Jason Redman's Moving the Needle · 2021-03-08 · 1h 14m
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
14 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Frank Stallone brings raw authenticity to this conversation about resilience and mission-driven success. Growing up in a disjointed household in New York, Maryland, and Philadelphia without parental support or formal training, Stallone taught himself music and started performing in bars at 15 - driven entirely by passion rather than money. He breaks down the harsh reality of breaking through in entertainment: after 18 years of grinding it out, playing clubs without sound systems, scrounging for quarters, and facing the humiliation of cancelled record deals, he finally achieved major success with Golden Globe and Grammy nominations for his Staying Alive soundtrack work and over 200 published songs. Stallone contrasts the old-school honor system and mano-a-mano accountability of his era with today's social media culture, arguing that modern aspiring artists lack the grit required because they expect instant recognition. He emphasizes that true success comes from unwavering mission clarity - not money chasing - and uses World War I and WWII military examples to underscore how his generation had to do things "the hard way" without the safety nets, coordinators, and resources available to American Idol contestants today. For B2B operators and entrepreneurs, this is a masterclass in long-term persistence and maintaining integrity when external support is absent.
It took Frank 18 years from when his initial record deal fell through before he achieved major success with his work on the Staying Alive soundtrack and his Grammy and Golden Globe nominations.
Watching Elvis on television in 1956 and then the Beatles' English invasion in 1963 transformed him from a quiet kid singing around the house into someone driven to become a rock musician.
No; his mother was eccentric and uninvolved, his real father was dismissive, and his stepfather was jealous when Frank and his brother became successful - they had to pursue their careers almost entirely on their own without parental backing.
Frank has published over 200 songs, with notable work on Rocky 1, 2, and 3; Rambo 2; Paradise Alley; Over the Top; Expendables 2; and the Staying Alive soundtrack, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best soundtrack and a Grammy nomination for best original song.
Frank argues his generation had to earn success the hard way through mano-a-mano accountability and honor systems without trolls or anonymous criticism, while today's aspiring artists expect shortcuts through social media and lack the grit required for genuine breakthroughs.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode is wall-to-wall motivational platitudes recycled through biographical anecdote - 'follow your mission,' 'believe in yourself,' 'adapt to change' - with no novel claims per minute that a B2B operator couldn't find on a fortune cookie. The host's extended 'after action' recap segments simply restate what the guest already said, doubling the filler load.
Moving the needle to me is, uh, is, uh, not becoming stagnant and complacent.
you have to train, grind, prepare for success and prepare for failure
Every idea in this episode is a maxim that has circulated in motivational content for decades: don't fear failure, stay the course, adapt to change, believe in yourself. The single 'novel' framing - Arnold Schwarzenegger's fear-of-failure quote delivered second-hand - is itself a recycled celebrity anecdote.
Arnold, who's a good friend of mine, he says you can never be successful if you're afraid to fail because you'll never take the shot
Belief in self
Frank Stallone is introduced primarily as Sylvester Stallone's brother and has no relevance whatsoever to B2B operators - he is a musician and actor whose practitioner knowledge is entirely confined to 1970s-era entertainment hustle. His experience offers nothing transferable to founders, marketers, sales leaders, or operators.
He is a Grammy and Golden Globe nominated artist. He is one of the most versatile actors, singers and musicians in the in the business.
guys, you know him as the brother of Sylvester Stallone
There are a handful of real numbers scattered throughout - 18 years of grinding, 9 songs placed in Staying Alive, 70-some stitches, a Billboard chart position - but these are all personal biographical data points with zero relevance to business practice. No frameworks, no causal evidence, no transferable metrics.
18 years, Jason, so 18 years.
I put nine songs in the movie
The host routinely hijacks the conversation with lengthy personal stories (his SEAL missions, his children's athletic careers, his COVID pivot), asks exclusively softball and leading questions, and never challenges a single claim. The 'after action' recap segments - which consume roughly a third of the runtime - are pure monologue that paraphrase what the guest just said without adding depth.
if you could summarize Frank Stallone with one word, what would that word be?
What advice would you give those out there that are buying into that bs?
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
On today's episode Jason is joined by acclaimed singer, songwriter and actor Frank Stallone. Jason talks with Frank about his career, growing up and collaborating with older brother Sylvester Stallone, how to drive forward when being in the shadow of someone else and the importance of believing in yourself and following your mission.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Speaker A: Foreign.
Speaker B: Everybody. And welcome back to Moving the Needle with Jason Redmond. I want to give a shout out all you needle movies, needle movers out there that you are not focused on the negativity. You are not focused on all the chaos and the craziness and the division. You are relentlessly focused on moving forward in your life. You are relentlessly focused on picking someone else up next to you and saying, hey, man, you got this. Let's drive forward.
Speaker A: Don't.
Speaker B: That is what needle movers do. That is what I focus on. It is about getting off that X. It is about driving forward. It is about moving the needle. And it is my honor in this show to be able to interview amazing people that have moved the needle in their lives. I want to thank everybody for all the great feedback for our other guests that we have had. We've had so many amazing guests, and today is no different. We got a truly amazing individual. This guy has been there. He has done that. He is a Grammy and Golden Globe nominated artist. He is one of the most versatile actors, singers and musicians in the in the business. His explosive voice in his range from comedy to drama to rock to blues to big band leaves audiences entertained and Captivated. He's garnered three platinum albums, 10 gold albums, five gold singles. Singles. And he's acted in over 60 films and TV shows, including Walker, Texas Ranger, multiple sitcoms, variety shows, Hudson Hawk, Staying Alive, Fred Claus, Tombstone, and amongst many others. So, guys, it is my great honor to welcome to the Moving the needle show, Mr. Uh, Frank Stallone. How are you today, Frank?
Speaker A: I'm doing great, Jason. I'm glad to be here from sunny, not so sunny California today, so.
Speaker B: Well, you're doing better than us. I am filming here in Virginia beach and we got about, uh, three inches of snow last night.
Speaker A: Did you really?
Speaker B: Yeah, which is unusual. We don't get normal. Yeah. Every now and then. Every now and then.
Speaker A: So I performed it to the Italian festival in Virginia Beach a few years ago. It's a great place, a great little town. Yeah, uh, it's nice. I like it.
Speaker B: I never plan on staying here. Um, you know, the military brought me here. I got here in Virginia beach in 93.
Speaker A: Oh, you're not from there?
Speaker B: No, I'm a mud. I'm from Ohio and up and down the East Coast. I live in the Virgin Islands, but the Navy brought me to Virginia beach and, uh, we just grew roots.
Speaker A: It's nice, though. It's a nice, nice place.
Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, we really liked it. I enjoy it. My kids enjoy it. Well, you yourself grew up in New York and Philadelphia.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: So I'd love to hear who was Frank Stallone as a boy? Were you, were you quiet? Were you a troublemaker? Were you an easy kid? How would you describe yourself as a kid growing up in New York? And how long were you in New York before you guys moved to Philly?
Speaker A: A few months.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: And then we moved to Maryland. And I was in Maryland. Basically my early part of my life was in Maryland. Then my mother got divorced and we moved to Philadelphia. But no, to answer your question, no, my brother was the troublemaker, I was the quiet one. And what, and what changed my life was 1956 watching Elvis on TV. I said, that's, that's it. Because I like, I used to like to sing around the house. And when I saw that, I said it was like a Martian. No one ever seen anything like this guy. And I said, oh my God. So my mother, you know, was always yelling at me, always had a broom like a guitar running around the house at six o' clock singing don't be cruel or ELVIS. And then 1963 comes out, the Beatles. And that was it. That put the nail in the coffin. That was it. I said, boy, now uh, I never deferred. You know, I did go to military school because every, you know, in those days everyone wanted to be in the military because, you know, they're all the movies, the war movies, the TV shows like combat and stuff like that, Rat Patrol, you know, so that was kind of thing. All the toys were like cowboy or military oriented. But then when that Beatle English invasion came in and being a singer, all of a sudden I did kind of about face, you know what I mean? Yeah, uh, the crew cut didn't work anymore.
