My friend Paul sent an email with some information about the movie, “The Help.”
Have you seen it? It’s the movie that so far has earned $154.4 million at the box office. I’m no economist, but I understand that $154 million is a pretty good sum of money. I just checked my last paycheck stub and I fell a little shy of that amount.
I’m not a movie guy so I haven’t seen the movie. The last movie I saw in a theatre was “The A-Team” last summer. Probably not a movie critic’s film choice, however, when it comes to “The Help” I’ve had friend after friend tell me how great the story and acting were in the hit film.
But did you know the screenplay is based on book rejected 60 times?
The author, Kathryn Stockett wrote, “In the end, I received 60 rejections for ‘The Help.’ But letter number 61 was the one that accepted me. After my five years of writing and three and a half years of rejection, an agent named Susan Ramer took pity on me. What if I had given up at 15? Or 40? Or even 60?”
“Three weeks later, Susan sold “The Help” to Amy Einhorn Books.”
The story behind the story has just as much power to inspire as the novel and screenplay.
Each of us has a story behind the story. I’ve yet to meet a happy couple that didn’t have struggle at some point in their relationship. I’ve yet to meet a champion that did not have early mornings, vomiting, aches, pains, sprains on top of all the blood, sweat and tears. I’ve yet to meet a person of success without failures.
Stockett’s story has an obvious lesson of perseverance. But we also see a great reminder and challenge to seek the story behind the story.
Inspiration never arrives alone. There is always tension, struggle or a season of suffering that turns a simple fable into a grand inspiration. Assembling mere details into a story can be effective, but exporting emotion and action awakens hearts and minds to the unthinkable.
Look deeper. Ask questions. Listen closely to the person talking. The story you hear at work, over coffee or on a phone call may be a story that lies behind the story providing you with inspiration you need yourself to persevere.
Again, inspiration never arrives alone. The way you inspire others may be the result of being inspired. Slow down. Take a moment to discover the story behind the story.
- What is a “story behind the story” you find inspiring?
- Who is someone you have seen persevere circumstances to accomplish something greater than their circumstances?
I saw the movie…it was great…but VERY hard to watch! I cried most of the movie just because I couldn’t believe that a few short years ago this would’ve been acceptable behavior. Heart wrenching to see people treated so badly. When I first read this post, my first thought was a song…naturally as I love music…http://youtu.be/wCsFT0v-0Z8…so thankful I did not live in that time.
I agree with Brian’s comment. We are all naturally drawn to stories that we can relate to. Knowing that others have gone through the same things that I am going through and SURVIVED them gives me hope and keeps me pressing on!
Thanks for sharing this post, Bro!
Thanks for stopping by Eric. Who are some of your inspirations?
I think we are naturally drawn to these kinds of stories for inspiration because we all struggle at times. To hear about someone else’s journey of failing but still “succeeding” is always good motivation to continue to pursue our dreams and goals. Going back to your post on mentors, the stories of inspiration from mentors and that mentor’s journey always makes for great motivation.
Thank you for the post.
Thanks, Brian. It’s amazing how much we all influence each other. Maybe we need to see hard times from the perspective of potential influence to find strength.