6 Financial Lessons I Learned From Kill Bill – The Movie

This article is on a light note. I was re-watching the Kill bill movies last weekend and it dawned on me that there are a lot of financial lessons in this movie.

As a martial arts fan and finance fan, I figure it would be fun to combine the two. After all, the zombies were able to teach us financial lessons, why not swords?

I know, shame on me, I cannot even enjoy a nice movie nowadays without thinking about finance. 

Seriously, check out that post on 9 things Zombie can teach you about investing. It is irresistible. It even got featured in Rockstar Finance. 

For those who are not aware of this epic movie, a little introduction before we get started.

Kill Bill is an American martial art film about a bride who survived an attempt on her life and her unborn child. She was hell-bent on having revenge on a team of assassins. The leader’s name was Bill. Hence the name. 

The movie was so awesome, they did Kill Bill 2. While sword fight might not be as fun as the walking dead, there are many valuable financial lessons to scrape from the movie. 

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Here are some business and personal finance tips I learned from this epic movie. 

1. Teach yourself how to walk financially.

Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.

― Isaac Asimov

If you are not familiar with that one, what about grandpa Lincoln?

All I have learned, I learned from books. ― Abraham Lincoln

After the attack, Beatrix woke up from coma about 4 years later. Now don’t ask me how or try to play the doctor card here ok. 

The first thing she did was learn how to walk again. This was without rehab or any fancy facility or program, she did this with focus and determination. One step at a time.

This was how the concept of babies and toddlers of personal finance became our first categories on this site.

Learning takes a process and sometimes you have to crawl first like a baby. The bride started by dragging herself then crawled and then started walking.

Initially, her walk was ataxic (weird walk)  and then ultimately taught herself to walk normally and even eventually run.

In business and personal finance, self-education is very important. Pick up a book and go nuts. Subscribe to some trusted personal finance blogs and go on Youtube, listen to motivational videos and personal finance concepts instead of watching cat videos. Although that one with the cat playing piano was awesome. Here is our review of The Richest man in Babylon book to get started.

To get the book or any book on Amazon, you can use our affiliate link 

What I would like you to take away from this section is that there is no way around it, to be successful; you would have to be self-taught in many things.

No one was born with knowledge, we all acquire it. And like the sayings above, most of the useful knowledge is self-taught.

The good news is, you will get there. The process will not happen instantaneously, but you will graduate from baby to toddler and eventually become an adult of personal finance. As long as you keep chipping at it.

Make sure you are not on the naughty list

2. Like the HIT list, you need a list of goals

Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there. — Bo Jackson

Setting goals are the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. —Tony Robbins

Once she was able to walk, the first thing she did was to create a hit list. She not only created a list, but she also lists them in order of difficulty from the easiest to the hardest goal which is to ultimately confront Bill – the assassin leader.

The truth is, despite me knowing she was the hero in the movie; I could not help but wonder how she was going to accomplish her goal. This is exactly what made her plan execution even more fascinating.

She focused on one goal at a time, cross it off her list and then moved to the next one. Sometimes it is best to focus on one thing at a time in order to succeed.

I am guilty of this for sure, especially with the blog. I wanted to be on all social media, wanted to create a course, do affiliate marketing, write content every day, which I failed at spectacularly. I also wanted to guest post and be on 20 different forums or groups at the same time. Those were just a few of the ones I remember.

After focusing more on just good content, Twitter and Pinterest, things became more manageable and more focused. Stick to a few major goals at a time. 

3. Get the right sword to help you kill Bills

To be successful in business or personal finance, one must have the right tool. The bride in the movie sought out for the best sword to accomplish her goal.

The Bride traveled to Okinawa, Japan, to obtain a sword from a legendary swordsmith. It took some persuasion, but she was able to get what was referred to as the finest sword ever made.

Don’t settle for less. In my short journey as an entrepreneur, I have come to understand that sometimes, you have to spend the money to get good help. Sometimes it requires you to reach out to others and convince them to collaborate with you.