Speaker B: You know, I can't imagine growing up with the Beatles. I personally love the Beatles. I ah, uh, really love the movie, uh, that came out a couple of years ago. Yesterday or maybe last year it came out. What a great flick. Uh, just to be able to listen to all the old Beatles songs. And uh, but I, man, I have enjoyed it. So I can't imagine growing up like that. And I can definitely imagine being motivated and inspired. You made a statement about your brother, about him being the troublemaker. And I actually read about a story online about one time how. And I love this story because you talked about the Army Navy store. You talked about that your brother and you had gone to the Army Navy store. And if any of you guys have never been into the old Army Navy
Speaker A: store, I used to love going to
Speaker B: it when I was a kid. Yeah.
Speaker A: Real stuff.
Speaker B: Yeah. Where you would have all the old really cool military stuff.
Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
Speaker B: Literally. Stuff from World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, for my. You know, when I was going in there. But I guess your brother bought a pair of handcuffs.
Speaker A: Yes.
Speaker B: And then, uh, what did he end up doing to you?
Speaker A: There was a place called Shannon's Army Navy Store. And we would go in there. Now, m. This is 1960, so you're only talking, like, eight years after the Korean War, like 15 years after World War II. And, man, they had training rifles, bayonets, cots, pup tents, real pea coats for, like, $4, you know, I mean, that. People don't realize how much military surplus there was. They're just helmets. So my brother went in and bought a few of these military handcuffs that are black, and they were like, you know, leg iron handcuffs. So he's there like this. He goes, hey, come on. So he bought them, and he goes, listen, we got to do something. Uh, here. So he took me in the stairwell.
Speaker B: How much older was your brother than you? How old were you guys then?
Speaker A: I was probably seven.
Speaker B: Okay. And he was 11.
Speaker A: Yeah. So I went to the fire escape. He goes, yeah, come here. Where Shakespeare. And he shackled me and handcuffed me to the. To the railings on the steps and just left. My father comes walking up the steps. He goes, where's Frank? He goes, uh, I don't know. I don't know. So I'm there. Hey. He comes out. They sees me, like, my legs and arms handcuffed. The fire escape. But here was the deal. The handcuffs are so cheap because there was no key. So I'm sitting there like a kid, petrified for hours, handcuffed to the railings. My father got off, so he had to call the fire department. And they had, like, saw the handcuffs and chainsaw.
Speaker B: Oh, my God.
Speaker A: Yeah. So that was army navy stuff that. And they had. And they used to sell those, uh. They were dummy grenades.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: And we'd throw them at each other because, again, like, everything on TV was war movies. All right, toss that pineapple. You know, I mean, stuff like this. So we have hand grenades. They'd have training rifles. It was great. Man. I wish that they, uh, had everything like you mentioned on one of your things, like compasses. There'd be, like, piles of compasses. It was cheap because they wanted to get rid of it.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: And my father said, okay, you guys are going to camp out. And he bought us a pup tent. And it was heavy canvas. And smelled mildewy. It was all, like, wooden stuff and no air came in.
Speaker B: Like, suffocating in there.
Speaker A: Suffocating on an army cot, you know? But everything was like wooden canvas. It was heavy. I was great. I still wear navy pea coats. I mean, the real ones.
Speaker B: Yeah, they're great.
Speaker A: The corduroy pockets with the real high. Those things are durable. You know, I used to wear Navy. Seriously. Uh, I still have on stage. No one knew what the hell they were. I used to wear the blue flannel navy pants with the 13 buttons.
Speaker B: Oh, no kidding.
Speaker A: The lace up on the back. And people go, man, those are so cool. Where'd you get those? I designed them, you know, but then my friend said every time I had to use the restroom, he goes, nah, do what we did. For some reason, I think later on, when Velcro came out, they put, like, Velcro behind. So you're. Because if you're playing a club, drinking, you had to use the restroom. Those buttons took quite a while.
Speaker B: Yeah. To get 13 buttons off. Take a lead. Took forever.
Speaker A: So those pants are cool, man. And I still have them. And those pants gotta be 50 years old, and they're still.
Speaker B: Yeah, they go back to the original days in the Navy.
Speaker A: Yeah, the Cracker Jack outfit.
Speaker B: Yeah. That's, uh, awesome. Did your brother get in trouble for that?
Speaker A: Oh, yeah, well, he got trouble for everything. Yeah. I mean, if you see the documentary, I mean, he bombarded me with rocks and, uh, threw a drum pedal and it stuck in my head. I mean, he was just like. He was like Dennis the Menace. Bad version of Dennis the Menace. Yeah. He was always getting in trouble. He probably, before he did movies, had broke more bones in his body because he was into Superman. He was always jumping off the balcony, always getting into mischief. So he was not a candidate for, like, a movie star. He was a candidate for, like, San Quentin, you know, so he wasn't like.
Speaker B: Or a stunt.
Speaker A: Or a stuntman or a stuntman or something like that. Yeah. So we kind of took, uh, different paths. And my path in music started way before, like, his thing as far as acting. So I was playing in bars at 15. You know, you talk about joining the Navy at 17. I was playing underage in bars at 15.
Speaker B: And that's a great. That leads me into a great question, because I. A lot of people, you know, sometimes we have the support of our families, and sometimes we don't. Sometimes, you know, our families, you know, don't agree with our hopes and dreams, try and dissuade us from Them. So I'm intrigued to know both you and your brother went down this entertainment path. Did your mom support you in this journey?
Speaker A: Yeah, my mom was okay about. My mom was very eccentric. Yeah, she was okay. She couldn't care less. You know, she was fine. Uh, my father, my stepfather was a drag. Uh, he was like. My real father was a hairdresser. So what's he going to contribute? And I actually thought he was a better singer than me. I go, I, uh, think that hairspray has gone to your brain. But, you know. But anyway. But he was kind of, like, jealous of my brother and I when became successful, which is very weird. My mother was just an eccentric, wild person. You know, she just passed away a month short of 99 and still drove every day up until the pandemic. And she was a lousy driver, but. She was a lousy driver at 40. She was 99, so she never could drive. But the thing is, yeah, we didn't have that support. We had kind of a disjointed, uh, family. So it wasn't like we grew up where, you know, the parents were really involved in our careers. We were kind of on our own, you know, I mean, so that. That. That was kind of how it was. It wasn't like, you know, you see some kids, we get jealous. You know, their parents are involved in every aspect. You know, doting helicopter parents, they're very doting now. We were just. I don't think my mother actually saw me perform until I was, like, 30 some years old.
Speaker B: So where do you think that drive came from? Because there are some people that have it and there are some don't. I mean, there's no doubt, uh, the. The relentless pursuit of driving forward is what's enabled my success. And I know a lot of people that if they didn't have that, you know, obviously you have had that. You have continued to drive forward regardless. So is your brother. So where do you guys think that came from?
Speaker A: I. In a weird way, Jason, I mean, I don't want to get like, theological on this, but I could be divine intervention. I mean, you know, we grew up in kind of a. Kind of a lousy household. My father was extremely volatile guy, and he wasn't really supportive. They weren't like, you know, they weren't parents that were really involved in our life. Like, oh, love you, son. You did a great job. You know, I think maybe God looked at it and said, okay, you, music is going to cure what ails you. And you, this is what you're going to do and. Because something is there, because it just happened. It just opened my mouth and started to sing. It never took singing lessons. I never took anything. My brother and I, we didn't go to special schools for entertainers. Kind of, you know, just flew by the seat of our pants.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: Yeah. Uh, very organic.
Speaker B: I think I've become friends with Gary Sinise, and he didn't take the acting lessons or anything like that either.
Speaker A: He was a bass player.
Speaker B: No, I mean, he ended up playing in Steppenwolf. Yeah, he's a great bass player.
Speaker A: Yeah. That's what his thing was. And they started stepping with theater. So he. All those guys from Chicago that are in my movie, Joe Montana, they all kind. Joe was in a rock band, too, so it was like something. I guess acting is, you know, it's show business, you know, Rock musician. And that's, uh, what he, uh. Yeah. Gary's a wonderful guy. Wonderful man. Does a lot of good. Ain't no funny in our town, which is kind of, you know, he does a lot for the military. He's really into it, and he don't care. He does his thing. He's a really good man.
