What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From A Young Sylvester Stallone

Being in business is tough! And if you want to succeed you have to be prepared to go the distance and put the work in.

Too many entrepreneurs are pinning their hopes on having overnight success. That if they hang their shingle out, people will come. They are hoping that their Facebook or LinkedIn or Instagram or YouTube post will go viral and they can sit back and rake in the riches.

Unfortunately, this misconception is being sold all the time all over the internet. That you can make hundreds of thousands of dollars doing XYZ in a matter of months.

Sorry I have to call BS on that one!

The truth is that most overnight successes in business have at least 3 years of hard graft under their belts to reach that level of success.

There are four important elements to reach that success:

Planning

Discipline

Consistency

Patience

Most people know or have watched the Rocky movie, but very few people know the story behind it.

You see, Sylvester Stallone had a goal to be an actor but got rejection after rejection after rejection. One day when watching a fight between Weppner and Muhammad Ali and seeing Weppner (who was copping a beating from Ali) keep holding his ground and coming back for more, he was inspired to write.

He wrote for 3 days straight and came out the other side with the script for Rocky.

He began trying to sell the screenplay to producers and again got a constant stream of rejections that went on for months. By this time, he was so broke he had to sell his best friend, Butkus his bull mastiff dog. He stood outside a liquor store asking people if they would buy his dog until someone eventually did for $50.

He kept pursuing his dream and finally found someone who loved it and they agreed to do it. Stallone told them he wanted to play the part of Rocky. They declined and said he was a writer not an actor.

Stallone disagreed and declined their offer of $100,000 despite his poverty.

A few weeks later they contacted him with a higher offer and again Stallone insisted that he play Rocky and again they declined.

The offer kept rising just so he would sell them the film without playing the part. Each time he declined. He was certain that he was an actor and he wouldn't compromise.

Eventually they offered him a measly $25,000 for the film with him playing the lead role (they weren't going to risk money on a no-named actor). He accepted and the first thing he did was go back to the liquor store to buy back his dog.

He waited 3 days for the guy to come by and finally there he was with his best friend in tow. He offered the guy $150 and the guy declined. The offer kept rising and again, Stallone knew his outcome and kept pursuing his goal.

It ended up costing him $3,000 and a part in the movie to buy Butkus back. The guy (Little Jimmy) and the Butkus are both in the movie.

Rocky was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and went on to win 3 for best picture, best direction and best film editing.

Sylvester used the P + D + C + P principle to reach success.

Are you using the P + D + C + P principle in your business?

Love to hear your thoughts below.