How to Stay Focused on Success When Everything Around You is Screaming Failure
How to Stay Focused on Success When Everything Around You is Screaming Failure
It is going to happen, Count on it! At least one time in your life, while you are in the process of building your business, you are going to begin to wonder, “why am I doing this”. Well if you feel yourself leaning towards that kind of thinking, maybe this true story will help get you back on track.
Everyone knows Sylvester Stallone. You know, “Rocky Balboa”. “Sly” knew his whole life what he wanted to do for a living, from when he was very young. He wanted to be in the movie business…PERIOD! That was all he ever wanted. He wasn’t willing to settle for anything else. He went out to get jobs and all he kept hearing were things like “your stupid looking”, “there’s no place for you here”, “you’re never going to be a star”, “your insane”, “no one is going to want to look and listen to someone like you” “someone
who looks as dopey as you and talks out of the side of their mouth.” Well, needless to say, sly kept getting no, after no, after no, after no, after no!
He said he was thrown out of more that 1500 talent agencies in New York. (This number is only because he was thrown out of the same ones 8 or 9 times) On one occasion, he went to see one guy and the guy wouldn’t see him so he stayed there all night until the next morning until that guy finally showed up and agreed to see him. Well, that is how Sly got his first acting job. But it wasn’t anything to brag about. Many people think that “Rocky” was his first movie but it wasn’t. It was this low budget film that no one ever heard of and he was only on screen for like :20 seconds. He played a “thug” that somebody beat up. He did three movies like that. He kept going out, never really landing anything good, He
continued to get rejection after rejection after rejection.
At this point in his life he decided that it wasn’t working so he changed his approach. He decided to try his hand at writing. He was dead broke, starving, couldn’t even pay to have heat in his apartment and his wife was screaming at him everyday to go out and get a “real job”. Yet he knew that if he did that, if he compromised on his goals and dreams, he was afraid that he would get seduced back and lose his “hunger” for success in the movie industry and his desire to fulfill his dream to become an actor. He knew that the only way he could do this is he acted as if this was his only choice with no other options.
His wife of course didn’t understand that at all. Sound reasonable doesn’t it. I mean here he was, living in New York, married, dead broke, no money, no food and it was freezing
because they didn’t have the money to pay for heat. Sly and his wife would get into these vicious fights. His marriage was slowly falling apart. So one day he went to the public library (only because it was warm inside). Someone had left a book on the table by Edgar Allen Poe. So Sly began to read all about Poe’s life and what he got out of that was he learned how to get out of himself and give to others. That’s kind of why so many marketers fail. Instead of giving and providing things of great value to others, they are always wondering “what’s in this for me.” Well, getting back to the story.
Sly began trying to write a bunch of screenplays. Yet even with this new direction, he began to run into the same brick walls. Nothing was working, nobody was buying his stuff, until finally, one day, he sold a script he called “Paradise Alley” (which he starred
in years later by the way), for 0 bucks. Unfortunately, at the time, it never led to anything. At this point, he were so broke that he hawked his wife’s jewelry. Well that was basically the end of that relationship, she hated his guts and thought he was a total loser, a selfish and lousy provider and thought he would never amount to anything.
The one thing in his life that he loved was his dog. “Butkiss” was his best friend. Yet he was so broke, he didn’t even have enough to feed the poor thing. So Sly was forced to do the one thing to survive that he never thought he would ever have to do. It was the lowest point in his life. He went out and stood in front of a liquor store and began approaching strangers to try and sell his dog. He wanted bucks. He finally sold the dog, his best and only true friend in the whole world for .00 and as he waked away,
he cried. Two weeks later he was watching a boxing match between Mohammad Ali and this unknown guy named Wepner. This unknown was being beaten to a pulp but yet he just kept on coming. He just kept getting back up no matter how many times he got knocked down. That event is what inspired Sly to write the story of “Rocky”.
He got so motivated that he wrote the entire script in 20 hours strait without sleep. He took it around because he finally thought he had a winner. Well, nobody agreed with him. They all thought it was stupid, it was predictable, no one would want to see another “boxing movie.” he was told. He didn’t give up though. He finally found some people that actually liked it. In fact they loved it and they offered Sly 5,000 dollars for the script. Sly said ok, but on one condition. That he would be able to star in the lead role. Well, that kinda
changed things. The producers said “no way”…we are not going to risk 5,000 dollars of our money on a “no name writer” that wants to be an actor. They were actually considering Ryan O’Neal for the part because he was a star.
Sly told them “if I can’t have the part, you can’t have the script.” The producers said “take it or leave it”. Sly left it. Now, here is a man with no money, no food, nothing… walking away from 5,000 dollars because he was not willing to compromise. Well, the producers went back and made him a second offer. 0,000 dollars this time. A quarter of a million dollars not to star in his own movie. Sly again said “NO.” They came back a third time with their final offer…5,000 dollars. “No sale, not without me.” Sly wanted this more than anything. The producers finally compromised and gave him the lead role but
only paid him ,000 dollars because they really didn’t think the picture would make it and they weren’t going to risk allot of money and a “writer/wanna-be actor” and on a film they thought would not do well anyway.
To make a long story short, the film “Rocky” ended up costing a million dollars to produce and it grossed 0,000,000 million dollars at the time it was made. Sly Stallone was not willing to compromise on what he knew he wanted, what he felt he was destined to be. The important part here if that his “why” was big enough that he never gave up on his dreams until they became a reality. I hope this has inspired you to never give up on your dreams until they become a reality and a success for you.
Ken McDougal Jr. is a Professional Nature Photographer, Full time Ebay Seller and Entrepreneur. To make more money and get more money making tips please visit www.KenMcDougaljr.webs.com
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