
Tired of the hectic life in Paris, a middle-aged artist decides to return to his childhood home in the center of France. The house is surrounded by a huge garden, and, having neither the desire nor the time to do it, the artist places an ad for hiring in a local newspaper. The first one to arrive - a retired railway worker - gets the sought-after position as a gardener, but it soon turns out that both main characters know each other - many years ago they attended the same municipal school...
4. Clean slate/La tete en friche
Year: 2010
Country: France
Director: Jean Becker
Germain is a big man, but narrow-minded. One fine day, in the park, he meets a sweet old lady named Margherita. Erudite and well-read, she becomes his friend, forcing Germain to take a different look at his life and the world around him.
5. Strange Gardens/Effroyables jardins
Year: 2003
Country: France
Director: Jean Becker
The complex relationship between father and son changes after the son learns what happened to his father during World War II. Together with three friends, he was captured by the Germans and put in a deep hole awaiting execution, which would take place if the mysterious saboteur who blew up the railway post the day before did not identify himself.
When the appointed hour was already close, one of the guards began to entertain the prisoners, trying to cheer them up and make them forget that they were on the verge of death. He managed not only to defuse the situation, but also to teach the captives a lesson that none of them forgot until the end of their days: humor is the last weapon in the face of tragedy.
6. Children of Nature/Les enfants du Marais
Year: 1998
Country: France
Director: Jean Becker
Marais is a quiet town on the banks of the deep Loire. Two old friends Harry and Rimon are used to while away their days doing ordinary work, not really caring about the meaning of life. Each of them has their own dreams, memories, past youth.
But one day the long-awaited changes come. It turns out that in their lives there is still a place for crazy love, exciting adventures and serious male squabbles.
7. Welcome back/Bienvenue parmi nous
Year: 2012
Country: France
Director: Jean Becker
Despite all his fame, the 60-year-old artist Thailand gives up painting. Depressed, he decides to leave his home, without any purpose and without telling his family. During his wanderings, a strange meeting occurs with a teenage girl, Marylou, left to her own devices, abandoned by her mother. Brought together by fate, a lost girl and a man at the end of their life's journey have a long journey ahead together in order to find peace of mind and find new meaning in their lives.
8. On the side of the road
Year: 2004
Country: USA
Director: Alexander Payne
A failed writer and an alcoholic high school literature teacher, Miles Raymond, takes his best friend, the famous actor Jack, on a trip to California wineries.
Jack needs to relax because he has a wedding planned in a week. Miles is the most suitable travel companion because: a) he understands wine; b) can give good advice on the steps of your divorce. The two “losers” could not imagine what awaited them ahead and how much this week would change their lives...
9. The Descendants
Year: 2011
Country: USA
Director: Alexander Payne
The main character is a wealthy Hawaiian landowner. He, along with his two daughters, makes an attempt to find his wife’s lover, sincerely believing that in this way he will save the family hearth.
10. Life According to Jane Austen/The Jane Austen Book Club
Year: 2007
Country: USA
Director: Robin Swicord
A young man in love and five extraordinary women join a literary club for one season to discuss six classic novels by the famous writer. As they turn to books, they realize that the emotional experiences and heartaches of the characters are not much different from their own. And the atmosphere and realities of the 21st century are similar to the version of novels.
Despite the fact that all the heroes face everyday problems in life, on the pages of the books they find parallels of human passions, love and friendship, disappointments and romantic hopes. And everyone finds the answer for themselves.
11. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Year: 2011
Country: USA
Director: John Madden
The film tells the story of a group of British pensioners who decide to “retire” to a less expensive and much more exotic India. Lured by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and looking forward to a life of pleasure and idleness, they arrive only to discover that the hotel is, in fact, a pale shadow of its former glory. But, despite the fact that the surrounding environment is far from the luxury that they imagined, their joint adventures irrevocably change each of them, and they realize that they can start living again and find love if they let go of the past...
