Oscar Tutorial: The Top 10 Lessons You Can Learn From Previous Winners and 2012 Nominees

Los Angeles, CA – That statuesque golden boy has been wooing audiences since 1929. He only goes home with the best. His nod of approval is not only coveted, it’s celebrated with sparkling dresses and tuxes.

But the Oscar winners have more to share than entertainment or even a night of watching the red carpet. Marley Majcher, founder of the nationally acclaimed event planning and catering company The Party Goddess! and author of But Are You Making Any Money?, says the Oscars are a wealth of business and life lessons ripe for the plucking.

“Hold on to your top hat. Even if you’ve already watched these Oscar favorites, you haven’t seen anything yet,” says Majcher, who is sharing her top 10 business and life lessons from previous Oscar winners and this year’s Oscar hopefuls.

1. Jerry Maguire

Five Nominations. One Win.

So cataclysmic was Jerry’s decision to chuck it all and start his own company that his name is now part of the business language lexicon. It’s called the “Jerry Maguire Moment”, the instant when you stop following your bank account and start following your heart.

“Make the decision to choose integrity like Jerry,” says Majcher, “and then, should the opportunity arise, go change the world starting with your own.”

2. Working Girl

Six Nominations. One Win.

Tess McGill had big hair and big dreams. The hair got shorter. The dreams only grew. How? She had a very chic, very streamlined idea: Dress the part you want, act the part you want – not the part you have. Then go after it. Spoiler alert: It works!

3. Rocky

Ten nominations. Three Wins.

A good cardio workout is one lesson of this timeless 1976 champion tale. Another is never backing down from fighting for what you want. That means even going against impossible odds, doubters, pessimists and obstacles.

“Rocky taught us all how to fight. Not just with our fists, but with our fervor,” says Majcher. “In life or business, we all have at least one passionate fight in us.”

4. It Happened One Night

Five Nominations. Five Wins.

This romantic classic taught us there is more than one way to hitchhike. It also taught us priorities. In the awkward yet intimate relationship between spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews and hungry reporter Clark Gable, we learn that happiness is not synonymous with money or fame. Both, eventually, gave up what they perceived they wanted for what they truly desired. Risking it all – either in business or life – might be everything it takes.

5. Forrest Gump

Thirteen Nominations. Six Wins.

From fighting a war to running across country, it seemed Forrest Gump was a constantly shifting body of motion. But what made him a success at every turn was actually his focus. During a pivotal point in Forrest’s life, a soldier gave him a bit of advice about ping pong, “Now the secret to this game is, no matter what happens, never, never take your eye off the ball.” It turns out, that’s the secret to life, too.

6.  The King’s Speech

Twelve Nominations. Four Wins.

He stammered. King George VI, known by his family as “Berty”, had one main duty to perform as King: to speak for his people. Problem was, he couldn’t. The one thing he had to accomplish he – at least believed – was impossible. Lionel Logue, however, showed Berty that his limitations were only perceived.

“We all face impossible tasks in our business – reaching a certain income, increasing our production, streamlining our processes, being that success we all dream about,” says Majcher. “But Berty showed us something monumental, that the impossible rarely is impossible. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No.”

2012 Best Picture Nominee

The Oakland A’s didn’t stand a chance. Too poor. Too underrated. Too…other bad things. So General Manager Billy Beane, with the assistance of computer analyst Peter Brand, rewrote the playbook. If they stood no chance of winning playing by the accepted formula, then they had to rewrite the formula. It meant looking at the problem from a different angle and being creative with their resources. No more following the beaten path. They beat out a path for themselves. And the result…speaks for itself.

2012 Best Picture Nominee

They cooked and cleaned and raised children. Thankless jobs. And yet maids Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson gave it everything they had. The children loved them, the homes were spotless, and the fried chicken was never burned.

“What you are doing matters less than how you do it,” says Majcher. “You may not yet be living your dream. But wherever you are, whatever you are doing, give it everything you’ve got. It’s not only the recipe for happiness, it’s the path to success.”

Eight Nominations. Two Wins

Batman had a choice: save himself, save his city. When Bruce Wayne asked his long-trusted butler what to do, Alfred had something to say, “Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They’ll hate you for it, but that’s the point of Batman, he can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.” In business, you are confronted with many choices. Usually two, just like Batman. Right will rarely be easy. But it will always be right.

10. The Sound of Music

Ten Nominations. Five Wins.

The Sound of Music taught us to think about our favorite things, that doe is a female deer, to never sit in a chair without checking it for acorns first, and that standing on your principles will take unbounded courage. And maybe good hiking shoes.

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