Sometimes you hear a song that just perfectly captures a moment. As I write this, it’s midnight here, and I have two lyrical lines playing over and over in my head.
The interesting part is I can’t even remember the last time I heard the song.
That’s the power of having a message that resonates with your target audience, which is a great marketing lesson… but that’s not the main point of this.
I’m sitting here thinking about my son’s and my Tae Kwon Do tournament tomorrow — the Dragon Invitational (I love saying that) — and how I’m going to get ready.
On one hand, I don’t believe in cramming for any “test”. If you haven’t put in the work like you were supposed to leading up to the big day, it’s unrealistic to expect a few minutes of studying to save you.
On the other hand, when the nerves and anxiety are going full throttle, it sometimes helps to have a reminder that you know what you’re doing, so some quick reps might be all you need to get your mind right. When it comes to something physical like Tae Kwon Do or basketball or gymnastics or some other physical skill, it’s a little different because knowing what it looks like doesn’t always translate when you have to do it yourself.
So about that song…here are the opening lines:
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy…
… there’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti.
If you don’t recognize it, that’s Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and I get a chill every time I hear that opening.
Even though I’m nervous, it reminds of something one of my coaches told me. He reminds me that everything I’ve accomplished in my career is harder than anything that’s still in front of me. Keeping that perspective in mind, puts to rest some of the self-doubt that comes into play for a lot of people.
That clearly applies to Tae Kwon Do too because I can’t imagine anything we do being harder than making it through that first day.
I’ll let you know how it turns out.
In the meantime, if you need a coach to help check you on some of your own “head trash” and help you operate at your optimal efficiency, here’s a good place to start:
