"Where they going...where they been?"

This blog is going to be a little different than normal. You'll find it a little longer than I normally provide, and not necessarily about customer service, motivation or leadership. I thought I'd speak from the heart here and share some thoughts I had about the movie "Forrest Gump".

I'm sure you have a list of favorite movies just like I do. If someone pinned me down and made me submit my Top 10 all-time favorite movies, it would probably look like this (in no particular order):

1. Dances With Wolves
2. Forrest Gump
3. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
4. The Longest Day
5. It's A Wonderful Life
6. Oh Brother! Where Art Thou
7. Cold Mountain
8. Glory
9. Band of Brothers
10. The Matrix

Okay, I know: There's no artsy films listed, and some of the others ones that I really like (Ben Hur, Spartacus, Aliens, 50 First Dates, etc.) just didn't quite make the top list. But these are really the ones that I find myself watching over & over & over again.

So recently I'm watching Forrest Gump, and I realized that of all the movies I've ever seen, and for so many that I really, truly enjoy, this is the one that probably takes the #1 spot in my list.

And with that statement, I wanted to share all the reasons why:

Right at the beginning of the movie, Forrest utters one of the most memorable lines ever (for me) when speaking with the nurse while sitting on the bench in Savannah, GA. He's talking to her about her shoes and how comfortable they look. He stops for a moment & ponders something his mother told him, about how you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, "...where they going, where they been." So I thought, maybe we could tell a lot about others if we just take the time to notice, to listen, to pay attention. To hear not only what they're saying, but what they are feeling and what they mean.

Here are some other lines from the movie that really stand out for me:

"I gotta find Bubba!" Even in the middle of a real mess, (or like the case when Forrest stated these words, the middle of a real nightmare) our family, our friends, those closest to us need our help regardless of what it might mean to us. Are we willing to run into the fire to find our friends?

"You still Lt. Dan." How profound. Regardless of what happens to you in your life, you are still who you are. Sure, we grow and experience events, but in the end, we're still "us".

"Her dream had come true. She was a folk singer." We all saw Jenny, naked up on the stage in a men's club and thought "how horrible that it's come to this". Yet, Forrest knew what her dream was (she had told him while in college) and from his perspective she had accomplished it. We so often think something negative about someones circumstances but from OUR PERSPECTIVE. Each person has there own perspective & view of life and we can truly never fully understand what that looks like --- only from our own point-of-view.

"...'cause you my girl." Forrest was fully devoted to Jenny, regardless of all she had done and all she had put herself through...for better or worse, he had never given up on her.

"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." I don't know if there's any better way to describe life other than this incredible statement.

Sure there are many, many more quotes from the movie I could go over but I'll leave it at this for now. Each time I watch the movie, something new seems to cause me to ponder...maybe for you too.

What a great movie. Thanks for allowing me to share.

What if your favorite Forrest Gump quote and why?

Until next time. “Your Success Is My Business.”™

[Note: photo from http://www.thing-a-day.com/]