Real-life Motivational and Struggle Story - Robert Downey Jr.

A True Motivational Story | Robert Downey Jr.

When Robert Downey Jr. was six years old, his father forced him to smoke marijuana. Robert's father was a drug-addicted filmmaker who forced him to do drugs in order for them to bond.

"My dad forced me to smoke weed when i was 6."

It was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how.

Robert moved to California with his father after his parents divorced. He was abusing alcohol and drugs every night by this point. During the chaos, Robert dropped out of school and decided to pursue a career as an actor. He concentrated on his work and accepted any role he could find, eventually landing a spot on Saturday Night Live.

However, SNL received low ratings that year, and Robert was fired. Despite this, he continued to work in small roles in popular films such as Weird Science, and eventually landed a breakout role in Less than Zero, where he played a cynical drug addict whose life spirals out of control.

His performance was widely praised as moving and mature, but Robert felt he was playing his own drug-addicted self and entered rehab.

He was ready to work now that he was clean and sober, and he prepared extensively for the role of Charlie Chaplin by learning the violin and becoming left-handed.

“Nothing will serve you better than a strong work ethic. Nothing.”

His performance earned him an Oscar nomination. Despite his success, drugs were always close by. He succumbed to his demons once more and reached rock bottom, being arrested and imprisoned several times in a few short years.

His wife had had enough and had left him with their son. Robert checked himself back into rehab, feeling lost, tired, and desperate for help.

“Remember that just because you hit bottom doesn’t mean you have to stay there.”

During his stay, he practised meditation, yoga, and kung-fu, and he finished treatment with a renewed zest for life and a determination to remain drug-free. His second wife gave him an ultimatum: stay sober or lose her. He was ready to give it his all this time.

All of his hard work paid off when he landed the role of Iron Man, which earned him billions of dollars worldwide and earned him the title of one of the world's most influential people.

Robert, a true hero, devotes much of his time to children who are ill or in need of assistance. He pays them a visit in the hospital, and in true Tony Stark fashion, one gives a young boy a new bionic arm.

Knowing their struggles, he also assists addicts in receiving the help they require to recover. Robert's inspiring comeback story demonstrates that you can always change your life.

“People rise out of the ashes because they are invested in the possibility of triumph over seemingly impossible odds.” Robert Downey Jr.