But that wasn’t always the case.
At one time, before his success, Stallone found himself standing in front of his neighborhood liquor store in Philadelphia trying to sell his dog. He was penniless at that time. He finally did sell the dog to a fella who happened to walk by — for $25.
This happened just shortly before a California company offered him $350,000 for his “Rocky” script, the one he wrote.
Stallone turned down the $350,000.
Crazy, yes?
Crazy, no!
That’s because Stallone had thought out his decision about what he wanted carefully and kept his eye on his goal without making any mistakes along the way. That’s why he didn’t take the easy money that he so desperately needed. He insisted on starring as the lead character himself and was told if he wanted that, the amount of money he would get would drop down to $30,000.
He took it.
He analyzed what he wanted and made a clear and definite decision as to what he wanted to accomplish. And he stuck with it. He avoided any bad choices and tangents along the way. And he achieved his goals.
After he received his $30,000, he hung out in front of that same liquor store to find the same fella who bought his dog. Stallone offered the man $100 for his dog back. The man turned him down. Finally, Stallone gave this man half — $15,000 — of the money he had just earned to get his dog back.
And the rest is history — but a history that probably would never have if he had taken hadn’t stuck to his initial decision and had instead taken the $350,000.
After all, he already was a mega-superstar the day he stood outside that liquor store trying to sell his dog. He didn’t just become a mega-superstar when his now iconic movie “Rocky” came out. He always knew and believed himself to be one despite his circumstances. His vision never wavered.
