Everyone has a Forrest Gump story

 Let me tell you the story of Forrest Gump. It is one of my favorite films and you should definitely go watch it if you haven't already. 

The film tells the story of mid-late 20th century American history through Forrest Gump - a kid from Alabama with an IQ of 75.

By the end of the film, Forrest has been a part of many of the most defining moments of 20th Century American History.

Forrest has met president John F Kennedy after winning a national championship with his football team, he witnessed the watergate scandal after being recommended to stay there by president Nixon himself, he received the congressional medal of honor for being a war hero in Vietnam, became a national ping pong champion, taught Elvis how to swivel his hip, became a billionaire from starting a shrimp business, and gathered thousands, if not millions of fans from his famous three year run.

It seems crazy to think that Forrest has done all this in his lifetime. 

What's crazier is how he seems to stumble into these opportunities without even knowing it.

As a child, Forrest often needed to run away from his bullies. Running became his favorite thing to do, which made him a huge asset to his high school rugby team and landed him a full ride scholarship for college. 

Forrest enlisted for the army after graduating from college. He was sent to fight in the Vietnam war and was ambushed by enemy soldiers. Forrest's love of running once again came into use, saving several of his comrades by running them into safety. He was awarded the medal of honor for his contributions. 

It doesn't stop there.

While he was running, he got shot in the "buttocks", and therefore was admitted to a military hospital. Here, Forrest picked up playing ping pong to kill time. He got so good that he represented the US in a tournament in China, and would go on to win the championship. 

During Forrest's time in the military, Forrest also met his best friend Bubba. They talked of starting a shrimping business when the war ended. Forrest did just that, was wildly successful with that business and became a billionaire.

What's crazy to me is how seemingly random many of these events are, and how many times Forrest benefited from what seemed like setbacks. 

Being bullied as a child was the catalyst that allowed Forrest to get a scholarship to college, and being ambushed in Vietnam allowed Forrest to become a war hero, national champion and billionaire. 

Steve Jobs once said:

“You can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards...You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever - because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path.”

I'd like to think all our lives are bound to have stories like Forrest Gump, where one decision, one moment, one event, something beyond our control or something seemingly random and insignificant affects our lives in a profound way. 

Like Forrest's mom said: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

Something to think about:

Looking back, what is something random that you did that greatly helped you in your life?

Thank you for tuning in this week!

Love,

David He