SLY

The rejection, that's my challenge, that's my encouragement.

I recently watched SLY Sylvester Stallone on Netflix and, while a lot of his story was already known to me, it was still a cathartic experience.

In a world brimming with tales of overnight success and instant gratification, Sly's story stands as a testament to the power of grit, determination, and unwavering belief in oneself. From humble beginnings to global stardom, Stallone's journey is a beacon of inspiration. It is not just a tale of triumph over adversity, but a blueprint for unyielding perseverance and relentless pursuit of dreams, no matter the odds stacked against you.

Some of my favourite extracts:

Stick it out:

• From nerve damage at birth leading to lower-face paralysis to bad parenting to a tough neighbourhood to minimal means, his early days pretty much defined a 'rough childhood'.

• His first starring role was in a porn film where he was paid $200 for two days of work. Stallone later explained that he had done the film out of desperation after being evicted from his apartment and finding himself homeless for several days. He has also said that he slept three weeks in a bus terminal in New York City before seeing a casting notice for the film. In his words, "It was either do that movie or rob someone because I was at the end – the very end – of my rope".

• Despite a barrage of such events, he refused to let his circumstances define him. Instead, he used his challenges as fuel to propel himself forward.

• Remember, it's not about where you start, but where you're headed.

Do what you love:

• Find your true passion. See what you can keep doing all day without counting time.

• For Sly, it was watching movies - he would break in and sneak into every movie in NYC.

Build the future you want to be in:

• If the world doesn't give it to you, take it yourself. When the world didn't offer Stallone the opportunities he sought, he took matters into his own hands.

• Sly started writing screenplays when he was not getting the desired one. He was deemed 'uncastable' so he wrote the parts he wanted to play. He invented parts for himself. He wrote more than 15 screenplays from his days being a theatre usher.

• The point is, that you don't need anyone's permission to chase your vision.

Start somewhere & keep going:

• Sly's dream was to be a movie star but he started from very humble beginnings of being an extra and low-grade artist in Broadway shows and many Hollywood movies.

• It took him almost a decade to his first smash hit - Rocky, in 1976. In fact, in 1972, he was on the verge of giving up on acting when he tried and failed to get a job as an extra in The Godfather.

• The night is always the darkest before dawn!

Nothing punches you harder than life. But it's not about that - it's about how hard you can get hit and still keep going.

Have unwavering faith in yourself:

• He and his brother were ‘weird’ enough to make a place in this world and fully confident to do so. Sly said ‘There was no possibility in our minds for failure’ and pessimism like ‘Oh! What if we never make it?’ didn't make it to any conversation.

• He was paid $265,000 to just sell the script for Rocky and walk away from the film’s lead but he chose not to and kept chasing his ultimate dream. Believe in your dreams.

• Don't always believe in ‘experts’. 3/4th of the audience in Rocky’s screening, a few days before the premiere, walked out within 15 minutes, yet the first premiere show was a blockbuster with the audience fully enamoured by the movie.

• Trust your abilities, stay true to your vision, and never underestimate the power of self-belief.

Be authentic:

• Stallone didn't conform to Hollywood's standards; he carved his niche and stayed true to himself. He was reinventing and rewriting every scene he was in in his first movie to be authentic and do things on his own terms.

• Staying true to yourself is essential for long-term success and fulfilment.

Do only what you can be the best at:

• During the 1980s, Stallone was considered one of the biggest action film stars in the world and his success lasted well till late 1990s. However, at some point he started doing too much - experimenting with too many genres, acting vs. directing etc. and not sticking to his strengths. This did not work out well and he struggled with success from 1995-2005.

• It was only with the release of Rocky 6 in 2006 that he could make a comeback and regain fame. After Rocky 6, he came up with 'The Expendables'. He drew inspiration from the 'once great heroes all together' and leveraged the action genre being his forte.

• The key thing is that you need to be real to yourself and keep doing relevant things. You need to become a specialist as you can't do everything. Just stick to what you are the best at.

Family & love is above everything else:

• There is no point in fame if you don't have flesh and blood to share it with.

• Give time to family and prioritise them irrespective of work commitments. You regret not doing this later in life.

• Family and love are the only real thing that lives, rest is only an artwork of your imagination and pictures.

Lastly, believe in serendipity and divine intervention! Like Sly said:

'I just like to give hope. I am in the hope business and I hate sad endings. Sorry. Shoot me.'