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If you pursue something difficult in life, you’ve probably had to make sacrifices, whether it’s a sacrifice of personal health, mental health, relationships, time, or finances. Probably as we chased that goal, one or more of these things suffered. When asked what surprised him most about humanity, the Dalai Lama replied: “Man. Because he sacrifices his health to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recover his health.” He goes on to get much more philosophical and much more depressing, but the quote above is a great testament to the power of chasing dreams without being aware of what you need to not only survive, but thrive.
Now, that’s not to say that making sacrifices to achieve goals isn’t a good thing: it’s usually necessary. But being intentional about what you give up for what you’re trying to gain is how you live a life without regrets. This is something that has remained relevant in my daily work to become a better leader, and while I have grown through the years of running businesses and learned along the way, nothing has made me grow and learn more than stepping into the ring.
A little over a year ago, I was reconnecting with an old friend from college, and he mentioned his new passion for boxing. I had been there as a teenager with friends following along, but it had never been something I actively took part in. He convinced me to go with it and try it again in my adulthood. New Year’s resolutions and all, I went, and the rest was history. That day, in the Fighters Boxing Gym in Nashville, hitting heavy bags sparked an obsession that led to boxing becoming a major item in my expenses, more than half my laundry and a large part of my personality.
Here are the three most important lessons I’ve learned from the squared circle so far.
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1. Resilience is mandatory for success
Working in a startup environment where every deal counts and sparring in boxing are more similar than you think. First things first: you have to have thick skin. No matter how much we try to “cut the loop” with better services and put the customer “on the ropes” in the purchasing decision, sometimes the potential customer changes direction and hires someone else. Those punches, while they might not be as painful if you focus on each individual punch, but over the course of several rounds they start to pile up. Learning to keep fighting and not accept defeat is how you force the fight into a decision without getting knocked out. In other words, if you’re not resilient and haven’t stumbled upon a hidden treasure, you probably won’t last long in business.
As a startup entrepreneur who has never taken on investments, my back has been against the ropes more times than I can count. This key lesson of staying resilient and not taking “no” for an answer has allowed me to stay determined and motivate my team to develop new verticals without having to close stores or lay off people. I attribute my ability to pivot my company to offering influencer marketing campaigns to brands and musicians/labels largely to boxing. Remain adaptable and not be willing to throw in the towel. Boxing took me there.
2. Concentrated time dedicated to learning
Focusing on learning is necessary for all great battles. There are no shortcuts on this. If you don’t put in the hours, you won’t prevail. This applies to time in the ring or in the boardroom. You have to work on the basics of being a good leader just as much as you have to work on the fundamentals in the gym. Muhammad Ali said: “The battle is won or lost away from the witnesses: behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the street, long before I dance under those lights.” Muhammad Ali would have been exceptional in any profession. If you don’t carve out uninterrupted time to improve, you won’t improve.
In my years as an entrepreneur, I have struggled to find uninterrupted time for growth. Digging through the red lines, a customer calls me. While working on a proposal, an employee asks me a question. Learning the importance of inevitable “offline” time has made me more demanding of it in the workplace. Now I’m able to use the whiteboard, learn about new lanes, or do anything else I need without compromising or being half-distracted. If you’re distracted while boxing, you’ll feel it (literally). If you’re distracted at work, you’ll feel differently, but both are equally bad for winning.
Related: 7 Lessons from the Boxing Ring
3. Your corner can make or break you
A boxer is usually only as good as his corner. To be truly great, you need a great trainer and a great man, just as an entrepreneur needs great leaders within their business and consultants outside their business. The people you surround yourself with in both realms need to be people who can be supportive and who aren’t afraid to speak their mind when things need to be improved. I’m much more involved in my entrepreneurial journey than I am in boxing; however, the coaches I spent my time learning from, hitting gloves and sparring at the Punch Club in Los Angeles and the Fighters in Nashville, were the same type of people I try to surround myself with in the business world. Don’t be afraid to make changes if those people aren’t a good fit.
In the workplace it’s easy to agree to keep things as they are. Justify actions that should not be justified due to commitments. Boxing taught me that every voice in the room can make or break victory or defeat. It has helped me be more proactive in making changes when things aren’t working.
So the next time you’re exhausted, worried about staying upright, and the doorbell (or Google Calendar alarm) rings, be ready to fight with everything you have left. I know I will be.