Takeaways and realizations after watching Netflix's "Hustle":

*WARNING: SPOILER ALERT*

1. Talent can be found anywhere. You just need to search and have an "eye" to find one. In the movie, Stanley (Adam Sandler) had a hard time scouting for talents until he found Bo Cruz (Juancho) in the street playing basketball for money.

2. Talent is good. Hard work is better. But talent plus hard work will make you the best. Bo Cruz clearly had the talent. But if not for Stanley's perseverance to train him, he would have never made it to the NBA.

3. You cannot judge everyone based on his/her past. If they ever made a mistake, they must have a reason for doing so. They persecuted Bo because of his assault charge which happened 5 years before the story started. They never knew that the reason for his assault was because he loved his daughter so much that if his ex-wife was to ever take her away, it would be the end of his world.

4. Entering the NBA is no joke. The movie showed how complicated it is to get into the world's best basketball league. You need to have connections, you need to have money, you need to struggle, and you need to strive hard.

5. In order to hit the jackpot, you need to sacrifice. Stanley sacrificed a lot because he trusted Bo so much that he even quit his work at the 76ers. He believed that Bo belonged to the NBA and never left him since discovering him.

6. Never allow words to hurt you. One of Bo Cruz' weaknesses while training was his weak mental aspect. He can easily be swayed by trashtalk and he allows it to get into his mind. But soon after, Stanley helped him overcome this weakness by throwing him curse words in Spanish.

7. Failure can lead you to another path to success. Stanley was once a baller in college but due to drunk driving, he met an accident causing him to retire from playing. But this downfall led him to his path of scouting and he was indispensable with his job making him one of the best in the NBA.

8. A lot of NBA Players can definitely act. Juancho and Anthony Edwards (Kermit) acted really good. It was so natural that you wouldn't think that they are professional basketball players.

9. Always hustle. Never back down. This was the main theme of the movie. Stanley never backed down and became a successful NBA scout. From the suburbs, Bo worked hard in order to achieve his goal of reaching the NBA so he could have money for his family.

Hustle is definitely a must-watch for basketball-nutters like us. I highly recommend it and you should never miss it!

I am not a huge basketball fan but what I loved about the movie was the relationship between Sandlers character and the player he believed in. He poured himself into this guys life and in the end he saw the fruit of his laborers.

Often when we are discipling people they will not see the greatness God has put inside of them. Often they will try to run and turn when it gets hard. But honestly discipling is spiritual coaching. Stand by people, investing, speaking into their lives the purposes and promises of God they themselves can’t see.

Never give up on people. Be willing to challenge them, encourage them, hold them up when they need it, let them go when they are ready to fly on their on. One of the better sports movies I have seen in a while.

Thank You For Reading!

Lead Image was from Google

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