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25 Inspirational Movies
You know the movies. The ones that make your heart grow ten times bigger, or the ones that give you the strength of ten warriors on your side.
These are the movies that inspire us.
They make the blood rush through our veins. They make our soul sing. They make us want to get up and give our best … until there’s nothing more to give … and then give some more. They move us.
They make us laugh, they make us cry, they make us think. But mostly, they remind us why we are alive and what’s worth living for. They remind us that every day, is another day, to get up, venture into the world, and make a difference. Our difference. Whether that difference is to conquer a personal demon, or to make a difference in somebody’s life, or to make the world a better place. It’s our story that we write each day.
Everybody, every day, has their own adventures, and their own unfolding story, but we’re all in this together. And that’s why we identify with the movies that inspire us — to make the most of what we’ve got … to live more, learn more, laugh more, and love more … and, above all, to keep our spirit strong, and to go the distance.
Here are 25 motivational movies that inspire us to go the distance, and make the most of the journey of life along the way …
1. 300
No retreat, no surrender.
Inspirational movie quote:
“Children, gather round! No retreat, no surrender; that is Spartan law. And by Spartan law we will stand and fight… and die. A new age has begun. An age of freedom, and all will know, that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it!” – King Leonidas (Gerard Butler)
2. Braveheart
If it’s worth it, fight for it.
Inspirational movie quote:
“Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live… at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take… OUR FREEDOM!” – William Wallace
Watch ta clip – Braveheart in Defiance of the English Tyranny
3. Coach Carter
The power to shine is in every one of us.
Inspirational movie quote:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Timo Cruz (Rick Gonzalez)
4. Dead Poet Society
Carpe Diem — seize the day!
Inspirational movie quote:
“They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? – - Carpe – - hear it? – - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.” – John Keating
Watch a clip – Dead Poet’s Society – Carpe Diem
5. Don Juan DeMarco
Love conquers all.
Inspirational movie quote:
"There are only four questions of value in life, Don Octavio. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same – only love." — Don Juan DeMarco (Johnny Depp)
6. Freedom Writers
No excuses!
Inspirational movie quote:
“I don’t want excuses. I know what you’re up against. We’re all of us up against something. So you better make up your mind, because until you have the balls to look me straight in the eye and tell me this is all you deserve, I am not letting you fail. Even if that means coming to your house every night until you finish the work. I see who you are. Do you understand me? I can see you. And you are not failing.” – Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank)
7. Good Will Hunting
Love something more than yourself.
Inspirational movie quote:
“They don’t know about real loss, because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself.” – Sean (Robin Williams)
Watch a clip – Good Will Hunting – They don’t know about real loss.
8. Hitch
Find the things that take your breath away.
Inspirational movie quote:
“Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it’s the moments that take your breath away.” – Hitch (Will Smith)
9. Into the Wild
Find the beauty in all things.
Inspirational movie quote:
“I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God’s place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.” – Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch)
10. Lord of the Rings
Step up to the plate and write your story forward.
Inspirational movie quote:
“So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.” — Gandalf (Ian McKellen)
11. Marley and Me
Do you make people feel rare, pure, and extraordinary?
Inspirational movie quote:
"It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. Sometimes it takes a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see. Ask yourself, how many people in the world can truly make you feel rare, pure, and extraordinary?" –John Grogan (Owen Wilson)
12. Million Dollar Baby
Be relentless.
Inspirational movie quote:
“To make a fighter you gotta strip them down to bare wood: you can’t just tell ‘em to forget everything you know if you gotta make ‘em forget even their bones… make ‘em so tired they only listen to you, only hear your voice, only do what you say and nothing else… show ‘em how to keep their balance and take it away from the other guy… how to generate momentum off their right toe and how to flex your knees when you fire a jab… how to fight backin’ up so that the other guy doesn’t want to come after you. Then you gotta show ‘em all over again. Over and over and over… till they think they’re born that way.” – Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris (Morgan Freeman)
13. Mulan
Be YOUR best, despite the odds.
Inspirational movie quote:
"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all." — The Emperor (Pat Morita)
14. Peaceful Warrior
Love what you do.
Inspirational movie quote:
“The warrior does not give up what he loves, Dan. He finds the love in what he does.” – Socrates (Nick Nolte)
“The accident is your training. Life is choice. You can choose to be a victim or anything else you’d like to be.” — Socrates (Nick Nolte)
Watch a clip – Peaceful Warrior – The warrior does not give up.
