I had a conversation with a guy in a Bar in a city I've
never been back to. He asked me how long
I’d been training and I told him. I
don’t remember how long it had been, but I had just made it out of cardio class
and into sparring. He had done a few pro
fights for King of the Cage, but he had a daughter and needed to be more
responsible. He was working for Trader
Joe’s, but he really wanted to have one more fight. He told me if I had been training for more
than three months, that it was in my blood and I would never quit. That was
over ten years ago.
It is not about the money.
Money is nice, but fighting ceased to be a choice for me a long time
ago. I love everything about this
sport. Some people love competition, but
don’t like training. Others like
training but don’t like the pressure of competition. I love it all, and “it all” takes a
significant time and financial investment.
The question then is how do I make money doing what I love? The obvious answer is to go fight, but you
don’t make money that way. Until you've
made it to the top, you don’t make the money you need, to train like you’re
going to make it to the top. Every
fighter at the top will tell you that.
OK, so you teach, you coach, you work the front desk. Maybe you move into fighter management or
join the dark side and become a promoter.
You have to assess your other skill sets and find a niche.
I've always said I’ll fight until it’s not fun. For some, there comes a point when it’s not
worth the sacrifice anymore and it’s time to take another direction…. like
using the degree you've been paying off since you started training. For me, I’m determined to find a way to do
what I love for the rest of my life.
Are you doing what you love, even just a little? Does it make everything else in your life a
little brighter? I hope you just said yes.
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