Lessons from the Lord of the Ring?

By Jeffrey Gitomer

I sat down to talk with Drew Brown, the first black jet fighter pilot in the Navy, a decorated war veteran who was raised on the streets of Harlem. He went to school at Southern University, played basketball for the Harlem Globetrotters and wrote a book called You Gotta Believe!

Subject of our discussion? Boxing.
More specifically, Muhammad Ali.
 
“When I was a kid, my father made me sit in the corner,” Drew said with an all-knowing smile. “Oh, not the corner you're thinking about. I'm talking about the corner that Muhammad Ali sat in while he was winning or defending the heavyweight championship of the world.”

Drew’s dad was Bundini Brown. Bundini was Ali’s trainer, and in Ali’s corner with Angelo Dundee for every major fight of Ali’s career. So was the young Drew Brown. Drew was there at the fights and at the gym where Ali got ready and trained to become a world champion.

Can you imagine being ringside for the career of the greatest boxer of all time? I wanted to hear every story. Liston, Frasier, Forman, and Norton. I wanted to hear about the fights.

Like all boxing fans in the ’60s and ’70s, I loved Ali. His style, his speed, his swagger, and his confidence. Yes, he was controversial, but that did not detract from his skills. He fought like no other. He was a warrior. And still today, he is the most recognized name in the world.

After about half a dozen stories, I challenged Drew to take the stories and convert them into lessons. “What did you learn from sitting in the corner? What did Ali’s career teach you?”

“I never thought about it,” he said smiling.
“Think about it; I want to know the lessons,” I challenged.

Drew began to talk, and I began to write. Here are the lessons he learned sitting at the feet of Muhammad Ali and observing his actions. Think about how you might be able to model Ali’s habits in your sales career.

He got ready to win. He trained to be a champion, not just to win the fight.

He simulated the fight environment for months before the fight. He had sparring partners that pushed him to the limit. Many later became his opponents in the ring.

He had a victory strategy that he prepared and practiced every day.

He was healthy. He ate right and exercised right. Never a weight lifter, he just got in fight shape. Fight ready.

He psyched himself up every day. Winning starts with your mental attitude and self-belief way before your punching power.

He was the master self-promoter for his sport, and for himself. He proclaimed that he was “the greatest of all time.”

He always believed he would win. Self-thought and self-belief were his secret weapons. (His jab and powerful right hand came in handy as well.)

At the fight, he psyched his opponent. The pre-fight stare-down was without peer. He often used his mental advantage to gain a physical advantage.

During the fight, he was not just punching or boxing, he was a student. When the bell rang, Ali was looking for the weakness of his opponent, and exploiting it.

His mantra was: punch hard, punch fast, and dance. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” was not just a slogan; it was a style. His style. He set THE standard for skill, and the benchmark for how to fight. He was a heavyweight dancer. One-of-a-kind.

Even though he would predict an early knockout, Ali was prepared to go the distance. You don't have to knock someone out, but you do have to win every round.

He had passionate, loyal fans. Still does. He was a loved champion. Still is. “Ali! Ali! Ali!,” the crowd would chant. (I was one of the chanters.)

“I watched him win. I watched him lose. I was privileged to watch the greatest fighter who ever lived. But I didn't just watch, I learned. Some lessons I saw, and some I looked back to discover,” Drew explained. “But every lesson has value, and every lesson helped me in my career, whether it was in the military or in the office.”

Drew Brown is remarkable. He has become a speaker, taking his life lessons into corporate America, and into high schools to the youth of America. He calls his talk “The facts of life.” No, it’s not about the birds and the bees. Those facts were fiction.

The problem with the facts of life when you're 12 years old, is that they're not quite the facts. In fact, it's kind of the fiction of life. The real facts of life occur when you get your business card printed and you realize that your mommy or your daddy are not always able to come to your rescue, and that you must rely on yourself. That's a hard fact.  

How have you learned your facts of life, and how are you taking advantage of those lessons?

About the Author
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at 704/333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com

© 2008 All Rights Reserved - Don't even think about reproducing this document without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer, 704-333-1112.