One of my all-time favorite movies is:<\/p>\n
\u201cRocky Balboa\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I like it so much for two reasons:<\/p>\n 1. It got rid of the nasty taste in my psyche left by Rocky V which, far as I am concerned, does not exist, never happened, and ain\u2019t \u201ccanon\u201d as the fanboys like to say<\/p>\n 2. All the great success lessons embedded within<\/p>\n Take, for example, the part where the current champ, Mason \u201cthe Line\u201d Dixon, who is hated by everyone, seeks counsel from his old trainer Martin \u2014 the guy who made him into the champ, but was dumped in favor of managers who took over Mason’s career once he got big. Mason is now publicly ridiculed and despised by boxing fans for having never fought a true contender, holding his own greatness back in the process and he knows it deep down.<\/p>\n Here is the conversation:<\/p>\n MARTIN:\u00a0You got everything money can buy, except what it can’t. It’s Pride. Pride is what got your ass out of here, and losing is what brought ya back. But people like you, they need to be tested. They need a challenge.<\/strong><\/p>\n MASON: But you know that ain’t never gunna happen, there ain’t anybody out there Martin.<\/strong><\/p>\n MARTIN:\u00a0There\u2019s always somebody out there. Always. And when that time comes and you find something standing if front of you, something that ain’t running and ain’t backin up and is hittin on you and you’re too damn tired to breathe\u2026 you find that situation on you, that\u2019s good, Cuz that\u2019s baptism under fire! Oh, you get thru that and you find the only kind of respect that matters in this world. Self respect.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The gut shot in the above exchange:<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always somebody out there\u201d<\/p>\n A lot of online marketers \u2014 especially social media guys & ghouls who made it big due to the nature of algorithms and the power of charisma & status (a good power to have, btw, if you got it) without having to learn the basics of marketing \u2014 who have been coasting along since 2015 or so, are now finding this out. You can see it in their ever-more-desperate posts. Their whining about algorithms not being as generous as they used to be. Them having to resort to bottom feeding click bait for engagement and getting paid on views instead of actually producing anything that benefits lives.<\/p>\n There ain\u2019t no way that\u2019s going to last.<\/p>\n Whatever the case:<\/p>\n To use another Rocky analogy, once you win your title you have to defend it.<\/p>\n While you get successful and want to coast and lay back a little\u2026 that\u2019s when Clubber is training, working harder, gaining ground, coming after you. I have seen this over and over and over in the past nearly 23-years since I\u2019ve been up in this business. It is why I always, every day, and have been doing so this whole time, from the moment my eyes open in the morning\u2026 focus on something one of my high school coaches used to drill into our heads:<\/p>\n \u201cYou can always outwork the other guy\u201d<\/p>\n I have found this to be true across the board.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t control natural talent and aptitude.<\/p>\n But you dayem well CAN control how hard you work.<\/p>\n Anyway, something to think about in the coming weeks, months, years as the economy goes completely to pot. (The recent talk of lowering interest rates and flooding the economy with more debt notwithstanding \u2014 it will only delay the inevitable if it doesn\u2019t totally crash everything, best to be ready\u2026)<\/p>\n To see if you qualify for the paid Email Players newsletter go here:<\/p>\n