Speaker B: I'm an ambassador for his, uh, nonprofit, the Gary Sinise Foundation. We become friends. He actually. I dabbled in a very tiny bit of acting, and he actually got me a job on hawaii5.o recommended me. Yeah. They were looking for a veteran with facial scars to play a veteran in the show, and I tried out and got the scene, and it wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for. I loved it. It was a lot of fun. I'd love to do more, but I think I'm a hard person to cast with my facial scars. I have to fit a specific role. But it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it. Uh, the whole show was great, and, uh, it was great. Uh, all right, well, let's get back to you. You, uh. At an early age, you started playing in these bars, and you were picking up traction. You actually got a record deal, and then it fell through. Uh, so how did that. I mean, you're young, you're trying to make your way in the world, and you're trying to plant your flag, and all of a sudden you think you made headway, and nothing's worse than being told something amazing is going to happen, and then it falls apart.
Speaker A: Did.
Speaker B: Did you have doubts about yourself?
Speaker A: You know, Jason, I didn't have doubts as far as what I could do. I had doubts about everything else that was around Me, I mean, because, you know, I mean, I was ready to get on the plane to go to California for the first time. And right when I'm opening the door, I get a call. My manager says, oh, well, they canceled it. I said, what? And we just canceled all our gigs and everything. I'm like, uh. It's like, not on top of that. It's just embarrassing. But I think the sense is, um, when you have a mission, a goal that you, You. You finish the mission. And the mission for me from a young age was to get a record deal to be a rock and roll star, whatever. But I wasn't in it for the money. I didn't. It wasn't something like, you know, I find that really distasteful when you get kids that are too young, oh, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna make a lot of money. That's kind of creepy to me. That's like a guy 12 years old that wants to say, I want to be president. That's weird. You know what I mean? Yeah. We were, like, chasing girls around. That's why we got rock bands. I mean, the last thing, we never had any money. Ah. You know. But the thing is, you do it for the love of the game. I mean, you know, I mean, guys that stay in the military, I mean, I know guys been in for 30 some years, they didn't do it because they get rich. They like it.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: Something they like a lot of kids. I knew that when, uh, during Vietnam came from really, really bad beginnings. So the military to them was a family. They got their laundry done, they got this done. Uh, so basically that's why they stayed in for so long, you know. And I mean, I could have quit. I mean, when Rocky came out and all of a sudden I became overnight like Rocky's brother. Most guys, after a few years of that pounding would have quit. And I said, new way, man. Because I had one nowhere to go. Because I had very limited education, school. As far as school goes, my brother and I definitely were not mensa. Uh, I guarantee you that. You know, we had. We had add all kinds of stuff, you know, so we did not get good grades. Matter of fact, I was looking at some of my report cards yesterday. I found in storage D, D, E, music, edd, flunked everything, algebra, straight across, ease all year. So, I mean. And he was just as bad as I was. But we read a lot. You can see I have a lot of books, but this is like a. A third of my books. I got thousands of them. So I figured, okay, well, I'll just read what I want to read and self educate myself and so I'll know what I want to know. You know, I don't, I didn't. Algebra did not fit into my world. I mean, when was I ever going to use it being a musician? Oh, I think we should try this isosceles triangle to get, you know, so like what you guys did like in the Navy when you were talking about the compass. I still can't read a compass, so I would have been dead meat. I mean there's a technical aspect of everything. You know, I'm a competitive shooter and I have friends I've shot with that are like, you know, thousand yard bench shooters further out. But there's also that technical. And I'm not technical that technical end of it, you know, I mean, uh, I was talking to a guy once in the gun store. He was Carlos Hathcock's spotter. Wow. I go, whoa. And you saw him like long stringy gray hair, like wire him. You would never think I said, dude, this is a bad dude, Jack. This is not guy he made. This is that guy you want on a rooftop angry at you. Yeah. But the funny thing is, but everyone has their objective, you know, it's. And my objective for what I did would be like, I guess for you in combat, your ability, your objective. Yeah, this is where I have to go.
Speaker B: No, I loved earlier you talked about your mission, you knew what your mission was. And that's something I speak a lot about. As a matter of fact, my whole new program, Point man for Life is all about that relentless belief in your mission. And I love the fact that you said even though the deal fell through, you knew what your mission was.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: So how long from the time that that occurred until suddenly you started picking up steam, you started doing. I, uh, mean really, Geez, you published over 200 songs now. So, uh, everything from one of the newest ones in the Expendables two, uh, written for nine films. Rocky one, two and three. Rambo two, Paradise Alley, over the top. But nine, uh, songs you wrote and recorded for Saturday Night Fever sequel Staying Alive earned you awards, Golden Globe nomination for best soundtrack and a Grammy nomination for best original song, I think.
Speaker A: 18 years, Jason, so 18 years.
Speaker B: So let's talk about this because there's a lot of young men and women that are out there that are at the beginning of their journey and they're bright eyed and pussy tailed. They're ready to take on the world and like you said, they're like, oh, I'm gonna make it big. I'm gonna be a millionaire. And I truly believe it's getting harder and harder and harder to break out. Because social media, you know, all this is. There's so much noise out there now, anybody can post videos. So it makes it that much harder to try and stand out.
Speaker A: And it's almost amazing how everyone wants to be famous and recognized. I mean, remember I was born in 1950. So coming up, in the rock and roll era, there were still payphones, there were still rotary phones, and kids go, well, how did you do stuff? I go, well, first of all, that's been around longer than social media. It was very simple. It was almost in a way, when you think, Jason, the honor system, which is something really lacking today. I mean. But the thing is, if you wanted to go out with a girl, you wrote her name down on a matchbook or whatever at a club and you called her the next day and to go, well, how do you know if she's home? I said, you don't. You either call her at 5 o' clock or something like that. And then you would make a date, or you say, hey, listen, I'll meet you at so and so tomorrow. And that's what you did. So basically, without social media, I mean, there's a lot of tough guys on the Internet. Oh, boy. The toughest guys in the world. I said, but my day, you would have to do it mano mano. So if you're gonna crack wise with someone, he's gonna be right there. It's not like, oh, I can sit there and text, like, being an anonymous tough guy, you know, it's like when Rocky said, he goes, everyone's tough till they get hit in the face, you know, I mean, but so we have that. We have all these trolls out there. So we had to do it the hard way, you know, and so there were a lot of bumps and gullies and disappointment and just, I mean, broke. I mean, when I say broke, I mean nothing. I mean, I was going in my couch, my dumpy apartment, looking for quarters and stuff like that to go out and buy something. I mean. But you know, again, the dollar went a long way in 1970, opposed to now. But the thing is, do people have that grit to do it? Do they? I mean, do they really have that grit? I, uh, look at American Idol. Think about it. These people have never. Most of them haven't gone out gigging. They have a week for each song. They have a coordinator, they got a hairdresser. They got this, and then they go on stage and sometimes they suck. We had nothing. We didn't even have sound systems. We used to plug our mics into our amp and just. But you don't know any. You don't know any better. I mean, like. Like when you think about World War I, these guys like my grandfather going in the mustard gas with a stupid gas mask and trench warfare with bayonets and trench knives with brass knuckles. You look at now, that was brutal. Yeah, that was brutal. Or if you look at demolition men In World War II, basically, it's a frogman outfit.
Speaker B: No, I mean, I've had the great honor of meeting so many of those guys, and they always want to say, oh, man, you know, we're so impressed with what you guys are doing now. I'm like, what are you talking about? I was like, we have so much better technology, so much better gear. Like, you guys were doing it with next to nothing back then, and you
Speaker A: might still know, like. Yeah, but that matter of fact, uh. Cheers. The. They said today, the oldest Navy SEAL passed away at 90 years old. He was the first guys. 1962. He said he passed away today.
Speaker B: So I didn't see that.
Speaker A: Uh, There you go. You can imagine 1962 gear opposed to now.
Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's no intel, nothing.
Speaker A: Just. All right, this is what you're gonna do. You're gonna plant that stuff on that. All of that ship. It's a different. But they did it.
Speaker B: Yeah, it's a. It is. It's a different world from that. And even, you know, in the. In the musical, the entertainment industry, I mean, I also think you've got all these young kids, uh, nowadays, like, if they can't make it by talent, then it's. How crazy can we be?
Speaker A: Exactly.
Speaker B: From point A. Point A was when you decided to be that musician and you started to go down this road and then you had this record deal canceled. But from there, you really have achieved a level of success.
Speaker A: I mean, even record deals canceled. Many, many. I have a book full of rejections.
