Do you have the “Eye of the Tiger, the Edge”?

In the midst of every crisis there is ALWAYS opportunity. We are in unprecedented times, quite challenging for many people, and yet there is tremendous opportunity. The simple difference is how you perceive it by what you allow to take root in your mind!

In the classic film collection Rocky, the main character Rocky is a boxer. At the end of the second film, Rocky is coming off an incredible victory following a rematch over the prior raining heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed. Rocky was as the top of his game. His opponent, Apollo Creed, stated Rocky had the “eye of the tiger, the edge” that ultimately gained him the victory.

In the beginning of third film, Rocky had become complacent and comfortable. And at the same time, a fiery upcoming challenger, Clubber Lang, also known as Mr. T, was going after Rocky and the title. Mr. T was awarded the opportunity and the fight was scheduled.

Minutes prior to the start of the fight, Mr. T confronted Rocky outside the locker rooms on the way to the ring. Tempers flared and bodies flew as the two fighters made their way to each other. In the mix of the scuffle, Mickey, Rocky’s trainer, was pushed aside and began to suffer a heart attack. Rocky noticed and stated he would call off the fight, but Mickey demanded Rocky go on.

Rocky was already not mentally ready for this fight and now with Mickey’s poor health in his mind, he was emotionally distracted and further unprepared to give his best.

The bell rang after Rocky got pummeled throughout round one and he went to his corner. Now in a frantic mindset, he stated, “Where is Mick? I need Mick. I need Mick. He’s too strong. I can’t keep him off. I can’t keep him off. I am losing it”. Rocky’s thoughts were negative, insecure, fearful, and desperate.

Shortly after the start of round two, Rocky was knocked out by Mr. T for the first and only time in his career.

Rocky returned to the locker room just in time to hear Mickey’s final words before he died in Rocky’s arms.

This was one of Rocky’s lowest points in his life. He was hurt, beaten, lost his first fight by knockout, and lost his beloved trainer and motivator. He was mentally conquered and done with boxing.

When the Rocky films came out, I was front and center for everyone. I played football from 5th grade into college and the Rocky character was incredibly inspirational and motivational for me. The soundtracks of the films were intense and perfect for training and pregame hype.

The second and third Rocky films came out when I was playing little league football. I played four years of little league between 5th and 8th grade. Coming off my 2nd year where my 6th grade team went undefeated, winning the championship game, we had everyone returning to repeat on our 7th grade team. As expected, our team dominated. We went undefeated in the regular season. In fact, no opponent even scored on us except for the last game and even then, it was only 7 points. We scored 41. We were by far the most dominate team in the 7th grade league looking to defend our title. We went into our first playoff game just like Rocky when he fought Mr. T for the first time, complacent, comfortable, and taking victory for granted. We got beat handedly that day by an opponent that failed to yield to our history of success. Relatively speaking, it was the most painful experience of my very young life. Football was everything to me. I lived and breathed the game.

The loss in the payoffs was devastating. I was hurt, beaten, just lost a season ending game we were “guaranteed” to win, and not returning to the championship game.

How did my 8th grade team respond? We had a great team. Highly motivated by our painful playoff loss the season prior, we were driven to succeed. We returned to our beginnings, trained harder, grew faster, practiced longer, studied further, and become smarter. We had regained our eye of the tiger, our edge. As fate would have it, we were matched up against the same team in the playoffs that defeated us the prior year, but we were not the same team. We were motivated, well prepared physically and mentally, and ready to play at our best. It was a great game, coming down to the final minutes. We won the game 14-8 on a pass play for a touchdown at the end of the game and we returned to the championship game where we won bluntly and regained our title as champions!

After Rocky’s trainer Mickey died, Rocky’s prior opponent, Apollo Creed, came back into Rocky’s life at his lowest point and challenged Rocky. Rocky told Apollo “I don’t need this no more, I, I don’t want this no more.” Apollo told Rocky “don’t back off now, make it right for yourself or you will be sorry you didn’t.” Rocky trained with Apollo, going back to his roots and regaining his eye of the tiger and ultimately defeating Mr. T in the rematch.

What I learned and experienced back in middle school from the films and in my football experiences has been incredibly powerful in my life as a leader. There will always be challenges that will present opportunities if we choose to see them. Contrasting, if you let them, the challenges will overtake your mind and your life.

So here we are in 2020. Do you remember what life was like just a few months ago? Maybe you were flying high and in your zone, perhaps feeling comfortable and on cruise control. Maybe you had big plans for 2020. Then, COVID-19 happened and the world changed. Now you might be hurt, beaten, and afraid. Perhaps your thoughts have become negative, insecure, fearful, and possibly even desperate.

Do you need to go back to the beginning?

What are you feeding your mind and allowing to take root?

It is your choice. Positivity and negativity cannot exist in your mind at the same time. Believe that you can overcome the past and these current challenges. Believe that you can be a champion!

Regain your eye of the tiger, your edge, and come out of this event more successful than ever before!

What you focus on will expand. Focus on the right things!

Never Give Up and Never Settle for Mediocrity!