One Man’s Passion

NOTES FROM VENUS
Tuesday, 22 Jan 2008.
By Membuaya

While I know I may not be waiting in line front and centre to watch Rambo 4, I do know of one person who will be, and that guy is Greald Chuah – probably Sylvester Stallone’s greatest fan, here in Malaysia and likely the world.

Gerald is a really nice guy, a journalist whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with in the past, and the reason I bring him up is because his story is one that can be admired. We all knew Gerald was mad about Rocky, Rambo and all things Sylvester, but as we all went about our daily lives, little did we (or possibly me, since I am considered very blur) realise that Gerald was working on a book that culminates his passion into a positive undertaking.

Gerald wrote an inspirational book entitled based on Sylvester’s life and films!Who would have ever imagined that a self-help book would take inspiration from a movie?
A quote on the backcover of the book entitled In The Eye of the Tiger: Survival Principles from Sylvester Stallone’s Life & Films sums up the philosophy and concept of the book:

“I want to give the audience positive symbols, heroines and heroes who pull themselves up from the depths of despair. As they claw and finally attain their goals, viewers can realize `My God, I can do that,’ or `That’s the kind of person I want to be.” – Sylvester Stallone.

As the tagline of the latest Rocky movie says: “It ain’t over till it’s over!” Gerald who started writing this book many years ago was determined to get his book off the ground as a final tribute to the underdog fighter in conjunction with the last installment of the Rocky series.

His challenge was three-fold – to complete and publish his book, to have Jackie Stallone launch his book, and to make it on time for the premiere of Rocky Balboa (last year) within the space of one month. And, he achieved it!

Like a Hollywood ending to a life affirming story Gerald finally went the distance achieved his goal, proving that nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

When Gerald launched his book after a special screening of Rocky Balboa at GSC Times Square, Jackie was there to celebrate with Gerald. Jackie was on a Far East tour with her husband Dr. Stephen M. Levine and she made the special trip to KL to meet Gerald especially for the event.

During the book launch on Jan 22 2007, Jackie, who first saw the book two years earlier was impressed by the accuracy of the facts, and its relevance of the inspirational quotes to Stallone’s real life struggles.

She said, “I am very proud of your book! I read the book and every word is true. The whole family live by these rules.”

“It is a miracle how Gerald was able to gather all these quotes and put them together in a book. I think everyone who wants to be successful, rich, and famous should read these quotes and practice them,” she added.

Driven by a mission to impart these powerful secrets to the world, Chuah religiously documented each and every point to inspire readers to get back on their feet and onto the heart of action, proving that our greatest strength lies within and is inspired from above.

He defines The Eye of the Tiger as a feeling, an awareness and a belief that there is something greater for us to achieve in life than what we seemingly are in this present reality, it is a call of duty that we must heed and a voice from our conscience that compels us to reach the destiny of our restless souls.

Now how’s that for a good story?

Written by membuaya | | Posted in VenusReads
http://www.notesfromvenus.com/blog/?p=2364