The Success Sensei Podcast

How To Turn On Your Mind Switch

How To Turn On Your Mind Switch

(Part 2 of a 2)

‘How To Turn On Your Mind Switch’ is part 2 of 2 blogs so make sure you also check out ‘Allow Yourself To Be A Different Person In Different Situations’.

https://thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com/2019/04/allow-yourself-to-be-different-person.html

WHAT IS YOUR MIND SWITCH?

Your mind switch is something you need to be able to switch on when you are entering a nervous, stressful or fearful situation. You need to be able to get your mind focused so that you don't mentally freeze. This can happen when fighting. There are reports of people who are trained martial artists, perhaps even black belts with competitive experience, having frozen when faced with a self-defence situation. They may not have been aware of what was going to happen and were caught by surprise and physically froze. Their mind switch was turned off and they were incapable of turning it on in order to deal with the situation.

PREVENTING FREEZING IN FEARFUL SITUATIONS

This shows a flaw with mind-set and a flaw with training methods. Being able to turn on your mind switch is very important for business, for work, and for any kind of major decision in your life. A lot of people including sports people struggle with switching on performance mode. Some sports psychologists will teach a physical trigger along with an affirmation to attempt to get the athlete’s mind and body to perform at their highest ability. It could be something simple like tapping your chest 3 times and in your mind saying “I am a winner and switched on to perform”. If this works for you then definitely give it a shot. When I was competing I didn’t use the physical trigger as I found it could lead me towards superstitious routines and I also didn’t want my opponents to notice me doing a confidence boosting physical routine. If you watch fighters as they enter the cage or ring you may notice some of their ‘tells’.

IT’S ALL A MIND GAME

My method is to simply decide, in my head, "Now is go time." I then allow myself to switch on. When we’re training, and we bow in at the start and bow out at the end of our training, that can act like a physical trigger. Yes it’s for respect too but all the training that happens in between those bows is acceptable in the Dojo environment only. It wouldn’t be acceptable to use the strikes, throws and submissions in our daily lives unless it was a self-defence situation so don’t forget to bow out and turn off that switch!

TURN ON THE SWITCH IN YOUR HEAD

I literally see a switch in my head and when I turn it on, IT’S ON! This can be used if you're an actor and you're about to do a performance or if you're about to enter a room for a job interview or presentation. Of course you're going to be nervous and fearful. If you weren't, you wouldn't need to turn on your mind switch, you could just handle it with your everyday frame of mind. You need to quieten down your conscious thought and you need to strive forward.

WHEN THE HOMEWORK IS DONE

Once you've done your due diligence, you've done your analytical strategy, you've broken down every eventuality and you’ve over-thought absolutely everything, then you need to make your decision. After that, it’s time to switch on and follow through. If you don't, you'll be stuck in the analysis paralysis which I wrote about in a previous blog: https://thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com/2019/04/your-analysis-paralysis.html

ACTIVATE A HIGHER VERSION OF YOURSELF

You need to have faith in human biology. You are hardwired to work well under pressure. You need to understand and believe that. You have survived everything in your life so far and so did your ancestors. You will continue to survive whatever large goal or whatever it is that's actually making you nervous at this particular moment in time. We’re not talking about life threatening situations, they need to be avoided at all costs. We’re talking about large goals and activities that make you nervous and fearful of failure. You will get through it, you will survive and that alone should give you the confidence to be able to turn on the switch in your mind. Continue forward and go straight through it.

YOU ARE AMAZING

You might amaze yourself at how well you can do as long as you allow yourself to do it. Your goals should be making you nervous. If you're somebody that wants more success in your life, you’ll need to get used to pushing through your nerves. If you don’t want more success in life then this is the wrong blog for you. You need to read the ‘I’m already fully content don't need anything else in my life’ blog :)

STRIVE FOR MORE SUCCESS

If you're someone that strives for more success and wants to have more, to achieve more, to do more and to make life better for yourself or your loved ones, then being able to turn on your mind switch and doing things that make you nervous is imperative. Get used to the butterflies in your stomach. Fall in love with that sensation. Nervousness will never go away but you will have to learn how to manage it. The best way of managing nerves, when all the talking is done and all the planning is done, is to make the decision and move forward. Not half-committed, not half-hearted and not setting yourself up for failure by half-doing it. Some people seem to like half trying so that if they do fail they can say, "Well, I didn't really try anyway." Give it your very best shot. If you fail, you fail but you know you gave it your best shot and you can use what you’ve learnt to give it another crack or to pivot in another direction.

