What you can actually learn from Floyd Mayweather

This article is about a week late, but I’ve also already realized that I have zero time in my life, so the fact that I’m writing this at all is impressive to me. Anyway, love him or hate him, and most hate him, the facts are this, Floyd Mayweather is one of the most dominate boxers in the history of the sport, and easily the most profitable having pulled in a guaranteed $120 million, and a possible $250 million from the Mayweather-Pacquiao Fight.

Now here’s the thing, in most people’s general opinion, there is little to be learned from Floyd in terms of life skills, and the guy can make over half a billion dollars in his career, trust me, he’ll like find a way to blow it all. But here’s the thing, you can find fault in just about everyone that is massively successful, and guess what, you can also find a lot of fault in people that are very unsuccessful too. The fact is, people are people, and I have never sought to mimic any one person, but to find the positive traits from everyone, and integrate those traits into my own growth.

So here are three things you can actually learn from Floyd Mayweather:

1. Stick to the game plan

Now here’s the thing, Floyd is known for his ability to adapt in the ring, but what he really does is make small iterations to his game plan. Overall, Floyd is Floyd, a defensively minded fighter that makes adjustments to better execute his game plan. Regardless of how often critics cry about how he is a boring fighter, no matter how much people make fun of him for “running”, he ignores the critics, and as much as you hate him for it, he is very successful sticking to his game plan, and doing what he does best. The ability to stay disciplined in the face of critics is not an easy task, and one that certainly has to be admired.

2. Believe in yourself

I hate Floyd’s cockiness, but at the same time, I understand it. Don’t forget, it was the great Muhammad Ali that once said, “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was”. Self-confidence is important, and athletes are most criticized for their over confidence, which is usually because they get a mic put to their face. Studies have shown that high achievement is largely attributed to an above average notion of one’s ability way before the individual’s merits justify it.

3. Cross-over promotion

Floyd is a marketing genius, and while he has decided to play the villain role, he has done so in a way that still generates a mass market appeal. His able to tap into large demographics outside of his reach by stepping out of his own comfort zone to promote in different markets is impressive. The fact that Justin Bieber accompanies Floyd in his ring walk is brilliant, and even recently at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, the night of the big fight, Floyd even found his way into the famous movie that Buffett plays to his shareholders. The ability to find cross over promotional appeal definitely sets Floyd apart in his marketing prowess.