Life is like a coded door. Until you get the code to open the door, you will forever stay behind it. Hence, many that are struggling in life are those that are not able to find the code that opens the door of success. These codes are principles worth learning and practicing if one dares to succeed.
Some of these principles are leadership, management, competitive urge, strategic focus, self belief, strong mindset, etc. This article focuses on decoding the codes of success using boxing as a tool of success with premise on Floyd Mayweather, the undisputed boxing champion with fifty fights without a loss.
Floyd in an interview with Interview Magazine stated that; ‘’every day as a kid I went to the boxing gym. I knew boxing before I knew anything else.’’ Going to the boxing gym everyday defines consistency and knowing boxing before he knew everything else means he identified his talent at a young age. How consistent are you and what are you passionate about? Consistency and passion are the true definitions of success. When you are able to identify these two parameters in your life, you will definitely become an eventual success in spite of all the challenges the world presents to you. The fact is, apart from Floyd doing what he loves doing at a tender age, his upbringing was tough. Her Mum a drug addict; and his father a drug dealer with a difficult life, he still stayed focused to rise to who God created him to be. In our world today, those that are successful are the ones that focus on their dreams and manage their distractions. Floyd did this excellently even at a tender age. That is from difficult upbringing to an amateur boxer; to a professional one and the rest is history.
Sylvester Stallone in the film Rocky Balboa quotes, ‘’every champion was once a contender who refused to give up’’. To me that is the definition of Floyd Mayweather. The man refused to give up. He has worked hard over the years and to me he has written his name in the history books of boxing after defeating Conor McGregor last Sunday morning at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He stopped him in the 10th round to reach a landmark of 50 fights undefeated. Fifty fights unbeaten is a great achievement and I believe he has to be called to the Boxing Hall of Fame. The man needs to be celebrated! He is a genius in his field of play and understands the industry in which he operates; and above all, he has the WINNING formula.
Boxing can be one of the loneliest sports in the world especially when you are in the ring. Though boxing is a ‘limited liability’ business by virtue of the team behind the scenes that makes the success of every boxer possible, in the ring it looks like a ‘sole proprietorship’ business as the success in the ring in real time is defined by the boxer alone. Boxing is one of the sports where concentration, strong mindset and understanding of the game play an important role. The boxer can get all the support from the team, but in the ring, it depends on solely the boxer to motivate himself and exhibit exceptional skills to outperform his competitor. Hence your success is your sole responsibility. Therefore you need to stop blaming others and start blaming yourself, stop complaining and start acting, stop talking about problems and start finding solutions. That is what the boxer does and so should you do.
To succeed in boxing as well as life, it is imperative that you take one step at a time, one punch at a time and one round at a time. Meaning there is no short cut to succeeding in life. Focus is what you need to get to the next round of your life. In the nutshell, that is what the builders do to put one block at a time to build a mansion. There is no builder who puts two blocks at a time. Consequently, starting your dream today and expecting to be successful tomorrow is the biggest fallacy of the 21st century.
What makes boxing so fascinating is that, you need to cover your face to win the boxing bout. This means throwing punches does not necessarily win fights; but punches aimed at a target (the face of your opponent) is what can win points and potentially knockout the opponent. Meaning you cannot just do things anyhow and expect to succeed. Exposing your face makes you prone to a knockout or worse still your opponent winning points that can lead to winning the fight. Mike Tyson puts it in a better perspective by saying, ‘’everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face’’. I want to put it that everybody has a plan until they face challenges.
To succeed in life is full of challenges that one cannot afford to downplay. Challenges are what separate the successful ones from the rest. Hence until you guard your face like a boxer and throw punches at your competitor strategically, you will not make it to the 12th round.
This same principle should be applied in your career, talent development or business. That is there are certain strategies that should give you competitive advantage in the marketplace. It must outwit your competitors and make you standout in the industry which you operate. Many of us have decided consciously or unconsciously that losing is a lifestyle due to the competitive nature of the world.
The following are a few of Floyd Mayweather’s pre-match conference interview that I loved and would like to share…
• Your weight and fans do not win fights was his answer when asked if his weight and fans will contribute to his win or loss –
Boxing is akin to life and business. Your success depends solely on you and no one else. Boxing is a game. Unlike other team sports, you are solely responsible for your success or failure in the ring. You cannot blame anyone and you cannot have substitute when challenged to give up, but face the battle until you cannot stand on your feet anymore. You will WIN alone but celebrate with others.
To succeed in the ring, you ought to know the weakness of your competitors. Meaning you can only outwit your competitors in the marketplace when you know their weakness to have a competitive advantage. That is, you need to be strategic. To succeed in business you need to have certain strategies that need to be kept secret. This makes you more competitive in the marketplace. For example, no one knows the recipe of Coca-Cola because it is its competitive advantage. Meaning there has to be something about you that your competitors cannot comprehend…your uniqueness should be your weapon.
For instance, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have similar tastes but they each rely on unique recipes to be different.
Also all the pre-match conferences have some serious psychological effects. Meaning the battle can be won or lost before the real fight. The mind then is the platform that defines the success or failure of the fight
• I have been here before was his answer when asked if he will win the fight. –
That is to ask what experience you have. Refusing to start that dream means you are depriving yourself of valuable experience and boldness to say you know what it takes.
David knew he can kill Goliath because of his experience in the bush of killing wild animals like the lion and the bears. What experience do you have? Talking is not experience but doing is what makes you bold to tell the world what you are capable of.
Experience changes your perception of life, the way you speak and act; and it endorses your belief and abilities.
In conclusion, remember success is your sole responsibility. Les Brown says; ‘’accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else’’. Understanding this is the first step to owning your life and working hard to achieve the impossible in your life. Working hard is key and this is substantiated by Vidal Sassoon who says the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Therefore WINNING depends on hard work, attitude, sacrifice and the boldness to pursue your dream or what you believe in. Success is a viable venture if you believe in yourself and abilities.
Remember it’s possible if only you believe.
#themoneyteammayweatherkudos
Author: Oscar Bimpong
Email – inf@oscar.bimpong.com
Web: www.oscarbimpong.com