Speaker B: So what. What do you think? Going from point A to point B. Point B being, uh, that. That narrative we ra. We ran off, you know, best soundtrack, Grammy nomination far, uh, from over. That song became a massive number one hit around the world. Stayed on top of the charts for more than four months. I'd say that's reaching point B. What would you summarize enabled you to go from that point A on of that first record deal falling through to getting to that point?
Speaker A: That was uh, many, many years. And I say the apex of my career would probably be staying alive. Because it was the first time, you know, in the Rocky thing, I write a song once, I'm stand on the street corner and sing. Staying Alive was the first time where they. They entrusted me to deliver a lot of music. I mean, I put nine songs in the movie, and I'm also in the movie. So that was the first time of all. All the years of working at something where it came to fruition, where that was it. And I had the deal. But, uh, from that, after that, with that big success came at that point, Jason, a lot of failure too. You know, all of a sudden, you go from here, you're flying all over Europe, you're doing this, you're doing concerts, you're headlining to, uh, not being able to even get a job singing, because music had changed. Music, all of a sudden, overnight turned to hip hop, rap, which was not what I do. So I was like a dinosaur at a young age. So I had to kind of, you know, I did more movies and, you know, and, uh. Yeah, but the music thing was so dominated by.
Speaker B: It was your. And it was your passion. That was your primary passion.
Speaker A: Yeah, and I was a guy that wrote songs on guitar and stuff. I mean, I. I am not what you call the great computer guy. Guy goes, hey, man, you should use, uh, pro tools to write some music. I go, hey, crazy. I have trouble turning on my computer. I'm going to write an album on a computer. Because a lot of those guys aren't musicians. They sample stuff. Which is fine. I mean, if that's what the music calls for nowadays, you know, I'm not going to sit there and poo poo people. Because people used to think my music was junk. Like the parents. Oh, God, they used to yell us, get that goddamn combo out of the front room. Lousy grades. You'll never amount to anything. Oh, my brother. Oh, we used to get browbeaten. Are you kidding? We used to get totally hammered all the time.
Speaker B: That's hysterical. But you stayed true to your path, and that's what it's about. And that's what it's about. So. All right, guys, we're going to take a quick break, and, uh, we're going to give a shout out to our awesome sponsor, Bubs Naturals. And. And then we will be right back. Today's show is brought to you by Bubs Natural, producers of the best collagen protein on the planet. How do I know? Well, I use it myself, and I Am super stoked. They partnered with us on our moving the needle show. Guys, life is about moving the needle, and Bubs is about moving the needle in your life. The reality is we're all slowly dying, and only through working out good sleep and good nutrition can we slow that aging process. And if you're like me, you've had a few crashes and collisions along the way. That's why I added Bubs to my morning routine. My JR Overcome coffee has one scoop of Bubs collagen and one scoop of Bubs MCT oil to get me going and to take care of my joints, like my damaged elbow. As many of you know, in order to move the needle, you've got to be a point man for your life, Setting the example, leading, building discipline and structure. Glenn Bob Doherty did this in his life, and. And Bubs Natural is honoring Glenn. You may recognize his name because Glenn was a former seal and he was on the rooftop in Benghazi sacrificing his life. So Bubs is sacrificing by giving 10% of their profits back to charities. So, guys, if you want to support a great company and if you want to Support yourself, get 20 off your first order. When you use promo code point man20@, uh, bubsnaturals.com. that's 20% off with promo code pointman20@, uh, bubs naturals.com. All right, what's up, everybody? It is Jason Redmond, and we are moving the needle today with my man Frank Stallone. You guys know him as the brother of Sylvester Stallone, But I got to tell you, as you've heard in this interview, he is just. He's an amazing guy. He's an amazing guy that has a name all, ah, to himself. But obviously, he lives under the shadow of his brother, yet he's still out there crushing it. And I think there's so many incredible lessons about overcoming and moving the needle in your life. And, uh, I just want to jump right into it. Let's get into our after action. Let's talk about part one. You know, one of the first things that I heard, and I thought it was so great. It is. Follow your dream. So Frank grew up and, you know, they. They grew up poor, him and his brother, you know, first living in New York, then they moved to Philly. And, uh, you know, but both had aspirations of the arts. His brother is an actor. Frank is a musician, and he was inspired by Elvis, man. Elvis, of all people. All of us have inspiration, so we gotta follow it. But the thing I love when he talked about Elvis. He talked about Elvis was something different. Um, and he wasn't, uh, he wasn't the norm. As a matter of fact, he was a little bit outside of mainstream. But he developed this following. And Frank saw him right from the beginning with his moves and his style and where other people were like, that guy's weird. Frank was like, man, I really like that. So he followed his dream and he started learning music. He started learning the guitar. And right from the age of 15, man, he went after it. He stayed the course, he believed in himself. And then, uh, right off the bat, like happens to so many of us, he got this record deal. He thought he was on top of the world. And then, guys, it didn't happen. It fell through. So Frank's first life ambush moment. Life is not fair. And, you know, he could have sat on that ex. He could have sat on that ex and felt sorry for himself and been like, you know, this isn't fair, and given up music. But he didn't. He just said, well, you know what? I didn't. I love this line. He said, I didn't have doubts about what I could do, but I had doubts about what could happen. But regardless, I knew I had a mission. Guys, this is one of the most critical things. It's exactly what I'm talking about in my new point man planner that's coming out here soon. It is all about in this life, that if you have a mission. I had a mission as a Navy seal, my teammates and I, uh, it kept us on course, it kept us driving forward. If you have a mission in your own life, and you will always get back on course, when those doubts, when the life ambushes, when the no fair moments come, it will keep you on course. You will finish the mission. The mission guides you, regardless of the darkness that comes along. And I love that about Frank, that, you know, this major, major, major milestone moment. We're going to give you a record deal. He must have been riding on cloud nine and then boom, no record deal. And, uh, it took him 15 years, 18 years. 18 years of grinding after he lost that record deal, before he finally started to hit it, before he finally started playing, um, really before he hit it big. The Staying Alive soundtrack came out. And, uh, between. A lot of people don't realize most of the music for Staying Alive was written by Frank, the Bee Gees and Frank Stallone. And Frank, uh, had a hit off that record that had number 10 on the billboard charts. And that's when he felt like, man, I Finally made it. And that's what it is about. So you got to have that mission, guys. You've got to focus on that mission. We have that, that our objective. And we got to remember this. Frank talked about it takes time. We live in this day and age where people are just so focused on the right now. We live in this instant gratification society. We want all the likes and we want all the success and we want all the fame and all the money yesterday. And it just rarely does it ever happen that way, guys. Just rarely. As a matter of fact, most successful people, it is a long term grind. It's believing in themselves, it's believing in their dreams. It's being knocked down. My man, uh, Matt Del Negro wrote the book 10,000 no's. He's an actor. He's not a big A list actor. You know, he's still working his way up in the industry. He's been in some big stuff, but he writes about in this industry. He's been told no over 10,000 times. But he has a mission and he stays true to, true to his mission. So recognize guys, if you have a mission, if you have a goal or a dream, it's going to take time, it's going to take the grind. Uh, and then the last thing Frank talked about, uh, in this first part of the interview is we must be able to adapt. The world will adapt, man. How true is that? In this world of COVID pandemic, the craziness, you know, the civil unrest and everything that's happened in the last 15 months, 18 months, the world will adapt. And either you cannot adapt with it or you have to choose to adapt. And if you choose not to adapt, the reality is you're just gonna get left behind. And uh, Frank wrote about that. You know, he grew up in the 60s with Elvis in the 70s and music that was, there was nothing electronic about it back then or very little. And in this day and age, all this music is made electronically. My son is a dj. He is getting ready to go out to school in music production and it's all electronic. And uh, Frank grew up in this world where there was this switch where it changed to a lot of the electronic to the hip hop. And it wasn't, it wasn't Frank's flavor, but he realized, hey man, I'm a musician, this is my dream, this is my mission. And he had to change with it. No different than right now in the COVID pandemic, guys, I've had to change and adapt. You, uh, know I made the majority of my revenue stream came from speaking on stages, from standing on stages in front of companies and teams and individuals. And suddenly, boom. Covid came along, and the event industry came to a grinding halt. So I had to shift. I had to build virtual studios. I had to build ability to deliver virtual presentations. I had to shift. I had to write a new book, uh, all about mission and staying on course for everybody out there. So that is what's critical. You have to be able to adapt to the times if you want to stay relevant, if you want to continue to follow your mission. So, great interview. I love Frank's energy. I love, uh, it's just such a. It's such a great story because, you know, it's great to interview people that are super at the top, you know, like his brother Sylvester. Uh, I'd love to interview Sly at some point, but, uh, at the end of the day, speaking to somebody who fell in a shadow but still was uber successful, there's a lot of lessons in that. All right, welcome back, everybody. The name of this podcast is Moving the Needle In. My absolutely electrifying guest is Mr. Frank Stallone. He is a musician, he is an actor, he is a boxer. He's. He. He has a family member that's done a thing or two that wishes he could be Frank Stallone, I believe. What. What's your brother's name? I don't even know. What, is it Sly or something? Always wishes he could be you. I understand.
