This week’s student assembly was on the topic of being brave rather than being fearless. We don't grow or learn anything about ourselves when we're fearless because there isn't a challenge. We do, or at least we can, however, grow immensely when we're brave. 

Recently, I've been reading and researching a lot on Connor McGregor, and my most recent readings have been pretty challenging - convicting even - and I thought they might challenge, encourage, and/or convict you as well.

Conor claims to be fearless but I think he is. I think he’s terrified of losing, of failing. But instead of finding excuses or giving up, he embraces that fear and uses it to drive him to greatness. He uses it to help him prepare for battle. His weapons of war, then, are his mindset, his work ethic, and his approach to his craft.

His mindset is simple: don't let fear of failure dictate your life. Embrace it, use it, and learn from it.

"People of courage and action can take wrong steps and make mistakes - sometimes serious ones. But in a lifetime they accomplish far more than the timid, negative individual . . ."

His work ethic is born from the belief that we are given nothing, that we deserve nothing, yet  anything is possible if we work - and work hard - for it.

"Our preparation is more important than our opportunities. Our preparation makes our opportunities." Therefore, "we should focus less on the benefits of the action and more on the momentum created by performing it regularly."

His approach to refining and growing his craft is not haphazard or mindless. It is extremely intentional, and as I read through it this morning, I thought of education (for obvious reasons), but also relationships, personal goals, and daily living. 

Purposeful Practice, McGregor believes, "is a process that makes refinements through repetition . . . and looks something like this:

Identify a weakness in your domain or expertise.

Form a clear mental picture of what it would look and feel like to gain the skill that would fill in that weakness.

Break the new skill down into its most basic components.

Find or design activities that target those components.

Perform those activities with intense focus.

Use various forms of feedback to refine and repeat steps 2 - 5 until each component can be reliably performed.

Carefully integrate each component until they feel natural and will not be forgotten.

- Conor McGregor: Singleness of Purpose

Teaching - living - is much the same. There is the day in and day out battles of not merely showing up, but of putting in the work with intense focus. There is the constant threat of defeat, the fear of losing, the reality of losing, and the daunting and forever task of beating back mediocrity and achieving greatness. And, like a seasoned MMA fighter, victory comes down to a choice. It comes down to a process. It comes down to a mindset.

Are you ready to rumble?