“I also wanted to be a writer!” is something I hear at practically every party or gathering I go to.
“Oh!” I exclaim politely, “Then what happened?”
“People dissuaded me from being one!” they say dolefully.
“And you compromised?” I ask.
“Yes!” they whisper.
Ah well it’s a story that’s often told to me, and I do agree, sometimes it's a necessity, but most often it’s just that you didn’t hold too tight to your dream!
The story of a man who never compromised is that of Sylvester Stallone, one of the biggest and most famous American movie superstars. Stallone was a struggling actor in every definition. 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 as he didn’t have money to feed the dog anymore. He sold it at $25 only.
He says 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 the famous movie, ROCKY. He wrote the script for 20 hours! He tried to sell it and got an offer for $125,000 for the script.
But his dream was to be an actor, and he had only one request, he wanted to star in the movie. But the studio said no, as they wanted a real star. 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.
After a while, the studio agreed to give 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 even inducted into the American National Film Registry as one of the greatest movies ever!
Today, the same Stallone who slept in the streets and sold his dog, is one of the greatest movie stars! Have you ever had a dream? A wonderful dream? But you are too broke to implement it? Too tiny to do it? Too small to accomplish it?
Life is tough. It’s a tough world. Maybe rough. Doors will be shut on You. People will steal your glory and crash your hopes. You will push and push. And then your hopes will crash.
But never let anybody crush your dream. Hold tight to your dream! Fight on! Fight for your place in history, it’s waiting for you..!
Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and author. He blogs at www.bobsbanter.com and can be reached at bobsbanter@gmail.com
