Edward McNally, a boyhood friend of John Hughes who provided some inspiration for the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, details a couple lessons from Ferris Bueller:

… the Tao of Ferris has its own wisdom. Hughes had Ferris talk directly to the camera. To us. He says, deal with your fear. Believe in yourself. Make sick days count. And: Do you realize that if we played by the rules, right now we’d be in gym?

.. one key lesson from Ferris is his repeated message to his despondent buddy Cameron. Your current situation doesn’t have to be your fate. There’s always another way.

… In high school we gained admission to a sold-out improv performance at Chicago’s Second City by claiming status as an advance crew for Kirk Douglas, then a major star who the papers said was in town filming. Pranking a comedy club seemed fair game. In the legendary scene where he tries to fake two friends into a fully booked restaurant, Ferris neglects to check the well-known name he borrows from the reservations list. “You’re Abe Froman?” the snooty maitre d’ huffs at 18-year-old Ferris. “That’s me,” Ferris insists. “Abe Froman?” scoffs the maitre d’. “The ‘Sausage King of Chicago?’ ”

But Ferris is fearless. Doesn’t back down. And is seated with an apology.

Still my favorite movie.

(What else, you ask? Office Space and Say Anything, of course…)

(via Kottke)