Did you know that Sylvester Stallone was dirt broke, with barely $100 to spare, and down for the count, before he rose to international stardom in Rocky?

March 1975, Sly watched the Mohammed Ali vs Chuck Wepner fight. Chuck was a nobody club fighter who went the distance with Ali – sound familiar? Sly spends the next 3 days and nights writing the screenplay that was Rocky I. He submits the script to United Artists who initially offered him $20,000 for the script only and apparentely Burt Reynolds was pinned for the lead Balboa role.

Sly instinctively knew that he was on a winner but for this to be his ticket, he had to be the lead actor. A few negiotiations later, United Artists up the stakes from $20k to $100k, and eventually $300,000 but didn’t want the risk of an unknown Sylvester Stallone playing such a crucial role. Sly didn’t give in, and eventually United Artists offered him the initial measly $20,000 and around $340 a week for the acting role (the minimum acting wage). Obviously, the rest is history. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, grossing in more than $20 million, and propelling Sly to phenomenal success with Rocky I, II, III, IV, and V, and Rambo I, II, III, and IV.

The moral of the story? Listen to your gut, and hang in there.