CONTACT ME

I would love to hear your views. Please get in touch using any of the channels below. All comments, reviews, subscribes, likes and shares are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued support.

**Now Twice A Week: Every Wednesday there’s a brand new Success Sensei Blog, Podcast and Vlog. Every Friday we’re bringing you the Friday Blitz – a shorter, sharper, shockier Success Sensei Podcast and Vlog.  

By Roundhouse Rob, The Success Sensei

Robert Devane is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional MMA fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience.

For more amazing FREE content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei on Android

https://successsensei.podbean.com

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thesuccesssensei

The Success Sensei on Instagram
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Why Are You So Cruel To Yourself?

Welcome to the Friday Blitz :) So, why are you so cruel to yourself anyway? Give yourself a break and keep moving forward in a positive direction. Check it out.

**Now Twice A Week: Every Wednesday there’s a brand new Success Sensei Blog, Podcast and Vlog. Every Friday we’re bringing you the Friday Blitz – a shorter, sharper, shockier Success Sensei Podcast and Vlog.  

For more amazing FREE content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei on Android

https://successsensei.podbean.com

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
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The Success Sensei on Instagram
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Allow Yourself To Be A Different Person In Different Situations

Allow Yourself To Be A Different Person In Different Situations

(Part 1 of a 2)

Many people struggle with this. Any situation that may be different from the norm could require you to be a slightly different version of yourself.

Take for example, going for the driving test. It can be hard to allow yourself to demonstrate the correct form and technique. It can feel weird to some people because essentially you have to allow yourself to show off.  This uneasy feeling will add to your nerves.

I did the California driving test years ago but that was a little bit of an easier test than the Irish one. With the Irish driving test, you have to display and demonstrate that you are observing the mirrors and using the correct handling of the steering wheel etc. It's more like a demonstration and a performance.

I see people’s inner conflict all the time in martial arts. It’s a similar process when you are going for a belt test. You need to perform. If you're somebody who thinks that a loud personality is annoying or that someone who is demonstrating is a show-off then you're going to struggle. There are certain situations and certain times in life when you need to show-off. You have to allow yourself to do that. It could be to do with work. It could be to impress a future client, a future customer or to win a contract. You will have to put yourself forward. You will need to project a different side of yourself. You will have to let your personality shine in a different way than if you were simply going to the shops. 

People may find it hard to be a different version of themselves because a lot of people are scared of change. They don't embrace change. They're afraid that if they display any kind of a change in their personality that they're not being authentic or they're being fake. If you're tailoring your personality to allow yourself to be a different person in different situations, that's not fake. You're being fake if you change your core beliefs, your ethics, and your own moral values. If you're tailoring your personality to allow yourself to be a different person in different situations, that's not fake. 

When I was competitively fighting, I had to allow myself to be hyper competitive. I had to allow myself to be that version of myself. Outside of competing, I would hate to think that I was a very competitive person with anyone else. With myself, yes but with not anyone else. My wife might disagree with me because she thinks that I can bring competitiveness into games like ‘Monopoly’. I think I have it under control except for when I'm competing. When I'm fighting, I allow myself to be a different version of myself and I allow myself to be that hyper competitive person. This is a completely different side of my personality. When I'm interacting with people on a day-to-day basis they may not realise that I have that competitiveness within me. Normal, daily activities don't require that side of your personality.

We all have different sides of our personalities for different situations so it’s important not to fight it. Your competitive side, your work side, your personal side, your loving side, your business or investing side all require different versions of you.Parents with young children might have to struggle with switching personality traits much more frequently!

My generation X readers might remember Worzel Gummidge. He was a loveable scarecrow and he had different heads for different situations. If only it were so simple.

Have you ever seen the circus act of spinning the plates on top of sticks? They spin one and then another and another. They have to run quickly back to the first one to spin it again and it’s some job trying to keep them all spinning without any falling and smashing.  This is similar to the juggling act that is our lives. We have all these different hats on and different roles of responsibility. We're different people in different moments of time and you should allow yourself to be. Allow yourself to be the best version of yourself at any chosen time. 

