I want you to imagine something…
Imagine that you are a professional fighter.
It’s 8 p.m. on a Saturday night and you are back in the locker room, wrapping your hands, putting on a pair of heavy gloves, and getting ready to walk into the ring.
Imagine the roars of the crowd as you emerge from backstage with your crew, walking towards the ring with a solemn expression on your face.
Now I want you to imagine your heart beating out of your chest as you slide under the rope, scanning the ring and locking eyes with tonight’s opponent.
You look at your him and he looks back at you.
There is no emotion in his face.
Just a do-or-die determination to beat you unconscious.
As you stretch out and walk over to your corner, your adrenaline spikes and you prepare yourself for the match.
The referee announces your name and then you wait.
One…
Two…
Three…
FIGHT!
You charge forward, towards your opponent, gloves raised and head on a swivel, it’s time to box.
Now…
Imagine doing this 50 times and winning each and every one.
Pretty insane right?
Well, not for Floyd Mayweather, arguably the greatest boxer in the history of the sport.
Growing up in an abusive household, serving jail time on several occasions, and being subjected to severe scrutiny under the public eye, Floyd has been forced to overcome adversity that you and I can barely imagine.
And yet after his recent fight with Conor McGregor, he has become the most decorated and victorious boxer of all time.
Whether you love him or hate him, you cannot deny his prowess in the ring and his understanding of the principles of success.
In this article, we will be diving into Floyd’s 7 biggest tips for achieving success.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a professional athlete, a CEO, or a 9-5 corporate warrior, these principles are universal and can be used by anyone looking to achieve at the highest levels.
So without further ado, let’s dive in.
1. Don’t Be Ruled by Your Emotions
“Be Cautious. Don’t react in anger.”
Growing up Floyd’s father, Floyd Mayweather Sr. was notoriously harsh on his son, and allegedly beat and abused Floyd Jr. for failures both in an out of the ring.
As a young man, this type of conditioning left Mayweather Jr. with a fierce temper, a chip on his shoulder, and a warped view of what it is to be a man.
Unsurprisingly, these factors got Floyd into a lot of trouble during his 20’s and early 30’s resulting in a variety of criminal charges, jail time, community service, and 6-figure fines.
Now, at the age of 40, when asked what he would tell his younger self, Floyd responded by saying “Be real real cautious and don’t react in anger.”
Floyd claims that he regrets his actions in his early 20’s and how he allowed his emotions to dictate his responses to various events and circumstances.
And it seems that every successful person, at some point in their life, comes to the conclusion that you can only achieve true success when you learn to emotionally detach yourself from situations and control your response.
When you allow your emotions to dictate your response, you become powerless…
You are at the mercy of your circumstances and take no responsibility for the situation at hand.
However, when you refuse to be ruled by your emotions when you take 100% responsibility for your actions regardless of the circumstances or your emotional state… That is when you have true power and that is how you achieve true success.
2. Understand that It’s Not Always About Hard Work
“He can have heart, he can hit harder and he can be stronger, but there’s no fighter smarter than me.”
Most people assume that success is all about the “Grind” and the “Hustle”.
They think that if they will just put their head down and work their ass off, they will win.
And sometimes that is the case.
But life and success are more complicated than that.
Floyd often went into the ring with opponents who were stronger than he was, faster than he was, and hit harder than he ever could.
But he never lost…
How could this be?
Because boxing, just like life and success isn’t all about being the strongest, the fastest, or the hardest hitting…
It’s about operating with the right strategy and doing the right things at the right time.
Just look at blue collar workers.
They work hard. Harder than anyone behind a computer does. They hustle, they grind, and they push themselves past exhaustion…
Yet how many landscapers do you know who make more than the average investment banker? Men who sit behind a desk all day and rarely, if ever, are required to do any sort of physical labor…
Probably not too many.
Now I am not saying this to denigrate anyone’s profession, I have plenty of blue collar friends who love what they do, are smart with their money, and plan to use their skills to become “The Boss”.
Rather, I made this analogy to point out that hard work alone isn’t enough.
If you want to win the game of life and become a man of success (whatever that means to you) then you must be smart about how you play the game.
You must have a plan and you must be willing to educate yourself and uncover the quickest and most efficient path to victory.
Because if you don’t… You will always lose to someone who will.
3. Value Yourself and Your Time More Than Anyone Else
“If I did want to come back, I was going to make, what, $50 million? You know what, don’t call my phone unless you’ve got $100 million.”
Floyd is known for flaunting his extravagant lifestyle and his huge bank account.
And while you may or may not approve of the spectacle that he puts on with his wealth, you cannot argue that the man demands to be paid what he is worth.
How many people do you know who would turn down $50 million?
I can’t think of any in my circles.
But Floyd doesn’t do this because he is greedy, he does it because he values his own time and his own energy far more than he values other people’s money.
He knows what he is worth and he isn’t willing to accept anything less.
What about you?
What do you believe you are worth?
Do you feel that you are getting paid what you are worth?
Are you accepting low quality work, staying in a job that you hate, or under charging for your expertise because you are too scared to declare your value to the world and demand more for your time and energy?
