Wisdom from Mike Tyson

Ok, I’m not a big boxing fan. But Mike Tyson was a figure so much bigger than the sport. In his prime he was feared. He certainly had his share of issues (understatement!) to overcome and now does everything from acting to supporting charitable causes.

One of his most famous quotes was, ‘Everyone has a plan till you get punched in the face’.

Whether it is COVID19 or a family loss or both – that is a punch in the face. You were prepping for a good fight but you did not see that punch coming.

In an interview Tyson explained, “Everybody has a plan until they get hit. Then, like a rat, they stop in fear and freeze.” Heavy. Just like one of his punches.

When we lost Chris we got hit in the face and went down for the count. You are dazed, confused because you had a great plan and were executing the plan and everything was great and then you’re on the mat looking up at some referee guy yelling 1, 2 and you know if you hear 3, it’s all over. And now what.

Gonna get up? Gonna stop in fear?

Without being callous, the only thing that you can do at that moment is decide, ‘Am I getting up or am I tapping out’. You make that decision and then the next one and the next one.

Yah, I’ve thought about this quote a lot and Mike Tyson is absolutely right. When the plan goes out the window, we’ve got to decide what we are going to do. I stand with all of you in these crazy times and those suffering personal loss during these times (or any time), I get it. I know what it’s like to be punched in the face. I know what it’s like to try and get up when feeling another punch may be coming. Keep getting up. Keep going. You ALWAYS control your next decision. 😉