Life Advice from Sylvester Stallone
Five life lessons from Sylvester Stallone's autobiography, The Steps, on resilience, ambition, persistence and the hidden costs of success.
At 80, Sylvester Stallone has published The Steps, a memoir about his unlikely journey from rejection and poverty to Rocky and Hollywood stardom. Beneath the familiar underdog story are four lessons about how to live—and one warning.
1. Your beginnings do not determine your destination
Stallone describes a troubled childhood, a facial injury at birth and years of being dismissed as unsuitable for acting. He could not control those circumstances. He could control his response. The lesson is not that hardship is desirable, but that it need not dictate your future.
2. Build an alternative when the door stays closed
Unable to secure the acting career he wanted, Stallone taught himself screenwriting. He studied films while working as a cinema usher and kept writing despite repeated disappointments. Rather than wait for an opportunity, he developed another way to create one.
3. Know what you are unwilling to surrender
When producers became interested in Rocky, Stallone insisted that he play the lead, even though he desperately needed money. It was a gamble, not a formula for every negotiation. But it illustrates the importance of deciding which ambitions matter more than an immediate payment.
4. Persistence is a practice, not a slogan
Stallone says that, even now, he rises at 5am to rehearse dialogue well before filming. Success has not eliminated his insecurity. He has learned to convert it into preparation.
5. Achievement has a cost
Stallone also regrets how relentless ambition affected his relationships and health. There is a distinction between pursuing success and allowing the pursuit to consume your life.