Tip#18: When Life Looks A Little Too 'Rocky' - Rocky Balboa

For years people laughed at the idea of the Rockymovie series going on forever. I even laughed when I read that 'Rocky 6' was in production in early 2006. And when I saw the preview trailer for the movie everyone in the theatre thought it was a joke. But that laughter stopped and turned into genuine cheers when the film, Rocky Balboa was released in December. It garnered rave reviews and a big positive buzz from audiences. And now I'm one of those people who is cheering for one of my favourite films of 2006.

Rocky Balboa (2006)

The sports drama film, Rocky Balboa, is the final chapter in the Rocky series where we find how he is dealing with life in his late 50's. The story is filled with inspirational moments and dialogue about being resilient and persevering in the face of never ending adversities.

There are many emotional and motivational scenes in the movie that Sylvester Stallone again wrote and directed. The heartfelt themes spoke about life hitting you over and over again for years and how to find the strength to keep getting back up. One of the many inspiring quotes I remember was, "It doesn’t matter how something looks to other people. What matters is how it looks to you."

This spoke to me deeply as my own life lessons continue on how not to focus on what others think of me or the choices I've made in my life. Like most people I'd like to please everyone but that isn't always possible. And sometimes I think of not doing something important to me because I feel people will laugh at or that I'll look really stupid. It’s a situation many of us deal with.

Obviously Stallone wrote a very autobiographical movie as he clearly knew people would laugh at the idea of another Rockyfilm. Especially when the character goes back into the boxing ring in his late 50's. Stallone himself turned 60 in 2006. People laughed at him in the movie and they laughed at him in real life. But what mattered in the end about wanting to make this movie was "how it looked to him."

Rocky Balboais a powerful and motivating cinematic experience and it is filled with many life lessons. It will give you hope when life seems determined to pound down on you for days, weeks or even years. You have what it takes to get through anything. You just have to first choose to keep getting up again.

"You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"
Rocky Balboa

Emmanuel Lopez
www.motivatorman.com© Emmanuel Lopez 2007