Conor McGregor is someone worthy of being studied. Even if you don’t watch MMA you have probably heard of the name Conor McGregor, that little Irish guy that’s beating everybody up and collecting massive checks.
Yup, this is him:
What’s cool about Conor McGregor is that he was not born rich or famous. He had to work for everything.
There are critical steps that he took to go from being a broke fighter with 2 losses on his record, to knocking everyone out and becoming the highest paid MMA fighter in the world.
Even though I compete in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu I am a huge MMA fan and have watched every single Conor video there is.
Here are the steps he took to go from collecting welfare to greatness:
Step 1 – He had a goal and he was 100% certain he would achieve it.
Look at this footage of Conor McGregor. This is from when he was a young up and coming pro. He already had it in his mind that he was going to succeed.
He was specific. He knew he wanted to fight in the UFC and become a champion.
Watch him say it in his own words below, long before he was rich:
https://youtu.be/NvGLGvONp10
Notice how he said “without a doubt you will see me fighting in the UFC in the near future.” He was certain of success before it came. He knew it was coming.
Step 2 – He cut all ties to his former life and focused 100% of his time on his goal.
When Conor McGregor was just a young unkown fighter he got a job from his father as a plumber. He would work 12 hour days and have a 1 hour commute.
Can you imagine martial arts training on top of that? It just wouldn’t happen.
He looked around and saw how all the workers around him had bad backs, injured shoulders, pain everywhere from working a physically demanding job 12 hours per day.
What scared him even more was that ghost look in their eyes and he knew he didn’t want to be one of them.
The next day he told his dad that he would never go back to that plumbing job. There were many fist fights between Conor and his dad and a good number of years during which neither of them talked to one another.
His mother was supportive of him so he was allowed to stay in the house and live and train all day.
This is a very key moment because if he had kept on working his plumbing job he would not have had the time to train and perform well in the fights. He put all of his eggs into one basket: fighting.
Step 3 – When the opportunity presented itself, he seized it!
When he was finally signed to fight in the UFC he had to fight Marcus Brimage who was on a 4 fight win streak.
Going into the fight, I watched Conor’s backstage blogs. He had a problem with his tooth before the fight. Unfortunately he couldn’t get it fixed because he wasn’t allowed to take pain medications prior to the fight.
He did not give a shit. He said he would never let a toothache get in the way of a huge opportunity.
Conor went out and knocked Marcus Brimage out in the first round. Then he grabbed the mic and said “Dana! 60 Gs BABY!” He was speaking directly to the company president and asking to get the “knockout of the night” award which was $60,000.
He got his $60,000 and was able to come off welfare after his first UFC fight.
Step 4 – He got himself noticed by the owners of the UFC
Most fighters don’t call out the UFC president like that. He made himself vocal and noticed.
Right after that, he was seen having dinner with the president and riding in his sports car. Here is some footage of that:
How many fighters get to drive around in the president’s Ferrari after 1 fight? Conor McGregor made sure he stood out and got noticed by people who could take him to the next level.
Step 5 – Conor remained obsessed with training even after he became a star.
After that meeting with the president, Conor had the whole promotional machine of the UFC boosting him forward and promoting his name like crazy.
He could have messed all this up with losing. He had to make sure that he kept winning and knocking people out in order to keep his career trajectory up.
How did he make sure he won all of his fights? He remained obsessed with training, even though he was making money.
A lot of successful men agree that obsession is necessary for greatness.
Check out this quote below from Conor’s Instagram page:
Step 6 – The future
Who knows what the future may hold for Conor. He is talking about possibly boxing Floyd Mayweather. That fight probably won’t happen due to his UFC contract. But his options are endless.
Since being in the UFC Conor has only lost once and he avenged that loss right away.
To conclude, we can learn a lot from Conor McGregor’s rise from welfare to stardom:
Step 1: He had a specific goal and was certain that he would accomplish it.
Have a specific goal and convince yourself that you will accomplish it.
Step 2: He cut ties with his former life and focused everything on his art. He quit his plumbing job and fought with his father every day for years. He knew he had to train every day in order to reach the top.
Do whatever it takes to reach your goal. If that means cutting ties with people then do it.
Step 3: When the UFC came calling, he ignored his tooth ache and siezed the shit out of the opportunity.
Opportunity will never come at a perfect time. Ignore whatever little ache you have and seize the opportunity quickly!
Step 4: He was loud, with his words AND his actions. He got noticed by the UFC owners.
Don’t be meek. Don’t be shy. Speak up with certainty. Some people will dislike you for it. But the men and women at the top will notice you.
Step 5: Conor stayed obsessed with training and kept the work ethic that got him to the top.
Don’t take the foot off of the gas pedal. When you achieve success, keep working your ass off. Be obsessed with your craft. You will go a bit crazy. It’s part of the process.
I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any questions or comments please leave it in the box below. This post was inspired by BoldandDetermined.com.