Speaker A: What.
Speaker B: But, uh, the reality is, here we are, and we've been having a great interview. I want to jump right into this question. Frank, you've done a lot in your life, and you're continuing to do things, and that's what I love. I love people who never peek, who don't sit on their laurels. They're always looking for a way, how do I drive forward. What does moving the needle mean to you?
Speaker A: Moving the needle to me is, uh, is, uh, not becoming stagnant and complacent. You know, I'm at the age where. I hate to say, where most guys are. They're talking about retirement. I said, so that's it. What are you going to do? You know? That's it. In other words, so. And I find people like that don't live as long, and they don't live as prosperous because they have. They have no goal anymore. Uh, even if you said you retired, okay, uh, but my goal is going to be, I'm going to be the best fly fisherman I can, or I'm going to do something. But, uh, I think the thing that saved me, Jason, I have a lot of hobbies, like a competitive shooter. I love to fish. I go quail hunting. I do stuff like that to keep my. Play my guitar, read my books and stuff like that. But, uh, so moving the needle to me is, Is actually moving the needle. In other words, like, just sitting there. Okay, I'm not going to go like this. I'm not going to stay here. I'm going to try to go, like, even now at my age and all the years I've been singing, I'm still learning new stuff. Every time practices guitar, I learned something different. Oh, let me try this run. You know, and I have a bit of add, so it's not easy for me. I mean, I forget, you know, all of a sudden I go, okay, now I'm on stage, it's like, oh, you know, but I work at it. I work at my singing in my own way, you know, So, I mean, acting, I've done 77 movies and. But it's. All of it's a craft, Jason. All of it is moving. The, uh. You never stop learning.
Speaker B: Amen.
Speaker A: I agree 100%, is a poor workman who blames his tools.
Speaker B: Yep. And who just settles, man, you get stagnant. And I think that's, you know, I often talk about being on the X. I think when you stop moving the needle, you have created your own X and it's too easy to get stuck on it and then just to wither and die. Maybe it's not physically, but it's mentally,
Speaker A: emotionally, and, you know, like, say like in your day when you go out on a mission, you have an idea what's going on, but, you know, the best laid plans all of a sudden. And it's like to go, what was it like when you boxed? I said, well, of course you're nervous. You're sitting there, you know, the night before, you're like, oh, God, if I get knocked on my ass, I'm wearing shorts. I feel like an idiot. All these, you know, girlfriends there, I go. And they said, but when's that go away? He goes, you know, when it really goes away, when you're about four feet from the ring because there's no turning back, you're in, uh, with a mission, you're going, I'm in. So now it's survival.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: And whatever goes, goes. And the thing is, and a lot of fighters that they're actually calmer when they kind of get in the ring. It's all the wheels going on before, I'm sure the same thing going on, like a dangerous mission. You're going absolutely shit, and anything can happen.
Speaker B: Yep.
Speaker A: Right.
Speaker B: And you put it. I called it singularity, uh, of focus. I mean, once you. You pushed everything else away, and the only thing you like, I, you know, I had my own routine. I went through, uh, you know, it was team gear. It was the planning. Then it went to my own individual gear. I made, you know, all my weapons and everything was ready to go. And then the last thing I did, I went back to my room and I had a little slideshow of my family. My kids watch that. And then that was it. Turn that switch off. There was no more family. There was nothing. I accepted the fact that I may never step back into that room again. Uh, all that.
Speaker A: And you almost didn't.
Speaker B: Yeah, well, yeah, I mean, think.
Speaker A: I mean, but that wasn't like in the plan that day, right?
Speaker B: No, it definitely was not in the plan.
Speaker A: Ambush. I mean, that's what I'm saying. It wasn't like in the plan. Like, in other words, okay, we're going to do this. Hopefully, you know, who knows, you could. But it wasn't like, I'm going to get ambushed today. But there's always that possibility.
Speaker B: Yeah, well. And that. Hey, man, I love it. Thank you. You're teeing me up to a good question. Uh, you know, I survived an enemy ambush, but if you. You've had ups and downs in your life, but have you ever encountered a massive ambush in your life? I know you have because everybody has.
Speaker A: I mean, you.
Speaker B: You've lived long enough that you probably encountered a few, but if you ever encountered one, that just told me, totally unexpectedly, uh, overwhelmed you, knocked you off course. And how did you get yourself. You got shot.
Speaker A: When I got shot point blank. Now go tell me about that. I was doing, uh. I wasn't a drug person, but I was doing like a cleanse. Like where, you know, go these places where you take niacin, you know, hyperbaric chambers, just, you know, whatever. Just the toxins in the body. So I went to a deli, and I was going to go back, and I saw a gun store right in Beverly Hills. I said, well, you know what? I think I'm gonna go down and check. I got time. Because I always love World War II stuff. Maybe they have an M M1 grand there, an M1 carbine, something, you know, like a 19, uh, 11, whatever. So I figured it was there near Beverly Hills, called Beverly Hills Gun Store. So I go downstairs and I Have my, you know, my Styrofoam thing for my lunch. And I'm looking around. So this was the thing. And I should have been aware, again, aware of your surrounding. There's an old guy. He was behind the counter. Obviously he was the owner. And I said, what is that? It looks like a cult diamondback or something or one of those things. Anyway, he took it out. And when he took it out, usually the most responsible gun will break the cylinder or jack the slide and show nothing. He didn't do that. I kind of did it. And so I checked his fine. So I figured, okay, this guy might be half in the bag. I don't know. He was an older guy, right? So all of a sudden, I'm looking around, and I'm looking, and then I hear from the side of his voice going, now this one has really good action. Boom. I'm, um, like, four feet away. Blood splatters on my face. He caught me through the hand.
Speaker B: Oh, kidding.
Speaker A: Yeah. And, uh, again, if you're not, well, you know, more. But when you're not expecting it, it doesn't hurt. Like, in other words, if I had you right here and shot you, but I wasn't expecting it. So it was, like, burned. Oh, man. He goes, what happened? I go, well, I, uh, think you shot me. Okay. So he was, like, all discombobulated. So the guy. I said, the guy. I go, do you have a towel or something? Say, wrap my hand. That towel. I got in the guy's car, and I went to Cedars. Now, I'm thinking it now. It was a Colt Diamondback.38. Now, could have been different if it was a.44 Mag or.45. Yeah. My fingers blew up this big, and I had 70 some stitches.
Speaker B: Did it go. Did it go through the hand or
Speaker A: did it go kind of fragmented, you know, kind of like I had big gullies and stuff. But I had a great surgeon. You know, I'm there. Oh, man. So I'm thinking, oh, uh, this is really great for a guitar player, you know?
Speaker B: I know. That's what I was thinking, man. Right in the hand.
Speaker A: Yeah, but it could have been in the groin. Would have been really bad. Hey, my hands are good, but I'm out of, you know, commission for a while.
Speaker B: And then why be. And then why be a musician? Right?
Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. What am I doing? So. But again, best laid plans. I was just walking into a place. Did I, uh. Could I ever imagine I'd be shot on Beverly Boulevard in, uh, Los Angeles? So that went in and I was like, oh, okay. I'm, um, right handed. So I had to do again, hand here. I tried to do everything with my left hand. And it's amazing, like, how you. You do it. You overcompensate. You have to. So again, when you were ambushed, whatever the thing is, okay, this is what. This is real. So now what do I do? And that's what I think I said, is my fingers ever going to work like they should? I. Two years before, I had a hit record and I'm there, like. And the weird thing is about this. You'll love this, Jason. Now we talk about, like, being dissed. Now I'm the one that shot, right? Here's the newspaper. A picture of my brother with the M. M60 with the bandol Arrows. Rambo's brother shot. And he's mad, not even mention me. I want to get shot.