15. Rocky
Go the distance!
Inspirational movie quote:
“Ah come on, Adrian, it’s true. I was nobody. But that don’t matter either, you know? ‘Cause I was thinkin’, it really don’t matter if I lose this fight. It really don’t matter if this guy opens my head, either. ‘Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody’s ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I’m still standin’, I’m gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren’t just another bum from the neighborhood.” – Rocky (Sylvester Stallone)
Watch the clip – Rocky – Training and going the distance.
16. Rocky Balboa (Rocky 6)
Keep bouncing back, keep moving forward.
Inspirational movie quote:
“Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning’s done.” – Rock Balboa (Sylvester Stallone)
Watch the scene – Rocky Balboa – It Ain’t About How Hard You Hit.
17. Rudy
Every underdog has his day. Prove it to yourself, nobody else.
Inspirational movie quote:
“In this life time, you don’t have to prove nothing to nobody, except yourself. And after what you’ve gone through, if you haven’t done that by now, it ain’t gonna never happen.” – Fortune (Charles S. Dutton)
Watch the Clip – Rudy – Rudy and the Janitor.
Watch the Clip – Rudy – Rudy succeeds with sack.
18. Runaway Bride
It’s not gonna be easy, but it’s gonna be worth it.
Inspirational movie quote:
"Look, I guarantee there’ll be tough times. I guarantee that at some point, one or both of us is gonna want to get out of this thing. But I also guarantee that if I don’t ask you to be mine, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, because I know, in my heart, you’re the only one for me. " — Ike Graham (Richard Gere)
19. Stand and Deliver
Want it and work for it.
Inspirational movie quote:
“There will be no free rides, no excuses. You already have two strikes against you: your name and your complexion. Because of these two strikes, there are some people in this world who will assume that you know less than you do. Math is the great equalizer… When you go for a job, the person giving you that job will not want to hear your problems; ergo, neither do I. You’re going to work harder here than you’ve ever worked anywhere else. And the only thing I ask from you is ganas. ‘Desire’.” — Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos)
20. The Bucket List
Find the joy and make it contagious.
Inspirational movie quote:
“You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven, the guards asked two questions. Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not. ‘Have you found joy in your life?’ ‘Has your life brought joy to others?’” — Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman)
Watch the clip – The Bucket List – Two Questions.
21. The Empire Strikes Back
Just do it.
Inspirational movie quote:
“Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’.” — Yoda
22. The Mighty Ducks
Stick together, win together.
Inspirational movie quote:
“Neither do hockey players. Have you guys ever seen a flock of ducks flying in perfect formation? It’s beautiful. Pretty awesome the way they all stick together. Ducks never say die. Ever seen a duck fight? No way. Why? Because the other animals are afraid. They know that if they mess with one duck, they gotta deal with the whole flock. I’m proud to be a Duck, and I’d be proud to fly with any one of you. So how about it? Who’s a Duck?” – Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez)
Watch the clip – Ducks fly Together.
23. The Notebook
Awaken your soul and reach for more.
Inspirational movie quote:
“My Dearest Allie. I couldn’t sleep last night because I know that it’s over between us. I’m not bitter anymore, because I know that what we had was real. And if in some distant place in the future we see each other in our new lives, I’ll smile at you with joy and remember how we spent the summer beneath the trees, learning from each other and growing in love. The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds, and that’s what you’ve given me. That’s what I hope to give to you forever. I love you. I’ll be seeing you.” — Young Noah (Ryan Gosling)
24. The Pursuit of Happyness
Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do something.
Inspirational movie quote:
“Don’t ever let somebody tell you… You can’t do something. Not even me. All right? … You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period." – Christopher Gardner (Will Smith)
Watch the clip – The Pursuit of Happyness – You want something. Go get it. Period.
25. Vision Quest
It’s the moments that matter.
Inspirational movie quote:
“I was in the room here one day… watchin’ the Mexican channel on TV. I don’t know nothin’ about Pele. I’m watchin’ what this guy can do with a ball and his feet. Next thing I know, he jumps in the air and flips into a somersault and kicks the ball in – upside down and backwards… the ... goalie never knew what ...It ain’t the six minutes… it’s what happens in that six minutes.” – Elmo (J.C. Quinn)
What are the movies you draw from for insight and inspiration when you need it most?
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