Life Experiences & Observations

Sit Down, Buckle Up, Hang On, and Enjoy My Blog Ride

Tag: Good Will Hunting

April 26, 2014

Life Appreciation Elixir – 15 Movies to Motivate

0000000000000 MoviesIn times of struggle and hardship I tend to gravitate to watching movies about death which inspire me to cherish life. For most people that are going through tough times, they try to avoid any items or things that remind them of negativity. That’s just not me. One time in an interview for a position at the Multiple Sclerosis Society, I was asked “What is the one thing that motivates you the most?” My answer, which I was hesitant to reveal, was death. They admitted to me right then and there that it was the most profound answer they had ever heard. I am not trying to brag, its just what happened and shows the true motivating factor that death can provide.  Just ask the departed Steve Jobs.

Last night after waking up from my early evening nap, I decided to finish watching the movie “The Bucket List.” I had started it earlier in the day and really wanted to finish it despite it being 27 minutes past midnight. Of course I first had to finish my blog which had me admitting failure of accomplishing my April blog-a-thon goal.  I have seen the move multiple times and to this day it is one of my favorites and always seems to make me cry. I cling to this movie in the face of troubled times like a security blanket. Below is a list of 15 of my favorite movies I like to watch when I need a little does of life appreciation elixir.

  1. Beaches
  2. American Beauty
  3. The Bucket List
  4. Schindler’s List
  5. The Doctor
  6. Mr. Holland’s Opus
  7. The Pursuit of Happyness
  8. Dead Poet’s Society
  9. The Shawshank Redemption
  10. Good Will Hunting
  11. My Life
  12. Grand Canyon
  13. Pay it Forward
  14. Rudy
  15. Life is Beautiful

I could include links or descriptions for the movies above but if you have not already heard of them you are just going to have to discover them for yourself.  After all, isn’t that why they invented Google?  So next time you having difficulty appreciating the preciousness of life, trying watching one of the movies above.  It may just light a flame of motivation underneath your ass.  What are you still reading for?  Life is short, stop reading and start doing!

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April 9, 2014

The Most Valuable Card in My Wallet

Picture 1159Do you remember in the movie “Good Will Hunting” when Matt Damon’s character gets in a verbal scuffle with a pony tailed Harvard student. Will tells the student that he will eventually realize that he spent over $100,000 on an education that he could get with $1.28 worth of late charges at the public library. Really think about it for a minute. Assuming you have a good library, you should be able to get the knowledge of any student at any college. And yes, this includes Harvard. Sure one could argue that you can get the same knowledge through the internet but there is no card in my wallet that gives me access to the internet. I had to dash your cynical rebuttal somehow. And no my cell phone is not a card and it definitely doesn’t fit in my wallet.

I know I have blogged previously about my love of the library. But I have been putting more thought into it and the more I think about it the more I realize how valuable the library really is. The library gives you free access to, in theory, an infinite amount of knowledge available through Books, eBooks, CDs, and DVDs. Before we even knew what the internet was, there was a physical internet in everyone’s back yard. Back in the day, the library was the internet. Maybe you live somewhere in which your library is a ghost town. In my neighborhood the library is consistently busy. In fact, if you go there soon after any regular school day its like Grand Central Station. We do have the luxury here in that the library closest to my house is only a few years old. There is, however, a library 20 minutes from my house next to a mall that has been there for at least 20 years. It is the smallest library I have ever been to. Just recently they decided to track the number of visitors they get. In a years time, a dinky little library more than 20 years old had over 100,000 visitors.

And just when you thought the library concept was slowly drifting away into non-existence, you have underestimated its value. It may very well be the most valuable building in your city. If not, the library card you own is definitely the most valuable card in your wallet. What?!? You say you don’t own a library card?? What are you waiting for? Not getting a library card is like not picking up a $100 bill lying in the street. Grab it, get it, use it, and be rewarded.

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