Sometimes, movies can be a great source of learning and motivation, although people watch them for entertainment. These lessons could be in diverse areas, from job and finance to family life and parenting. For example, the Hollywood movie “Pursuit of Happyness” is packed with critical life lessons regarding finance, career, success, and retirement.

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The movie depicts the real-life struggle of American businessman Chris Gardner, played by actor Will Smith, who relentlessly fights to keep his family financially afloat. He lived in a small apartment with his family and earned a living by selling “bone-density” scanners. Gardner struggled to sell these obscure machines, and as poverty began to bite them, his professional and personal life went through major obstacles—his wife left him and their five-year-old son to start a new life. Broke and desperate, Gardner joined an unpaid internship at a stock firm, hoping to get full-time employment after the training, which lasted for eight months. It was one of the toughest and most rewarding assignments, as it got him a job that changed his life forever.

The movie beautifully weaves different parts of Gardner’s life—family, work, struggles, relationships, success, and fame—to create a long-lasting impact on the audience. More importantly, it shows how hard work, and determination can help you overcome any challenge, as Gardner’s son witnesses his father’s struggles for shelter, food and other everyday necessities.

Here are 8 critical lessons learned from the movie:

Hard Work Always Pays Off

Gardener worked hard to sell the bone-density scanners and provide for his family. He was a salesman but was never afraid to take on new jobs. To get into the internship programme, he prepared for the exam in a subway toilet and a homeless shelter, although the odds were stacked high against him. His “never give up” attitude paid off well in the end. He became a celebrity multimillionaire stock broker.

Think Big

Gardner didn’t have a career when he started selling the scanners; he didn’t think of how it would turn out at the end before he sold all the printers. In the movie, he asks a rich man, “What do you do to be able to afford such a nice car.” To which the man replied, “I am a stockbroker.” That’s when he dreamt about being a stockbroker and went after that dream.

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Forget The Odds

His printer was stolen, his wife left him, and he was kicked out of his apartment. He went to a shelter home for the poor and faced disappointment. He studied for the exam at night and sold the bone-density scanners during the day to meet their expenses. He realised that believing in himself was the only way to success, which proved correct.

Invest After Research

Gardner and his wife exhausted all their savings in buying 100 bone density scanners and later discovered they were struggling to sell them to doctors who found them too expensive. He thought about the business very little before jumping into it. They were tough to sell as there were superior technologies to do the same job.

Perseverance Is The Key

Persistence and hard work can help you get a job, like Gardner. His determination helped him overcome all the challenges that came his way. In the end, he became one of America’s most successful stockbrokers.

Setbacks Are Part Of Life

Artist Mary Engelbreit once said, “It’s just a bad day, not a bad Life.” Gardner had many setbacks, from losing his scanner to a hippie guitarist and his wife leaving him to becoming homeless. Instead of being discouraged or blaming others for his misfortune, he took them as tests or bad days. When happiness came into his life, he embraced it; he knew he believed in himself.

Have Humour

Humour can make life easier. When Gardner took his son to the train station for a night halt after they couldn’t get a bed at the shelter home, he entertained him. He made him laugh, but it also, maybe for a moment, helped him forget his own troubles. He was scared, angry, and upset that they had nowhere to go, but he made sure that this didn’t affect him negatively. Instead of looking at it like a life-scarring event, Gardner made it for his son into a game.

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Don’t Let Anyone Dictate You

The most profound moment of the movie was when Gardner told his son, “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can or can’t do something.” With these words, Gardner wanted to convey to his son that he should be brave and dream big. Be rebellious about your dreams and protect them from the critiques, even if the one questioning him is his own dad.