I say to the kids all the time “Be a thinker not a stinker”. I picked up that gem of a saying from the great Mr. Apollo Creed, you know, from the Rocky movies.
I love that saying because It’s so true. That’s a saying I’ve lived by for many years now. But what does that mean?
What is the difference between a thinker and a stinker? Well, it’s pretty simple. A thinker is someone who’s constantly looking for opportunities to learn.
Someone who’s always looking for ways to educate themselves about many subjects.
A stinker on the other hand does the opposite. They don’t do a darn thing to learn and better themselves.
That’s the difference between a thinker and stinker. I don’t know about you but I’d much rather be a thinker.
90% of Fighters are Stinkers. Yes it’s true.
I find that many fighters, too many fighters really, have nothing more then a basic (if that) high school education.
Not that having a formal education everything of course (i’ll talk more about this in a bit).
Most fighters haven’t read a book in years and never intend to either. They don’t study business stuff or attend college classes or anything that’s going to be very useful once fighting ends.
And you know what, It’s the lack of knowledge that causes so many fighters, boxing and MMA alike, to wind up broke as a joke once cage fighting ends.
Broke and without any real world skills. And if they don’t have personality to go on it’s even worse.
Being Penniless and Poor Wasn’t in my retirement plan…
It’s sad when I think about it. Many of my good friends, guys who at one point or another were on top of the MMA world, now living day to day, paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet.
I saw this way too much and I swore to myself that wouldn’t happen to me. So I made it a top priority to learn and understand business, money, and finances.
And you don’t need a college degree to be successful. That was the case with me. I made it my job to learn new things every single day.
Most people don’t know this but my formal education is very limited. Most of what I learned I got from reading books, going to seminars, asking questions and my favorite, driving in my car going through what I call “audio university” AKA books on tape.
It wasn’t easy. I’m not that smart but I’m also not an idiot either. I knew fighting would come to an end at some point or another and I needed to be ready for that.
Being ready meant planning. Planning for tomorrow. Planning for tomorrow is something most fighters simply don’t do and because of this, suffer in the long run.
Look man, learning isn’t always fun. There were days when I’d sit down to read some business book and just hate my life.
But I made myself read and study. Why? Because I didn’t want to end up like just another washed up MMA Fighter. That’s why I put the work in.
Watching others suck at life after fighting was all the motivation i needed, trust me.
Fitness for the mind, not just the body.
I’m trying not to ramble so I hope all that makes sense to you. Exercise your mind often and it won’t be long before the major benefits start to appear.
What I’m saying doesn’t just apply to fighters keep in mind. It’s for everyone, guy or gal.
Read books. Learn how to play a music instrument. Or spend time writing a blog (like this one) about yourself and your lifestyle.
One of my favorite ways to give my brain a workout is by studying a foreign language. Most people don’t know this but I do private lessons once or twice a week for Russian.
Let me assure you, learning to speak Russian is the equivalent of a 5 round championship MMA bout for your brain.
Spend more time working on the muscle between your eyes. You’ll be a better person and better prepared for life challenges.
Remember this: Having a strong body means little if you lack a mind strong enough to use it.
Food for thought. Ha that’s funny for this blog. That’s all I’ve got on this subject.
As a bonus, I’ve included some videos below of fighters I consider thinkers, definitely not stinkers. And because of this, they do a lot of winning. Smart people usually do after all 😉
See youtube videos below.