You might ultimately have to travel to meet with certain mentors in the future. Don’t settle for less. 

4. Get a coach if needed. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Everyone needs a coach. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast or a bridge player. —- Bill Gates

I can’t emphasize enough the value of future leaders having a great mentor, sponsor, even a great coach.— Alec Bashinsky

As a fan of DIY and a die-hard teach yourself kind of guy, I must admit, sometimes even the best of us get stuck. In those situations, it is ok to ask for help.

 The bride, otherwise known as Beatrix was a phenomenal fighter by nature. You have to watch the knife scene to grasp how awesome she is. To be even more badass, she sought the services of a coach, who was an old Japanese master named Pai Mei.

With the “coach”, she was able to refine her skills, and master new techniques. How else would she learn the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique? 

Don’t click the video if you are squeemish. Some violence involved

It is very crucial to know when to ask for help. Mentors and coaches are an important component of good entrepreneurship. Why make the same mistakes when others have already made. Avoid pitfalls by learning from someone else’s errors.

We touch base in our post on investing tips for beginners to retire early. If you need financial planner as the last result, there is no shame in that. 

5. Never give up

It is easier said than done. They say winners don’t quit and quitters don’t win. This is very true. 

If you are following the story or have watched the movie, you will know that her plan did not go smoothly all the time. She got defeated sometimes. Her training was difficult. Her coach made her life a living hell, during training, as it is always the case in most martial art movies. Trial by fire kind of style. I love it.

It was her resilient that got her through.

If you are not passionate about what you do, do yourself a favor and do something else. Many successful people believe in that too. Don’t take my word for it. Talk to Steve

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. —- Steve Jobs

6. Put in the work.

Pele is regarded as the greatest of all time in football ( the real name – or soccer for the fake name). He is regarded as the player of the millennium by most and I agree. Here is what he has to say.

Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.

—Pele

One of my favorite quotes of all time is also about hard work.

The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is that it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. —- Thomas A. Edison

Beatrix had to put in the work. As said above, the training with Pai Mei was very hard. Sometimes she has to do menial jobs as a test of her patience and resilience, she did it without complaining.

We get a lot of questions on how to get out of debt. People ask, how do I get out of debt when I’m living paycheck to paycheck, barely meeting my basic necessities and have nothing left, to put towards my debt? They are drowning in debt and feeling hopelessness. After making the suggestion to cut off all non- essential spending, I then have to be brutally honest. To get out of debt is hard work. If your paycheck cannot stretch, get a side hustle. That side hustle can be in the form of picking up extra shifts at work or venturing into something completely new. Do what it takes! If that means cleaning homes, baking goods, babysitting or driving for Uber. Put in the extra work.

If you need more inspiration, check out our interview series on getting out of debt. These people are a testament that it can be done, regardless of your economic background. 

Success in business or personal finance life is not easy but it is very achievable. Learn from the martial art film Kill Bill and start self-learning today, get out your hit list of goals, find the right sword, get a mentor and a coach if needed, never give up until you crush your goal and put in the effort it takes. If Beatrix can come out of a coma after 4 years to achieve her goal, you can do the same.

Adebayo

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I am a pulmonary and critical care doctor by day and personal finance blogger/debt slaying ninja by night.

After paying off close to $300,000 in student loan debt in less than 6 months into my real job, I started on a mission to help others achieve the same. There is no magic to this than to strap up and get it done. Some of the ways we achieved this include side hustle, budgeting, great negotiation skills, and geographical arbitrage.

When I was growing up, common knowledge in Nigeria is that there is one thing you cannot trust anyone else with, and you guessed it – your money.

Being frugal came easily to me based on my background. However, the concept of building wealth did not solidify in my mind until when I finished medical school. I wish I knew what I know now when I was 14. Still, I don’t know enough and I am constantly learning to improve my knowledge.

My goal is to reduce financial illiteracy among young professionals. I am catering to the beginners – babies and toddlers in financial literacy.