Message #72 - INTIMIDATION

The Word Intimidation Has Meaning for everyone. If you know how to intimidate people you can make it work for you. If you get intimidated, it will destroy you.

So what is intimidation? What is it that just makes you feel timid and scared? What makes that little voice in your mind say "this is to much for me" 'I can't face this".

I mean it just saps you of your strength. So you want to see an example of INTIMIDATION... just watch the stare down before any of Mike Tyson's fights (his early fights...especially his fight with Michael Spinks and Larry Holmes).

Mike Tyson was a superior heavyweight champion but Nobody every mentioned that for a heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was rather small in stature. I mean he’s a very, very small man for a heavyweight fighter.

Everybody he fights is a head taller than him but he does the intimidating. Being intimidating is not about size it's about what's in your mind.

Notre Dame when they play football, or during the Gable era when the Iowa Hawkeyes came on the mat...they both intimidate their opponents just because of the aura around them. Some people think it’s the uniform, some people think it’s the tradition.

Whatever it is, intimidation works.

Now, what you have to do to overcome intimidation is to practice not being intimidated. So let me ask you this. For example: did you ever have a teacher in school that you were afraid to talk to...a boss, a boy, a girl, dad, mom whatever?

Do you know what my assignments for you is? Go talk to that teacher. Go talk to that boss, Go talk to that person. I want you to do things that intimidate you and see what happens?

The more you do things that intimidate you the less you’ll be intimidated. So you ask the boss for the raise, ask the girl out for a date...the boss says no...the girl say no. The whole goal wasn't to just get the raise or get a yes from the girl... the whole goal was to do that confrontation, just to get the nerve to do it. The whole goal is to just confront the fear, confront the intimidation.

So that’s what we’re talking about. Practice putting yourself in situations where you’re intimidated and then deal with it. And just like any fear, the more you confront the fear the fear will lessen.

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Message #40 - Resist the Feelings of Fear and Doubt and Perform Anyway

Consistent Performance requires Resisting the Feelings of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt in the midst of Challenge, Controversy and Disappointment.

I heard a story that exemplifies this principle:

"A well known circus performer was performing his act, with several large Bengal Tigers in a locked cage, before a live audience; when in the middle of his performance, the lights went out."

"For almost 30 seconds the circus performer was locked in with the tigers, in total darkness, with the audience starting to panic. The tigers, with their superb night vision, could see him, but he could not see them. The circus performer survived the ordeal, and when the lights came back on he finished his performance."

"After the performance the circus performer admitted he was afraid and felt immense and overwhelming fear, however, he said, he knew that even though he couldn't see the big tigers, they didn't know he couldn't see them. The circus performer acted in the cage as if nothing had happened and continued cracking his whip and talking to the tigers as he normally would until the lights came back on."

"The circus performer rested in the fact that the tigers never knew he couldn't see them. And so it is with each of us. Resist the urge to panic and feel despair in the midst of a "storm" in your life, and perform exactly as you were trained and exactly as you've prepared ahead of time."

Act in faith that your actions will be successful if you simply just carry them out exactly as planned.

Message #35 - Breaking Through Fear

In War it Has Been Said That There are Only Two Types of Soldiers - Those with Courage and Those without Courage. Those with Courage are sometimes called Heroes and Those Without are sometimes called Cowards.

No one likes to talk about FEAR in sports (and War) because it somehow makes us seem weak and wimpy when we admit and acknowledge it; when in fact everyone feels fear. And certainly no one wants to be called a coward. The connection here is Contact and Combat sports are much like war. The more violent the situation - the more like war. Wrestling and certainly more so, MMA fights, are like war.

The mind senses the stress of the situation and involuntarily signals the fear emotion. Since the fear emotion is involuntary and out of our control, the reality is, EVERYONE FEELS FEAR.

In war the HEROES respond, act and perform appropriately, according to their preparation and training, and they do all this at the right time...RIGHT ACTION; RIGHT TIME.

Quite simply, those who lack courage feel the same fear but either don't act or don't act appropriately, or if they do act - they act at the wrong time, and ultimately miss the opportunity. WRONG OR NO ACTION; WRONG TIME.

Frankly, we've all felt like cowards at one time or another based on what you've just read, haven't we? I know I have. We simply froze and didn't act (or perform like we've trained). We knew we were hesitating and shutting down, but felt we could do nothing about it.

Since FEAR is felt by all, then HOW does the Hero perform with courage when overcome by this paralyzing emotion, while others become paralyzed and fail?

HAVING COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR, BUT THE ABILITY TO FEEL THE FEAR AND ACT AND PERFORM ANYWAY!

IT'S A CHOICE. HEROES DON'T PLAN TO BE HEROES. THEY JUST SIMPLY ACT AND PERFORM IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT, IN SPITE OF THE OBSTACLES AND CIRCUMSTANCES.

TELL YOURSELF YOU WILL ACT AND PERFORM NO MATTER WHAT!