If you're a woman (or man for that matter) in business for yourself, or scrap that, a human on a mission to achieve and improve, then you've got to go and watch Joy at the cinema.
Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence together were always going to justify two hours of viewing, but I didn't expect to be moved to the point I spent much of the movie sobbing silently in recognition of the journey Joy business idea took her on from concept to market.
Perhaps it was PMT that made my chest tight as we saw Joy put everything on the line in pursuit of the idea which had the potential to lift her out of hardship and catapult her into a world where her creativity was justified. It may have been my resonance with the scenes which saw her pitch, vulnerably to corporate teams who held her future and her heart, in that moment, in their nonchalant hands.
What really struck me in my stomach about Joy, was Lawrence' honest portrayal of a woman whose very essence was at stake. I watched and recalled the high of striding block after block in New York, yellow taxis all full as the rain pelted down. The wind rendering my umbrella useless and my five-month pregnant bump adding weight yet impetus, to the meaning of every damn step. My destination was the Javitts conference centre where the New York Stationary Show was being held, and not for the first time, my goal though on the surface, was to get my product sold, digging deeper my need to arrive was far more critical. As God knows it had taken a lot just to get there.
For many of us, at micro and small business stage, taking an idea from thought to realisation is so much more than just business. It's the opportunity to live and provide through an extension of ourselves, do what we truly believe in and occupy an energetic space that 9-5ers will rarely venture. We are invested spiritually in our idea and in ourselves, and that's a currency way more powerful than the pound note.
As kids we create fearlessly, and being the master of our entrepreneurial destiny allows us to return to that time where we made the rules, coloured outside of the lines, fired up our imagination and created masterpieces to share with the world;
"When your desires are strong enough you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve." Napoleon Hill
That's what I adored about Joy. Her stubborn refusal to accept any obstacle that might prevent her from completing her masterpiece. I remembered myself in her power and mourned the tempering of my own flame.
Joy is fierce. Her daughter and her sanity rest on her making her business a success and I related, remembered and saw so many of the brilliant women and men in my circles for whom their business is transformative way beyond their bank balance.
It' a beautiful film which sparked conversation and reflection and a silent promise to return to my own creativity, perhaps with less of the world on my shoulders than I carried ten years ago, but with a responsibility to myself, my children, and anyone I can carry with me on the journey, as the fuel for my stride.
•Joy is based on the real life story of entrepreneur Joy Mangano