Everyone loved to watch the Italian Stallion — the most memorable and beloved champion the world has ever known, and I believe you are not an exception.
Released in 1976, Rocky became the highest-grossing film of the year, winning three Oscars. Eight sequels and countless awards followed, firming the film’s (and Stallone’s) place in stardom and its title of a cultural phenomenon.
A classic example of a fighter who never gives up, Rocky is surely one of the most motivational films of all time.
Combing life struggles and opportunities, his story is a great metaphor for life itself, and we can all connect to it — there are indeed so many turns we can see ourselves in Rocky.
Here’s a look back at the greatest Rocky quotes that can serve as your daily motivation to succeed by unleashing the fighter within you!
10 Best Rocky Quotes
1. “Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up.” — Rocky Balboa
2. “It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” — Rocky Balboa
3. “Remember, the mind is your best muscle. Big arms can move rocks, but big words can move mountains.” — Rocky Balboa
4. “Every once in a while a person comes along who defies the odds, who defies logic, and fulfills an incredible dream.” — Rocky Balboa
5. “The toughest opponent you’re ever going to have to face (is in the mirror).” — Rocky Balboa
6. “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.” — Rocky Balboa
7. “Going in one more round when you don’t think you can. That’s what makes all the difference in your life.” — Rocky Balboa
8. “Because if you’re willing to go through all the battling you got to go through to get where you want to get, who’s got the right to stop you?” — Rocky Balboa
9. “The only difference between the hero and the coward, is the hero is willing to go for it, alright, willing to take the shot.” — Rocky Balboa
10. “I am not the richest, smartest, or most talented person in the world, but I succeed because I keep going, and going, and going!” — Rocky Balboa
See also: 220 Best Proverbs About Success To Give You Inspiration
Rocky Balboa Quotes To Inspire You
1. “Until you start believing in yourself, you ain’t gonna have a life.” — Rocky Balboa
2. “You’re gonna have to go through hell, worse than any nightmare you’ve ever dreamed. But when it’s over, I know you’ll be the one standing. You know what you have to do. Do it.” — Rocky Balboa
3. “You gotta work hard. I swear to God, if you’re not gonna do it, I’m out.” — Rocky Balboa
4. “You can take him okay, it’s all heart, you understand. It ain’t all muscle, it’s all heart. Heart and fire, heart and fire, okay!” — Rocky Balboa
5. “Nobody owes nobody nothin’. You owe yourself!” — Rocky Balboa
6. “Success is usually the culmination of controlling failure.” — Rocky Balboa
7. “I don’t know if you’re special. Only you are going to know that.” — Rocky Balboa
8. “Don’t it say something about going after what makes you happy?” — Rocky Balboa
9. “Bring back everything that’s ever hurt you, all the pain you had inside. They don’t know what we’ve been through. You belong here!” — Rocky Balboa
10. “Nothing is real if you don’t believe in who you are!” — Rocky Balboa
Famous Rocky Quotes
1. “I think we make a real sharp couple of coconuts — I’m dumb, you’re shy. whaddaya think, huh?” — Rocky Balboa
2. “You ain’t so bad, you ain’t so bad, you ain’t nothin’. C’mon, champ hit me in the face! My mother hits harder than that!” — Rocky Balboa
3. “Except for my kid being born, this is the greatest night in the history of my life.” — Rocky Balboa.
4. “Yo Adrian, I did it. We did it!” — Rocky Balboa
5. “I just want to say hi to my girlfriend, OK? Yo, Adrian! It’s me, Rocky.” — Rocky Balboa
6. “Together, we fill gaps.” — Rocky Balboa
7. “I was wonderin’ if, uh, you wouldn’t mind marryin’ me very much.” — Rocky Balboa
8. “I feel like a Kentucky Fried idiot.” —Rocky Balboa
9. “I wanna kiss ya. You don’t have to kiss me back if ya don’t wanna. I wanna kiss you.” — Rocky Balboa
10. “Do you like having a good time? Then you need a good watch!” — Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa Life Quotes
1. “You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.” — Rocky Balboa
2. “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.” — Rocky Balboa
3. “Time takes everybody out. Time is undefeated.” — Rocky Balboa
4. “You know the older I get, the more things I got to leave behind, that’s life. The only thing I am asking you guys to leave on the table, is what is right.” — Rocky Balboa
5. “You can’t learn when you’re talking. That’s a fact of life. As long as you’re talking, you’re not listening.” — Rocky Balboa
6. “I think you try harder when you’re scared… That’s when it’s worked best for me.” — Rocky Balboa
7. “You know they always say, if you live in one place long enough, you are that place.” — Rocky Balboa
8. “Are you here to prove something to other people? Or prove something to yourself?” — Rocky Balboa
9. “People do because they want to do.” — Rocky Balboa
10. “I stopped thinking the way other people think a long time ago. You gotta think like you think.” — Rocky Balboa
Motivational Rocky Quotes
1. “If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change.” — Rocky Balboa
2. “One step at a time. One punch at a time. One round at a time.” — Rocky Balboa
3. “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!” — Rocky Balboa
4. “Nothing’s over ’til it’s over.” — Rocky Balboa
5. “If this is something you wanna do, and if this is something you gotta do, then you do it. Fighters fight.” — Rocky Balboa
6. “If I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I’m still standin’, I’m gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren’t just another bum from the neighborhood.” — Rocky Balboa
7. “You knocked him down, why don’t you try knocking me down now.” — Rocky Balboa
8. “No, maybe I can’t win, maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he’s got. But to beat me, he’s gonna have to kill me, and to kill me, he’s gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me, and to do that, he’s gotta be willing to die himself and I don’t know if he’s ready to do that.” — Rocky Balboa
9. “You’re gonna take a beating, you’re gonna take this, you’re gonna get knocked down, you’re gonna get up and you’re gonna see if you got the right thing.” — Rocky Balboa
10. “It’s your right to listen to your gut, it ain’t nobody’s right to say no after you earned the right to be where you want to be and do what you want to do!” — Rocky Balboa
Final Words
For those of you who grew up watching Rocky, I believe this collection of Rocky quotes has served as a reminder of the impact this film and its hero have had on your life.
And for the younger generation that hasn’t watched it, that is more into 50 Shades of Grey, Twilight, The Hangover, and other films of today, I would encourage you to sit down and watch the franchise, or at least one of the installments.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against modern filmmaking. But to see what it means to truly sacrifice, get strong, and determined to succeed in the old-school way, watch Rocky and prepare to get the greatest motivation to succeed in whatever it is that you dream of.
Read next: 150 Empowering Badass Quotes To Take Life By The Horns
