Yesterday, I saw Will Smith’s new movie — “Pursuit of Happyness.” It wasn’t quite as uplifting as I thought it would be, however, it was a powerful film overall. Smith played his part to near perfection. Taking place in San Francisco in the early 1980’s, the main plot was a father and his son struggling to make ends meet, including sleeping in shelters, a public restroom, and numerous hotels in tough times.

The title of this post is a great takeaway from a very sad and moving film. About halfway through the film, Will Smith, whose character was not successful at basketball himself, told his son that basketball wouldn’t be what he succeeded at. His 5-year old son took offense and seemed to want to quit basketball, throwing his basketball against the fence. Will Smith realized the impact his words had on his son’s basketball dreams and told him to not let someone ever tell him he can’t do something, going on to say “If you want something, go get it. Period.” Watch the clip below:


I often get tired of hearing people complain about reasons why they can’t do something. In my mind, nothing can prevent you from reaching your dreams except yourself. If you truly desire something, go get it.