Middle Management Chapter 5 – The Champ & Scar Power (Step 2)!

1986…

Little 12-year-old me and my parents are out shopping for some new jeans. Now we ain’t talking “walking through the mall with a bunch of bags in your hands” like the rich kids in the movies. We’re talking…

“Get one pair of pants (Toughskins, to be exact) and nothing else because you shouldn’t have been outside playing baseball in your new school jeans anyway” – kinda shopping.

(Don’t talk to me if you don’t know about them 80’s Toughskins. HA! Man… I hated those jeans, but I loved the time with my folks.

Fun Fact: Two years later I bought my own first pair of Levi’s from my first job at Chick-fil-A at 14. “God’s chicken,” as it has come to be known, was better back then. It was the real Chick-fil-A. Just sayin’. Loved that job.)

Anyway, in this particular part of our little 1980’s Houston-area mall were five people. My parents, myself, and these two other people. One of them was huge and the other one not so much.

“Troy! Do you know who that is?” my dad asked me.

“No,” said clueless 12-year-old me.

In my defense, I was focused on the floor and trying not to step on any cracks. You know, “Step on a crack, break yo’ mama’s back.” Wasn’t trying to do that.

My mom was the only reason I was getting new jeans. My dad would’ve had me going to school with the ripped ones. Tough love pops was NOT in the mood that day. So the change in tone caught me off guard.

Without missing a beat, my dad grabbed my hand and walked me right up to this mountain of a human being.

“Excuse me, sir,” he said. “May I introduce my son to you?”

My dad was not the kind of person to shrink in front of anyone, or to use that kind of meek-asking-type voice. So, this cap-in-hand energy added to my “What the heck is going on?”. I probably even stepped on a crack or two. (Sorry, mom!)

The giant man turned around like he was about to end someone’s happy day. Lucky for us, as soon as he saw my mom, my dad, and me, his energy softened. He looked down, made eye contact with me, and said, “Sure.”

“Troy, this is heavyweight champ George Foreman,” my dad said. The large man gave me a small one-sided smile. Mr. Foreman was huge!

“Is he real?” I thought to myself.

He was probably thinking, “Pull it together kid. I got things to do.” He reached out for a handshake, and his hand literally engulfed my entire lower arm. It was wild.

After watching the George Foreman documentary years later, I realized that our little mall meeting was right around the time that he’d lost everything.

As the story goes, the Champ had lost his money through some bad investments. That would explain his half smiling pre-Foreman-Grill demeanor. The not-so-big guy walking with him had to have been the legendary trainer, Doc Broadus.

Unbelievable! There I was in a Houston mall, standing toe-to-toe with a historic global icon. No bodyguards, no handlers, no security. Just icons, an oblivious twelve-year-old, and his parents. I mean, he was a six-foot-four heavyweight boxing pro from Houston’s fifth ward, so he was probably good as far as needing security goes, but still… what a time to be alive.

Fast forward to 1994 – and how this applies to you.

This same legend is getting ready to fight for the world heavyweight title. Years earlier, he’d been at rock bottom financially. Today, at 45, George Foreman was looking at a chance to make more money than he had ever made in his career – not as a boxing coach or consultant, but as a fighter!

Everyone thought the boxing commission had lost its mind for allowing this 45-year-old man to fight a 26-year-old undefeated champion. The fight was scheduled, cancelled, and scheduled again. George Foreman’s lawyers and Top Rank Boxing took the WBA to court with the hope that they could keep the fight going. Top Rank Boxing wanted the payday – and Mr. Foreman needed it.

(Quick Question: What 26-year-old world heavyweight champion loses to a forty-five your old “has been”?

Answer: A 26-year-old fighter who hasn’t seen what the 45-year-old fighter has.)

Back in 1974, (the year I was born by the way), George Foreman was the young 26-year-old undefeated champion fighting the older “washed up” challenger named Muhamad Ali. Remember that guy?

Ali was the one who everyone was scared for in those days. The famous Howard Cosell was so afraid for his friend Muhammad that he basically begged him not to fight. (There’s a video of it on the free download that comes with this book.) Visit middlemanagementbook.com to get it.

In the video, Howard is talking on camera like he’s about to go to Ali’s funeral. However, there would be no funeral that day. For those of you who don’t know, the 26-year-old George Foreman was knocked out by the older “washed up” Muhammad Ali in the “Rumble in the Jungle.”

That loss was so big for George that he stopped fighting shortly after that. In his eyes, he’d lost to an old man who should’ve been an easy win. In his life’s eyes he’d learned a valuable lesson that would help him later in life.

The heavyweight fight in 1994 against Michael Moorer was a replay from his fight with Ali twenty years earlier.

• Foreman had been the 26-year-old undefeated champ.
• He knew the thoughts, the training, and the mindset that came with being that guy.
• He also knew how to beat that 20-something undefeated fighter.

He had lived it.

Thanks to his loss to Ali, George Foreman was in the perfect position to live through this fight again 20 years later. Only this time he would be the older fighter, and “the NEW Heavyweight Champion of the World!!” That story can be the same for you.

Just like the Champ, your life experience is your great equalizer. Your scar power is your star power – if you let it be. Lucky for you, you don’t have to fight a two-hundred-pound heavyweight champ in front of millions of people to use it. You’re welcome… again!

Fun Fact: Do you know what combination Muhamad Ali used to win the fight against the younger George Foreman back in 1974? It was a left-right combination.

Twenty years later… Do you know what combination George Foreman used on the younger heavyweight champion in 1994? That’s right, a left-right combination! The two combinations are pretty much identical. You can see both historic events on the bonus download. That bonus download is sounded like fiyahh am I right or am I right?

Your losses are now your secret weapons to your successful second-half life. This is your heavyweight championship moment. This is your turn to win in life. The Champ is Here! Now let’s get to step 2 of your journey.

Your End of Chapter To-Do’s:

Make a list of all of the losses and defeats you’ve worked through in your life. No matter how small you think your trials and failures were add them to your list.

Here are some examples for you overthinkers:

1. Scored really low on my SATs.
2. Had my car repossessed when I was newly married.
3. Lost my full ride scholarship over a girl & had college debt because of it.

Those are some of my actual scars.

Now you make a list and fill it with the failures that you made it through. Title it “My Made it Through List,” and keep it close. We’re going to use it later. See you in the next chapter.

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What do you think? I hope that you enjoyed it. Funny thing about this story was that this exact thing happened to my mom. Wild times those 80’s. Anyways… As you know the best way to give me your thoughts is to hit reply on the email that I sent earlier today! Also, if you’re enjoying the book would you be so kind as to click here and leave a review.

Click here to get your full how to find your next steps guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FW6CDYXT

Thanks everyone for your help! I hope this was helpful! – Troy