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The Rock’s Inspiring Journey
In an exclusive interview with Oprah, The Rock’s inspiring journey takes atention as he opens up about his experiences as a father, the challenges he’s faced, and how he’s achieved success. Growing up with a strict father, The Rock’s inspiring journey is rooted in values like discipline, love, and hard work. These lessons have profoundly influenced how he raises his three daughters. Throughout this heartfelt conversation, he shares his reflections on fatherhood, the importance of a strong work ethic, and the power of unconditional love. Ultimately, The Rock’s inspiring journey from hardship to success showcases the strength of determination, honor, and gratitude, proving that resilience can lead to remarkable achievements. Through The Rock’s inspiring journey, he impresses others to grab their paths with bravery and affection.
The Rock: Thank you, Oprah, for having me. Thank you, guys.
Oprah: So, your father was very strict. Now, here’s the thing. You’ve gone one on one with some fierce competitors in the ring, right? But now you were in one of the scariest situations any man can be in raising three daughters.
The Rock: Yes. Yes, extremely scary.
Oprah: And are you a strict Dad?
The Rock: I am. Not super strict, but discipline is important. But also, you know, I’ll go back to my dad. My dad loved me with a small capacity in which he was capable of. So, I learned from that and so with my daughters, I want to be as full and as present with the love that I give them.
Oprah: Present, yes. That’s what we were talking about. What do you want to make sure that they get that you didn’t get? And it’s so interesting when you have children, I’ve seen this from a lot of people who, you didn’t get what you needed. You just didn’t get what you needed because of what The Rock just said, your parents didn’t have the capacity to give it to you. And now that you’re older, you have to learn to give that to yourself and to be able to give that to your children in a way that you don’t carry on what was done to you. So, what is it you want your daughters to know about the way you love them?
The Rock: I want my daughters to know that I love them unconditionally, truly, unconditionally without condition. And I have a daughter who’s 18 years old, her name is Simone. Jasmine who just turned four, baby, Tiana, thank you who is getting ready to turn two. And I am as I told my 18-year-old daughter, Simone, I said I love you. I’m going to tell you I love you every day, I’m going to text you I love you…
Oprah: So, you’re one of those who say the words out loud?
The Rock: Yes, because I didn’t get that. And I look at you, I love you and I’m going to text you. But I also told her, I’m unattached. You don’t even have to text me back. Right? You could text me back. It’s fine. But you don’t have to, like it’s okay. It’s without condition. It’s unconditional love. And I also want to teach my daughters the value of hard work. More importantly, I want to teach my daughters the value of being kind, and how important that is.
Oprah: Well, you know, I read that your father, you used to watch him in training, and he would say, “If I’m going to get up at 5 AM, you’re going to get up at 5 AM.” So, what do you think you’ve got the most from him? Was it your work ethic? What was it?
The Rock: It was definitely my work ethic. My dad was a man who, against the odds, made it. But he would get up at 5 AM, usually in the morning, and he would say if I get up, you’re going to get up too. He would drag me to the gym and by the way, I’m five years old, and he would drag me to the gym. Yes. And I wouldn’t work out, but he would just make sure that I was there and be with him, and that was our time that we could spend together. But I would say my work ethic from my dad, my dad always said too that, regardless of what you do in life and where you go, respect is going to be given when it’s earned. And you have to go out and earn it every single day.
Oprah: Yeah. So, your dad taught you a lot. I wonder, what have your daughters taught you?
The Rock: My daughters taught me how to be I think more caring and more sensitive and more selfless.
Oprah: Yeah. Were you there for all of them when they were born?
The Rock: I was right there.
Oprah: Right there?
The Rock: I mean, right there. Yes.
Oprah: I mean, you were right there.
The Rock: I was right there. Yes. And bring it on. I mean, this is our moment. Yes.
Oprah: Yeah. And is that a life-changing moment, when that happens for you?
The Rock: It’s the greatest thing that I have ever experienced in my life. And it gave me such a profound respect for my babies’ mamas. I have two. I was once married and now I’m happily married. Lauren is back there. We’ve known each other for 12 years now but it has been the most profound experience of my life because also too, you know, when you meet… As a man, you meet someone, you meet a woman, and this is going to be the one and you want to get married and my first marriage didn’t work out. But then the birth of a child and what that does and the lens perspective that just shifts and it just gives me a new profound respect for again, their moms as…
Oprah: So, it didn’t work out with the marriage, but then she became your business partner, your first marriage?
The Rock: She did. Yes, yes.
Oprah: And you still are.
The Rock: We still are. So, my ex-wife, Dany, we, the marriage didn’t work out. And it was just one of those things where it wasn’t an ugly divorce, it was just marriage wasn’t in our cards. We’re great friends. Marriage wasn’t in our cards, but we both had an appetite for business and to accomplish things. And we thought, “Well, what if we continued to do business together and do you think we can?” And it felt like we could make something happen and we did.
Oprah: I know you didn’t grow up with a lot of money. And I read the story about when, I think you were 14 and there was an eviction notice on the door and how that made a big impression on you, right?
The Rock: It did. Yes.
Oprah: Now, you’re one of the highest-paid actors in the world.
The Rock: Thank you. I do all right. Thank you.
Oprah: You do all right. And does that title, the sexiest man alive, the highest paid in the… What do those titles mean if anything? You’re the greatest, you’re the most popular, you’re the most followed, you’re the most, you’re the most, the most, the most, the most.
The Rock: It’s great for the ego. It’s wonderful.
Oprah: Yeah, the better question is, how do you keep your ego in check when all of that is happening around?