One person’s experience of meeting you could be very different from another person’s depending on how they're interacting with you. Obviously, if somebody is really nice to you or it's a friend, a family member or a loved one, you're going to be one version of yourself. If someone else is trying to run you off the road or just not being very nice, they're going to see a very different side of you. They’ll probably hear a very different side of you too!

It's okay to be a different person in different situations and to tailor your personality to best suit whatever situation is at hand to get the best out of yourself and that situation. That's totally normal. Accept that fact. Don't fight against it because it will cause inner confusion that affects you from successfully dealing with whatever you need to. I hope this helps you to avoid a potential identity crisis! Allow yourself to be a different person in different situations.

Next week’s blog is part 2 as it leads on from this one. Make sure you don’t miss, ‘How To Turn On Your Mind Switch’.

I would love to hear your views. Please get in touch using any of the channels below. All comments, reviews, subscribes, likes and shares are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued support.

**Now Twice A Week: Every Wednesday there’s a brand new Success Sensei Blog, Podcast and Vlog. Every Friday we’re bringing you the Friday Blitz – a shorter, sharper, shockier Success Sensei Podcast and Vlog.  

By Roundhouse Rob, The Success Sensei

Robert Devane is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional MMA fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience.

For more amazing FREE content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei on Android

https://successsensei.podbean.com

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thesuccesssensei

The Success Sensei on Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/thesuccesssensei

 

 

 

 

Are You Better Than Your Old Self?

The Success Sensei is delighted to announce an extra special episode comin' at ya every Friday. The Friday Blitz will be shorter, sharper and shockier (5 minute is the plan but you know yourself.....)

We deal with a question every week that will help both you and I to reflect and continue to strive for SUCCESS. I would love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Simply have a listen as all is explained within.

Thank you so much to everyone for all the motivation and encouragement to bring 2 x Success Sensei episodes out every week. Every Wednesday will be the regular Success Sensei Podcast and NOW every Friday is The Friday Blitz.

I would love to hear your views. Please get in touch using any of the channels below. All comments, reviews, subscribes, likes and shares are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued support.

By Roundhouse Rob, The Success Sensei

Robert Devane is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional MMA fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience.

For more amazing FREE content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei on Android

https://successsensei.podbean.com

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thesuccesssensei

The Success Sensei on Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/thesuccesssensei

Analysis Paralysis

Analysis paralysis is overthinking something to the point of not actually attempting or completing it. That goal, plan or dream that you wish to achieve but you think too much about and then you give yourself the excuses and fears not to try. We’ve all been guilty of this at some point. As a martial arts coach of over 20 years, I often hear people’s life goals. Some people just don't seem to progress and year after year they will recite the same goals but they won’t be any closer to them. It all boils down to analysis paralysis which ultimately causes self-doubt. It could be a health goal, a work goal, a financial goal, a relationship goal, a property goal, an investment goal, a new car, a travel experience etc. It can be any goal large or small. It will help at this point if you have something in your mind that you haven’t proceeded with, yet! Anything that requires due diligence can put some people off.

Due diligence is doing your homework and researching what may be required to attain your goal. Thinking things through properly is really, really necessary. I do consider myself to be an over thinker. I will analyse everything. I will go through all of the many situations and problems that could happen. Like most people, I can talk myself out of going ahead with something but if it's something I really want, I’ll make sure to avoid analysis paralysis. The process of fighting has kind of knocked it out of me anyway. From a fighter's point of view, you absolutely overanalyse during your whole training camp.

*You need to listen to the recent Success Sensei podcast; ‘What It’s Actually Like To Fight In A Cage’. It's very relevant to what we're talking about here.

https://successsensei.podbean.com/e/what-its-actually-like-to-fight-in-a-cage/

The mental process of a fighter before a fight is to over strategize and over analyse. You do your due diligence and you do your research on your opponent but you completely overthink everything. You overthink things to the point that you literally can't think about anything else. It’s easy to drive yourself crazy by going around in circles in your mind. The fight and your opponent are all that you can think about and it consumes your life. Then when you enter the cage or the ring, there comes a point where it all goes out of the window. You don't have the luxury of being able to overthink when someone's punching and throwing kicks at you.