12. Siberia. Mon amyr
Year: 2011
Country Russia
Director: Vyacheslav Ross
Siberia. In the taiga, in an abandoned village, an old man and his grandson are waiting for the father of a boy who is unlikely to return. The husband and wife are raising three daughters, and this is the only thing that still connects them. Having survived two Caucasian wars, the captain is trying to find his place in peaceful life. The destinies of these heroes are intertwined unexpectedly and dramatically. They need to make their choice again and again, discovering their forgotten humanity and compassion. Mercy is higher than justice.
13. 1+1/Intouchables
Year: 2011
Country: France
Director: Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano
After suffering in an accident, the wealthy aristocrat Philippe hires as his assistant the man least suited for the job - a young resident of the suburb of Drissa, who has just been released from prison. Despite the fact that Philippe is confined to a wheelchair, Driss manages to bring a spirit of adventure into the measured life of the aristocrat.
14. Substitute teacher/Detachment
Year: 2011
Country: USA
Director: Tony Kaye
Henry Barth is a substitute teacher who receives another temporary assignment. This time he must teach English language and literature in a “dysfunctional” school, where obscene language and insults towards teachers are the order of the day. The story about a short period in the life of this school is accompanied by original interviews in which Barth talks about the ingratitude and misunderstanding that teachers have to face in everyday life.
15. Elizabethtown
Year: 2005
Country: USA
Director: Cameron Crowe
Having lost his job and girlfriend overnight, young designer Drew Baylor plans to commit suicide. Another misfortune forces him to return to his native provincial town. During the flight, he meets the flight attendant Claire...
16. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Year: 2012
Country: USA
Director: Stephen Chbosky
The story is about Charlie, a Pittsburgh high school student who is shy and unpopular. Before our eyes, Charlie is growing up, his social circle is changing, his opinion about the world is changing.
17. It's Kind of a Funny Story
Year: 2010
Country: USA
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
16-year-old Craig is going through a teenage crisis and tries to find help in a mental health clinic. There he accidentally ends up in an adult ward, and one of Bobby's patients soon becomes Craig's mentor and at the same time his protégé. The young man also develops a liking for one of the patients, his peer Noelle. In just five days, Craig will learn a lot about life, friendship, love and the difficulties that come with growing up.
18. Homework/The Art of Getting By
Year: 2011
Country: USA
Director: Gavin Viesen
George is a lonely and introverted teenager who has little interest in life. He has a talent for drawing, but this gift is wasted, as is the school education of a guy who has not listened to teachers or done homework for a long time. But one day George meets a difficult girl, Sally, who shows a friendly interest in him. Over time, this relationship develops into something more, and George finds himself faced with the most important lesson of his life - a lesson of love that he simply must learn.
19. Where the Heart Is
Year: 2000
Country: USA
Director: Matt Williams
The main character, Novalee Nation, is a typical Cinderella. She is seventeen years old, she is eight months pregnant and has life wisdom: under any circumstances, the number “five” brings misfortune. When Novalee's abusive boyfriend puts Novalee in a dilapidated car and takes her to sunny California, he dumps her at the first roadside Wal-Mart just as the cash register knocks out the change: $5.55.
The heroine will have to live between the store shelves, carefully arranging for herself a kind of apartment for the night with a bed, an alarm clock, a tape recorder - why not an advertisement in the spirit of “We have everything you need?”
20. One Week
Year: 2008
Country: Canada
Director: Michael Mac Gowan
When Ben Tyler was diagnosed with cancer, he immediately rejected the small chance of a cure and began to prepare for his last journey. Crossing Canada on a motorcycle, he will find new friends, rethink a lot, and remember unfulfilled dreams. And most importantly, he will understand that you cannot find the meaning of your life without first learning to value your life. published
PS And remember, just by changing your consciousness, we are changing the world together! © econet
White nights of postman Alexey Tryapitsyn
Alexey Tryapitsyn works as a postman in an almost abandoned poor village. Every day he travels dozens of kilometers to pick up letters and parcels and deliver them home, connecting the inhabitants of the provincial outback with the big and indifferent world. A man knows all the secrets of his neighbors, feels their pain and shares their hopes. He more than once caught himself dreaming of a better life and personal happiness, the loss of which once almost turned Tryapitsyn into a real alcoholic. But Lekha managed to get out of the bottomless abyss of self-pity and left the bad habit in the past.