The Rock: Sure. Very important. People I have around me and how important that is…
Oprah: Do you have anybody who can tell you the truth at this point?
The Rock: Yeah, she’s called my wife.
Oprah: Okay. Lauren can tell you the truth?
The Rock: Yes, Lauren can tell me the truth. But by the way, and this is where it’s the tricky thing for us to being in this position, is we want to make sure that we have people around us who are inspired to do well and reach for and continue to share our vision, but also at time say, well, I’m not quite sure if that’s the right thing to do. So, look, I’ve had a wonderful career, especially coming from being evicted. And those titles are nice, and everything is fine. But honestly, I’m so grateful to be in the position I’m in and I never take anything for granted. I try not to…
Oprah: Aren’t you glad that you were once evicted, because it gives you such an appreciation for what you have now?
The Rock: It just gives such perspective. When we were 14 years old, we lived in Hawaii and we lived in a small efficiency apartment. And we were, my mom and I came home, and I’ll never forget the rent was $180 a week. And there was an eviction…
Oprah: A week?
The Rock: A week. And that was an eviction notice on the door. And it was, this was the one, it was the final eviction notice, like, that’s the one. My mom started crying, and I never forgot in that moment, it was a seminal moment for me because I felt like I never want to be in this position again. What can I do?
So, at 14 years old, I thought, well, the heroes in my life, Muhammad Ali, for example, professional wrestlers, they’re all men who have worked hard with their hands and they built their body. Yes, that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna do what my dad taught me and these other heroes, I’m gonna go build my body so, we’re never evicted again, but being evicted, by the way, has as you were saying has not only given me just great perspective, but also great gratitude, but also my team and my family, we laugh at it, but I feel this way like, “Oh, well, you know, we’re a month away from being evicted. I gotta go to work.” Like, I still have that in my head.
Oprah: You still have that?
The Rock: I still have that in my head, you know, but it keeps you grounded by the way. Yeah, because that’s why the most this and the most that again, it’s wonderful. But the alternative is what I once was.
Oprah: And it keeps you hungry.
The Rock: It keeps you hungry.
Oprah: It keeps you hungry.
The Rock: Yes.
Oprah: Keeps you hungry. So, what was your big splurge, the first big splurge? We all read about the $1500, but once you got some real money…
The Rock: Yes, once I got some real money, a Rolex watch.
Oprah: That’s what you do. You buy a Rolex.
The Rock: You buy a Rolex, yes. Because it’s what you do.
Oprah: It’s what you do.
The Rock: Right? Yes. That’s what you do. So, I thought, well, yes, I need a Rolex, and at that time I was still wrestling so, everyone had Rolex watches, you know, those were the guys, big successful, and I thought, okay, that’s what I gotta do. So, I remember I went and I said, how much is this? I went in, and they said, $35,000.And I said, okay, I’ll take it, I don’t have that money right now, but I will come back and I’ll get it. And they said, no problem. I was wrestling in Louisville, Kentucky, I wasn’t on TV yet.
Oprah: Okay.
The Rock: And I remember I went home and I got my money and I saved it up, I came back in, plopped it down, and I got that Rolex. And I wore it in the ring, not for a match but I was doing an interview in the ring. I wore it in the ring, and a wrestlers’ trick of the trade, I hit my move, and as I came back and busted the face of the Rolex when I came in the back, my, one of the wrestlers goes, “You know, you just bought a $35,000 turnbuckle pad.” So, that was my big splurge. And I never bought anything like that again.
Oprah: What do you spend your money on now?
The Rock: Property. Property and just trying to create opportunities for other people. And, you know, if I can make the lives of the people around me a little bit better, you know, that’s what I’m doing now. That and my properties.
Oprah: You’ve worked hard for your success.
The Rock: Thank you.
Oprah: But I want to talk to you about the difficult time you had early in your wrestling career.
The Rock: Yes.
Oprah: When you were met with the chorus of “Rocky Sucks” chants.
The Rock: Yes.
Oprah: How did you deal with that?
The Rock: You know, it was tough. Here I was, following in my father’s footsteps, stepping into the wrestling world. And the audience just wasn’t accepting me. They didn’t like the character I was portraying.
Oprah: So, what did you do?
The Rock: I decided to be myself. I asked for an opportunity to speak to the audience from the heart. And I just told them who I was, and what I wanted to accomplish.
Oprah: And that worked.
The Rock: It did. They responded to the real me. It was a lesson in authenticity. Being true to yourself is the most powerful thing you can do.
Oprah: That’s an incredible story. You’ve also spoken about gratitude a lot. How does that play into your daily life?
The Rock: I think it’s the key to everything. I wake up every morning, and the first thing I do is express gratitude. It sets the tone for my day. No matter what’s going on, gratitude brings me back to the basics.
Oprah: You’ve had so much success, but you also experienced loss. You recently lost your father.
The Rock: Yes, I did. And it was one of the toughest things I’ve ever gone through. But even in loss, I found gratitude. For the time we had, for the lessons he taught me. And I carry those forward with me every day.
Oprah: That’s beautiful. Your story is truly inspiring, and I think it resonates with so many people because of your authenticity and the values you uphold.
The Rock: Thank you, Oprah. That means a lot coming from you.
In Brief, The Rock’s inspiring journey highlights the power of flexibility and the importance of love and hard work. Through The Rock’s inspiring journey, he teaches beneficial lessons about fatherhood and affluent challenges. The Rock’s inspiring journey reminds us that true success lies in the values we grasp and the connections we breeding along the way.