It goes from one extreme to another. Over analyzation and over strategizing to ‘IT’S ON’! You simply have to fight. No matter how you wish it to be, when it comes to the crunch, you're going to have to drop all of that. Hopefully you can retain some of the strategy that you've worked on. When it comes time, you have to be ruthless in your pursuits. You can't afford to be thinking on a conscious level. The same goes for your goals or ambitions. Too many people over analyse to the point of paralysis. Not even attempting to achieve the thing that they’re overthinking about. It could be because they’ve given themselves reasons not to go ahead or they’ve made their fear of failure greater than their need or want for success.

Fear of failure, fear of success and imposter syndrome are all part of analysis paralysis. I hate doing business plans. I don't like doing them because what I find a lot of the time is that they're fictitious anyway. Especially the projections. I think about every eventuality and I do my figures but I don't like doing business plans because the process can give me enough reasons not to proceed with the area of business that I was interested in. You can end up giving yourself many reasons not to move forward and at least attempt a start.

That brings me on to the next thing. Something is better than nothing. Starting something and perfecting it along the journey is a hell of a lot better than not starting at all. The worst fear is the fear of what people are going to think of you. I could very easily not have started the success sensei. I knew I might open myself up to criticism or sneering or hating or any of these things. It’s the very same with you and your goals. You know that your peers, your neighbours, people that know you and your friends could all potentially criticise you. With any project you're opening yourself up to the negative as well as the positive. Therefore, use that fact to drive you forward to make the very best account of yourself. It should spur you on.

There’s another martial arts reference coming. The Success Sensei is always going to be making a lot of references to martial arts because it's my area of expertise. Business, investing, everything I've ever done in life has been through the eyes and in the shoes or the foot pads of a martial artist and fighter. The thing I like about Kickboxing is that from your first day you feel like a fighter. From day one you are a kickboxer and you simply perfect it along the way.

When I did karate as a youth, it took a good while before I felt like I was a karateka. With kickboxing, boxing and MMA, you're hitting pads straight away. You're drilling with training partners straight away. You learn while doing and this is the whole point. When you start something, you're certainly not perfect but you'll pick it up quickly by immersing yourself in your subject matter. You will gain the knowledge that you need when you start your project.

If you are open about what you want to do and you actively work towards it, you will attract the people that you need to help you. You will meet like-minded people who are on the same path as you and you can learn from and gain experience from them. You need to start whatever it is you've been putting off. Procrastination is ruinous to many, many people. Imagine your future self, looking back and thinking; I would of, I should of, I could of…….if only I had tried. That to me is a bigger fear than the fear of failure or the fear of looking stupid or the fear of what someone might say.

If you’re lucky enough to know what your goals are and what you want to do then you're ahead of a lot of people. You owe it to yourself and everyone around you to get started and to build your momentum. You will be miserable if you feel that you're living a life that's not true to what your goals and aspirations are. Obviously look before you leap, do your due diligence, run your analysis and do your planning. Once you've made your decision, you have to be happy with that decision and you have to follow through. There's nothing worse than half an attack or a half-hearted attempt. You're setting yourself up for failure if you do that. As the famous Nike quote says “Just do it”. I hope this helps you and I hope it helps you beat your analysis paralysis.

I would love to hear your views. Please get in touch using any of the channels below. All comments, reviews, subscribes, likes and shares are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued support.

Every Wednesday there’s a brand new Success Sensei Blog, Podcast and Vlog.  

By Roundhouse Rob, The Success Sensei

Robert Devane is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional MMA fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience.

For more amazing FREE content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei on Android

https://successsensei.podbean.com

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thesuccesssensei

The Success Sensei on Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/thesuccesssensei

 

 

 

 

What I've Learned From FIGHTING In A Cage

I’ve probably had hundreds of competitive sport karate and amateur kickboxing bouts. As a professional MMA fighter my record is 4-2. I think this ratio of wins to loses means that while I mainly win, I do know what it’s like to handle defeat. I had my first MMA fight at the age of 31 so I was always able to view my MMA journey through the eyes of an experienced adult. Why did I fight? It wasn’t because of a violent streak. It wasn’t because I wanted to prove my manhood. I didn’t fight because I enjoyed hurting people. I did want to quieten the naysayers but mainly I simply loved the competitiveness. It felt like extreme competition that forced me to understand my mind, body and emotions better. Competing for me was only a by-product  of my years of martial arts training. You don’t have to compete or fight to gain from my experience and hopefully I’ll save you the bruising. These lessons are not exclusively about fighting and they can be related to life, business and goals in general.