If so, then commit to making a change… Today.
Be like Floyd.
Know what you are worth and then go get what you are worth and stop accepting less than you deserve.
4. Be Authentic
“I’m the only fighter that keeps it real. Anything I say is real, I am never fake.”
Floyd Mayweather is nothing if not authentic.
He says what he wants, when he wants, for no other reason than that he wants to.
He makes a lot of people happy and he pisses even more people off (which we will touch on in a moment).
But the one thing that Floyd never does is conform to the expectations of others or change who he is to accommodate someone else’s feelings.
And neither should you…
Because at the end of the day, no matter how much money you earn, how many beautiful women have shared your bed, or how many people know your name… Who cares if all you are doing is putting on a mask and lying to the world and yourself?
Cut through the crap and be authentic. Stop trying to make other people happy by bullshitting and faking your way through life.
That’s no way to live…
And what’s more?
People can smell inauthenticity.
They know when you are trying to be someone else, and in the long run, you will typically anger even more people by faking your way through life than you would if you gave them a single finger salute and just decided to be yourself.
As Oscar Wilde said, “Be Yourself, everyone else is already taken.”
5. It Doesn’t Matter if People Love You Or Hate You as Long as they Know You
“Some pay to see me win, some pay to see me lose… But they all pay.”
I believe that the fight between Mayweather and McGregor was so lucrative not only because of the caliber of the two fighters but also because of their polarizing character traits.
There aren’t many people who are on the fence about either man.
They either love them or they hate them… There’s no in between.
But the funny thing is, countless individuals purchased tickets or Pay-per-view passes to the fight because they hated the fighters and wanted to watch one or both of them get their ass kicked.
And guess where their hard earned cash went?
Directly into Mr. Mayweather and McGregor’s wallets.
This is true in boxing and it’s true in business.
Just look at the controversial Tai Lopez. (Who I debunked in an article that you can check out here)
Many people love him, many more hate him, but regardless of their opinions, anytime someone writes an article criticizing or praising Tai, they are increasing the public awareness of his brand and his bottom line.
No matter what you do for a living, if you want to be truly successful, then you must polarize people.
There should be no one who “Likes” you.
They should either love you enough to marry you or hate your guts… Period.
And this might sound weird to some of you…
But just remember what the infamous Winston Churchill said:
You have enemies? Good! That means you stood for something at some point in your life
If you don’t have raving fans and haters, then you probably aren’t making much of a difference in the world.
People don’t give a shit about people who are mediocre.
They only care enough to love or hate people who are doing something big.
Just look at Grant Cardone, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins, and Steve Jobs.
All of these men are doing amazing things in their lives and businesses and all of these men have amassed millions of raving fans and millions of hater.
Why?
Because they are making a difference in this world.
6. Don’t Shoot for Second Best
Do you think I gave up my whole life just to say there is someone out there who is better than me? Absolutely not!”
In a world where children receive a trophy for mere participation, being competitive may seem like a foreign concept to many of you.
But if you want to make a dent in this universes, then you must develop a deep drive to compete… And an even deeper drive to win.
While I certainly believe that there is more than enough wealth and success to go around, I also believe that, if you want to make real money and have an impact that is global in scale, then you must learn to develop and harness your innate competitive drive.
Fuck second place…
As the Navy SEALs say, “Second place is first loser”.
If you are going to play a game, whether it’s boxing, entrepreneurship, or anything else… Play it to win or don’t play at all.
Because the second that you slow down, the second that you ease up, that’s the second that someone else out there who wants it more than you do will overtake you and claim victory for themselves.
And some of you reading this might be ok with second place.
But let me ask you something…
If you are going to devote your entire life to a craft, if you are going to commit to mastery, and if you are going to sacrifice decades of your life for something… Why the hell would you want to be second best?
I know I sure wouldn’t.
7. Showing is Better than Telling
Showing is better than telling
With the pervasiveness of social media, it seems like most people spend all of their time talking.
They talk about how they will be successful, they talk about how they will achieve their goals, they talk about what they are going to do and how they are going to change.
But there’s only one problem…
They won’t fucking do it!
I will not argue that Floyd Mayweather puts on the biggest shows that you have ever seen in the history of boxing.
But he backs every claim, every bit of trash talk, and every prediction up with massive action… And his record speaks for itself.
What about you?
Are you showing or are you telling?
Are you wasting time telling people about what you are going to accomplish and achieve or are you actually getting off your ass and showing them that you’ve already done it?
The more time you spend telling, the less time you have to spend doing.
So if you are serious about becoming successful, then take a page from Floyd’s book, shut the hell up and get to work.
Conclusion
Whether you love the man or hate him, you cannot deny that his insane discipline and incredible commitment to his craft has helped him build an amazing life of abundance and wealth.
Perhaps the biggest lesson that we can learn from Floyd, with his private jets, $1,000 dinners, and stacks of cash, is that if you are willing to do the right work, stay committed to a lucrative craft, and keep your head down for 1-2 decades… The rewards are enormous.
So go out there and get to work on your dream.
Get committed to your craft
And then go reap the rewards for yourself.
Next Steps
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