Speaker B: You know, that's, that's.
Speaker A: He's sitting here with his shirt off with the headband and the bandoliers with the M60.
Speaker B: That's. That's Hollywood and, And you know, the media and entertainment for, you know, you
Speaker A: have to have a sense of humor for that. But, I mean. But again, anything could happen. Could it have been worse? Oh, yeah. I may have been shot in the stomach. You know, it could have been, you know, it could have shot in the face, whatever. Yeah, but I mean, it just, it goes.
Speaker B: Do you ever think about that? Because as a guy who's been shot, um, you know, I have some people that think, uh, that have been through horrific situations. They're like, oh, my God, what would have happened if it had hit me in the face or wherever. And. And I thankfully have never. I don't know why that's never really impacted me. I mean, I have thought about, you know, the bullet that hit me in the face. Uh, if it had been an inch back, it would. It would have got me in the brain. Uh, inch up, it would have taken out my eye.
Speaker A: It's amazing.
Speaker B: I always joke if it had been an inch forward, it would have missed me.
Speaker A: That's right. But think about where you took that. If it was just a few. Whole different story.
Speaker B: Yeah, but I don't. I don't dwell on that. I take things as they are, you know, I mean, what happened, happened. I can't go back and change the past. So, uh, you sound like you're also someone that takes things as they are.
Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I've had everything. People go, how about stage? I said, I've had everything happen to me on Stage. I've had stuff thrown at me. I've been electrocuted. I've jumped off and smashed my shins on an encore. And I was like writhing on the ground. It's, you know, it's. They're occupational hazards. I mean, that just come with the thing. I mean, did I think I was going to get electrocuted while I'm testing my mic? Hello. Testing. Like a spark, you know, because in those days they didn't have the grounding switches like they do now. You know, it's, it's just, you know, uh, weird things. I mean, my brother has probably broken every bone in his body doing movies and stuff. And I said, why are you doing these stunts? You know? Well, he just, that's him. You know, he's got that thing.
Speaker B: Uh, hey, if I'd be doing it in my earlier days, I'd be doing it myself.
Speaker A: I'll.
Speaker B: So I can, I can totally empathize with that.
Speaker A: So you're into. But don't you think, I mean, to be a CEO, you have to have a high level of serotonin and dopamine? Oh, yeah, kind of. I mean, that's what I'm saying. It's not for everybody. I mean, to me. Do I think I could jump out of a plane? No. Do I think I could have been maybe a sniper? Yeah. Could I have done frogman under? No, I don't because it's not, not my thing.
Speaker B: But.
Speaker A: But it has to be your thing if you're going to do. You may not like it, but if you're in the SEAL team, you have to do it.
Speaker B: Yep. We have a saying about that. You know, you don't have to like it, you just have to do it.
Speaker A: I mean, when you first time you jumped out of a plane, were you on a static line or did you. Was it pre.
Speaker B: Yes, my first jump was static line. Uh, and obviously there was some, uh, anticipation. But I didn't have a video that was an army jump school, but I have a video of my first free fall jump and I look like a cat getting ready to be thrown into a pot of water. Yeah, it's good times. But I ended up loving skydiving.
Speaker A: But your first time saying, okay, I'm at the shoot, I'm going out, was. It's scary.
Speaker B: Yeah, you're, you're. This is what I tell everybody who jumps out of airplanes. And I now have. I used to run a program with my non profit where I took wounded warriors skydiving. Uh, you know, Skydiamond's an interesting thing because the reality is when you step out of that plane, you're committing suicide. That's the reality. Uh, you know, you grant it, you have systems that will prevent that.
Speaker A: Anything can happen. Birthday.
Speaker B: Yeah, things happen. I mean, thankfully we have good systems. We put redundancies into it. You have riggers who check your parachute. You know, if you fly right, you know, you get yourself into a body position that your parachute opens. Right. You do all these things. But the reality is, make no mistake, the second you step out of that plane, you just committed, you know, suicide for a moment. And that's, and that's part of the rush.
Speaker A: Uh, again, you know, it's weird, like, you know, talking to you, like your military experience. And my thing is like lightweight compared to show business. But it just depends what your goal is. It's all relative. You know, say if you want to be a great scientist or your daughter wants to be a great guitar player or something, your daughter weight lifting weights. But there's competition out there. Yeah, you have to prepare. Prepare for success and prepare for failure.
Speaker B: And that's, yeah, that's what I tell my kids, you know, and it's not
Speaker A: fun to prepare for failure, but I don't think you prepare for it. I think you just makes you better.
Speaker B: It makes you better. That's the reality. I tell so many people that, um, um, nobody likes failure. I hate failure. I failed plenty of times, but my failures made me so much better than the successes. Yeah, people will ride the wave tops of their successes and if they've never had a major failure, then they don't know how to get back up. People that have had lots of failures, it doesn't matter. I can have success. That's great. If I have another failure, well, I know what to do because I've had it before. I've fallen down, I've gotten crushed, I've been beat down, you know, and I know you know that too. Let's jump into we today in this day and age. And this is a great question to segue into, because when we talk about failure or depression or we live in a comparison society today, social media society, everybody compares themselves to everybody else. We all look at, oh, well, I'm a speaker and that guy's a speaker, so. But he's doing better than me, so why am I not doing as well as that person, you know, or, or, or, uh, you see it in siblings a lot. You know, you and I were talking about this a little bit in the beginning. Your brother, you and your brother Both went down a similar road. Obviously, your focus is a little more on music. He was going into the, uh, acting world, um, and he has hit an incredibly high level. But you have been really successful yourself. Maybe not at the same level, you know, but. And it's easy sometimes to get down on ourselves and to compare, because you have been incredibly successful. I talked to my kids about this. We had this with my daughter. My son was a big soccer player from a very young age. He was a really good soccer player. And my, uh, my middle. My older daughter. My son is the oldest, and then my middle. She was a really good athlete her whole life. Well, my youngest, she kind of fell under the shadow of both of them, and she never really wanted to do anything.
Speaker A: She.
Speaker B: She didn't like it. She also had a natural. I don't know, you know, natural timidity to her.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: But we would make her my wife. And I said, well, you got to do something. I don't care what it is. And it took years for her finally to find her own lane. But my son has found his lane. My oldest daughter has found her lane, and now my youngest. There's so many people out there right now that have dreams. They want to be whatever it is. A doctor, a nurse, an entertainer, an actor, uh, a Navy seal, I don't know, musician, whatever it is. But they're. They compare. They compare themselves to somebody else, and they say, oh, my God, that person is so good, I'm never going to be there. What advice do you have? Because you've lived this. You've lived this in so many different levels. You've lived it, uh, with your brother. You've lived it with other entertainers. You've lived it with the, uh, the failures that have come along the way, the rejections. Uh. What advice would you give those out there that are buying into that bs? I call that the inner demon. That little voice that tells you, oh, because your brother did it, you're never going to do it. Because that person did it, you're never going to do it. What advice would you give them to keep going?