• Have A Thirst For KNOWLEDGE

In order to achieve your aim, you will need to seek out the best instruction and mentors you can find. I spent a lot of money travelling in order to receive the very best training possible. You must fully immerse yourself in your subject matter in order to get the most out of it. Constantly invest in yourself and your education.

• Assume CONTROL

The only way to do this will be to take responsibility for every aspect of your life. As harsh as it may sound, you are where you are at because of your actions and life choices. That shouldn’t be a negative statement, especially if you use that mind-set to spur yourself on to a more successful future. Stop making excuses.

• Be Your Own HERO

Nobody is coming to save you. It can be a very lonely place when that cage door locks. Don’t make the mistake of living your life in anticipation of someone swooping in to bring you success and happiness. That person doesn’t exist and isn’t coming. You must handle it. The same also goes for living an unfulfilled life but hoping to win the lottery.

• Be More PREPARED

You haven’t prepared enough. You may think you’ve learnt your craft but if crisis strikes, you may realise that you are under prepared. Fighters must know their strikes, techniques and strategies at a subconscious level so that when the conscious mind lets you down, the muscle memory will take over. Keep drilling past the point of conscious memory.  

• Have Faith In Human Biology

There comes a point when all the preparation is done and you must let the natural process take over. You’re stronger than you think. Once the decision is made, have faith that we as human beings are hard wired to survive and succeed. Your adrenaline process is a perfect example of this. The ‘fight or flight’ response is ever present during nervous situations. Life, business, sports, public speaking and many other pastimes can trigger your fear. Having faith in your biology can often stop you from panicking and making mistakes. 

• It’s Normal To Become SUPERSTITIOUS

I’m not a superstitious person and yet, competitive fighting can bring out superstition in people. When you’ve made up your mind to do something and you’ve done all the preparation to the point of having to let the universe/higher spirt decide the final outcome, it becomes normal to look for signs. It also becomes more normal to look for patterns of control e.g. wearing your lucky item of clothing.     

• Winning May Not Make You HAPPY

You might not have been expecting this point but sometimes even the win isn’t satisfying for 3 reasons:

1. you weren’t happy with the way you won
2. you immediately focus on the next achievement
3. you don’t value the win - it may have been a false goal

• Losing DEFINITELY Won’t Make You Happy

This one might sound obvious and a true competitor will never really make peace with losing. However, managing your emotions after any fail is of utmost importance. You should learn from failure and continue forward towards your success goals.

• BEWARE Of Energy Suckers And Hangers On

An energised and motivated person moving towards a large goal can be positively infectious to others. Some people will want to be around you just to attempt to benefit from your enthusiasm (or money!). This is why many celebrities have a large entourage. Not all of these people will be a positive influence to you. This is why you need to be selective about the company you keep.

• The More You FIGHT, The More Hits You Will RECEIVE

The same is true for the more you try to do in life. You will get knock backs in every direction you attempt to succeed in. In fact, if you feel a bit war torn, it probably means that you have many goals and ambitions. This is why so many people are afraid to aim for a goal. The fear of criticism holds many a good idea back.

• You Are Your Own Worst ENEMY

We can all be very hard on ourselves. When fighting, if you can encourage your opponent’s frustration, this can lead to victory. Fighting is a battle of wills as well as a physical battle. Getting into your opponent’s mind is a massive advantage. Therefore, strengthening your mind is a necessity. This is partly done by not overly focusing on each small outcome and remaining in the present tense. Many top fighters aspire to be very evenly tempered and to avoid any emotional spikes or dips.

Sometimes life can feel like a fight but you can win and enjoy it.

I would love to hear your views. Please get in touch using any of the channels below. All comments, reviews, subscribes, likes and shares are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued support.

Every Wednesday there’s a brand new Success Sensei Blog, Podcast and Vlog.  

