

"You're stupid looking, do something else" - one man's persistence - mrduncan
http://blog.inklingmarkets.com/2010/03/your-stupid-looking-do-something-else.html

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crux
According to many who worked on that movie, the story told here about Stone's
refusal of huge sums for _Rocky_ and insistence that he be the star is a
"near-total fabrication": [http://www.hollywoodtoday.net/2006/12/20/rocky-
story-reveale...](http://www.hollywoodtoday.net/2006/12/20/rocky-story-
revealed-a-studio-myth/)

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fnid2
Why aren't there laws against lying? Why isn't this fraud or false
advertising? Why are people able to lie to sell? What would the world be like
if lying was a criminal act without an oath required? Why is it okay to lie
outside the courtroom, but not inside it?

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brandon272
Do we really want to eliminate lying with a broad stroke? Is ALL lying bad?

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fnid2
When is lying _not_ bad? White lies? When they "protect" someone? Is an
inability to receive honesty something we want to protect?

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lg
Why did you put protect in scare quotes? Miep Gies protected the Franks by
lying to the Gestapo. OK, they were the government, but you could protect
someone by telling the killer that he's not home. Or do you disagree? So yes,
an inability to receive honesty is something we want to protect.

~~~
fnid2
Good points. I put protect in quotes to protect egos with questions like "how
do i look?"

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kadavy
The interesting part is the video about Sylvester Stallone's perserverance for
becoming an actor. Here's a summary:

* Knew without a doubt he wanted to be an actor. People told him "you look stupid." He was thrown out of agent's offices over 1500 times.

* Got his first job sitting in the office of an agent overnight. Played a thug that beats someone up for 20 seconds.

* Didn't have any money, wife wanted him to get a job, but he wouldn't because "I knew that the only way I would make it was if it was my only choice."

* Went to the public library one day because it was warm (didn't have money for heat). Started reading an Edgar Allen Poe book, which inspired him to become a writer.

* Wrote a bunch of screenplays, still broke. Finally sold one for $100.

* Was so broke, he sold his wife's jewelry. That was the end of their relationship.

* Couldn't afford to feed his dog, so he sold his dog - his best friend - for $25. Later that night saw a boxing match and was inspired to write Rocky.

* Was told the screenplay was "stupid, sappy, etc." Wrote down all of those things and read them the night Rocky won an Oscar.

* Was eventually offered $125k for his script. But he demanded to star in it. Eventually after refusing even more money, they agree to pay him $35k and let him play Rocky.

* Desperately wanted his dog back. Bought his dog back for $15k and a part in Rocky (for the guy he bought it back from).

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mikecane
The Hollywood Today post seems to cast all of that in doubt. And now I wonder
how much of that interview in Writer's Digest that I cite below was true too.
People like true underdog stories. Fake underdog stories are simply
despicable.

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fnid2
In Stallone's case, persistence led to a great product that he eventually
sold. If you already have a great product, persistence may be a signal to
customers or investors that you are serious. If you haven't built anything
before or have only been at it for a little while, people simply won't believe
you -- and why should they? How can you _prove_ that you are serious about
your venture?

The persistence is sometimes about patience. My grandmother tells me
frequently, "Every business man I know says it took him 5 years to build his
business." It takes 5 years, because anything less than that isn't significant
in the minds of customers. You need a track record. You need to prove your
belief in yourself through your commitment to your ideas.

If you can't convince yourself that your idea is great, why should someone
else believe it is great enough to buy and trust to exist for another year or
two? If it's existed for 5 years, it'll probably exist another one year, then
two more and eventually, it's just always around.

Of course this doesn't matter as much for a simple product that you buy and
go, but with enterprise products or products where the customer is
establishing a relationship with you, it's important to prove the stability
and viability of that relationship.

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mikecane
If you become curious and want to know more about Stallone, this is worth
digging up:

[http://ebooktest.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/note-to-self-
sylve...](http://ebooktest.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/note-to-self-sylvester-
stallone/)

