All young men want to prove themselves.

Courage is the key to conquering everything.

Be your own hero.

Voices are like fingerprints, from Cagney to Bogart. They never lost it. My voice is instrumental in categorizing me.

I’ve had a lot of operations. I’m kind of like Franken-actor.

If you express yourself too much, you’re considered weak.

Acting is all about truth. It’s all about honesty.

The best revenge is massive success.

The men in Vietnam weren’t allowed to fight the war with any kind of concern to win by the government. It was like a war of attrition.

Your brain is triggered to produce.

I’ve never made a film that lost money.

You are your own competition.

Everything in life is a battle. It’s all about how you fight.

The one thing you can’t fake is courage.

Training and working in Philadelphia is a very unusual situation because that city does believe that Rocky is real. No one calls me Sylvester, it’s Rocky.

I love being verbal in films.

Life is full of obstacles. The key is to keep moving.

You get what you settle for.

Good actors are unpredictable; because they feel more secure playing the role of another personality than theirs.

Movies are the work of a collective conscious. It takes 500-800 people on a movie to complete a vision.

I’m a patriot of the heart.

Your mind is the strongest weapon you have.

In life, there are no guarantees, only opportunities.

When you’re an actor, you’re a slave to the viewers.

You’re a disease. And I’m the cure.

I respect a woman too much to marry her.

If you can handle the struggle, you will achieve greatness.

What you see is what you get. There’s no façade.

Suddenly, I’ve got an overwhelming desire for art. It gives creativity.

Study people’s success stories hard. Study their failures even harder.

‘Rocky’ represents the optimistic side of life, and ‘Rambo’ represents purgatory.

I’m still standing. That’s the key to success: staying on your feet.

That’s what Rocky is all about: pride, reputation, and not being another bum in the neighbourhood.

Loving badly has more consequences than loving bad people.

I’m not right wing, I’m not left wing. I love my country.

Playing polo is like trying to play golf during an earthquake.

Gangster is my closest friend.

When you’re pushed, killing is as easy as breathing.

The road to success is always under construction.

I don’t believe in the word ‘impossible.

I have a fear of heights that borders on mania.

The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place.

When you find the right combinations in your life, then you feel as though you’re unstoppable. It may be a fallacy, but you at least feel as though you can accommodate all that Life can send your way.

Plan B. You’ve always got to have a Plan B.

You’ve got to show your soul otherwise you’re just a piece of equipment.

I could start a war in 30 seconds. But some countries spend 100 years trying to find peace. Just like good manners, peace has to be learned.

In the movies, I kill guys with an axe. In real life, I can’t control a nine-year-old girl.

The problem is, your ego sometimes makes you invisible. But sometimes, it’s best to be honest with yourself.

Dreams cost nothing. They are free. The hard part is just keeping them going.

I’m not just painting for painting’s sake. I want to be truthful.

Usually whenever you’re scared of something, do it. If you’re not afraid of it, don’t do it.

I’ve kind of fashioned my life after a Slinky. Bend me in a million shapes, and eventually I’ll spring back to what I originally was.

One more effort when all hope was lost can make all the difference in your life.

I learned the real meaning of love. Love is absolute loyalty. People fade, looks fade, but loyalty never fades. You can depend so much on certain people, you can set your watch by them. And that’s love, even if it doesn’t seem very exciting.

Testosterone to me is so important for a sense of well-being when you get older.

Just because society says I’m old doesn’t mean I am.

I have tons of regrets, but I think that’s one of the reasons that push people to create things. Out of their angst, their regret, comes the best from artists, painters and writers.

Let me tell you something you already know. The world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s rough and rugged even to the strongest man, so you must choose to fit back.

Don’t discuss your dreams. Pursue them!

When I was in junior high school, the teachers voted me the student most likely to end up in the electric chair.

It would be great to be able to pass on to someone all of the successes, the failures, and the knowledge that one has had. To help someone, avoid all the fire, pain and anxiety would be wonderful.

We’re all expendable. We think the world’s going to stop when a pope dies, or a king. And then… life goes on.

For every guy, there is an opportunity to be better than people’s expectations. We can’t all be behind people’s success but we must be successful. That’s where you set your goal.

The world meets nobody halfway. When you want something, you gotta take it.

Success is usually the culmination of controlling failure.

Clothing is the first step to building a character.

Every time I’ve failed, people had me out for the count, but I always come back.

Believing begot reality!

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 hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!

I believe there’s an inner power that makes winners or losers. And the winners are the ones who really listen to the truth of their hearts.

I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.

Life is more than sunglasses and hit movies. Reality – that’s the main event.

Don’t only call on God in times of need but in all ramifications.

Going that one more round when you don’t think you can – that’s what makes all the difference in your life.

I believe any success in life is made by going into an area with a blind, furious optimism.

A lot of guys have muscles. A lot of strong men in this world. I think it’s important to show that even under all this strength there’s a fragile side, a side that can be affected.

I’m always looking for a new challenge. There are a lot of mountains to climb out there. When I run out of mountains, I’ll build a new one.

Have knowledge of the source. Don’t be educated by a fool.

Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.

There’s a natural law of karma that vindictive people, who go out of their way to hurt others, will end up broke and alone.

When you’re scared, when you’re hanging on, when life is hurting you, then you’re going to see what you’re really made of.

I am not the richest, smartest or most talented person in the world, but I succeed because I keep going and going and going.

No one will hit you harder than Life itself. It doesn’t matter how hard you resist. It’s about your level of endurance or tolerance, keep fighting

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.