Categories: Articles

When You Give It Your All

The only way to win and get ahead in today’s world is to simply give it your all.

There’s a lot of buzz around the movie The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke. What few people may not realize is that even though the outcome of professional wrestling matches are pre-determined, what goes on in the ring is very real. Don’t believe me? Try jumping off the top rope of a boxing ring and landing flat on your back (not easy, not fun and not comfortable). Ric Flair was one of the best. Tonight, he was featured on CBS News as the sort of "real story" behind The Wrestler as The Oscars take over the tube this weekend.

Passion, determination, dedication can’t be faked.

You can watch the full twelve-minute, unedited interview below. At close to ten minutes, the typical story-telling and back-and-forth between celebrity and journalist gives way to a very intimate moment where Flair reflects back on his 36-year career that ended in 2008. We should all feel this way about our careers – not just in terms of how it might end, but right now. If you’re not loving what you’re doing (and even if you are), this is what following your dreams and making it happen is all about:

Watch CBS Videos Online

Talk about blood, sweat and tears.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.