a movie quote that gave rise to a landmark in me.........

Few days ago, I finally got to watch the finale to Sylvester Stallone's Rocky franchise. There's no doubt about it that he ended the franchise very well; really bringing the Rocky franchise to a close.

Anyway, this post isn't about the movie. If you need a movie review on Rocky VI, please visit www.imdb.com. This post is about something Stallone's character, Rocky Balboa said to his son in one of the scenes. Something invaluable I learned from the movie.

There was this scene when Rocky's son went to speak to him shortly after Rocky was granted his boxing license. Rocky is old, not as fit as before, slower punches, slower reflexes and to make matters worse, he is about to have a boxing match with the current world champion. And Rocky's son, Robert isn't too happy about it.

Not too happy about the fact that his father might be sending himself on a suicide mission having a boxing match with a formidable foe, not too happy about the fact that his father is no longer the Rocky in Rocky V, not too happy about the fact that he has always been under his father's shadow.

In that scene, Robert tries to discourage Rocky from going on with the fight, claiming that while it's hard enough to live under his father's shadow, this recent publicity will make it even worse. Robert goes so far as to ask whether his father cares about him. A saddened Rocky says he remembers when Robert could fit in the palm of his hand. He says that at some point his son lost his way and started blaming other things and people for his own misfortune. Telling him:

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty 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 you 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 hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!"

When I heard what he said, it struck me right in my funny bone and gave me goosebumps. I think replayed that scene over ten times on my DVD player. The amount of truth in what Rocky said, to me, is as close as immeasurable.

I for one have done what Robert in Rocky VI did. Not once, not twice, not trice, but probably a million times! Attaching the blame on someone, something or anything naturally took priority before anything else, when things don't seem to work out.

Somehow, having heard that phrase, something inside me sent me going for my collection of VCDs. In the back of my head, I knew, I heard or seen something along those lines. Days of digging and test playing old VCDs finally yielded the movie Rising Sun, a Michael Crichton novel adaptation by director Philip Kaufman. There was this scene when actor Sean Connery was talking to Wesley Snipes, and he says, "Blame, who's to blame? Fix the problem, not the blame."

If not one, but two movies can talk about the same thing, it can't be wrong.

It is going to be undeniable that you and I will go through a period or sometimes even periods of ups and downs because life ain't all sunshine and rainbows. You and I won't go through happy times all the time and at some point, we are going to make mistakes, put ourselves in a fix, go into an all time low, or even sometimes get on the verge of a relationship breakdown, or whatever other humdrum life can throw at us.

And because what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger, every time we get hit with a reality bite, there's nothing you and I can do but to take the hit and keep moving forward because that's how winning is done. And I don't mean winning against someone but winning against yourself because winning and losing has got nothing to do with another person, it starts with you. Winning is an attitude and that attitude can only come when you set an identity for yourself (see my post on ~changing your identity~)

But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that! Like Rocky said, you and me, we are not cowards who go around fixing the blame. We are not like that because we are special. Twenty four chromosomes contributed by our fathers and mothers respectively made you and me unique from one another............. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth.

~Path of Time~ by Micky Foo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License

Everyone is No.1

My road isn't your road, my pain isn't your pain;
Each person has hidden abilities to go forth and face any challenges.

My tears are not you tears, my pain isn't your pain;
Under the same skies with different glorious moments embeds the same feeling.

There is no need to feel fear or guilt.
Instead, we need to stay calm and keep running forward.
Tell yourself, "I can do it!"

Everyone is No.1!
No matter the circumstances, never question if you can do it or you can't do it.
Just take a deep breath to refresh yourself and embrace the future for it will not wait.

Everyone is No.1!
The secret to success lies in your willingness, where the hottest sweat flows from the most sincere heart;
Everyone can truly be number one.

My hands are not your hands, my mouth is not your mouth;
As long as you have a heart, through the strongest winds and rain, we can all be best of friends.

