These excerpts from Sly Moves, really inspires me and has fueled my ambition even more.
Now I'm just thankful, because the Rocky philosophy is my ideal state, the immutable voice inside my head that says, "Never lose sight of what you want to be." So many people go through life with unrealized ambitions, reluctant to take the steps necessary to achieve true peace of mind, whatever that may be, because they have been overwhelmed by life's pressures. Now it's time to grab life by the throat and not let go until you succeed.
At the same time, setbacks had always inspired me. In high school in Philadelphia, I went out for football and barely made the team. I was the least experienced player by far. But that made me say, "Let's see if I can become the strongest." The next year, after some of the best senior players moved on and after working on my game all summer, I became starting linebacker and captain.
It was that same spirit that carried me through the summer of 1975. I thought about all the people who fail to live up to their potential because they're too scared or intimidated or beaten down -- I was thinking about myself, really -- and I wrote the first very rough draft of Rocky in a three-and-a-half-day, coffee-drenched frenzy. It was a story I needed to get out. I had $106 to my name and no prospects in sight. My car had died, I was taking a bus to work, I even had to sell my dog, Butkus. I thought: "I may be totally wrong, but I just have to go after this. I have to believe it can happen."
It wasn't enough that the screenplay actually sold. It told the studio they could have it for free if I could play Rocky Balboa. They balked at first. The price went to nearly $360,000 -- which was about $359,000 more than I had ever seen. I couldn't sell. I'd been broke for so long I'd gotten used to it. They finally relented and gave a total unknown a shot; for that miracle, I am forever indebted.