By Roundhouse Rob, The Success Sensei

Robert Devane is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional MMA fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience.

For more amazing FREE content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thesuccesssensei

The Success Sensei on Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/thesuccesssensei

 

 

 

 

What It's ACTUALLY Like To FIGHT In A CAGE

Everyone’s experience is different. This is my brutally honest experience of fighting in a cage.

Imagine yourself in the following scenario to really get a feel for what it’s like:

8 to 12 weeks out and your opponent is confirmed. Training immediately gets more serious. A rigid training plan is needed. Gone are the training sessions just for the fun of it. You will need to seek out training partners that will push you and coaches that will help you to push yourself even harder than previous fights. You may even need to travel for your training camp. Every time you hit the punch bag or go for a run, you’ll imagine that your opponent is working harder.

More than likely you will over train at some stage. It will be a major juggle attempting to work on your boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and ju-jitsu as well as your strength and conditioning. Your weight is an issue and you’ll need to immediately start tapering down your body fat and reducing your food intake. God help you if you are trying to also hold down a full-time job. Your productivity will take a nose dive because you’ll simply be too drained. Your eyes will be glazed over and you’ll suffer from brain fog. Crankiness levels go through the roof. You become very narcissistic. I have to drink water now. I have to eat now, train now, rest now. It’s endless. Your poor suffering life partner will attempt to talk to you about day to day subjects but you won’t be able to concentrate on any of it. You won’t want to talk about your upcoming fight either because that brings on the nerves. You will attempt to avoid your basic chores because it could use up energy needed for training. You could pick up an injury taking the bins out. What friends and what socialising? They simply don’t exist or happen.

Every other area of your life feels like it’s falling apart. This whole experience continues to increase each week closer and closer to the fight. You’ll be more worried about the weighing scales than your fight. You’ll drive yourself mad running the scenarios and strategies in your mind. Each waking thought becomes about the event. Why did you agree to do it? The self-doubt is ever present. This is miserable and not fun anymore. Even though experience has taught you that pre-fight nerves always affect your last official training camp sparring session, it will still affect your confidence when you under perform. You won’t consume much food during the final week of preparation. The final 48hours will be spent fasting and shedding excess water through the use of a sauna and cardio exercise.

Weigh in day finally arrives. Thank Christ. You simply need the scales to measure the same as your own. You’ll need to do a face to face square up with your opponent and then you can eat. You’ll drive yourself mad trying to think about how you should play the stand-off. Should you try to intimidate your opponent, entertain the audience or simply act dismissively? It will feel different in reality anyway. Right, you now need to rehydrate and eat. It’s very easy to overdo the eating at this stage and it could leave you very bloated for the fight. Discipline is needed but you’ll still overdo it. Now you need a good night’s sleep but your mind will continue running scenarios.

Fight day arrives and the nerves make it hard to eat breakfast. You’ll need to have a few snacks throughout the day because it’s an evening event. You’ll sense any and all nerves from your loved ones, training partners and coaches. You’ll read into the meaning of their nerves. Avoid your phone at all costs because well intentioned friends could be looking for last minute tickets or to offer you their words of encouragement that won’t actually help.

You’ll be expected at the arena several hours beforehand. There could be a fighters meeting to go over the rules. There’s a lot of waiting around and time moves slowly, especially because you want to get it over and done with at this stage. It would suck to have any contact with your opponent or his/her crew. Major awkward and potential for either side to do some last minute intimidating. Unless you are MMA royalty, you’ll have a shared warm up room. Even non opponents will look at you threateningly. Their nerves are at them too although you’ll feel yours are showing more.

Fights before you will come and go and you’ll attempt to avoid using unnecessary energy but you will hope that your warm up room is the lucky one with the most wins. If you have any team mates that fight and win, it will add pressure for you to do the same. If they lose, it will add pressure for you to get a win. Do you do too big a warm up and risk using energy needed for the fight or do you under warm up and risk starting cold? It all depends on whether you are a slow or fast starter, too aggressive or under aggressive, have fast twitch or slow twitch muscle fibres. Hopefully at this stage you do know yourself. The hand wraps feel too tight and it won’t be possible to redo them. You can’t believe they are short of 4 ounce MMA gloves and you have to use a pair from a previous fight.  It would be great if the electricity went out in the arena so the event would be cancelled and you could get out of the fight without losing face.

