Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

“There’s a war going on outside no man is safe from. You can run but you can’t hide forever.” -Mobb Deep

Nothing like a little hip hop to get the morning started. Today I am pumped up. Not sure why, but I hope to get all of you hyped as well so LOOK OUT!

Yin vs Yang is all about the inner battles we each have. Today, I wanted to touch on another type of inner battle every animal has experienced: Fight or flight.

This has been a natural battle for humanity since the dawn of time. However, in today’s world the fight or flight battle is a little less blunt, or so it seems. Back in the day, cavemen either fought or fled for their lives. It was a simple concept. Either choose to stand your ground, or you better run for your life. You want something, you have to take it. If a caveman was not willing to take it, then they could not have it. Life was simple.

Today, though, life is much more complicated. You can’t just go out there and take what you want. This is a civilized world now in which people try to respect each other. There is no need for arguments, fights, or anything of the sort in order to make it through life today. Life is a lot more complicated than fight or flight these days.  Right?

HELL mother-f-ing NO!!!!

That’s just what everyone wants you to believe. And if you do, I will say this as clear as I can: You are a sucker.  A SUCKER!!!

Successful people, or at least all the ones I have met or studied, went after exactly what they wanted. They did not beat around the bush. They set something in their sights and did not stop till it was theirs. They did not back down from any challenges. They did not think about what other people were doing or saying. They simply stuck to their instinct and went ALL OUT with it.

In order to be successful, you must be willing to go all out. Do not think success is going to come without a fight.  Now, when I say fight, I don’t mean a little scrap behind the woods after school either. I mean you need to be prepared to fight for your life like cavemen used to against Sabertooth Tigers.

You need to understand that’s the type of battle you are in right now if you want to succeed. You need to prepare every time as if you’re facing the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

Millions of people.  Maybe even billions, are doing everything in their power RIGHT NOW to be more successful than you.  Whatever business you are in, however it is you earn your paycheck, there is someone out there who would gladly take your place. In this life, it is all about fighting for your position. If you don’t fight for what you want, you will only get what’s given to you.

I train MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I get to see up close what makes an MMA fighter successful and what does not. The funny thing is, it takes exactly the same traits to be successful in the cage as it does life. I mean, it is down right identical. Think like the prosecutor in the movie My Cousin Vinny, ‘I-(clap)-Dentical’. No matter what business you are in, if you want to be successful, then you must think like a cage fighter.

Cage fighters are successful for these reasons:

Preparation

How prepared are you? A successful cage fighter goes to every extreme to make sure they are prepared. If possible, they will study their opponents on YouTube or ask around for friends who may have trained with them. They will bring in other fighters similar to their opponents to become even more prepared. By the time they are ready to fight, there is not one ounce of preparation they have not done. Being a great fighter is about finding the perfect balance between your physical body and your mind. This is all accomplished during preparation.

Endurance

MMA fans love the knockout, probably because of its excitement and relative rarity. However, even though a knockout is the goal, every fighter prepares to go the full distance. This is because, when you reach the big leagues, counting on a knockout is horseshit. A fighter must train till their endurance is at such a peak level, the fight is just a joke. That is why, many fighters look so ready on fight night. They have trained to fight an hour long war, even though the fight is usually only 15 minutes. Remember, training is the hard part. The fight is the party where you get to show off what you’ve accomplished.

Adaptability

Every great fighter comes in with a plan. They may try to avoid their opponent’s takedowns, push the pace, keep it standing, etc. No matter the plan, though, a fight is a fight. ANYTHING can happen. The littlest thing, such as a slip of the foot, or sweat in your eye, can cause the whole fight to change. Real fighters have a plan, but are also able to adapt on the fly. If things go haywire, they keep calm and cool, working through the tough spot as best they can. It’s what they have trained for. They stay focused and they adapt. They don’t live or die by what they planned. They just use it as a guide. They know adaptability is key to any victory.

Killer Instinct

This is probably the single trait that separates a good fighter from a great fighter. In the cage, when you get an opportunity to put the fight away, you must have that killer instinct. I have seen many fighters take it too easy when their opponent is about to go. They feel comfortable because they are winning.  They don’t see how that will change. That is until the opponent hits them across the chin with a lucky counter punch. All of a sudden, what once seemed like an easy victory, now becomes the fight of their life. If a great fighter sees an opportunity to finish, they move in like sharks that smell blood, and finish off their opponent for the win.

Talk is Cheap

The pre-fight hype stuff is always classic. Who does not like seeing two raging animals talking defiantly about why they are going destroy the other? I have seen all sorts of shenanigans before a fight. Fighters will force opponents to go lose an extra 1/4 pound at weigh-ins. Some fighters act as if they hate their opponents. Some try to put on crazy persona’s in order to mess with their foes.

However, the best fighters always have the same, calm, emotionless look. They simply look prepared. These fighters know all the showboating, tough talk, and antics will all disappear once that cage door shuts. Talk is cheap. The only thing that matters is results.

Mental Fortitude

The greatest thing about MMA is that there will probably never be an undefeated champion. Everyone loses at one time or another. There are too many variables in Mixed Martial Arts to have someone be perfect all the time. The same goes for life. Cage fighters will have to deal with a loss at one time or another. It never feels good to feel like they let down their family, coaches, and training partners. Imagine preparing for something will all your energy for months on end, and then getting knocked out by a lucky shot in the first round. Believe me, IT SUCKS!

Great cage fighters learn from their losses. They go back and try to strengthen their weaknesses. They let the loss motivate themselves to reach an even higher level of effectiveness.  They have the mental fortitude to know the best thing for them is to get right back in the cage. Win or lose, they can always fight again. After all, it’s always about the next fight anyway.

The Present is All That Matters

Great cage fighters do not worry about the past or future. They worry about the now. I have seen many fighters face an opponent that knocked them out previously. Some can handle it, and some attract the same result all over again. It all depends on the mind set. Real fighters know each fight is different, no matter what happened the last time. Each fight is on a different night, with different circumstances, at different arenas, and with different crowds. There is no two fights that are ever exactly the same.  All that matters is the fight you are in NOW. Not the one from last year. Not the one in two months. Real Cage fighters know the only opponent they face is the one standing in front of them.

We’re all Friends in the End

Cage fighters may try to kill each other during the fights, but in the end, there is nothing but respect. Every fighter respects anyone who is willing to go toe-to-toe with them. Whether they beat them, or they lost, their is always respect for the opponent. The reason is, every fighter has been on both sides of the stat column. Plus, without your opponent’s effort, there would be no victory. This is why it is always of the utmost importance to respect anyone you do battle with. It is the code of the warrior. No reason to hold a grudge. They were just trying to win like you.

Think Like a Cage Fighter on Your Way To Success

Now it’s up to you. You don’t have to wear 4 ounce gloves to think like a cage fighter. Remember, nothing in life is given to you. If you want something, then you must go out there and take it, just like the cavemen used to do.