Mom forever
A real emotional almanac from Russian cinema awakens in its viewer lively, warm emotions and memories of a happy childhood. At the center of its plot are different mothers and different children, but they are all connected by one thing - the fear of being alone and losing someone close to them by blood and genetics. The heroes demonstrate their feelings in their own way: some withdraw into themselves and hope that the children will hear the silent cry for help, some act with more confident methods, while others even try to become the closest friends for their heirs and not break the bond formed back in childhood.
Tangerines
KinoPoisk: 8.1
- 2013, Estonia, Georgia
- Director: Zaza Urushadze
- Cast: Lembit Ulfsak, Georgiy Nakashidze, Elmo Nyuganen, Misha Meskhi, Raivo Trass, Zura Begalishvili, David Khakhidze, Jano Izoria, Gia Gogishvili, Vamekh Yangidze
Previously, there was an Estonian village in Abkhazia, but in 1992 its residents left for their historical homeland. Only Ivo, Margus and Johan remained. There is a war and after the battle the Estonians find the Chechen mercenary Akhmed, fighting on the Abkhaz side. Then it turns out that there is one more soldier left alive - Georgian Nika. Doctor Ivo has enemies under the same roof.
Unkillable talent
Vocation and passion often turn out to be stronger than character, and therefore can cause a lot of trouble. But they are the best weapons in the fight for yourself and your own meaning in life. At least for the heroes of these films.
"Obsession"
Becoming a jazz star is even more difficult than conquering the heights of big-time sports. Constant training, bloody blisters and complete self-denial - this is the path of drummer Andrew. The hero of the film looks up only to the greats and marches towards victory at a frantic pace. Misunderstanding in the family, neglect of colleagues and envy of competitors are not everything. Andrew engages in psychological warfare with his psychopathic genius mentor, the bandleader. It is this blessed obsession that helps the young musician escape from the trap that his opponent set for him at the main concert of his life. Beat the drum and fear nothing - such a motto would suit the dashing debut of Damien Chazelle, who will return to him in the Oscar-winning “La La Land” and “Man on the Moon.”
"Hidden Figures"
America in the early 1960s. Man is flying to the stars and preparing to set foot on the moon (like Ryan Gosling's character in Man on the Moon), while centuries-old inequality still reigns on earth. Yes, African-American women already work at NASA alongside white men in ties, but they remain invisible to most, like ghosts. The film's protagonists, three female mathematicians, do the work on which the US space program depends, surrounded by quiet racism, exacerbated by overt sexism. But their work, talent, long-term perseverance and love of mathematics will force everyone to reckon with these iron women.
"Every Sunday"
Willie, a young athlete who plays American football, becomes a star of the Miami Sharks and goes through fire, water and copper pipes with the team. And here there are not only the hardships of training, but also star fever, burdened by complexes of “black superiority”, which can ruin both Willie’s career and the common cause. Overcoming your vanity to breathe and think in unison with the team is not easy. But the reward after a collective victory seems to multiply. The prodigal son, returning to his “father” coach (played by Al Pacino), is greeted by the enthusiastic roar of the crowd.
After you
Alexey Temnikov, once a brilliant ballet dancer, famous throughout the country for his high jumps and bad character, today is a businessman, deprived of the opportunity to dance, with an even worse character and a noticeable speech impairment. After the injury, Alexey settled in his native small town and walks with his usual easy gait through a life that he hates. However, having learned after another examination that he is in danger of paralysis, the hero decides to stage a grandiose ballet and remind himself.
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