This week I’ve been listening to Tony Robbins’ Unleash The Power Within on YouTube and Tony shared a story about his friend Sly Stallone.
I admit I’m not the biggest Stallone fan and in fact would reluctantly watch movies that he starred in as I found him annoying to watch despite the fact that he’s done some great movies.
But this story really changed my mind about him.
If the video doesn’t show above, click here to watch it on YouTube.
When he was born he had to be taken out with forceps which resulted in him looking different and having a speech impediment. He was called dumb, stupid and told he would never make it in life.
He had this burning desire to be an actor and was 200% committed to this, but every single casting agency and big wig told him he would fail. He was rejected time and time again when going for auditions yet he never gave up and he refused to get a job, much to his wife’s disgust.
They had no money to eat and he pawned his wife’s jewellery – as you can imagine she was furious and left him.
His lowest point was when he sold the only other thing that mattered to him in the world – his best friend, his dog. He stood outside a liquor store and tried to sell his dog for $50. In the end, he sold him for $25. He was devastated.
He later watched a boxing match and got an idea – he went straight home and knocked out the script for Rocky in 20 hours straight.
He really believed in this script and the power of the script to help him make it and he offered it up for sale. He was offered $125,000 for the script and he was overcome with joy – but he said it was a deal on one condition – he had to be Rocky. They flatly refused for him to have a part in it, and Stallone walked away from the offer. He remained 200% committed to his dream – he knew his outcome without question was to be an actor at any cost and walked away from all the money even though he had just sold his dog for $25 so he could eat.
They then came back to him with an offer of $250,000, which again he refused as they wouldn’t put him in the movie. The next offer was $750,000! Again he refused. Madness, some might say!
They didn’t give up either as they really wanted to make the movie. In the end, they said ok, you can play Rocky, but we think the movie will bomb because of it so we will only pay you $35,000 for the script. If we’re going down, you’re going down with us.
Stallone was overjoyed and agreed to the deal.
What was the first thing he did with the money?
He went back to the liquor store for three nights in a row until he came across the guy he sold his dog to. Again, he was focused on his outcome and he wasn’t going anywhere until he got his dog back. He offered him $100 for his dog, then $1000 and he kept going because the guy kept refusing and said no amount of money will get him back.
Eventually, Sly parted with $15,000 to get his dog back, and the guy also got a part in Rocky 🙂
He was 200% committed and focused on his outcome, and would never ever backdown from his dreams even after losing his wife and his dog. He wasn’t willing to settle for mediocre, and we can all learn so much from that.
He is a true example of From Surviving To Thriving!!
This weekend I reckon I’ll be sitting down with my man to watch the Rocky trilogy 🙂
If you’re ready to stop settling for mediocre, get in touch with me to find out how I can help you either through 1:1 coaching or my online program.
Catcha on the flip side,
