How 600 Rejections Changed His Life

5 Hulk-Like Lessons of Mark Ruffalo

He is a force to be reckon with.

In an interview with Rolling Stone this actor confessed that in his young Padawan days (his twenties) he was turned down 600x in auditions… left Hollywood twice… and struggled with unbearable anxiety.

So far we tackled Captain America, Iron Man (in previous emails) – now let’s roll up our sleeves and jump into the ring with The Hulk, Oscar-nominated actor, Mark Ruffalo.

Like the others, there’s mucho to learn from this guy.

Let’s follow the green bread crumbs to see how he crawled through the rubble of life…   smashed through setbacks… and emerged as the monster-sized force he is today.

Without further ado:

5 Hulk-Like Life Lessons of Mark Ruffalo

1. Don’t Celebrate Too Early

When he was 19, he scored his first acting gig in a Clearasil commercial. He felt he “made it” so he waved goodbye to his day job – stringing instruments at the guitar store. But after a couple months of splurging on fancy dinners… lending moolah to friends… and a new car stereo – he was broke again.
So he scrambled back to little jobs as a busboy, waiter, gardener, house painter- even a bartender (making an infamous drink called “The Mark-arita”)

2. Stay Firmly Grounded And Centered 

All the rejection, setbacks and uncertainty was sending his anxiety out of control. His thoughts were always running – even while lying in bed.  So Ruffalo started a daily practice of meditation - and found the voices in his head quieted down… he stayed grounded and was no longer swept up in his emotions… and his career started to feel different… and shift.
 
3. Obstacles Will Be Chucked Your Way – Never Quit Swinging 

After ten years of swinging again… and again… he finally struck a surge of momentum… scoring more roles… finding his soul-mate… and then expecting his first child. But then a new challenge knocked on his doorstep, this time it was a brain tumor. As he held his new-born boy, he wasn’t sure if he’d get to see him grow up. Luckily, it was benign. But the surgery to extract it paralyzed half his face. Doctors told him it’d probably be permanent. And for close to a year it looked that way.
 
About a year later, while staring in the mirror, trying to move his paralyzed side, he saw his face slightly twitch and started yelling for his, “Baby! Baby I can move my face!” The two started crying because they knew then-and-there that his muscle function would return.
 
4. Redirect Adversity To Your Advantage 

In 2008, his brother Scott (beloved Hollywood hair-stylist) was murdered - devastating everyone (especially because the case was unsolved).  After his brother’s death, Mark poured himself into the movie The Kids Aren’t Alright, thinking that this was his last film. In it, he played a character similar to his brother – a role that allowed Mark to honor him. Turned out, the movie crushed it. And sent Ruffalo his first Oscar-nomination.
 
But it also made him make another ground-breaking realization…
 
5. Just Go For Broke 

His brother’s death unleashed something deeper, something he held back for almost all of his life, he states:
 
I realized I was holding back a little bit.
So I could always say I didn’t really give it everything to myself
Now I’m like ‘Just go for broke man’. This is it.
-Mark Ruffalo
 
This is it.
There’s no time to wait.
Get started today.
In the direction that makes most sense to you.
Because today is all that we’re guaranteed.
 
Kelan Ern
Mind-Body Coach
 
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