You’re told you are up next and the full adrenaline dump hits the stomach. Is there time for a last minute pee? You’re on the move to the cage. It’s great to be second to enter so that you don’t have to endure your opponent’s walk in and music. Last second checks by the officials before entering the cage. Of course you haven’t forgotten your mouth piece or groin guard! They are your only protection in the cage and you’ve lived in them for the last 2 months. This all seems like a dream right now anyway. You would be floating only for the fact you can’t forget about the consequences. You give your 3 corner crew a hug as if to say goodbye and into the cage you go. You follow whatever superstitious ritual you’ve developed. The cage is locked. The ref calls you to the centre for what feels like a pointless exercise. Do you stare down? Do you touch gloves? More unnecessary thoughts. Okay, you’re back at your corner and the referee says ‘FIGHT!’

It’s on! Game plan out the window as you rush forward. Your thought process is fighting to stay in conscious thought but this isn’t an everyday situation. Your fine motor skills don’t exist anymore. It’s all gross motor skills but the good news is that you don’t feel any pain from some of the strikes. There are no sharp sensations. It’s all dull but heavy thuds. If feels like you’re operating on some type of animal instinct level. Wait. Why the hell have your forearms just seized up? This has never happened in training. The lactic acid due to adrenaline is vicious but it won’t last long, as long as you keep going. Breathing is the same. Getting your second wind is confidence shaking as you’ll worry it won’t come and that the initial shock to your lungs is going to stay. The fight goes back and forth with moments you feel frustrated and others you feel you have the advantage. Win, lose or draw, it’s all over and there’s a massive sense of relief. No matter which way it went, you feel that you didn’t get to really show your full potential and you aren’t happy with your performance. You say a few words on the mic if required and the main objective is to not sound like an idiot. Open that cage door and let you the hell out. When you are rushed by your loved ones you can really sense how nervous they were for you. You feel dirty with blood and sweat which isn’t just your own. You will greet your opponent after the fight and your relationship will be totally different and without any bravado. The rest of the night will fly in and you’ll sleep the most soundly you’ve slept in weeks. Initially you’ll find it hard to remember all of the details from the fight but as the dust settles over the few days following the fight, you will recollect more. It’ll be hard to adjust back to the way your life was before the fight and you may even feel like you have a mild version of PTSD. The fight will feel like it emotionally broke you and you’ll only have one question in your mind. When can you do it all again?!  

I would love to hear your views. Please get in touch using any of the channels below. All comments, reviews, subscribes, likes and shares are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued support.

Every Wednesday there’s a brand new Success Sensei Blog, Podcast and Vlog.  

By Roundhouse Rob, The Success Sensei 

Robert Devane is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional MMA fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience.

For more amazing FREE content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thesuccesssensei

The Success Sensei on Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/thesuccesssensei

 

 

 

3 SUCCESS Books You MUST Read!

From a very early age I’ve always read non-fiction. Books about business, finance and self-development have always topped my list and I’ve gotten through a lot of them over the years. It’s very hard to whittle down to only 3 of my top recommendations but I think these 3 books are essential reading if you have any interest in creating more success in your life. The first one is mainly about increasing your chances of increasing your income. My second recommendation is about keeping more of the income you earn. The third book I’m going to recommend isn’t about business or finance at all really. It’s about living a happy and successful life, in balance with all your other goals and aspirations.

If you have already read all three of these books, then well done. Maybe you’ll benefit from this quick reminder. If you haven’t read all three, the following is a brief synopsis of each book and a link to each one. I would also love to hear about your own top 3 success book recommendations.

Right. Here goes:

• ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ By Robert Kiyosaki

 ‘What the rich teach their kids about money that the poor and middle class do not’. It’s hard to believe that this book is 22 years old. It has sold over 58 million copies so there’s a very good chance you’ve already read this one. It’s a book about personal finance, entrepreneurship, business, investing and economics. ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ uses Robert Kiyosaki’s personal story to show the reader the importance of increasing your financial intelligence. This book advocates being a business owner and investor and building wealth through investing in assets. Oprah Winfrey endorsed this book on her show which helped to catapult its popularity. If this book is good enough for media mogul Oprah, then it’s good enough for us to read. ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ isn’t a be all and end all book. It definitely doesn’t hold all the answers but it will get you asking the right questions.

