When You Have Nothing to Lose

It's time for another Tim Ferriss Podcast reference. Oh my. David Blaine the magician was such an entertaining 55 minutes!  There were so many actionable words of wisdom. The one that got me to stop and listen again was this one. David told the story when he was a young magician doing street magic. He was in an airport and he got some bags mixed up because they all look the same. He said I think you've got my bag to a nearby traveler. One of the guys in a business suit said, "No I think that guy over there in the in the white limo has your bag." David had no family left after his single mom passed away. He had nothing to lose, walked over to the white limousine, and knocked on the window. The window rolled down. It was Iron Mike Tyson holding up his fist in the prime of the Tyson era! Iron Mike said, "Hey man, what do you want?" Mike Tyson ended up letting David into the limo and they went back to Mike's hotel where David did a bunch of cool magic tricks. Mike was thoroughly entertained and gave him some life-changing advice. He said. "You know I wasn't supposed to be the heavyweight champion of the world. I was too short. My reach was too short as well. But you know... when you have nothing else to lose, you have everything to gain."

I just meditated on that for a while as I was vacuuming an Animal Hospital floor and sucking up gobs of hair. When you have nothing else to lose, you have everything to gain. It's the same concept as hitting rock bottom. A lot of addicts and people with a lot of distress have to hit the worst point in the life before they can truly get better. I know people that start side hustles but yet they never make it work. Do you know why? They have everything to lose and very little to gain. They may have a 6-figure full time job with great perks, but they want freedom. It's hard for them to make it. I love the Rocky franchise. Look at Clubber Lang vs Rocky Balboa in fight 1. Clubber had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Rocky had very little to gain and everything to lose.

When I was in my first year of cleaning, I was David Blaine or Iron Mike Tyson or Clubber Lang. I had everything against me and everything to gain. I had already lost it all. I had no where to go but up. This motivated me beyond belief and I worked my tail off for scraps. I kept doing it over and over and over until we started getting some traction. If I go to the other end of my first cleaning business, we had a cushy set up in a nice rental house in a nice cul-de-sac. We made good money and I only cleaned 2 days per week. I had a lot to lose and not much to gain (in my mind). The truth of the matter was this. We weren't making it. I should have kept the same intensity throughout my business instead of letting up. I love this advice from Mike Tyson. Where are you at? Do you have nothing to lose and everything to gain? Go hard. Fight your fears and win. Or do you have everything to lose and little to win? This is dangerous as it causes complacency. If you stay where you're at, you will eventually lose what you have. Trust me!