Lessons Learned from Rocky Balboa

Rocky is one of the best movies of all time. The series, or a good number of the films, was on cable today and it got me thinking. You have to like Balboa because he’s the underdog. He’s a fighter. He’s not huge compared to most of the guys that he fights, but fighting is all that he knows how to do. He can’t go out and get a day job or make a living any other way. So, he goes out, all heart and passion and does what he does best. He has guts and he realizes that without sacrificing something, there is nothing to win. All of this made me realize, we could all learn a little something from the Italian Stallion.

photo credit: Jase The Bass

In order to emphasize these life lessons you can learn, I will use some quotes and expand from there.

Adrian: Why do you wanna fight?
Rocky: Because I can’t sing or dance.

Sure, this is more of a comical moment, but there is some seriousness to it. Why do you want to do what you do? Is it because you have no choice or because whether circumstances led you to it or not, you have passion for what you are doing? If you’re doing it because you have to do it then the “eye of the tiger” most likely is not there and you will only get so far in your chosen or pre-determined career.

Rocky: It really don’t matter if I lose this fight. It really don’t matter if this guy opens my head, either. ‘Cause all I wanna do is go the distance… if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I’m still standin’, I’m gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren’t just another bum from the neighborhood.

If you aren’t willing to go the distance in whatever it is you choose to do then you shouldn’t bother getting in the ring. Whether you have something to prove to yourself or someone else doesn’t particularly matter. What does matter is the hunger you have for what you are doing. Every major business decision and many of the seemingly minor ones need to be considered with this in mind because those that are not willing to risk something never really gain anything.

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