10 Movies You Should Watch Before You Die

These are the 10 movies that had an incredibly deep impact on my mindset.

Whether it is discipline, habit formation or 'success' that you chase in life, I strongly believe that MOTIVATION will be your base requirement.

These are the movies that fuelled my own personal growth. 

The ones that contributed to building a positive, motivated mind.

1. Forrest Gump

- Tom Hanks in and as Forrest Gump.

- He's considered 'dumb', he's considered to have 'low potential'.

- He becomes a war hero, a multi millionaire and then a source of inspiration for his country.

- The greatest 'feel good' movie ever made. It contains the greatest lesson of all time :

Be good & work hard. Success will come chasing you.

2. Lakshya

- Hrithik Roshan's best on screen performance. Bollywood's most impactful movie of all time.

- Find me an Indian man who doesn't find this movie inspiring.

- The journey of a young man from lazy & aimless to focussed & fiery. So many 'fire inducing' moments in this one.

- From failures, heartbreaks and insults to becoming a war hero... This is the fictional but powerful tale of Karan Shergill.

- Cannot believe that this movie didn't perform well at the box office. Even today, it's a movie I turn to in difficult times. Be it heartbreak or a lack of motivation... I know Lakshya will help me rise.

3. Invictus

- Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela. Matt Damon plays the South African rugby team captain.

- Intense lessons of leadership and self-motivation in this one.

- It's based on the true story of how Nelson Mandela unified an angsty & broken nation through the medium of sport.

- Some of the best dialogues I've come across in any movie.

4. Batman Begins

- The best superhero movie ever made. Also, legendary film director Christopher Nolan's greatest movie in my opinion.

- Today's superhero movies don't come close to this filmmaking master class. Goosebumps every time I think of this film. Dialogues, characters, camera work. Everything is like a song composed by inspirational angels. The story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman.

5. Jobs

- Ashton Kutcher plays every entrepreneur's idol Steve Jobs.

- Fantastic insight into the mind of a genius.

- Will force you to re-evaluate your approach towards your career. If your career hasn't begun yet, this movie will show you what it takes to break away from the crowd and become 'legendary'.

6. Rocky

- Sylvester Stallone stars as one of the most legendary film characters of all time : Boxer Rocky Balboa

- Lots of cliched dialogues, lots of motivational-video-style film making. But the movie is made with SO much genuinity, that you will WANT to get fitter, stronger and mentally tougher after you watch this.

- You will want your kids to watch this one early in life.

7. Hitch

- The greatest motivation behind starting BeerBiceps

- Will Smith plays Alex Hitchens. A man who was once considered a 'heartbroken loser' now trains other men in the art of confidence.

- Also the best romantic comedy I've watched in my life. The movie will leave you feeling CONFIDENT.

8. Bruce Almighty

- Jim Carrey's character encounters God (Morgan Freeman) and gets to be God for a week.

- One of the funniest, most thought provoking films you'll watch.

- Watched this as a 10 year old. It was the reason I developed an extremely strong sense of faith in God. High impact film. 

9. Swades

- The biggest reason I chose to stay back in India after college. From a modern day context, I feel this is the most patriotic movie ever made.

- Shah Rukh Khan plays a Nasa engineer who returns to India.

- Fired up by the struggles that he witnesses here, he begins taking action. He begins fixing the wrongs and shortcomings that he witnesses in rural India.

- The movie subtly talks about 'brain drain'. 

'Brain drain' is a phenomenon where a country's intellectual talent is exported to another country. In this case, India to America. This movie will get you motivated about doing something for your nation.

10. Pursuit of Happyness

- In order to achieve ANY form of success, you're going to have to follow a few standard rules that ANY 'success chaser' will have to follow.

- Will Smith portrays Chris Gardner, legendary stock broker and motivational speaker. It's a rags to riches story that shows the true nature of STRUGGLE & HUSTLE.

- It is difficult to watch in some parts. But this is one of the most POSITIVELY difficult movies to watch.

- When you're fighting your own battles in life, Chris Gardner's lessons will keep you motivated.

Article cover art credit: Forrest Gump (1994)