The winter doldrums might have set in, but we always will have the escape of the cinema, right? Here are some movies you can check out that will help light the fire under you in the office. The good news? Not all of them take place in a cube farm that might look all too familiar.
(Photo Credit: frankieleon/Flickr)
You know how long it takes to learn how to cook sushi rice? The answer isn’t “an afternoon.” This documentary about an octogenarian sushi chef in Japan who after a lifetime of cooking, is still searching for “perfection.” His “office” is a tiny restaurant tucked away in a subway station, and his clientele strive for one of the few spots available each night. What does it mean to devote yourself to a job so completely and yet feel you haven’t “made it” even when you’re seemingly so popular? Check it out on Netflix.
When you’re just a kid, you might think you have the world figured out, but life gets complicated pretty fast when your parents go out of town and you total your dad’s luxury car (among other adult things that happen). Yeah, this might not seem like the most mainstream of choices for this category, but it’s inspirational, just hear me out. This movie tells the tale of youthful inexperience but also ingenuity. How are you going to make money? What are you going to learn about how the world works when you’re pushed to the limit? The darker side of “supply and demand” can make you pretty rich, but also corrupt your soul.
Baseball! Brad Pitt! Statistics! When you need to feed the “but the numbers don’t support that hypothesis” part of your office, this is a great morale booster. Telling the story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s teambuilding through statistics, this is a pretty feel-good flick with a nerdy, nerdy center. It’ll be a soothing salve for when you feel like nobody is listening to your innovative ideas at work.
Demi Moore goes from badass to buzz-cut badass in this rather over-the-top (but still vastly entertaining) movie about a woman trying to be the first to integrate the Navy SEAL/C.R.T. selection program. This is another great movie when you’re feeling downtrodden at work. Think about Demi hurtling over obstacles and jumping out of helicopters. Her office is a sandy beach surrounded by burly companions who at the same time are hostile/scared and in the end respectful of her feats. It’s a great movie to motivate you to take on something new and scary at work (or even if you just need some motivation to get to the gym before that morning meeting).
This is the standby when you are getting driven crazy by a job or a boss or a job with a crazy boss. Whether you want to take a bat to that stupid printer, or just get someone to give you a task that fulfills your spirit a little better than fixing lines of code. The ultimate lesson from this movie isn’t that it’s a good idea to embezzle money or burn the whole place down (though some days you might be tempted), but that you have to find the right job for your personality. Don’t be afraid to take a big job leap and change careers, to save your sanity (and your stapler).
One last thought: Want something short and sweet? Check out one of these three short documentaries that can also inspire you (in less time).
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