ist magazine January 2023

4. HAVE AN UNEXPECTED STRATEGY. This can be a game-changer. Here are a couple of famous examples. In the movie “Rocky II”, Mickey, Rocky’s trainer, had him tie his left hand behind his back and trained him to box right-handed. Mickey did this for Rocky to protect his blind spot. Also, Apollo Creed (the champion) trained expecting to fight a southpaw. Surprise! Midway through the fight, Rocky says, “no tricks” and reverts back to boxing lefty again. Yeah, it’s just a movie, but what if you could use that idea? In the story of David and Goliath, Go liath was a massive, unbeatable warrior. David was a young sheepherder. He was not a seasoned warrior, never mind an equal match for Goliath. David did not try to fight Goliath sword for sword. Instead, he used a different weapon, a slingshot. Think about this though: It was his weapon. It was one he used for years protecting his herd. The one that came naturally to him. The one that gave him confidence. Using a slingshot allowed him to attack without being in the range of being struck by Goliath’s sword. What “unex pected strategy” can you implement? 5. BEAT THEM AT THEIR OWN GAME. What if you meet your opponent where they live? What if you out trained them? In the inspiring true-life story of the 1980s USA Hockey Team, as portrayed in the movie “Miracle”, the coach, Herb Brooks, didn’t pick professional all-star hockey players from the NHL. Nope. He didn’t even choose the most outstanding college hockey players. He chose the best ones that would work together as a team. He trained his team to play a different style of play based on flow – to play like the style of the Russian Hockey team that was considered to be unbeatable. In the film, Coach Brooks decided to train them on this new style, but harder than they had ever worked. He chose the players who would train that hard. What if you out-trained your competition?

for their children, there is nothing they won’t do to protect them. What stops you from committing to a dream or challenge like that? Us. We do. Enough is enough. If one team member is not all-in, it affects the whole team. If one team member is all-in, they can inspire others to follow their lead. 3. STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE “HOW.” Knowing exactly how is optional. The exciting part is that you may not know how and it’s OK! Embrace it. When we are kids, we dream like rivers flow. We never worry about the “how.” Why does this concern us so much as adults? Because if we can’t see the entire path, we don’t want to start the journey. That is not how successful underdogs win! They don’t worry about tomorrow; they focus on what they can do today, right here, with what they do have. Underdogs win when they move with purpose even when they don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Improvisation is an essential underdog skill. Having the ability to adapt and overcome each obstacle is part of their secret. They welcome mistakes because they are fully aware they can learn, adjust and re-engage. This becomes a huge advantage because the Goliath has a success strategy that they stick to. They are less likely to have to adapt because they usually win. So, their “adapting” muscle is not as strong. If you are the underdog, build yours! It can be a huge advantage. you, some will even come alongside you and help.” “It is because the odds are against you that people not only root for

Make no mistake, the mindset with any of these strategies is critical when you are the underdog. There was a line delivered by Coach Brooks in the film that sums up the mindset. Just before the game where they faced the Russian hockey team, their Goliath, Coach Brooks said, “One game. If we played them ten times, they might win nine; but not this game. Not tonight.” Don’t be a hobbyist; be a lobbyist for your dream. Yeah, some people don’t like lobbyists, but when you are all-in, you won’t care what other peo ple think. You don’t have time. Focus. How about you and your team living your own underdog story? n Which of the five ways will you use?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Darren LaCroix, founder of Stage Time University.com, is the only speaker in the world with a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), an

AS (Accredited Speaker), and a World Cham pion of Public Speaking. He is the author of the book 17 Minutes to Your Dream and co-host of the “Unforgettable Presentations” podcast. Through his live workshops and StageTime Workshops.com, he helps good presenters become UNFORGETTABLE.

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