Speaker A: My advice would be. I mean, I was able to. I remember it was 1970, and I was not a big drinker then, but I was at a party and I had a few glasses of wine. 1970, I'd have two nickels rubbed together, and my band had just broken up. And I remember going into the restroom and looking into the mirror at myself and doing it, uh, uh, equating. I said, do I have what it takes to compete on the world's theater with the best. Do I have that? Do I believe I can do that? And I looked in the mirror, I said, yes, I can. And I mean, I didn't have anything, but I believed that I could do it. That I believed I could do it. Arnold, who's a good friend of mine, he says you can never be successful if you're afraid to fail because you'll never take the shot, right? You'll never take that other step because you're afraid to fail. So you always kind of stay in one thing. You got to take the shot. Uh, it's like when they're boxing, the guy goes, what's wrong with him? He goes, he can't pull the trigger. He can't throw, he can't, he can't execute the move because he's frozen. Something happens. So I think with me, and I think what people get from my documentary, uh, and I also know my limitations too. I know what I'm good at and I know what I'm not. You know, I'm not gonna go on stage and sing La Traviata, you know, try to do opera, because that's just not my thing. But I know what, I know what my strong points are and I know what my points that. I'm not saying that they're not strong, but they're not as strong. I'm not as confident in, and I really don't have the interest, you know, but what I'm interested in, for me, I'm confident. But I remember Arnold used to say that to me all the time. He goes, you know, Frank, I came here with no money from Austria, couldn't speak the language. And I go, yeah, look, we did. Look what you've done. You were the best bodybuilder. You became an action star. You're not really, you know, great actor, but you gave a huge box office star and then you became, hm, the governor of California. That's pretty good for a guy that went to like the 11th grade.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: Uh, but he said I was, oh, I was never afraid to fail because I know I could get back up and do it. And he goes, if I, if I was afraid, I could never accomplish anything. You notice that though, Jason, if you're afraid to take the shot, if you're afraid to move on, you just stay. And I remember I went to my 40th high school reunion and it was kind of sad in some ways because there are guys there that never left, dated the same girl. They're married and they look 25 years older than I do, and all of a sudden they go, I guess you're big Hollywood star. I go, whoa, whoa, whoa. I said, you know what? At least I took the shot.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: You know, you said you took the easy way to complain. Now you're like, you know, you don't even look at your wife anymore. And, you know, you're, like, bored, and you're taking it out with me. I took the hard road, man. I took the road less traveled than you did, you know, and so there are people that do that. And, and, and my brother and I were both very unlikely to do. My brother slurred. He was kind of muscular, you know, he was not what Hollywood was looking for, you know what I'm saying? And. And he had a lot of stuff to deal with. You know, he had a crooked mouth. He was very self conscious. He, you know, he was a kid. He had the name Sylvester, which meant an automatic fight. You know, no one had a name like that, you know, Sylvester the puddy cat. Bang. Hits him on a chin. So he was much more like my father. He was very volatile. He's got that. I'll hit you and then ask questions later. I was more like the diplomat, the easygoing guy.
Speaker B: Yeah, uh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A: But, but, uh, but you have to have a certain thing in your DNA, know, to be a professional fighter, like a Marvin Hagler, they're kind of born. You can't teach someone to play basketball like Michael Jordan or Kobe. They had the DNA. Of course, you improve on it. Or to be, you know, a Navy seal. You have to have something in your DNA that makes you want to do that because, you know, it's not an easy ride. You know, you're going to something tough in show business. You know, you're going into something tough. I mean, I've seen guys that are great actors. They get the script, they have like this, and they're great. They go, uh, I have no idea what I'm doing here. How am I gonna. It's like Jim Carrey playing the Grinch. How do you study to be a Grinch? There is no such thing as a Grinch. You gotta make it up. So you have to kind of. You kind of have to have that type of brain to do that stuff. Uh, but I think there's a thing, you know, Jason, intestinal fortitude. You have to have that because you are gonna get your ass kicked and you're going to get humiliated, and you are going, listen, I got, uh, I consider myself a pretty good shooter. I got my ass kicked by a 14 year old shooting trap. Why? Because when you started 6 years old, you don't develop certain bad habits. So you're like a machine when you're older you're thinking, oh God, what happened? You're not, you know, you're not paying attention. But another day I'd smoke them. And I was like so bummed. The guy goes, frank, look at what's his name over there. He's Olympic gold medalist. He shot like crap today. It's just the way it goes sometimes. But you can't. And I have a tendency to get oversensitive and I get like really, really pissed at myself. And the more you do that, the worse you're going to do, right?
Speaker B: Uh, that's how my golf game is.
Speaker A: Yeah. You can't go into battle being angry. You can go and being determined, but then you're not thinking. Like they always say in a boxing match, if you go in a triple scar med or baseball, I'm going to murder the ball. You're going to miss.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: Because you're not concentrating on, you're not focusing on the. And you notice guys that are like, they're very calm. Guys that are really good at certain things are usually very Zen, like ah, calm. Do you notice that?
Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: But very rarely are they round. Raptite. So. Well, this is awesome, Frank. This has been great. Uh, if you could summarize. Last question. If you could summarize Frank Stallone with one word, what would that word be?
Speaker A: Belief in self.
Speaker B: Belief himself. I love that. Belief in self. You know, if more people out there could believe in themselves, I think we would, uh, positively and relentlessly. And you know, you nailed it. You talked about it in that, you know, that moment when you looked in the mirror, you know, do I have what it takes to be here? And I, and I think that's a really powerful thing. Um, I'm going to talk a story about that when I do the after action.
Speaker A: So I'm sure you had to do it too.
Speaker B: Oh, always.
Speaker A: Even this day.
Speaker B: Even this day. You know, I'm out there, I'm, I'm writing books. I want to motivate, I want to inspire, I want to help people. I want to, um, you know, and, and, and sometimes you don't make the progress that you set out to do. So regroup. I say, okay, well that's, this is my mission. I believe. Relentless belief in my mission.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: Your movie Stallone, Frank.
Speaker A: That is.
Speaker B: Where can people find it? Where can they find you if they want to learn more about You. Where can they see you play?
Speaker A: Uh, Amazon Prime. You can find the movie. You can find it on Google Play. You can find it on itunes. And to reach me on Instagram, it's very hard. Frank Stallone Facebook. It's @frankstallone. And my website is frankstallone.com boom. And. And the guitars are frankstallonguitars.com. so, as you notice, it's very Pavlovian. I mean, I don't, you know, if it's too many passwords or two, I can't. I'm done. You know, I mean, so I figured, well, it comes to the point where I forget my own name. It doesn't matter anyway.
Speaker B: Um, just go check out your website.
Speaker A: My own website. Uh, what's his name again? Yeah. So. And that's where it is. And we are very proud of the movie. We've had really good reviews. And. And I hope people get something out of. It's always something good to get out of something. You know what I mean? Like, when you do your motivational speakings, you walk away saying, you know what? I can only hope someone walk takes something away from this.
Speaker B: Yep. I just want. That's my goal every time I speak, that one person will receive something that changes them, changes their life.
Speaker A: And I do that, like, all of a sudden, which is very rare. A lady was at the supermarket, and I said, I got that reach. And she goes, oh, thank you. So nice of you. Just a thing like that can change someone's kind of day or attitude because it could be a lousy day. And all of a sudden, like, you do. So simple. It's like, oh, let me help you with that card. I open the door. Oh, that's nice. Because people don't really do that that much anymore. So it makes people. Like you said, if it changes one person for a few hours, that's good enough.
Speaker B: Yeah. No, so true. So, hey, Frank, this has been awesome. We had a lot of fun. Thank you. Uh, hey, everybody out there, go check it out. Stallone. Frank. That is Frank's documentary. There's a lot of amazing people in there, uh, that. That talk about his journey and the journey of overcoming and driving forward. Uh, check it out on Amazon prime, itunes. You can find him on Instagram and Facebook, and you can find him on his website@frankstallone.com and if you're into guitars, go to Frank Stallone Guitars. I. There may be a new guitar in the future. Future for my.
Speaker A: Get your old girl.
