Quotes And Leadership Lessons From It’s A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

A Reel Leadership Article

As I typed out the title for the latest Reel Leadership article, I couldn’t help but want to sing the song It’s a Beautiful Day in This Neighborhood. The title of A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood brings back all sorts of memories.

Yet, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood won’t tell you the story you were expecting. At least it didn’t for me.

Mr. Rogers tossing his loafer from one hand to another

Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers

I was expecting this movie to be about Mr. Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), his life, and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. In A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, you get to see people from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. These include Mr. McFeely (Daniel Krell), president and CEO of The Fred Rogers Company Bill Isler (Enrico Colantoni), and producer Margy (Carmen Cusack). But these people aren’t the main focus.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Overcomer Movie

Overcomer is the latest film from the Kendrick brothers, Alex and Stephen. They produce movies under the company of Kendrick Brothers Productions. Since they’ve begun working on movies, the Kendrick brothers have released multiple films including War Room, Courageous, Fireproof, and Facing The Giants.

Their faith-based approach to movie making is astonishing. They began creating movies with their church, Sherwood Baptist Church because they discovered many people said a movie leaves a more lasting impact than a church sermon. This is also one of the reasons I created the Reel Leadership series. Passing on leadership lessons from movies because a movie is easier to remember than a seminar or leadership conference.

Cast members from Overcomer the movie

Overcomer tells the story of Coach John Harrison (Alex Kendrick) as his basketball program shuts down at Brookshire Christian School. He is then recruited by principal Olivia Brooks (Priscilla Shirer) to take over the cross country team.

Let It Go

Every person has been hurt at one point or another in their lives. Some people will hold onto these hurts longer than they should. I know… I was one of those people.

A young man holding his left shoulder in a black and white picture

Photo by Mitchell Hollander

Our past hurts will hurt us as long as we let them. They will fester and grow if we continue to feed them. And these hurts will cause us to hurt other people.

I’m not sure who said it but there’s a famous quote about hurt people. It goes:

Hurt people, hurt people.

Hurt People, Hurt People

This quote is true. Hurt people will hurt other people, either intentionally or unintentionally. The pain and bitterness one has from a past hurt will rise up and lash out at those you are near.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Unbroken: Path To Redemption

A Reel Leadership Article

In 2014, Angelina Jolie directed the amazing Unbroken movie. Unbroken told the fascinating story of Louis “Louie” Zamperini.

Louie was always in trouble. That’s when his older brother, Pete, steps in and takes him under his wing. Pete trains Louie to become an Olympic runner.

Cynthia and Louie marry Unbroken Pathway To Redemption movie

When World War 2 happened, Louie had to give up his dreams of becoming an Olympic champion. He had a war to fight. He left his friends and families to fight against the looming threat.

The unthinkable happened when his plane was downed over the ocean. Louie spent 47 days adrift in a raft. When he was rescued from the raft, he was put into a Japanese POW camp where he and other soldiers were tortured by the maniacal Watanabe ‘The Bird’.

Unbroken: Path To Redemption takes place after the horrors Louie experienced in Unbroken. Yet the horrors never left Louie. He brought them home and has to fight for his redemption.

Learning To Forgive As A Leader

Our lives are ripe with opportunities to take offense to the actions of others. Even more so, I believe, when you take on the mantle of leadership.

Opportunities For Offense As Leaders

Leading gives us many chances to become bitter. It’s true, especially when you begin to examine leadership and the intricacies involved with leading.

You’ll come across those who:

Want to take your position as a leader

Talk behind your back

Pass your over for promotion

Find opportunities to usurp your position

Try to turn others against you

If you’ve been a situation like these, you know there’s the whisper that’s telling you to hold onto the hurt you felt. It’s your right after all, right?

And that’s how offenses begin to take hold. That’s how offenses begin to hinder your ability to lead.