“In my life I’ve failed as much as I’ve succeeded…But I love my wife, I love my wife. Here’s wishing you my kind of happiness”-Jerry Macguire
I was recently re-watching one of my favorite movies-Jerry Macguire. I LOVE the movie, the inspirational quotes by his mentor, the victorious happy ending. All of it. As I am prone to do, I looked up the real-life inspiration the character of Jerry was based on.
What was interesting was that in real life the character seemed to be on the recipient end of many of the previous struggles he faced. A man left HIS company, taking about 50 clients to start a company called ‘Athletes first’. He went through a bankruptcy and struggled with alcoholism-all since the movie came out.
This may seem like a sad story. What a bummer, Jerry doesn’t ‘win’ in the end! But that’s just it, our lives are more than just one story. We often want to see our lives as one perfect narrative. One glorious rainbow of struggle…to victory… to happily-ever-after. Life is so much deeper than this. So much more nuanced. A richer tapestry of experiences, dreams and, sometimes even obstacles.
We are more than a single storyline. We are complicated. The points in our story connect, but they often provide lessons that require conflict to learn.
*Photo Credit Eric Rolph
The real Jerry Macguire is now several years sober and is focused on reinventing his life again for the better. Sometimes the inspiration is found in the stories that don’t end wrapped neatly in a bow. The inspiration can be found in the struggle, the lessons, in the failures that make us who we were meant to be. They are the pot of gold just on the other side of the rainbow.
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