The year was 1976 and life had knocked me down on my (you know what).  Things were not going well.  I was married with two children and had absolutely no direction.

Then someone suggested I go see a movie named, ” Rocky”. 

I actually had never heard of the movie or the actors or had any idea what it was all about.  So I took my two dollars, got a ticket and watched the movie.

I was transfixed.  For the first time in a long time, I had some hope.

Rocky was just an unfortunate person down on his luck but he never gave up.  Although I wasn’t a boxer I could identify with what happened to him in the movie.  After watching the movie my entire spirit was lifted and once again, I had hope for the future.

From those dark days with lots of help from unexpected places and people, I’ve turned my business life into quite a success.

When I think back on those days, I have no more intelligence today than I had back then.  What I do have is more experience and knowledge.  But what really makes me successful is my never quit attitude just like Rocky Balboa.

There is something else I have going for me and that is being from Pittsburgh, PA.  A steel town where hard work wasn’t something to avoid. It was just a way of life.  A work ethic where you did a good job not because someone paid you but for the pride of doing the job.

And then there was Pittsburgh Steelers football in the 1970s.  The Steel Curtain and the Super Bowl wins.  Even today, the city of Pittsburgh lives by each win or loss of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But in the 1970s, people were supremely confident, no matter what the score was, that quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, and the team would pull out a win.

Why is this story important?

Because I see too many people today just quitting.  They don’t have the determination to tough it out, turn it around and prosper.

What the people of Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania know from losing the steel industry and the manufacturing jobs is that when you are down, even when you feel like life has hit you in the head with a two by four, as soon as you can you get right back up again and keep getting up until you succeed. 

My parents lived through the Depression which had a lasting effect on their life.  Everyone, at some point in their life, witnesses a Depression-like experience or an unexpected tragedy that they personally have to deal with.  The business and economic times we are currently experiencing are no different in many respects.

The following quote is from the most recent Rocky movie, “Rocky Balboa” (released in 2006), where he was talking to his son.  It’s about knowing it’s not how tough the times are; it’s about how tough we are to get through the times.

When you read Rocky’s quote think about your life.  Although in these current times you may have been knocked down a few times, get in action and turn your difficulty into business success.

Here’s the quote:

“Let me tell you something you already know.  The world ain’t full of sunshine and rainbows.  It’s a very mean and ugly place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.  You, me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.  But it ain’t about how hard ya hit.  It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.  How much you can take and keep moving forward.  That’s how winning is done.  Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth.  But you gotta be willing to take the hits.  And not pointing fingers and saying you ain’t where you want to be because of him or her or anybody.  Cowards do that and that ain’t you.  You’re better than that.”