One might not expect to come across
a TED Talk titled How
to Be a Loser – particularly a talk given by a professional athlete.
However, but that is precisely what the TEDx Talk given by professional mixed
martial artist and 3-Time UFC Champion Rich "Ace" Franklin
was entitled. Additionally, one might also wonder how a TEDx Talk from an
athlete could be relevant to someone in the music and/or entertainment
business. In sports, just as in the entertainment industry, losing is
inevitable. No one ever “makes it” on their first try without having to
overcome any stumbling blocks along the way. That’s why Franklin says, “Losing
is inevitable. Make sure you have the tools in your toolbox to deal with it.”
Franklin revisits the night that he
lost his UFC title in front of a sold-out crowd in Las Vegas. He realizes that
when he made his first error, he overcompensated, and then made a second error.
Then he made a third, and a fourth. Without even realizing it, he was caught
in, what he calls, the “quicksand effect” – the more you struggle, the faster
you sink. In the fast paced entertainment/ music industry, it is very easy for
anyone to get caught up in the quicksand effect. If you react without the
benefit of any strategic thinking, you are very likely to sink deeper- making
it much more difficult to recover. That’s why Franklin emphasizes the three
keys to being an effective “loser.”
Whether you are experiencing a
setback in an UFC steel cage, building your music career, or in life in
general, it is imperative to have selective amnesia. According to Franklin,
selective amnesia is when you have lost or failed, and you selectively extract
all the usual information from the experience and forget the negative ‘stuff’-
the mental anchors- that will hold you back. You need to be innovative in your
comeback. You need to take risks and do not hesitate. There are three levels of
making a decision:
1) Ideal situation is a good decision
2) No-so ideal is a bad decision
3) Worst of all is indecision
Not making a decision when you are struggling is equal to
quitting and that is truly a loss. If you utilize the tools in your toolbox,
and use them to put you back on the proper path, you have ‘lost’ with the
effort of champion and will accomplish your goals. Regardless of whether your
calling is to the octagon, the recording booth or the in front of a computer as
a digital media marketer, it is ESSENTIAL to lose with the effort of a
champion.
