Fighting is one of the purest forms of Expression. Shining a light on Everything Inside us, a crystal ball on our character.

You can’t give more of yourself than these two unarmed combatants did in their grudge match nearly 32 years ago. This is what ALL In looks like.

This is what unwavering conviction looks like.

This is what Go Earn It looks like.

This is what shrinking and silencing your fears looks like. What risking Big for Big Rewards looks like.

The great John Wooden, when addressing his legendary UCLA basketball teams, tried to never use the word “winning” or “losing” to his players. The reason: To mention “winning” or “losing” would be misplacing the players’ focus from where it truly belonged: On Performance.

Execute exactly what we drilled and practiced. Trust in what we’ve drilled over and over — don’t overthink it.

Mentioning or obsessing over “winning” and “losing” tends to diminish performance. Why? Because it shifts focus to a useless place — away from performance and faith in the quality of our drilling and practices and preparation and being in the moment — and instead breeding hesitation and distraction in the heat of battle. We find ourselves under so much pressure to win that we instead compete Not to Lose. Too much pressure to win, ironically, creates a fear of losing. Focusing on the outcome or result — means thinking too much about the future. And thinking about The Future on Game Day means we are not 100 % in The Now. 

The word “winning” floating around our mind pre-competion is nothing more than distraction and an invitation for fear of losing to creep into our brain.

Now, a fear of losing can be a wonderful thing — months or weeks before a competition, if it drives you to prepare like a maniac for competitions, etc.. But on Competition or Game Day, fear of losing is a performance killer. One of the most common.

Fear of losing, Competing “Not to Lose” breeds hesitation — and at the highest levels of anything, where split-second decisions are the difference between good and great, where split-second decisions are the difference between winning by knockout or getting knocked out, between scoring a game-winning goal or not, you have to be 100 % in the moment. Trusting in your preparation, and focused on performing and adapting to every challenge in the heat of battle.

When we focus on performing at our absolute highest level, when we embrace the highest standards and habits of excellence in training and on a daily basis, the final score and results on Game Day take care of themselves.

When we’re under-performing — and most are — it usually boils down to deficiencies and mistakes in our mindset. Great teams are aggressive, confident teams. They don’t hold back very much. They don’t conserve. They don’t play “Not to Lose.” With that mindset it’s hard to ever produce our best performances, to ever know or express publicly how Great we really are.

At the end of the day, in my mind, we are here to try and paint masterpieces. We are here to deliver our Best Performances. We are not here to be Paralyzed or Bogged Down With Fear of Losing. Keep giving your best performances, trusting your training, and let the chips fall where they may.

When we do come up short — as Tommy Hearns did on this day — it’s just an opportunity to go back to the drawing board and fix some things. But make no mistake about it, Tommy Hearns performed spectacularly on this night. He did. He gave everything. He fought fearlessly. He dialed in and landed some incredible punching combinations against another legend.

You can win ugly and feel like crap. You can lose but reflect on your performance and feel proud of Giving Every Ounce of Yourself.

It’s all about being present, being in the moment.

It is inevitable that thoughts of winning and losing will enter our minds from time to time. But on Game Day, at least, evict the thought of winning and losing from your mind. It’s about performance. Focusing on the results — the future — robs you of thinking about the present. And concentrating on the present is what will allow you to score the goal, throw the touchdown pass, etc…

Most people have no idea what they’re truly capable of. They’ve never pushed themselves to the brink physically, mentally, spiritually. That’s what holds so many back — they thinking they’re giving Maximum effort, they think they’re working hard and giving everything, but they’re not. They actually have a huge reservoir of energy and passion inside them that is untapped.

But when you are giving everything, when you are All In like Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns were on this magical night of live theater … you can live with what comes and let the chips fall where they may. That mindset gives you the freedom to perform at your best. It grows Poise inside of us rather than Pressure.

And that is actually a Winning Mindset that has worked for many great ones over the years — to eliminate the words “winning” and “losing” from their vocabulary and psyche on Game Day. Try it sometime. It works.

Happy Training,

Frank Forza
email: frank@frankcurreri