Top lesson learnt: Most people work to live and purchase non essentials but the rich invest in income producing assets so that they don’t have to work.

‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad ‘ is available here: https://amzn.to/2VQnzNe

• ‘The Millionaire Next Door’ by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

‘The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy’.

I found this to be a surprisingly interesting book. The statistics contained in it might be a bit dated now but they still emphasise the same important lessons. This is a book about frugality. It’s about not wasting money. Half the lessons about gaining wealth are actually about not wasting any of it. Save as much as possible and invest back into income creating assets. It turns out that our pre conceived notions of millionaires are actually incorrect. They don’t live the lavish lifestyles of our dreams. They live relatively normal looking lives and they could be living in the house next door to you. If you want to justify why you hate spending money or you simply want to see that you are already living the same standard (or above) lifestyle as a millionaire, this is the book for you.

Top lesson learnt: People who look rich may not actually be rich and those who don’t look rich could be!

‘The Millionaire Next Door’ is available here: https://amzn.to/2tZT8Ie

• ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’ by Robin Sharma

‘A fable about fulfilling your dreams and reaching your destiny’.

My first 2 book recommendations were very much about getting on your feet financially. I feel this book recommendation ensures that you balance out your life and don’t simply get lost in the chase for the cash. At first I found it cheesy but ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’ actually manages to wrap up the fundamentals of a happy, healthy and wealthy life in one, easy to read story. This book will definitely have you reflecting on your life choices and what’s really important to you.  

Top lesson learnt: Spend more time creating a life instead of just making a living.

‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’ is available here: https://amzn.to/2XOBTay

I always have my notebook beside me when I’m reading a book that I think I’ll get something out of. If the book motivates me to jot down some thoughts or spurs me into some type of action then it’s a good book. Reading is the very best way of continuing your lifelong education. For those with long commutes, audio books are superb.  

I would love to hear your thoughts. Please get in touch using any of the channels below. All comments, reviews, subscribes, likes and shares are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued support.

Don’t forget, every Wednesday there’s a brand new Success Sensei Blog, Podcast and Vlog.  

By Roundhouse Rob, The Success Sensei

Robert Devane is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional MMA fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience.

For loads more amazing content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thesuccesssensei

The Success Sensei on Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/thesuccesssensei

 

Get Your CONFIDENCE Back!

Was there a time in your life when you felt you had more confidence? When you walked taller and prouder and you felt that you had the world at your feet? Maybe you didn’t even realise that you were confident. It’s like when you look back at old pictures and realise that you did look better than you felt at the time. Get your confidence back with these twenty steps.

Roundhouse Rob, the Success Sensei is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional mma fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience. Line up and get your mind fighting fit.

Don’t forget, every Wednesday there’s a brand new Success Sensei Podcast, Blog and Vlog. We really need your reviews, likes, shares, comments and subscribes to continue to grow. It’s all FREE content so if you like it, please do let us know. Thank you very much in advance.

For loads more amazing content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thesuccesssensei

The Success Sensei on Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/thesuccesssensei

It's NOT About Who's Right, It's About Who's Left! - #SS18

The Success Sensei - Episode 18

It's NOT About Who's Right, It's About Who's Left!

Concentrating on your own path and staying the course is the name of the game :) How do you do that? Listen on :)

Roundhouse Rob, the Success Sensei is a serial entrepreneur and experienced investor as well as a former martial arts multiple World champion and professional mma fighter with over 20 years of coaching experience. Line up and get your mind fighting fit.

Don’t forget, every Wednesday there’s a brand new Success Sensei Podcast, Blog and Vlog. We really need your reviews, likes, shares, comments and subscribes to continue to grow. It’s all FREE content so if you like it, please do let us know. Thank you very much in advance.

For loads more amazing content please visit:

The Success Sensei on Apple itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-success-sensei-podcast/id1448626122?mt=2

The Success Sensei Blog
http://www.thesuccesssensei.blogspot.com

The Success Sensei on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG1Ly9zBKc5ZZ134dkjeHA

The Success Sensei on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thesuccesssensei

The Success Sensei on Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/thesuccesssensei