Rocky Balboa is one of the amazing characters in the world of fiction. He is someone I truly idolize.

Rocky is a hard-hitting story of a rookie boxer who achieves success in the boxing world without having any background or training in this field. It is only due to his dedication and perseverance that he gets one in a million chance to fight with a heavy-weight champion and beat him with his sheer power of will to survive. Rocky reflects the struggles of a common man who clears the hurdles that come on his way and even goes on to achieve his goals. Rocky in itself is a perfect metaphor for a person who beats all odds and achieves success in his career. Moreover, Rocky convincingly proves the fact that you can achieve anything in life if you have a strong will power and dedication to do so. Throughout the film series, each chapter of the Rocky Saga gives us a new lesson to learn. Here in, I have narrowed down six chapters of the saga (Creed is not included) into 6 points which I have learned so far:

1. Hard work can beat Talent

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Sylvester Stallone, Photograph: Rocky (1976)

In the first film, Rocky gets one in a million chance to fight with the heavy-weight champion, and nobody had expected that he would get so close to winning the Championship belt. He did this miracle by working hard and believing in himself. He didn’t have any hi-tech training equipments or world-class training facilities. He came from lower suburbs and yet against all odds, he shocked the world with his stellar performance. This chapter made me learn that one’s dedication and hard work can beat even the most talented competitors.

2. Once you Achieve Success, Sustain it

Sylvester Stallone, Photograph: Rocky II (1979)

In the follow up to the first film, Rocky didn’t plan his future once he got stardom and success from his previous match that made him a people’s champ. He started spending money hastily in buying stuff without even considering what to do with them and didn’t even bother to think that how he was going to maintain his new lifestyle.  Consequently, he ended-up being jobless and later landed up working at the gym until he got an opportunity for a rematch with the champion and ultimately won this time around. However, in real life you hardly ever get a second chance to recover from your failings. This chapter is an eye-opener for those who take success for granted. It is important to remember that once you achieve success in your career, you should not stop there. Instead, you should work hard every day towards its sustenance. Additionally, don’t just sit back and relax! You have to keep striving to achieve new heights since sky is the only limit.

3. Don’t be over confident

Sylvester Stallone, Photograph: Rocky III (1982)

In the third installment of the Saga, Rocky achieved tremendous amount of stardom and success in his boxing career. He wins various matches and maintains his status as the ‘Heavy Weight Champion.’ However, due to this immense power and stardom, he gets too overconfident about himself and loses his will to fight for it. Consequently, he loses his championship belt too. With time, he realizes his mistake and fights back to win the belt again. What one can learn from this entire scenario is that, no matter how good you are in your field of work, just don’t be overconfident about it. Being overconfident is a perfect recipe for self-destruction. Therefore, what matters is that you keep working hard and do not forget to be humble with everyone who comes your way up.

4. Size doesn’t matter, what does matter is Will Power

Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren, Photograph: Rocky IV (1985)

In this edition, Rocky faces his biggest challenge so far as he fights with someone who is far more powerful and younger than he is. It is indeed worth a mention that he doesn’t run-away from the situation. Knowing that he stands nowhere infront of him, he still continues to fight with his opponent because of his strong will power and even goes on to win the match. Similarly, we should also learn to tackle the hurdles/roadblocks in such a way wherein we adopt positive methods to deal with them. Having a positive outlook and accepting the challenges with open arms is the real trait of a winner.

5. It’s about how hard you get hit and rise again

Sylvester Stallone and Tommy Morrison, Photograph: Rocky V (1990)

In this chapter of the saga, after all the hard work that Rocky did to build his career, his life hits the rock bottom when he finds out that at the age of retirement he has lost all his wealth and insurance and he can’t even fight anymore. Now at this stage, he has to build it all over again to take care of his family. He is still strong willed and determined. Additionally, he doesn’t lose his hope to rise and shine again. This teaches us an important lesson that we have to remain well prepared for any setbacks that may come at any phase during our lives.

6. Saying goodbyes to loved ones

Sylvester Stallone, Photograph: Rocky Balboa (2006)

This has been one of the most gripping chapters of the whole saga, because it deals with the emotional aspect of our lives. Here in, we see Rocky as an old man in his 50’s. After retirement, he ventures into restaurant business – an Italian restaurant which is named after his late wife Adrian. He feels that the times have been changed and the love of his life is not with him anymore. Moreover, his struggling realtionship with his son adds to his woes. He starts living in the past and frequents old places where he used to go along with his wife. It is evident that he doesn’t want to let go of the past. He doesn’t know how to say goodbye to his past life, especially his wife. However, in the end he finally learns to move on in life and acquires inner peace. Everybody can relate to such issues in their old age. However, the key is to know that nothing in life is permanent and everybody has to depart at some point of time. All we can do is cherish the memories that we have shared with our loved ones.
