Leave it in the ring:

I ask for nothing less then 100%. This will ensure your long term happiness. Do less then your best and you will know it. Give 100% and you will revel in it.

To be defeated by a better opponent while giving everything you have is acceptable. Victory or defeat is not always defined by the paperwork. If you give everything you have you have not lost anything.

This is not a rationalization to be happy with defeat. Never be happy with defeat but accept it and move on. If you are challenging yourself you must be prepared to fight the greater fighters. You can’t get better only fighting the fights you know you can win. Sometimes we have to risk loosing to truly grow.

In 2005 I took my best fighter at the time, Jason Teitelbaum, to Denver for a tournament. The previous year he lost in the quarterfinals to a fighter he could have beaten but was not mentally prepared to face. The event brought with it pressure Jason was not ready to deal with. He was fighting himself as much as his opponent. This time around he was reminded to enjoy himself and just fight his fight.

The 1st 2 matches were some of the best fights Jason ever had. He did all that he was trained to do and was having a blast doing it. He came back from being behind on points and KO’d 1 fighter and he dominated the other. In the semi-final Jay fought a perfect fight against a really skilled opponent. 1 mistake with no time left cost Jay the victory. He got caught while trying to land a high kick that he didn’t step into enough.

In the end he fell short of the final bout by one step and a really well placed sweep by his opponent. Jay got beat by the better fighter that day. He did everything he could to win and was satisfied with the result. Jay learned that you don’t have to have your hand raised in victory every fight to be a winner. Becoming a world champ is a process. You don’t win every fight on the way up. You can’t learn without a few bumps in the road. Leave everything you have in the ring and you will be satisfied no matter the result.

In 2006 Jay returned and used his experience to win his 1st world championship. The funny part about it is that we both agreed that the previous year was more satisfying then this one due to the level of the struggle. Jason lost in 2005 but was pushed to his limit. He won in 2006 but still had more gas in the tank. At the end of the day we can walk around with trophies and belts but what we remember is the struggle. Fight the hard battles and carry the effort with you forever.

No matter your struggle. Go at it in a way that gives you the ability to say you gave it everything you had. No one can ask any more or any less of you.