The Power Of Focus and Consistency

This is a story of focus and consistency, probably one of the most amazing stories ever told. It’s about Sylvester Stallone, one of the biggest and most famous American movie superstars.

An average young man or woman should be familiar with the name.

He was the lead actor in the award-winning and popular movie, Rambo. Back in those days, Stallone was a struggling actor in every definition. At some point, he got so broke that he stole his wife’s jewelry and sold it. Things got so bad that he even ended up 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 a liquor store to any stranger. He didn’t have money to feed the dog anymore. He sold it for $25 only. He said he walked away crying.

Two weeks later, he saw a boxing match between Mohammed Ali and Chuck Wepner and that match gave him the inspiration to write the Script for another famous movie, Rocky. He wrote the script for 20 hours! He tried to sell it and got an offer of $125,000 for the script. But he had just one request. He wanted to star in the movie. He wanted to be the main actor: Rocky himself! But the studio refused. They wanted a real star. They underestimated him. They said he “looked funny and talked funny.” He left with his script. A 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.

After a while, the studio agreed, gave him $35,000 for the script and let him star in it! The rest is history! 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, “Rocky” was inducted into the American National Film Registry as one of the greatest movies ever!

And do you know the first thing he bought with the $35,000? The dog he sold. Stallone 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 third day, he saw the man coming with the dog. He ended up paying $15,000 to buy back the same dog he sold for $25 only! And he finally got his dog back. Today, the same Stallone who slept in the streets and sold his dog just because he couldn’t even feed it anymore is one of the greatest movie stars who ever walked on earth!

Why?

It lies in the power of focus and consistency.