5 Lessons I learnt from Boxing that apply to Entrepreneurship
Boxing is often viewed as a gruesome, bloody and brutish sport. However, speak to someone who has practised the sport and they would tell you that boxing and chess have a lot in common. Both require planning, feints, thinking three moves ahead, reading the other player, knowing yourself & being agile. There is beauty, elegance and intelligence in boxing that is often understated
I’ve trained in this sport for the last 5 years and over this time I have found parallels between boxing & entrepreneurship that are quite uncanny. Here’s a list of five things I learnt in boxing that I apply to my work.
- “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses — behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” Muhammad Ali
You train for months & put in gruelling hours in the gym for that one big match. Boxing training is considered one of the toughest sports training. You throw thousands of punches on a punching bag, skip rope to no end, get punched in the face and on the body to prepare for the time when they get thrown at you in the ring and do crunches (and more crunches). Professional boxers train for up to 5 hours a day. Amateurs have to manage with whatever time they get. But you have to do it every day to keep your body and reflexes strong. Miss a week and you have to catch up, a lot.
On the surface, successful enterprises and entrepreneurs seem like an overnight success. What is not visible often is the years and years of learning, failed attempts and hard work that goes into becoming a success.
2. “Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face” Mike Tyson
Before you enter the ring, you have laid out a plan. You will bob & weave, you will throw a counter punch in the opponents mid-riff and your straight will knock them out in the second round. Game over!
Step into the ring, the first good straight in your face and your plan goes out of the window and you find yourself counting on your instinct, your decisions in the moment & capitalizing on the opportunity to throw a good punch as it appears.
I am sure anyone who has written a business plan for an enterprise can relate to the above. You make a beautiful and ambitious plan. You think you have all the assumptions covered, your financial model is solid. You launch your business and viola, in comes that factor that you had no idea would have an impact on your business. You find yourself significantly changing your business model to achieve the same end you set out to achieve. In the end, the instinct that you developed through your learning and quick thinking on your feet helps you navigate these challenges.
3. “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” — Muhammad Ali
Power and Stamina are equally important
In boxing, you have to have a balance of power and stamina. Boxers don’t get knocked out by one big punch alone, it takes many punches before you get that well placed and well-timed knockout punch in. The one-punch knock out that you see is a rare instance. More often than not, the fight goes right to the end and if you gas out because you didn’t have enough stamina and were just counting on power, you will lose the match. That extra bit of stamina comes from a desire deep within.
In building an enterprise, you might put in long hours when you start out and have all the things going for you(power) but if you can’t sustain the effort over the long haul (stamina) you will lose. This stamina or this ability to survive when the going gets tough comes from a deep place of resolve, a vision, a dream that you wish to achieve.
4. “When I was a young fellow I was knocked down plenty. I wanted to stay down, but I couldn’t. I had to collect the two dollars for winning or go hungry. I had to get up. I was one of those hungry fighters. You could have hit me on the chin with a sledgehammer for five dollars. When you haven’t eaten for two days you’ll understand.” — J.Dempsey
Whether you are a bootstrapped enterprise just starting out or a multimillion-dollar one in the process of scaling up. Cashflow issues are real. Your business might be growing rapidly but if your cashflow takes a hit you’re a goner. At that moment, the desperation to stay afloat brings out the survival instinct from within you and your mettle gets tested. This is the time when you have to stay the course and work harder than you ever have. If you survive this you will win.
5. Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you ever have been to stand back up taller than you ever were
All boxing greats have been knocked down in their career. Muhammad Ali lost and won back his world heavyweight championship title three times. He was one of the youngest champions and retired as one of the oldest champions to regain the title. Knockouts are inevitable even for the greats. It is what they do after they get knocked out that differentiates them from the rest.
In entrepreneurship too, failures are inevitable, what is important is that every time you fail, you dust your clothes off and get back up to fight another fight — this spirit is what champions are made of.