There is no need to feel fear or guilt.
Instead, we need to stay calm and keep running forward.
Tell yourself, "I can do it!"

Everyone is No.1!
The secret to success lies in your willingness, where the hottest sweat flows from the most sincere heart;
Therefore everyone can be number one.

Do not fear the cold road ahead, for as long as there is a bit warmth I will gather my strength and speed.
No matter the circumstances, never question if you can do it or you can't do it.
Just take a deep breath to refresh yourself and embrace the future for it will not wait.

Everyone is No.1!
The secret to success lies in your willingness, where the hottest sweat flows from the most sincere heart;
Therefore everyone can be number one.

These are the words of my favourite Chinese singer, Andy Lau. Fine, fine, fine, some of you may think he is old and why am I not listening to younger singers like Jay Chou, Wang Li Hom, etc... (just don't like them). Besides, I find much meaning in most of Andy Lau's songs. The lyrics came from the song "Everyone is No.1", the official theme song for the Beijing Paralympics 2008.

It is actually a Mandarin song and I hope I got the translation correct. Anyone who thinks I may have made a mistake in the above translation, please let me know and I will do the necessary corrections.

Personally, I can't get tired of listening to this song because of the deep rooted meaning in the song. Everyone is special in their own way and despite the fact that we live in a result oriented world, it really isn't always about the results. Everyone judges one another by evaluating what one has achieved or done. "He made is 1st million when he was 35 years old", "she created this multi-million dollar business on her own", "he created this ground breaking gadget", "she designed this award winning blouse", he did this, she did that...... all these finger pointing at others' successes has now become synonymus with our lifestyles. I can't say that there is anything wrong with that because it does become a focal point for motivation for many people. I have my reservations for such habits though.

I used to look up to many successful people - from extraordinary CEOs, conglomerate founders, country leaders and many more. Keyword here - USED to look up. Up until recently, I realised it wasn't a very healthy habit. I found myself becoming more materialistic, results driven and sometimes even unreasonably agitated at myself.

Rather than being a motivational factor, it somewhat turned into a demotivating factor and was in fact an impetus for low self-esteem. Easiest way to explain the predicament I went through - I suddenly found myself making comparison with these successful people, trying to imitate their success recipe, trying to be like them, do those so called success habits. At the start, I found it very helpful giving me the drive, or at least that's what I thought it was doing. Instead, as time went past, I found it tiring trying to meet those self-imposed expectations. A friend of mine coined it "killing myself".

On top of "killing myself", it also introduced health problems to me. I have now become a statistic suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, gastric, insomnia and also having a very close call with depression. Not to mention, some added medical bills to the tab.

I heard this song some time last year, and it never really occured to me how much truth was embedded in the lyrics. We are all different - in terms of skin colour, ethnicity, backgrounds, jobs, height, weight, and close to everything else. It is with such differences, that we all stand out in our very own way. Some of us may be very fast at picking up languages, some are innately good at socialising and making new friends, or some are born leaders.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to be successful but be successful in your own way. You don't have to have net asset worth of 1 million or a billion to be considered successful, you don't need to drive a Beemer or a Merc to be considered successful, you don't have to wear a watch that costs as much as a house or even eat food that costs as much as 10 McDonald's lunch sets!

I caught a glimpse of the Paralympics that went on in conjunction with Beijing Olympics 2008. Those athletes were no where as fast as the record breaking runner or swimmer but they showed the spirit and emotions in participating. Deep down, I felt that great sense of pity for them because seeing a guy without one leg and yet being able to swim well is no joke. The guy who played tennis in a wheelchair is not the world's no.1 tennis player like Roger Federer but he is no.1 in his own way - you try playing tennis in a wheelchair and I am sure you'll get the point.

Just like the lyrics of the song above, we all have our own set of special abilities. There is no need to try to imitate some other person just because he/she is successful. Be special in your own way, be who you are. Failures happen every now and then but put this way - sometimes even failing can be difficult for some people! Everyone is No.1 - and I mean you too!