Appearance on HDNet's Inside MMA (Episode 313, March 27, 2009)

Wow. So it's been a long time since I've updated this blog. I'll have to get back into the swing of things.

I suppose I'll jumpstart the process with my appearance on HDNet's Inside MMA a couple of weeks ago (Episode 313, which aired March 27.) HDNet treated me really well -- they flew me out to LA and put me up in a very nice hotel and offered chauffeured limo service from and to the airport.

Josh Barnett filled in for Bas Rutten as the co-host with Kenny Rice. And fellow guests were Benji Radach and Roger Huerta. Everyone was super-cool.

Here are snippets of the show:









If you're interested in watching the entire episode online, Sherdog has the episode archived:

http://sherdog.com/videos/recent/Barnett-Huerta-and-Radach-Featured-on-HDNets-Inside-MMA-1960

Your Home for Mixed Martial Arts Fanditry

So, I've been racking my brain for the last couple of weeks because I felt like I needed a new tagline for FightTicker.com. "MMA News and Community" has served its purpose (much like the original site design) but it's so bland and boring.

After 7 months, the site has established an identity -- a place where fans can discuss the sport they love and where they have a voice alongside the "experts." In fact, I hate the distinction between fans and experts. I believe, given access all fans are experts. And, in reality, the only true MMA experts are those who've actually fought on the professional level. Which means, there are no MMA blogs run by experts -- they are all run by fans (regardless of what the owners of the other sites will have you believe.)

Anyway, I was watching Larry King Live tonight and Joy Behar was on to discuss the presidential campaign. In response to King's question about whether she was a female Mark Twain (socio-political commentator), Behar said that she regards herself as a "fundit." Just like other political comedians like Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, and Stephen Colbert.

That was the "aha" moment for me. The word "fandit" came to me one short leap from fundit. I am first and foremost a fan of this sport and second a commentator on the sport. So, I guess that makes me a fandit, much like anyone who shares their thoughts and ideas on FightTicker.com. It's a great word (I think) and it describes the inclusiveness I am hoping to achieve with FightTicker.com. Literally anyone can come on the site and have their voice heard by the masses -- a true fandit.

So, that's the new tagline for FightTicker.com -- "Your Home for Mixed Martial Arts Fanditry". I like it. Do you?

Welcome to the new look FightTicker.com

A little more than five months after starting my site, it was time for a design upgrade. So Saturday night I launched the newest version of FightTicker.com.

I think it's a cleaner and more professional look. I also believe it gives me a much better ability to highlight original, exclusive, and the most important content.

Check it out at http://www.fightticker.com.

If you find any bugs, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Georges St. Pierre talks about working hard to achieve success

Georges St. Pierre is the UFC welterweight champ. He's also a very thoughtful, articulate self-described intellect. Here's what he has to say about working hard to achieve success. It's very telling.

There was a time when I started my career that I was working three jobs at the same time. I was also studying at school and I was training for my fights and I was living in a very bad apartment. I didn't have a lot of money but those days are finished. I'm glad when I think about it because it was a very tough time for me but I knew at the time the hard work would pay off.

I did a lot of jobs. First, just to give you an example, to pay for my study I didn't have a lot of money so to pay for my studies, my books and everything for the university, I became a garbage man for six months because it's a lot of money. So I worked full-time and I was training really hard and then I started studying and then switched to other jobs. I was working as a bouncer at a night club on the weekend and teaching government programs and I was working in recovery at a store and it was very tough.

When I see some people in the sport say, 'Oh, I don't have time to do this' and they complain and not only in the sport but in their life I laugh because I know I've done a lot. When you want something, you can go get it, you just have to use the tools and sometimes it's hard and you need to struggle hard for a couple months or a couple years sometimes like I did, but at some point if you do it well and keep going you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

(http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/mma/blog/2008/07/qa_with_georges_st_pierre.html)

Why do I bring this up? Because my own experience mirrors what he says. I've had to fit my MMA career into the rest of my life. I'm married and I have a full-time day job. In order to do what I do with MMA, whether it was writing for BaltimoreSun.com or SI.com earlier or running FightTicker.com now, I've had to find time to do so on nights and weekends.

