I just wanted the singular feeling of stretching out that unquenchable part of who I am: a writer. I went to bed marveling at the unquenchable spirit of Rocky Balboa and woke up to a sunny Sunday morning and the mood to write.
This speech was exactly what I needed to hear and I gratefully let myself be yanked up by the bootstraps.
When the movie started, I was feeling like a creative scumbag. This conflict felt intensely close to home for me, albeit internalized.Īfter experiencing several creative breakthroughs the day before, in a subconscious “payback” (for I don’t know what) I’d crashed down from my state of bliss. He may be just a dumb boxer who can barely speak, but he has finally recontacted that wild creature deep inside - the one that just wants to be who he is.Īnd he’s not going to let anybody - not even his own son - tell him to stuff that creature back into mothballs. The bigness of spirit with which Sylvester Stallone delivered these lines is undeniable. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth.” Rocky was looking into my soulĪlthough the moviegoer part of me was busy congratulating Rocky on delivering the rebuke, another part of me experienced it on a very personal basis - as if *I* were the target for this lesson in guts and perseverance. The purpose of this speech was to encourage you to fight for what you. Cause if youre willing to go through all the battling you gotta go through to get where you wanna get - Whos got the right to stop you I mean maybe some of. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. Rockys speech to his son Rocky Balboa Jr. it ain’t about how hard you hit it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. But when his son tries to snuff out his dream of fighting again, the worm turns and Rocky delivers a blistering speech:
Up to this point, Rocky has been treading gingerly with his son, hoping to rekindle their former closeness. In a tense street scene outside of Rocky’s “famous retired boxer” restaurant, Robert Balboa tries to discourage his aging father from resurrecting his boxing career - because of the embarrassing publicity this will invite. Rocky Balboa’s son is unhappy about living in his father’s shadow. Image courtesy Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons