Welcome to 121st Monday Musings !
This is a story of ‘Super Star’.
During birth, a wrong gynecological procedure caused him to have one sided paralysis.
At school, his middle class being and his facial paralysis became a think for others to make fun off. He joined body-building because he wanted to frighten those who bullied him.
Slowly he started thinking of a career in movies.
Around 1974, he had a pregnant wife, a dog that he loved a lot, a lot of bills to pay and no success in his movie career.
What he still had was a belief in his dream that he will make it big.
Soon a time came when he went broke. He was heavily under debt. Restless, anxious, stressed and still loaded with hope that he will make it big.
Things got so bad that he had sold his wife’s jewelry and ended homeless. Yes, he slept at the New York bus station for 3 days.
Unable to pay rent or afford food. His lowest point came when he tried to sell his dog at the liquor store to any stranger. He didn’t have money to feed the dog anymore. He sold it at $25 only. He says he walked away crying.
Two weeks later, on TV he watched a boxing match between Mohammed Ali and Chuck Wepner.
That match was like a flash of divine inspiration…
For the next 20 hours he sat and wrote the script of what today is a cult movie, (Movie name to be revealed later, to maintain curiosity) 1
In the words of his own, "After nearly 1500 rejections", he got a production house to offer $125,000 for the script.
Despite the poverty, pains, pregnant wife and lost dog. His dream was to STAR in the movie as the MAIN LEAD.
In an era when heroes were common man and spoke fluently, a body builder with a facial paralysis that made him stammer while speaking. The studio Bluntly rejected his offer, and said They wanted a REAL STAR.
They said he "Looked funny and talked funny".
He left with his script with another failure.
After few weeks later, the studio offered him $250,000 for the script. He refused. They even offered $350,000. He still refused. They wanted his movie. But NOT him. He said NO. He had to be IN THAT MOVIE.
At that time everyone was pushing him to accept. It would be MAD not to do so.. He was making a fortune.
He still refused.
Someone in the studio really loved his script, and as fortune favors the brave. They finally accepted to $35,000 for the script and him as the lead star.
The rest as they say is history!
The movie was made for $1 million and went to make around $200 million. The movie won Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Film Editing at the prestigious Oscar Awards.
He was even nominated for BEST ACTOR! The Movie was even inducted into the American National Film Registry as one of the greatest movies ever!
Our hero was a "bankable" hero for the next 20yrs, till the late 90's… with his movies having made billions of dollars.
And do You know the first thing he bought with the $35,000?
THE DOG HE SOLD. Yes, LOVED HIS DOG SO MUCH that he stood at the liquor store for 3 days waiting for the man he sold his dog to.
And on the 3rd day, he saw the man coming with the dog. He explained why he sold the dog and begged for the dog back.
The man refused. He offered him $100. The man refused. He offered him $500. And the guy refused. Yes, he refused even $1000. And,
Believe it or Not, He had to pay $15,000 for the same, same dog he sold at $25 only! And he finally got his dog back!
And now it’s time to reveal the our star, He is none other than “Sylvester Stallone”
1The First movie he wrote and acted was Rocky !
Moral of the story :
And in the words of rocky balboa –
Life is tough. Opportunities will pass you by, just because you are a NOBODY. People will want your products but NOT YOU. It’s a tough world. If you aint already famous, or rich or "connected",You will find it rough.
Doors will be shut on You. People will steal your glory and crash your hopes. You will push and push. And yet NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. And then your hopes will be crashed. You will be broke. Damn broke. You will do odd jobs for survival. You will be unable to feed yourself. And Yes, you may end up sleeping in the streets. It happens. Yes, it does.
BUT NEVER LET THEM CRUSH THAT DREAM. Whatever happens to You, Keep Dreaming. Even when they crush your hopes, Keep Dreaming. Even when they turn you away, Keep Dreaming. Even when they shut you down, Keep Dreaming.
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF EXCEPT YOURSELF! People will judge You by HOW you look. And by WHAT You have.
But please, Fight on! Fight for Your place in history. Fight for your glory. NEVER EVER GIVE UP!
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!":- Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa
Keep Up the Fight. Keep your dreams and hope alive. Go get it.
No matter how hard is it to achieve your dream, go for it, Never Give Up.
Make it a great Week !
Shailesh
