The “Rumble in the Jungle” was a historic boxing event that took place on October 30,
1974. It pitted then world Heavyweight Champion George Foreman against former World Champion and challenger Muhammad Ali. Ali was famed for his speed and technical skills, while Foreman’s raw power was his greatest strength. During the fight Ali frequently began to lean on the ropes and cover up, letting Foreman punch him on the arms and body (a strategy Ali later dubbed the rope-a-dope). As a result, Foreman spent and sapped his energy throwing punches that either did not hit Ali or were deflected in a way that made it difficult for Foreman to hit Ali’s head. This loss of energy was key to Ali’s “rope-a-dope” tactic. Ali continued to taunt him by saying “They told me you could punch, George!” According to Foreman, near the end of the fight, he slammed Ali with a thundering body blow, and Ali whispered to him “Is that all you got, George?” to which Foreman thought “Yep…that’s about it.” After that, Ali began to dominate Foreman. By the eighth round, Foreman’s punching and defense became ineffective as the strain of throwing so many punches earlier in the fight finally took a toll. Foreman tried to pin Ali to the ropes, which resulted in Ali’s 5-punch combination culminating in a left hook and a final hard right hook straight to the face that caused Foreman to stumble to the canvas. Foreman did get up, but not before being counted out by the referee.
I don’t know about you but the thought of letting someone like Foreman hit me repeatedly is pretty frightening. I mean Ali was quicker and more allusive; he could have easy held his own with Foreman. But Ali knew that if he was to win he had to tire Foreman and stick to his strategy. Ali maintained his strategy and it paid off in the eighth round when Foreman was worn out, and Ali stung him with a final left and massive right hook!
There are times in life we get hit repeatedly with obstacles or challenges as we pursue our goals, just like Ali did in his fight with Foreman, but we have to persevere and keep pressing to our ultimate goal and vision.
When we get knocked down and we are struggling, we have to get back up and keep fighting! Stay focused! Remember our greatest victories and new product conversions are still ahead of you. Too often people give up after one set back, or when they get more resistance than they bargained for. If we fail to persevere though those tough times, failure is ultimately inevitable. If you don’t finish something, it won’t be complete, and until it’s complete, it’s not finished. Success is all about our ability to follow up, follow through, and finish what we have started. You’re not beaten by being knocked down; you’re beaten when you stay down. Every day we need to have a plan, get in the OR, work the plan, close for results, and plan to win!
For those interested here are the highlights of that fight.
And, here is Ali’s post fight interview, a true classic and must see!
Awesome Article Sean. For some reason I am not longer receiving email updates for this site. Maybe I never did. hmmm Anyway, your article throws a great one two punch to the readers minds. I firmly believe that true success comes with breaking through those obstacles. It can do nothing more then make you more powerful in the end, believing that without them the definition of success is trivial at best. Here is a insert of my book I am writing that helps to define the law of positive.
“We are all products of where we have traveled, as well as the journeys of those before us, just like that grain of sand. So whom we have become today, is made up of millions of seconds of where we have been. Therefore, who we will become tomorrow is solely dependent on what we do at this very destination in our life’s journey. What we learn from those millions of seconds before us is up to us, and the way we use those moments in the present and the future is also our sole responsibility.”
Putting into practice of using positive thoughts and control over obstacles can only give us success. Success doesn’t necessarily mean “financial wealth”, it can also mean just keeping your motions in a forward stride and learning from those “grains of sands”.
Keep on taking the punches my friend.
Deborah
You never cease to amaze me at your great ability to craft stories that are so relevant and powerful to selling.
Ps Vince Lombardi said, “it’s not about getting knocked down, but about getting back up.”
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