INSTINCTS FOR SUCCESS.

4 Fighting Instincts to Succeed in Business and Life

BY ERIC SCHIFFER | March 18, 2014|

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An uppercut crashes into your jaw. Your fists clench your heart races and you feel adrenaline race inside. Time to fight.

Fighting brings out an instinctual, primordial power. But professional fighters know that the act of fighting isn’t a crude flash of fury. To come out on top, a fighter must have courage, a strategy, tenacity and an indomitable will to succeed. The same traits that shape the greatest fighters also define the best entrepreneurs.

As a kid, I picked the brains of dozens of all-time greats like George Foreman and Roberto Durán, when my father, a brain surgeon, administered their pre-fight exams. The lessons I learned from them changed my life forever -- both in the ring and in the boardroom.

Now a successful entrepreneur and third-degree black belt, I know firsthand that the instincts of the greatest fighters can help overcome obstacles and achieve ambitions.

Related: Top 3 Small-Business Challenges (Infographic)

Here are the four most powerful lessons to help you win the fight in business and life.

1. Embrace your fears. Mike Tyson’s trainer Cus D’Amato taught him to embrace his fear. “The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, while the coward runs” D'Amato once told Tyson.

Fear is inevitable -- it’s how you choose to respond that makes the difference. Your business will face crises and crossroads. Don’t let that stop you. Make your fear your friend. When you embrace it, sit with it and truly feel your feel, it evaporates. Then you can tackle your challenges with a clear head

2. Win with strategy. Brute strength only goes so far. In the iconic Rumble in the Jungle, George Foreman was heavily favored to beat Muhammad Ali. He was bigger, faster, stronger and younger, but Ali had a plan. He leaned against the ropes and let Foreman pummel him. As the ropes absorbed Foreman’s force, Ali saved his strength and went for the knock out.

In business, bigger isn’t always better. A shrewd startup can outmaneuver a slow giant and grab an amazing opportunity. When you’re facing unlikely odds, a smarter strategy can still win the day.

3. Stay in the fight. I once struggled with a crucial partnership deal -- things were turning for the worse and I became deeply despondent. Then I remembered the importance of fighting in such difficult times and an old Navy SEAL saying came to mind, “Once you get in a fight, you stay in a fight.” I came back to myself, found my strength, went into fighter mode and salvaged the deal from the brink of disaster.

Related: An Entrepreneur's Top Leadership Challenges -- and How to Meet Them

Real fighters persevere through adversity and become stronger for it. Picking your fights is important, but once you’ve committed, stick it out. If your business takes a punch, come back two times harder. When retreat isn’t an option, you’ll find the will to win.

4. Battle against your own limits. The best fighters always push themselves further, even when they know that the worst enemy is inside. In business and in life, we grow not by competing with others but by continually raising our standards.

Always stay hungry: perfect your craft, learn new skills and meet new people. If your organization is good, push it to be great. Never settle for the status quo. 

Stepping into the ring isn’t for everyone, but we all face our battles. You won’t win them all but by tapping into the right mindset, you’ll win more than ever.

Related: The Biggest Business Challenge: Your Insecurity?

Eric Schiffer

Eric Schiffer is a world-leading expert in digital marketing as CEO of Digitalmarketing.com, providing his keen insights to Fortune 500 CEOs, foreign leaders, Forbes 400 billionaires and celebrities. He is the chairman of ReputationManagementConsultants.com. He is the best-selling author of Emotionally Charged Learning. Schiffer’s newest book, Build, will be 

Why You Should Act Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You're Not

BY MICHAEL MORONEY | February 26, 2014|

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Talk to any independent business owner, and he or she will tell you that one of the best parts of the job is “being their own boss.” But while the self-employed enjoy certain freedoms -- from operations, marketing to working hours -- unavailable to those who draw a salary, every successful employee should be the “boss” of their own future and career advancement. Whether there are two or two dozen names ahead of yours on the company letterhead, it’s important to remember that no matter who you work for, you also need to be working for yourself.

I like to think about this in terms of a model I call “YouCo,” where each employee is CEO of their own job -- not only their daily tasks and deliverables, but also their broader personal and professional goals. YouCo is a company within a company, and allows you to grow in your role by acting entrepreneurially to produce results for your employer and burnish your professional credentials. By placing yourself at the center of your personal one-person company, you’re also forced to confront important decisions about your career ambitions head on, and to devise short-, middle-, and long-term plans for attaining those goals.

Related: Why the Coach Approach Beats the Manager Mentality

“MichaelCo,” for example, has helped me make the most of my opportunities while working in a variety of roles at large PR firms and smaller nonprofits alike. The most time-honored way to move up in the workplace is to deliver results for your employer, but for younger professionals, proving that you can think outside the box to maximize productivity and create new and better processes for your role is critical to personal and career advancement.

YouCo requires that you take on entrepreneurial initiatives in the workplace that allow you to grow. Smart employers understand the benefits of allowing their staff to take ownership of their roles -- the risks they take, if successful, can be applied to processes throughout the workplace and come at a fraction of the cost of consulting. Room to maneuver within your role allows you to learn how to act like a manager, even if you’re the low man on the totem pole.

Related: People Must Be Valued or Innovation Will Leave With Them

I’ve been fortunate to work for employers who recognize the importance of professional development, and as a manager, I now encourage my staff to seek out opportunities for themselves (another win-win, as appropriate professional development seminars increase their quality of the work). But for those working in less permissive environments, it’s critical to take time on weekends and personal days to sharpen your own saw before heading back to your employer’s grindstone.

Working for MichaelCo hasn’t been the best paying position I’ve held, but it’s been just as important to my past, present and future success as any job listed on my resume. You may not be an entrepreneur in the traditional sense, but it’s important to act like one, and to set your personal company on the path to success.