Groundhog Day is my favorite movie because it highlights two of the most consistent themes I see in the most successful people and companies.
The evolution of the relationship with Phil, the protagonist, and Rita, the antagonist, bring these themes to light.
Phil Connors begins the movie as a negative, arrogant jerk. As the movie progresses, he grows to like Rita more and more. He falls in love with her, but quickly realizes that the feeling is not mutual. He learns everything about her and tries to impress her by learning everything from her favorite drinks and food to French poetry. Ultimately, his failures ruin him, leading to multiple suicides. He finally tells Rita the truth about him living the same day over and over again, and for the first time, Phil experiences a bit of success when it comes to winning Rita.
This is where the first theme begins to come to light.
Self-Education and Developing Skills
Phil Connors, quickly realizes that being stuck in Groundhog Day means he has an abundance of time to do whatever he wants. He begins to use this time to develop skills in a range of areas including learning how to: play the piano, fix a flat tire, ice sculpt, and even flick cards into a hat (hint: it’s more in the wrist than the fingers).
These skills lead to him to become so attractive that Rita takes a serious interest in him, and she wants him at that very second at the party. She ends up “buying” him in the auction for for every penny in her wallet ($339.88).
This is the same way successful people operate. Learning and developing skills makes you a more attractive candidate for jobs. Furthermore, if you learn enough, you can leverage your knowledge to open your own business.
One of the best parts is: Phil didn’t become this attractive candidate by formal education. He became this attractive candidate though self-education. Jim Rohn, the grandfather of personal development, once said:
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. -Jim Rohn
I’m not alone in thinking that self-education is one of the most important parts of being successful.
I was watching a webinar with Noah Kagan and Neville Medhora. Noah is the founder of AppSumo, which generated over $1m in revenue in the first year, and Neville is the founder of KopywritingKourse, which generates about $300k in sales per year. Anyway, during that webinar, Noah said something that stuck out to me:
The one commonality that I’ve seen from every successful person is that they read a book a month. -Noah Kagan
This idea of self-education comes up consistently, and it’s why I read so many books.
Helping People (Serving Your Audience)
As we learned in the movie, Rita would not date Phil only based on his skills and knowledge. No matter how many times he tried to win her over by acting like he has common interests, it always ended with Phil getting slapped in the face.
Having lots of knowledge is important, but knowing how to apply it is just as important. Though Phil has the advantage of knowing exactly when and where everything will happen in town, he still needs to know how to apply his knowledge.
On his final day in Groundhog Day, Phil begins by giving a speech as his morning news report that inspires and touches everyone around him. This marks his first breakthrough with Rita, which prompts her to ask him out for coffee.
He continues on his “errands” to save a child, replace a flat tire for a group of old ladies, save Buster, play the piano at the party, buy every type of insurance that exists, give wrestling tickets to the young couple, and much more is implied. Most of these people also thank Phil at the party in front of Rita, which further sparks her interest in Phil.
The skills Phil learned through self-education are just as important as the way he applied his knowledge. His knowledge applied towards helping other people is what ultimately wins Rita over to “buying” him in the auction for for every penny in her wallet.
This idea of helping other people, or “serving your audience,” is a way of thinking Pat Flynn attributes a lot of his success to. The reason he has the #1 business podcast is because he serves his audience remarkably well.
Life is Short
The day before his final day in Groundhog day, Phil experiences the death of the old man. No matter what Phil did, he could not control the fact that the old man was going to die.
This prompted Phil’s final transition from a selfish jerk to a selfless human.
This is the one thing that bonds every human together: life is limited. Take advantage of it while you still have it.
These two principles, self-education and helping people, are consistent themes I have recognized, and I strive to implement in my life as much as possible. I also encourage you to take advantage of them.
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