Two weekends ago, my family and I watched a series of movies that massively impacted my life. You’ve probably heard of them, and may have watched them before… and if so, I highly encourage you to do what we did – stage a weekend marathon of all seven movies in the “Rocky” series.

I urge you to take the time to watch these movies, and here’s why: as we watched these movies, I became so inspired and they caused me to view winning in a completely different light. What I love about these movies, and even the story behind how the original movie got made, is the different types of winning shown throughout the entire series.

You see, winning is not something I have been focused on in a really long time. My business is like a machine. It runs well, without very much involvement on my part. Our team keeps it going and growing. So, with all that being said, winning has not been a goal of mine – or even something I’ve talked about in a long time. (Other than “winning” for the poor, of course.)

And, I’m almost ashamed of that, to be honest.

But spending all this time with that Rocky winning mentality, brought it all back. Just look at the whole “underdog” story of what became the Rocky phenomenon. Sylvester Stallone wrote that first movie in just THREE DAYS, and it was filmed in 28 days… considered an extremely short schedule for a feature film.

When Stallone first pitched the movie, to studio after studio, no one would give this unknown actor and his “little movie” the time of day. Finally, Stallone got in front of the film’s eventual producer – who mortgaged his house to fund that 28-day project. Then, although they wanted to make the movie, they did not want Sylvester Stallone to play Rocky.

But, Stallone held his ground and refused to budge… including taking a LOT less money than a movie star usually earns, just to play the part. And that first movie earned 10 Academy Award nominations and won 3 Oscars!

In the movies, Rocky wins some of his fights and he loses others. However, he never saw it as “losing.” He was competing against himself, and he always won in a different way. Now, Rocky Balboa was a third-rate club fighter, going nowhere and destined to crack a few bones for a Philly loan shark. No way he should have ever been in the ring with a champion like Apollo Creed!

But Rocky’s goal was so amazing – it wasn’t to beat Apollo, but just to finish all 15 rounds. And that’s exactly what he did! Rocky walked away from that fight as a winner in his own eyes. He accomplished his goal.

I learned a lot about leadership, about winning, about going the distance while watching those seven movies. I want to encourage you in this: I don’t know what team you’re on, who you’re working for or with, what your goals are, or what winning looks like to you.

But I can tell you this: I’ve watched certain teams of people who have not been focused on winning. They come out of the gate so strong, so focused, so driven in the beginning. They quickly reached 80% of their goal, so they throttle back and get comfortable, saying, ”We’ve got this! We’re ahead of the game! We’re golden!” And next thing you know, they become unfocused and relaxed, their commitment and drive gone, and they’ve lost their fight.

So, my encouragement to you is to keep fighting. Do not lose sight of your goal. Do not get comfortable, even when you are ahead… especially when you are ahead!

What separates the winners from everyone else, is how you fight your fight, how you pursue your goals. Do you start strong and then get comfortable? Do you get too confident, thinking you’ve got it in the bag, only to discover your opponent (your challenges, your opposition, your task list, your goal, the problem you have to solve) is bigger and stronger than anticipated?

DON’T LOSE because you thought you had everything under control. Don’t lose your focus! When you lose your focus, you lose your fight. We observed this throughout the entire “Rocky” series, and I see it every day in our clients, friends, and even, our own team!

I highly recommend you sit down with your family and/or friends this weekend and watch all seven movies. Let yourself be inspired and motivated, while picking up the principles shown throughout these movies. Have a notepad and pen handy as you watch the movies, and take notes about the leadership, winning mentality, goals, and even the relationship and financial principles you see. After the movies, debrief with your family. Find out what stood out most to each person, what they learned and how it can be applied in their lives. These are important questions!

Even if you’ve seen these movies before, watch them with this in mind. Be purposeful. Go into it with an open mind, expecting to learn something new and to be inspired greatly. Then, please share your insights with me… I can’t wait to read your take on all this, below!

And, don’t forget to join me for The Dani Johnson Show today for more insights and inspiration. You can find the show on your TV and radio and please remember you can always stream today’s show right here on our website.

In great faith,

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