We are managers of our own careers...

“If I hadn't had the talent, the networks wouldn't have televised my fights. No one has made me; I made myself. I paid my dues.”  -Sugar Ray Leonard

 

In the boxing ring of life, it takes more than courage and stamina to win the big fight.  One must have the mental toughness to realize that it’s just you, and the other opponent. It just happens that the opponent sizing you up on the other corner is, “LIFE”.  As always, I tend to correlate life and business with war and athletics, because in all actuality, the two go hand and hand. 

Like all warriors in the past, Sugar Ray Leonard was a contender.  A killer in the boxing ring and the business world, Sugar Ray was one of the first boxers to ever “SELF PROMOTE,“ pay back his investors after his first fight, and become a millionaire within the first year of turning a professional.  He realized that his abilities and talents were governed by his own hands, and therefore made the decision early on in his career to manage himself.

The reason why I bring up this example, is because of the simple fact that, “We are managers of our own careers.”  We are all given some sort of skill in life.  Sugar Ray’s just happens to be beating up on people.  What’s yours?

“To be the best, you need to spend hours and hours and hours running, hitting the speed bag, lifting weights and focusing on training. Nothing in boxing comes easy, and the same rule applies to life!”  Sugar Ray

As Sugar states, “nothing in life comes easy.”  Time and time again, I take the time to study warriors, philosophers, generals, and great leaders, before me, in order to remind me that I’m not alone in this world.  As I look back and analyze my own life, I have come to the realization that I have spent countless hours, days and nights, “PAYING MY DUES!” 

Through the years, the fire inside me has grown and compounded immensely.  This ambition has also acted as a double edge sword, as I have personally lost the ones I love because of it.  Through the years, I have also  learned to control my hunger, and have developed time management traits to fit in, “FAMILY AND FRIEND TIME” in between schedules.  I guess that’s just a part of what we call, “BECOMING AN ADULT!”

In conclusion, in the never-ending fight we call life, one must have the courage to fight, when all others have been knocked out.  I think Sugary says it best, ”I want my fights to be seen as plays that have a beginning, a middle, and an end.”   ……and round one has just begun..