Speaker B: Yeah. So. All right, guys, this has been moving the needle With Jason Redmond. I want to give a shout out to everyone that's out there. Obviously I will be going into the After Action like we do on every SEAL mission we dig into. Frank gave me a lot of amazing nuggets of information. I can't wait to peel them apart and, and, and turn them into pieces of wisdom and experience that are going to help all of you out there move the needle in your life. Let's jump into After Action part two, talking about Frank Stallone and the incredible lessons that, uh, he talks about. You know, right off the bat, the name of the show is Moving the Needle. And I asked Frank, I said, you know, what does that mean to you? For everyone, moving the needle means something else. But I love what Frank said. Frank said, you never stop learning, guys. This is the second foundation of my Pentagon and peak performance. That is mental leadership. It is constantly challenging our beliefs. It is always learning how can we get better, how can we elevate ourselves? And that's what Frank was talking about. I mean, you know, in, uh, the celebrity game, in, you know, acting and musician, there's so much competition, there's so much public opinion and there's so much negativity and you constantly have to be learning new ways to play, new music genres, new things and ways to reinvent yourself. And I love the fact that it became the founding principle. Frank also talked about setbacks. I said, man, when was the time that you sustained a life ambush? I love the fact as a guy that's been shot, I love the fact that he's like, yeah, I got shot once. Once. And uh, what was funny is I thought it was going to be a mugging or something else. But, uh, he actually was in that gun store. He got shot. And here's the thing. This was a total mistake. As a matter of fact, it was an ignorant, negligent mistake. If you are going to work with firearms, if you are going to own a gun, you damn well better know how to operate a gun. I mean, when I taught my, I started teaching my kids to shoot shoot when they were five years old. And I taught them the three rules. Rule number one, always check when you pick up a gun. Check and see is it loaded? We make sure the very first thing, is it loaded or not? Uh, and then number two, never pointed at someone. Uh, we never point at someone unless we are planning on killing them. So the two fundamental rules of, ah, uh, a weapon and then. Oh, number three, I'm sorry, I said three is you never put your finger on the trigger. Until you are ready to shoot. That finger lives on the outside. And I taught my kids all that. And obviously this guy that worked at this gun store, uh, what a knucklehead. Uh, because he failed on several of those things. He did not check to see if the gun was loaded. It was pointing in a direction. And uh, and of course the trigger would have had to been depressed, most likely in order to fire that round. And I watch people do it. They'll pull the trigger to check to make sure the gun is empty. It wasn't. Gun FIRES OFF hits Frank in the hand. He is a musician. He is a musician, man. And it would have been so easy to get negative. It would have been so easy to dwell on this individual who made this mistake that really, uh, hurt, uh, Frank. I mean, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. He's a musician. His hands are his most important, important thing. But he focused on moving past it. He said, hey man, I'm a realist. I take things as they are and I move past them. And guys, that is the essence of getting off the X. It's everything I talk about. So many people dwell on the past. They dwell on the pain and the misery on the moment. They dwell on where they should be in the future. The reality is Frank focused on getting off the X. If you want to be successful like Frank did, you have to train, grind, prepare for success and prepare for failure. It happened to Frank. He navigated through it. He did all the rehab. To this day, you know, his hands still bother him, but he boxes. He does so many different things that he did not allow that life ambush to define him. This negligent, ignorant act with this dude that shot him in the hand. Hey, it may not be somebody shooting you, but we all get hit by the bullets of life. Get off that axe and drive forward, man. Like Frank said, you've got to train, grind, prepare for success and prepare for failure. When the failure comes, when the ambush, um, has come, get off that X. All right. This was my favorite question of the whole interview. Guys. We live in a comparison society in this day and age, everything, every, I mean, uh, the media is so negative and sensational. We want to compare ourselves to other others. I mean, political classes, racial classes, gender classes, uh, uh, rich versus poor classes. I mean, we are really, and I think it is the downfall, we are moving towards the downfall of our society. There's always going to be differences. We should look at how we bring each other's up. But all we're doing is creating more division. And this Insidious device right here. All the socials. It is all about, um, comparison, comparison. You know, we look on there and we compare ourselves. Oh, well, you know, I talked about it. There are other SEAL speakers out there that are really crushing it on the highest levels. And I'm doing really well. I mean, I'm up there, but I'm not quite at their level yet, but I'm aspiring to that. But it can be easy to look at that and say, man, I feel like I'm doing all the same things they're doing. Why am I not here? And it's easy to get down on ourselves. And I know so many people that have done it, they quit because they look at somebody else, that they're like, man, I'm doing all these things that person's doing, and I'm not here. I'm not good enough. Or, um, this isn't fair. Or whatever. Whatever negative thought patterns get into your head. Frank Stallone, man, is the king of this because he fell under the shadow of his brother. Guys, when Frank got shot, they didn't even talk about, uh, Frank being shot. The headline was, uh, Rocky's little brother. Or maybe it was Rambo's Little Brother Gets Shot and he is angry. It wasn't. It didn't even talk about Frank. It was all about Sly Stallone, Frank's older, big celebrity brother. That is the world we live in. And I asked Frank, I said, man, you know, so many people, you know, in families or maybe in a group, we fall under the shadow of someone else. How do you keep. Keep driving forward despite being in that shadow? Uh, and I love it. Frank said, you know what, man? I knew I had what it takes to compete on the world stage. He said, I knew it. I knew I had the talent. He said, I knew I was a good musician. Uh, he said, you know, acting for me was something that I did, but really, I'm a musician, and I knew I could operate on the world stage. And. And he grind. He grinded, man. He focused on just one foot in front of the other every day, continuing to put stuff out. Sometimes it flopped, sometimes it got momentum. And obviously when he had the Staying Alive hit, it went through the roof. And even then, sometimes he fell in the shadow. But he had a mission, he had his objective. He stayed true to it. And I just love this, guys. I mean, all of us are going to. There's always going to be somebody better out there than you, and maybe you're at the top of the game. But guess what? There's Somebody hot on your heels that's going to overtake you because it's going to shoot change, the world's going to change. People's, uh, tastes, the genres, they're all going to change. You got to change with it. You may not move back into that number one spot, but if you believe in yourself like Frank does, you will be successful. Uh, just remember, I've talked about this before. Success isn't necessarily about money, houses. It's about happiness and content with yourself knowing you're living your mission and your life's mission objective. That's what I talk about in this Point man planner that's coming out. It will make all the difference. And, uh, Frank talked about if you don't follow your mission, he said you will never be successful if you don't do it. So regardless, if you're in the shadow of somebody else, if you're not following your mission and what you believe in, you're not going to be happy. You must execute, you must grind, you must do and believe in yourself. Will you hit the top? Yeah, maybe, maybe not. But I guarantee you will never do it. If you don't try and believe you will never be as good as someone else. Uh, you have to believe you can be as good, but it takes time, it takes effort, it takes grinding, it takes you being the light and the darkness. If you're in the shadow, stop comparing and believe in yourself. The power of you. Stop being afraid of failure. Stop being afraid of the darkness because somebody else cast a shadow on you. So what grind? Believe in that mission, man. And that was Frank's final word. I said, frank, what is your word? He said, belief in self, guys. That is the power of you. And I love this man. I don't care who you are. If you're a single mom raising your kid and you're just like, I'm so struggling, guess what? You can be a great mom. You can make a difference. And it will be hard. You are going to have setbacks. I, I have had so many setbacks in my life, guys, but it's about getting off that X, believing in yourself, following that mission, staying on course. That is what it's all about. All right, guys, man, good episode. Frank Stallone, huge shout out to you. Uh, thank you for coming on and just shining your light on the world, being a light in the darkness for all those aspiring to, uh, be successful. And Frank Stallone has achieved that, guys. He has achieved it. He's been in over, like, 50 movies. Uh, he's written over a hundred Songs, many of which are in all kinds of soundtracks. Number 10 on Billboard, Billboard Best Hits. Track number one overseas. So, guys, never stop grinding, Never stop believing in you. The power of you. The power of your mission. All right, go check out support Frank. Go check out his new documentary stuff. Stallone, Frank. That is on Amazon prime, Google, play itunes. It's great. You got Arnold Schwarzenegger, you got his brother. Uh, you've got so many other big stars who come on and talk about what a good dude Frank is. It was super entertaining. You can follow frank@frankstallone.com or on all the socials. Frank Stallone, go follow him. He's a fun guy. He's down to earth. He just tells it like it is. He's just a guy that you could talk. Frank's a big boxer. He's got some, uh, him and his brother, obviously. Uh, and also Frank has his own line of guitars. And as my daughter that plays guitars, it's one of my goals to buy one of Frank's guitars. He, uh, he said guitars are super expensive. Not everybody can afford a, you know, a $5,000 guitar or a $3,000 guitar. So he made good, high quality guitars that are affordable for the average person, anywhere from 500 to about $1,000. Frank's got some great guitars to go to. Frank Stallone guitars. All right, guys, this has been a moving the needle show. Go to itunes. Guys, I need subscribers. You know, we are there. There's so much noise out there. If you like this show, we need subscribers. I won't lie. I need the momentum. I need to be able to show our producers that we are crushing it, that we got people out there that you, that like you, that love the show. So go to itunes. Click that little subscribe button, Give us that five star review. Click five stars and say, I love this show because I love Jay's energy. I love his guests. Whatever it is, write it down. All right, guys, this is another episode of moving the needle with Jason Redmond. Thank you for listening. Check us out. Uh, moving the needle. Big shout out to the ironclad content network. You can follow me at Jason Redmond www.I'd give nothing but relentless positive energy. That is what we are all about. And I will see you next time. Get off that X and overcome all. I'm, um, out.
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