10 Rules for Success, the Dwayne Johnson Way

Dwayne Johnson like most of us led a very ordinary life, faced challenges and experiences we would rather not confront. At the age of 7 years old his family was evicted from their home in Hawaii because they were unable to pay rent. By the age of 16 he had been arrested nine times and on course to failure. Yet the route to catastrophe never happened. Why? An alternative path was created simply by the choices he made, the potential others saw in him and the new opportunities that presented itself, which would ultimately take him to Hollywood and super stardom.

Dwayne Johnson’s 10 Rules for Success

1. Be A Trailblazer

When Dwayne and his team were playing football, and entering the stadium of the other team, they would do things differently. Rather than focus on the usual practice routines, they would chant to intimidate their opponents. Be daring and do things outside of your comfort zone.

2. Know What You Want

When Dwayne was 8 years old he thought he could be a combination of the following actors, Chuck Norris, Richard Pryor, Harrison Ford, Rocky Balboa, and Elvis Presley. He loved the idea of being an entertainer and although his path led to football and wrestling, his initial love of entertaining eventually surfaced. Not content with acting in one specific genre, Dwayne experienced with several styles ranging from action, drama, comedy and family entertainment.

3. Be Yourself

Before every wrestling match, Dwayne experienced angst because he was unable to be himself. At his very first Wrestlemania, 20,000 fans started chanting “Rocky sucks”.  Dwayne recalls that being a very sobering moment and that was the beginning of the end of his run of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Subsequently Dwayne suffered a tendon injury and therefore was out of action for the summer. He later came to the realisation that the fans did not hate him personally but rather his lack of authenticity – he just was not being his true self. When this realisation became apparent, Dwayne returned to the wrestling ring and took ownership of his true character and in that moment ‘The Rock’ was born.

4. Find the Right Balance

Find the balance in your life and do things that you enjoy. Life brings drama and challenges but it helps to have the right support network behind you.

5. Have an Incredible Work Ethic

If Dwayne is scheduled for an appointment at seven o’clock in the morning, he will wake up four hours earlier, squeeze two training session, get his cardio and weights in and have breakfast before he arrives. When he is filming he will survive on five hours sleep.

6. Follow Your Heart

Dwayne underwent depression but the one thing he eventually realised was that he was not alone, many before him had a similar experience. However, when you are alone in your bubble you just need someone to tell you that everything is going to be ok. Dwayne says the foremost quality you need to have is faith and that on the other side of pain is something good. After a month being depressed, he received a phone call from his football coach asking him to return to the team. However, Dwayne in his gut knew that this was no longer the path for him, instead wanting to pursue wrestling. Wrestling was in the family, his uncles, cousins were all professional wrestlers and Dwayne wanted the support of his father to be his trainer. His dad willingly obliged and it ended up being one of the greatest chapters in his life.

7. Work on Yourself

When Dwayne decided to pursue acting, he started in action movies, however to become a better actor he immersed himself in different genres, family, comedy and drama movies to equip himself with a better skill set.

8. Learn the Lesson

Failure is not something Dwayne is keen on, but when it happens, he realises that learning the lesson is important. Be determined, focused, if you get hit, pick yourself up put the gloves back on and just keep moving.

9. See the Potential in Others

When Dwayne was 16, that was the last time he was arrested. He lived in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and had a chip on his shoulder. He attended the local high school and refused to use the male bathroom instead choosing to use the bathroom in the teacher’s lounge. Jody Cwik a teacher approached Dwayne advising him that he was not allowed to use the teacher’s facilities. Dwayne being six feet four casually looked over his shoulder and chose to ignore the teacher’s request. Later that evening reflecting Dwayne felt that he had behaved inappropriately and thought to apologise to Cwik. The next day Dwayne found Cwik and apologised and what happened next Dwayne will never forget. When Dwayne extended his hand to apologise, Cwik held onto it tight and asked Dwayne to attend the following day and play football for him. Cwik was the head football coach and later become a father figure as well as a mentor to Dwayne. Dwayne loved playing football and consequently his grades improved and offers from colleges started rolling in. What Dwayne learned from this memorable experience was that Cwik never judged him, instead showing empathy for a disrespectful ‘punk kid’ who had potential.

10. Have Fun

Lastly have fun.

Success can come at any time we just need to have faith, focus and determination. As Dwayne said on the other side of pain is something good. If we are unhappy with our current circumstances, we need to reassess and make alternative choices. Work hard and the possibilities are endless.

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