Movies are an integral part of our culture. They shape and reflect the values and ideas we as a society aim to be, are, or were. They also help to influence our society as a whole, to both inform and inspire us.
That being said, here are coaching lessons from our favorite movies, to inspire and help you grow!
Rapunzel
With big locks of radiating hair, looming and spinning from her castle, Rapunzel is an iconic Disney princess in her own right. I’m sure we’ve all seen the recent Disney movie Tangled and if not here is a summary; a beautiful princess, named Rapunzel, has been kidnapped/adopted by an old lady, Mother Gothel, and lives in a castle for the majority of her life. Her long blonde hair has the power for eternal youth which Gothel exploits to keep her as young as possible. Around her 18th birthday, Rapunzel becomes curious about the world outside and tries to escape her castle with the help of her pet Pascal and a convict.
Tangled teaches us to follow our dreams, be kind to all around us and most importantly get out of our comfort zone!
Even with being gaslighted and blindsided by Mother Gothel of the world outside of hers, Rapunzel took a leap of faith and was willing to explore uncharted territories of the realm outside her castle. Rapunzel teaches us bravery via coming outside her comfort zone and jumping to go on new adventures! This also can be applied to those trying coaching for the first time or changing career trajectories.
Don’t limit your future because of your fear! Instead, challenge that fear and go head-on! You might even pick up a new skill or two and also grow more.
Hercules
Despite becoming a hero on a surface level, saving people, growing muscles, and getting ladies, Hercules still couldn’t claim his status as a god until he grew mentally by working on his goals and doing things in which he finds purpose! With the help of his coaches Phil and Pegasus, he trained and managed to grow from a boy to a man.
Hercules shows us with hard work and the right goals, we too can go from zero to hero!
Ratatouille
My personal favorite! From the Pantheons in Greece to the streets of Paris, we now talk about a little mouse that cooks in a 5-star restaurant.
The movie Ratatouille streams in a lot of coaching lessons; try new things that may not work, follow the recipe but always try new tweaks, and last but not least anyone can cook! The last one has the most impact given both in the movie and in the real world. In the movie our quirky little protagonist, Remy, a small town country rat, develops a passion -or rather love for cooking food! Ironic isn’t it?
However, despite Remy’s passion, his community and society pressured him to not pick up an unorthodox career choice, as he is but a tiny rat.
Staying true to his passion, Remy runs away and cooks in one of the most esteemed restaurants in all of Paris. We're not advocating for running away, there are better ways to follow your passion :)
The movie ends with Remy finally being able to open his dream restaurant 🥳
So what does Remy teach us? Anyone can cook.
If cooking's not your thing, the opportunities are endless. This lesson can be applied to almost every single human being! Anyone can cook, anyone can start a company, anyone can go to the moon.
Ratatouille helps us learn that anyone can do anything as long as they have the motivation and the will to try.
Did we miss any? If the answer to the question is yes, comment below your favorite coaching lesson that you learned from a movie character!