Stallone was rejected 1500 times!!!!

One of the most inspiring stories regarding rejection and frustration is the story of Sylvester Stallone. From a young age, Stallone had wanted to star in movies. He had had a difficult childhood and had grown up in Hell’s Kitchen, a rough neighborhood in New York City. He wanted to make movies because he felt that it was a way to inspire people about what they were capable of.

Stallone tried to get parts in movies and was rejected continually. He was told that he looked funny, that he talked out of the side of his mouth and sounded funny. Stallone’s voice and the way he looks have to do with his head being pulled out with forceps when he was born. The forceps severed a nerve and caused paralysis in parts of Stallone’s face, which caused his slurred speech and drooping lower lip. From birth, Stallone was handicapped to some extent. He attended a high school for problem children and after graduating, he enrolled in beauty school.

One of Stallone’s first feature films was a soft-core pornography movie called “Party at Kitty and Stud’s,” which Stallone did in 1970. He was paid $200 for two days of work.

As he tried to advance in the acting field, Stallone was told no by agents again and again. He was apparently thrown out of agency offices in New York more than 1,500 times. There were not even 1,500 agents in New York at the time, but Stallone had gone to many of the agents’ offices multiple times–even after being thrown out.

Stallone got his first job by going to an agent’s office and spending an entire night there. He arrived at 4:00 p.m. and the agent refused to see him. When the agent came back the next morning he saw that Stallone was still waiting there, and he gave him a job. Stallone’s first gig was playing a thug that got beaten up. Despite landing this small role and a few others, the aspiring actor still did not have money to eat, and he could not even afford to heat his apartment during the cold New York winter.

STALLONE’S WIFE AT THE TIME KEPT TELLING HIM TO GO OUT AND GET A REAL JOB, SOMETHING THAT DID NOT INVOLVE ACTING; HOWEVER, HE REFUSED TO DO SO BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID THAT IF HE TOOK A NORMAL JOB HE WOULD LOSE HIS HUNGER TO SUCCEED IN ACTING. STALLONE FELT THAT THIS HUNGER GAVE HIM AN EDGE AND MADE HIM STRONGER. STALLONE AND HIS WIFE WOULD HAVE ONE HORRIBLE FIGHT AFTER ANOTHER BECAUSE HE WAS SO BROKE.

One day Stallone went to the New York Public Library, where it was warm. He had no plans to read anything; he just wanted to escape the chill of his apartment. He stumbled onto a book by Edgar Allen Poe and started reading it. According to Stallone, reading Poe’s work inspired him right then and there to become a writer. Stallone believes that Poe helped him learn to emotionally influence others by not focusing on himself but by looking at people and the world around him.

Stallone went on to write a movie script called Paradise Alley, which he sold for only $100. Meanwhile, he was so broke that he sold his wife’s jewelry, which officially ended their relationship. The only thing that Stallone had left at this point in his life was his dog. He loved his dog for the unconditional love it provided him, even though he had no money; this was more than Stallone could say for his wife at the time.

Stallone one day stood in front of a liquor store, trying to sell his dog. He eventually located a man who wanted to make the purchase. Stallone had hoped to sell the dog for $50, but the buyer refused to pay this much and only offered $25. Stallone sold the dog at the lower price, and walked away crying. According to Stallone, this was the lowest point in his life.

A few weeks later Stallone watched Muhammad Ali fight Chuck Wepner. The fight inspired Stallone. That evening Stallone went home and, in three short days, wrote the script for Rocky. Stallone tried to sell the script and was rejected numerous times. Finally, he found two men, Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler, who really liked the script. They offered him $125,000; but Stallone refused and stated that he would only accept this money if he could star in the movie. The producers did not want Stallone to star in the movie because he was an unknown actor. A couple of weeks later they offered him $250,000 if he would not star in the movie, and once again he refused. Later the producers offered Stallone $325,000, and he turned this down as well. Stallone felt that Rocky was his story and that it was incredibly important for him to play the lead role.

Eventually, the producers offered him $35,000 and allowed him to play the part in the movie. They would also give Stallone a share of the profits. Ultimately the movie cost $1 million to make and ended up grossing over $200 million–and winning an Oscar. Stallone said that right before he received the Oscar, he had read every rejection he had ever received and all of the negative things that people had ever said about him, because he had written it all down. One of my favorite quotes is from Stallone: “I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.”

Incredibly, the first thing Stallone did when he received the $35,000 was go immediately to the liquor store, hoping to get his dog back. He stood in front of the liquor store for three days waiting for the man to appear. Stallone first offered $100 and then more and more money until he offered to pay $1,000. The man still refused to sell the dog back. Finally, Stallone offered the man $15,000 of the $35,000 he received, and he got his dog back. The dog that is featured in Rocky is Stallone’s dog.

There is nothing wrong with failing. Stallone failed many times early on and has since left a legacy of one of the most inspiring and fantastic movies ever written and produced. If you do not succeed the first time, just look at what went wrong and change it. Frustration and rejection make you stronger. Doing something and failing is better than doing nothing. At least by trying you will learn a lesson. Learning a lesson is among the most valuable experiences you can have.

Rejection is a numbers game. The more you are rejected, the closer you are to success. Let the law of averages work on your behalf, and never give up what you are doing. You need to push through in order to succeed, and to not worry about all the no’s you are receiving. Each no will bring you closer to a yes. Put your emotions and negative feelings about being rejected behind you.

Your success will largely depend on the extent to which you can handle frustration and rejection. In fact, you need to become an expert at failure, because you can learn so much from the experience. The more you are rejected, the closer you bring yourself to eventual success. Never give up, remember that the law of averages is working in your favor, and keep pushing through towards success. Set aside your emotions and negative feelings about rejection

ROCKY I

Rocky I Training Montage

Rocky I Theme Song

Download-http://www.4shared.com/mp3/52sQj6DF/Rocky_Soundtrack_-_Gonna_Fly_N.htm

Rocky I at Oscars 1976

Stallone statement about Rocky Script

“If you want to go toe to toe with any foe, you’ve got to be fearless.”

Boxer Chuck Wepner

Much has been written about Sylvester Stallone writing the first version of the Rocky script in just a few days, but little is mentioned about Rocky actually being his 8th script. (The other seven were never produced.) Stallone has also said that only about 10 % of that first Rocky script remained in the finished version of the film that would go on to win the Best Picture Oscar.

“Since I was obsessed with the idea of personal redemption, I kept saying to myself, ‘Redemption, redemption, redemption…but whose redemption?’ So I considered a gangster, then a cowboy, then an actor, all kinds of people, until I finally came back to the Wepner* fight. Why not a loser, an over-the-hill boxer? I loved the visuals, and the warrior aspect, and the grand symbolism. Bang! It all crystallized. I said, ‘That’s it,’ and I went to work immediately…I was young, and I wrote it in a fury…The original draft was only about 89 pages long, and it was rather hastily thrown together.”

Sylvester Stallone