Limitless Monday: Develop Intensity Of A Champion

Limitless Monday – Develop the intensity of a champion

On February 11, 1990, one of the most memorable upsets in sporting history occurred. Even if you were not around 34 years ago, most people of reasonable education and knowledge are aware of the time when a relatively unknown boxer named Buster Douglas knocked out the undefeated Mike Tyson.

Eight months later, Douglas was knocked out himself, never reclaiming his former glory after snatching away the heavyweight world title as a 40 to 1 underdog.

I was reminded of this fight recently as I watched the trajectory of the British female tennis player Emma Raducanu. At 18 she was the first person to qualify and then win the US open, without losing a set. Since then her best performance has been winning three matches in a row; she typically bows out in the first round of most tournaments and has been plagued with injuries.

There are many more examples of sports men and women reaching the pinnacle of success and then quickly falling back to earth never to achieve the same heights again.

It’s a phenomenon that isn’t only related to sport; it happens in most forms of life including business and relationships.

A few years ago while having the misfortune of being incarcerated, I started to play chess with other inmates and one or two of the friendlier guards. Interestingly, the standard of chess in US prisons is high. As a teenager I played to a decent standard but hadn’t played much since. Prison gave me the opportunity to reacquaint myself with the game. After a few months of playing 4 hours a day, I entered the prison chess tournament as the underdog. I beat all four of the top players on the way to the final where I annihilated the favorite, 2:0.

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Six months later, when a new tournament was organized, I was beaten in the first round. I had lost my motivation. In fact I stopped playing after that for a while until another worthy challenger from another prison appeared. He challenged me on the stairs as I walked to lunch minding my own business. “You’re trash!” he told me. I practiced with my cell mate at night when the doors had been locked, and after a few days I took up his challenge. He didn’t win a game. I was inspired.

That is what this article is about. Champions are consistent winners. They don’t lose inspiration when they reach their goal; they find another goal and push themselves further. They pump up their balloon a little more each time, unlike my history with chess, and business winners don’t let the air out of their balloon.

I believe Raducanu will rediscover her inspiration and win another major, but first she must hit rock bottom and find the motivation to win again.

A winner is blinkered; they don’t worry about the noise around them; they thrive on being the underdog. However, when they achieve greatness, they find new goals to propel them forward. Look at Djokovic: he entered the world of tennis dominated by two greats, Federer and Nadal, he adapted his game to achieve his own greatness and surpass the achievements of these two supreme champions.

Mayweather, Ali, Phelps, Biles are just a few great champions who possess these qualities.

What about in business? Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds, once said, you only need to get it right once. He uttered these words after many failed business ventures before discovering a small burger restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

I write this because I find myself in the Emma Raducanu camp, not the Buster Douglas corner. Many of us are one hit wonders: we find glory but then lose our motivation. That’s probably why we are in the habit of peaking too early. We have massive ambitions during childhood, and then our lives fizzle to nothing particularly consequential. “I had so much potential” you say to yourself in later life.

How do we become champions? We must be relentless. Giving up is definitely not an option. We must constantly find new ways of maintaining our enthusiasm so we don’t burn out. New goals. New methods of training, new business or product ideas. Vacations, hobbies.

What should I have done differently when I won that chess tournament? I should have made the decision to become an even better player. That would have entailed reading a bunch of chess books, testing, and practicing new strategies.

Raducanu should have focused on her conditioning with the goal to be the best conditioned female tennis player in the world, in fact I read the other day that is now her goal.

We all need a new challenge. We can never take our opponent, competitors, customers, friends, or family for granted. We must always find ways to be inspired. Even when events appear to be going against us, we must find a way to stay positive and continue improving.

Don’t be the person who says, I had so much potential, someone who once achieved something against all odds and then dropped back into obscurity and mediocracy.

Look at this way. You have the potential. You already demonstrated it. Now you just have to do it again. Feel comforted that it is easier the next time around. It’s never too late, but the longer you leave it, the shorter your window of success will be.

Happy Monday!

Banner Image: Mike Tyson fight. Image Credit – Wendy Berry licensed by CC 

Harry Maximillian

Harry is an author, coach, entrepreneur, comedian and a convicted felon. Harry was sent to prison for a financial crime where he spent five long years. Prison allowed Harry to realize the error of his ways. He decided to use his time productively and mobilize his extraordinary determination, dedication, drive, motivation and desire to focus on writing and the art of self-improvement. Before Harry’s enforced vacation he was one of the most prolific deal makers in the City of London.