Most people don't see or appreciate the hard work that goes into achieving success. They see the end result -- the published story, the picture on a prominent Web site, or the byline (or the thriving Web site.) But, it's never easy and it takes constant diligence.

And, trust me. There aren't people out there looking to make you or me a success. Everyone is in it from themselves. If you want to succeed, you have to figure out your own path and not count on help from anyone else. Not only do you have to knock on doors, you have to figure out where the doors are and figure out if they are the right ones for you to walk through.

While it's not easy, if it's truly what you want to do, then it will be worthwhile and it won't seem like work.

But, if you're making excuses or thinking of giving up because it's too hard, then the blame lies entirely with you and no one else. Success is within everyone's grasp, but only those who are willing to pay the price (as I mentioned in a previous entry quoting Sun-Tzu) will achieve it. And, that price will have to be paid over the course of years, not months or days.

I've been at this for nearly two years and I've loved every moment of it. Things have gone great so far but I've created these opportunities for myself and then followed through by executing properly.

You too can do the same.

Nelson Mandela's eight lessons of leadership

The three greatest men of the 20th century all fought for equal rights and freedom: Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela. So, when Mandela lets us in some of the secrets of his leadership success, I'm all eyeballs. Here's his list:

• Courage is not the absence of fear — it's inspiring others to move beyond it
• Lead from the front — but don't leave your base behind
• Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front
• Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport (as a sports fanatic, I like this one!)
• Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer
• Appearances matter — and remember to smile (people skills go a long way in life)
• Nothing is black or white
• Quitting is leading too

Mandela delves into details with each of these, drawing from specific examples in his life. It's a great read!

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1821467,00.html

Believe the hype on The Dark Knight

Positive word-of-mouth does wonders for a business. And, The Dark Knight is currently benefiting from fantastic critical and audience reviews. I watched it yesterday with my wife.

Let me add to the glowing reviews and help spread the word: believe the hype!

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1824888,00.html?cnn=yes

What's an MBA -- or any degree for that matter -- worth?

Not a lot, if you ask Hugo Boss CEO Bruno Sälzer. Here's what he said in a Time Magazine profile in February:

"The subject you studied in school doesn't mean anything. What is significant is the training of your brain. My doctorate is in logistics, and I never worked in logistics, while our head of production logistics did his doctorate in nuclear physics. But you have to train that instinct."

(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1722985,00.html)

I agree with Salzer 100% on the topic of schooling. I have degrees in Biology and Computer Science and while I currently make most of my living as a software developer, as most of you know I've spent a good part of the last two years in endeavors for which I have no degrees: journalism and business.

I also agree with Salzer that instincts are extremely important and highly underrated. They cannot substitute for facts but they do add value to them. I'll take a smart person with great instincts any day of the week over a smarter person with no (or worse, bad) instincts. You can't quantify instincts but their effects are certainly measurable.

So, how do you acquire instincts? I think one ingredient is careful observation along with the pursuit of knowledge. However, knowledge alone is not enough. Those who are only book smart don't appreciate the realities and complexities of putting theory into practice.

So the second ingredient in developing instincts is "doing" -- it's the process of putting your knowledge into action. Taking risks is important. If you are assured of success, you will not learn much in what will amount to an academic exercise. By a constant process of achieving success and overcoming failure you gain an appreciation for how the world really works and through that you develop common sense.

In fact, those two traits -- observation and common sense -- along with having tangible skills to sell are very important to starting and running a business. And, those are traits you can develop outside of a classroom, without having to pursue a degree.

So, what is journalism, you might ask? The best journalism to me is the product of the ability to write combined with the search for truth. Plain and simple.