Recently I caught up with “The Pursuit of Happyness” on television. Starring Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith, this 2006 film is a biopic based on Chris Gardner‘s struggle with homelessness while raising his toddler son.
In one scene, Gardner (Smith) manages to find some time before work to play basketball with his son. The kid is really excited and declares that he wants to go Pro. Gardner discourages the boy saying that since he himself was never good at basketball, it was unlikely that his son would excel in the game either. Therefore, he shouldn’t be wasting too much time chasing something that he’s never ever going to achieve.
And then realising that he has upset his son and shattered his dream, Gardner says:
“Hey, don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something. Not even me. Alright? You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period.”
What a powerful life lesson!!!
Watch the video.
