Anthony Robbins was having dinner with Sylvester Stallone a few years back and Robbins asked Stallone to tell him his life story. Stallone explained that he knew his whole life, ever since he was a kid, that he wanted to be in the movie business. He went to every agent in New York—many of them several times—but he couldn’t get any parts because they kept telling him that he looked and sounded stupid (which, incidentally, is because he was pulled out by forceps when he was born).

Stallone kept trying to get parts, and he kept getting rejected. He was starving and couldn’t even afford heat in his apartment. His wife kept screaming at him to get a job, but he wouldn’t settle for something that wasn’t his dream. He was going to be a movie star and he was going to burn all other bridges.

He then decided to write a screenplay. The first screenplay he sold was titled “Paradise Alley” and he sold it for $100. Unfortunately, nothing much happened after that and he got to the point where he was so broke that he hocked his wife’s jewelry. She hated him after that and their relationship was basically over at that point.

Now all he really had left was his dog. However, he didn’t have the money to feed him, so he went to a liquor store near to where he lived and stood outside trying to sell his dog to strangers for $50. Finally, one man stopped and negotiated with him and bought his dog, his best friend, for $25. Stallone says that was the absolute lowest point of his life.

Two weeks later he was watching a fight between Muhammad Ali and Webner, this white guy that’s getting bludgeoned but just keeps on coming, and he got an idea. When the fight was over he started writing and he wrote for twenty hours straight. The screenplay he wrote in twenty hours was “Rocky”.

He then went out and tried to sell the script to agents. He was turned down several times but he finally found some people who wanted to buy it for $125,000. However, Stallone told them that part of the deal was that he had to star in the film. He told them: “That’s my story; I’m Rocky”.

But they didn’t want a no-name to play the lead role in the movie, they wanted a star. In fact, they were thinking of Ryan O’Neal. Stallone indicated that either he got the role of Rocky or he wasn’t selling them the script. When they told him he couldn’t play Rocky, even though he didn’t have a cent to his name, he turned around and walked out.

They called him a week later and offered him a quarter of a million dollars not to star in his own movie. He turned them down. They then offered him $325,000 and again he said, “Not without me in the role of Rocky.”

Finally, they compromised: they gave him $35,000 and a stake in the movie, and he got the role of Rocky. They made the film with a million dollars and it grossed $200 million.

The first thing Stallone did when he got paid for the script was to go back to the liquor store and buy his dog back. Know your outcome, believe in yourself, and persist, regardless of naysayers.

Yoga has been such an amazing part of my journey to wholeness and balance and I am so grateful to myself for making and sticking with my commitment to the practice. This week I was reading Yoga Journal and there was an article about having a home practice. I started my practice at a gym a little over 5 years ago and about 4 years ago I brought it home with a video that a friend had given me of Rodney Yee.

Rodney and I have a date now just about every morning for AM Stretch. I love this video because its only 20 minutes. Heck anybody can squeeze 20 minutes in right? “They” say that 20 minutes of practice several times a week is as good for you if not better than a full hour and a half practice.

So I’m reading this article and it’s talking about different sequences you can try and different times of the day that you can practice and how having a home practice can seem a little daunting at first to most people because they just can’t figure out how to do yoga with out a little help and guidance from a teacher.

This is why I love Rodney, he’s with me every morning – by now I’ve actually memorized the entire video. He’s consistent, always there and he’s my favorite way to start the day. The thing that’s nice about doing the same video every morning is I really get to see where I’m at. Some days I’m not on the mat at all and I catch myself doing my leg stretch about 10 seconds ahead of Rodney – this would be a day where I’m ahead of myself. Other days I listen to my body and give myself extra time in Down Dog – this is where I’m really in touch with what my body needs. Then we have days like today. The funny thing about home practice is of course you are doing it at home!

So here we go starting out with a little relaxation to get present:

Rodney – “Surrender to the Earth”

Upstairs – CRAAASH (“Sorry Ms. Wyldfyre – I dropped the chair”, says Nate my son’s buddy who slept over)

Now we move through the relaxation process and we are really cooking – moving our legs left, and right, stretching the arms out to the side, now we’re in bridge pose. What a great morning! Moving along now we roll over into cobra, now back to the mat, now updog – What’s that? Updog????

Kack, Kack, Kack – It’s the sound of my 17 year old labrador making vomit on the floor – quick off the mat, run to the kitchen, shoo the cat away, grab the paper towels! Bend, stretch, squat, wipe, run for the rubbish barrel, Ack out of paper towels – shoo kitty get away from the there, wipe some more, ok all cleaned up! Now where were we?

Oops – missed Downdog, missed Lunge, missed Supported Chair Pose – God Rodney’s already back on the floor, no standing poses today.

Alright, lets get focused and back on the mat again – Staff Pose into the twist, moving right along twisting to the left, twisting to the right, cleanse those toxins, now cross legged, now up on the pillow for the final forward bends and prepare for meditation.

Closing the eyes, feeling the head right over the chest (WOOF!) , focusing on the breath (WOORF!), feeling the eyes relax back into the head (WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! Pukey dog wants in but he’s going to have to wait) Now entering into 2 minutes of meditation to center the mind (WOOF! WOORF! WOORF!) (MEOW, MRow – now Kitty is joining the chorus).

And me? I’m in the silence. Centered, balanced, focused, and serene – WHAT??? My 2 minutes is up? Thank you God for Yoga, for Rodney, for Kids and Cats and Dogs and Life. It’s all good. Wonder what my practice will be like tomorrow…….

Have a great day!

Amethyst Wyldfyre is a multidimensional shaman, healer, artist, author, blogger, performer, speaker and psychic who lives and works in the Merrimack Valley of NH. She can be reached through her website or blog for more information. She can also be followed on Twitter at @AWyldfyre. (This article was originally published online in my blog at Gaia.com in 2007 – my good old dog has since passed – I still workout to Rodney Yee only now I have 3 more tapes that a dear shaman friend gave to me so I have a little variety – they say that’s the spice of life!)

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