Four Movies Every Entrepreneur Should Watch

BRIAN HAMILTON

As I look back on my entrepreneurial life, I find it interesting to think about the information that has influenced my entrepreneurial framework. I’ve found that much of my knowledge about entrepreneurship has been formed by books that I have read over the years. However, upon some reflection, it occurs to me that certain films have also made a significant impression on me, directly impacting and shaping my business philosophy.

The following four films fall into this category, and I believe that all entrepreneurs can find something of value to take from them:

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1. Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview

One movie that first comes to mind as a good reference point for entrepreneurs is The Lost Interview of Steve Jobs. It’s a particularly helpful documentary for people who are interested in starting a technology company, but there are also valuable lessons here for all entrepreneurs. The beauty of the documentary is in its simplicity. In fact, it’s a stretch to even call it a documentary; it’s better described as a largely unedited, hour-and-a-half conversation with Steve Jobs.

I realize in advance that Steve Jobs tends to be a controversial figure, to the point that even mentioning his name provokes strong reactions. However, I would like to strip away popular impressions of the man from the quality of what he has to say in this interview. In the film, Jobs talks very candidly, through a blend of personal anecdote and philosophy, about the core things necessary to start and run a successful company. One of the things that strikes me is his ability to focus on product quality and content as the single most important ingredients in a company’s success. While this seems obvious, he has an unusual ability to explain it clearly and in a manner that resonates. The interview also serves as a fascinating character study, having been conducted shortly after Apple fired him as CEO back in the 90's. He speaks with remarkable candor in the film, making for a highly watchable and engaging documentary.

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2. Tucker: The Man and His Dream

Another film that I’d recommend to entrepreneurs is Tucker, which stars Jeff Bridges as Preston Tucker, a car-manufacturing entrepreneur from the 40s. The movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is less than a documentary but more than a typical Hollywood script. I first saw this film in the late 80s, when I was starting my first “big boy” company, and it gave me a glimpse at the zeal and energy that true entrepreneurs possess. Tucker’s enthusiasm is electric and contagious in the film. On the flip side, the story also graphically, and somewhat depressingly depicts the struggles that Tucker faced in trying to compete with the auto giants in Detroit. In a way, it can give the quintessential big-picture optic of what it’s like to dream and start a company, spanning across the full spectrum of emotions involved.

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3. Startup.Com

Startup.com is a documentary about govWorks, a failed startup company from the dotcom-bubble era. The filmmakers were granted an astonishing level of access to the company and its leadership, providing a fly-on-the-wall perspective of a company’s meteoric rise and abrupt fall.

The film can, in many ways, be considered a companion to Paul Hawken’s Growing a Business. While Hawken provides a roadmap for running a business successfully, Startup.com is a one-stop shop in how not to start and run a business. The film portrays the company’s leadership as more concerned with fluff than substance, the antithesis of the Steve Jobs portrayed in The Lost Interview. We see the founders raising huge sums of money and hobnobbing with Bill Clinton, while, right under their noses, the company’s infrastructure and product quality is collapsing. Any experienced entrepreneur will totally empathize with the stupidity of the entrepreneurs (since we all have made similar mistakes), but somehow the mistakes are grandiose and larger-than-life in scope. There’s something in this film for every kind of entrepreneur. For seasoned business owners it may provoke a sense of self-reflection and humility, and budding entrepreneurs can learn from the mistakes made by the film’s protagonists.

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4. Man on Wire

The last film that I recommend is, on a superficial level, totally unrelated to entrepreneurship. Man on Wire tells the story of Philippe Petit, a career tight-rope walker who wants to apply his trade on an extraordinary scale: walking from one of the World Trade Center’s towers to the other on a wire. The story involves the intricate plans among the conspirators to achieve this highly illegal and unsanctioned feat in the early 70's. To any reasonable person, there’s no logical end point to Petit’s entire project. Even when he attempts to describe the motivation behind walking between the two towers, it sounds highly whimsical. He does it, simply, because he wants to. This deeply resonated with me as a business owner, because, in a way, starting a business takes a similar mindset. As an entrepreneur, you have a song you want to sing, and you simply have to sing it, even if it makes no sense to anyone else. It’s comforting to know that there are others out there who share this kind of instinct.

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Five Yoga and Breathing Tips to Conquer Anger Issues

1. Savasana, or Corpse Pose, is one of the most relaxing positions and is valued for its ability to calm the entire body and mind. To get into Savasana, lay on your back with arms relaxed at your sides and palms facing up. Allow your feet to fall open comfortably and let your breath return to it’s natural rhythmic state. Focus only on the sound of your own breathing until you feel complete relaxation.

2. Child’s Pose is great for strengthening the mind-body connection and for keeping us in-touch with how we’re feeling. Child’s Pose is another position designed specifically to calm the muscles and mind, and it built for relaxation. To get into Child’s Pose, begin by kneeling on all fours. Push back and bring your arms around to the sides of your body with head resting on the ground. To stretch your shoulders reach your arms out in front of you for an extended Child’s Pose.
3. Nose breathing, one of the lasting traditional aspects of yoga, is an anger-coping mechanism that can be used anywhere. One of the best nose breathing exercises is the Three-Part Breath. The Three-Part Breath, also known as the Complete Breath, is the simplest and most rewarding of all yogic breathing exercises. It is both purifying and energizing and, if done slowly and evenly, can produce a sense of serenity and balance. The Three-Part Breath is done by sitting tall and inhaling, bringing your breath deep into your abdomen (try placing a hand on diaphragm or abdomen to make sure you’re breathing deeply enough), then into your rib cage, and finally into your chest and throat. Exhale completely and let negative thoughts and emotions go. Try to make the length of time you take to the inhale the same as when you exhale to achieve the full effect of this exercise.
4. Relaxation Breath is a slow-paced technique used to induce a state of deep relaxation and centeredness. It’s another simple exercise that can be utilized for stress and anger in daily life as it can help reverse the physiological effects of stress, including lowering the heart rate and decreasing blood pressure. To practice Relaxation Breath, lie comfortably on your back and relax your body from any tensity. Place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on the upper part of your abdomen. Breathe so only your left hand rises during the inhale and falls during the exhale. Your right hand should remain virtually motionless. Make sure to give an equal amount of time to the inhale and exhale.
5. If you’re someone who can’t sit still with your anger, or if breathing exercises haven’t worked for you in the past, try something more intense! You can do a series of poses to quickly push away anger and reap the hormonal benefits of exercise. A great three-part series of poses is Half Sun Salutation to Plank Pose, to a more relaxed pose like Savasana or Child’s Pose. To begin with the Half Sun Salutation, stand straight up, with feet together and hands folded in front of your chest (as if you were praying). While inhaling, sweep arms up and focus on your fingertips, making sure to keep waist pushed outward. Exhale deeply, bring palms down to the floor into a forward fold position while being careful to keep head tucked. Next, inhale deeply while bringing the body into a an upward forward fold, finally, bring arms back above head, allowing hands to meet, you can repeat this pose as needed. A great pose to follow the Half Sun Salutation is Plank Pose. Plank Pose is achieved by basically holding a push-up position. Start with hands parallel and shoulder width apart, making sure legs are straight, push up with your arms and core, making sure to engage your gluts, hold this pose for as long as you can. You’ll then want to round out your practice with a relaxation pose, like Child’s Pose.

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