There’s a myth out there that entrepreneurial types shouldn’t have any ‘downtime.’ We’re always on the go, out chasing our dreams, with no time to relax. But the truth is, we all need to make time to recuperate after a hectic week or busy day..But my trick is – sometimes I use my downtime to compliment my interests. And I thought I’d share that with you. I wanted to talk about a few movies I found really inspiring as an entrepreneurially-minded person. These movies helped me learn more about entrepreneurship and success, while I was also taking time out for myself – win-win situation. So if you are the entrepreneurial type who can do nothing but work work work – here you can enjoy a movie, and technically ‘work’ at the same time. You’re just doing research! Here are my 7 movies every entrepreneur NEEDS to watch…
1. Jerry Maguire
This is a movie I find myself watching again and again. It captures somebody who really thinks they’re at the top of their game. And what happens makes him question what ‘being at the top of your game’ really means. All of a sudden, he has this moment of crisis – which results in his true self coming out. It unfolds that the environment that he had fostered was around a ‘fake’ self and this realisation comes down on him like a ton of bricks. He thinks he’s hit rock bottom, but in actual fact, he finds himself. He finds himself professionally, personally and in his relationships. If you follow me at all, you’ll know that the main thing I talk about as a Holistic Business Coach, is making sure that your career is aligned with yourself. This movie beautifully illustrates that.
2. The Founder
This is all about the takeover of fast-food chain McDonald’s, by a guy called Ray Kroc, who you may have heard about. I think McDonald’s is absolutely fascinating from an entrepreneurial perspective. The brand, the franchising, the scaling – there’s so much to take from it and learn. This movie doesn’t sugarcoat the process of that. It highlights so much about the realities of the takeover and the real business model behind those famous Golden Arches. It’s a must watch.
3. The Social Network
I’m sure a lot of you have seen this one already, but it’s really worth watching more than once, purely because you see so much more in the story each time. It follows the founding of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg’s journey alongside ‘the twins’, and the conflict that ensues there. I think it’s really accurate in showing the infighting that can occur, and also just the struggle and sense of loneliness there can be when pursuing an entrepreneurial path.
4. The Middle Men
I have to laugh when I think about this one, as it’s just such an entertaining film. The story centres around the guys who first applied credit card transactions to online pornography. Which, as you might imagine makes for a great story…There is valuable insight into what it’s like being ‘the middle man,’ in business – bringing different parties and people together – which is something I love doing myself.
5. Molly’s Game
I’m not going to give too much away about this one. I stumbled across it by accident when I was on a plane over to the States. I had zero idea of what I was about to watch, but I was glued to it from the second it began. So all I’m going to say is – watch Molly’s Game, and just sit back and enjoy it…
6. Boiler Room
This one is for anybody interested in sales. It’s somewhat similar to The Wolf of Wall Street but much more focused on ‘selling’ and on what the ethos can be like in a business like that. There are a few golden scenes in terms of how they motivate and train a sales team and what the environment was like around a sales focused business. I don’t want to give too much away, but again, very entertaining and just fun to watch!
7. Limitless
I just love the concept of this film. Bradley Cooper’s character takes one tablet – and suddenly becomes superhuman. Obviously I don’t believe you can take one tablet and become ‘superhuman’, but I do feel that if you live a certain way and are disciplined, you can have that ‘edge’ that separates you from the rest. For people who think it’s all about ‘work work work,’ you’ll soon find out that unless you’re looking after yourself – you won’t have the kind of energy you need to fuel the success that you want. This film distills that sentiment perfectly.
Have you seen any of these films? Or have any recommendations for the most inspirational films? Let me know…
Have a great day, and don’t forget to take some down time!
– Jamie