Throw your Best Punch

"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey.

This is one of my favorite quotes. I consider myself a man of action. I just like getting things done that need to get done. I do believe in planning, but not at the time when fists are flying. That is when you need to step in and throw your best punch. I appreciate this common sense quote by Jack Dempsey and frequently remind myself of it.

With a little Google searching, I found Jack Dempsey was born in Manassa, Colorado on June 24, 1895. Dempsey rose to sports fame in the 1920s. As a nomadic traveler from 1911 to 1916, Dempsey began boxing in the small mining towns of Colorado under the name Kid Blackie. My brief search revealed he emerged from numerous saloon floor-boxing matches to professional heavyweight boxing champion in 1919 with his knockout victory over Jess Willard. Dempsey was perhaps best known for his heavy hitting and thrilling knockout victories. He had an aggressive and powerful style that had a lasting impact on the sport of boxing.

But prior to his boxing career, Jack Dempsey held jobs of digging ditches, picking peaches, cutting timber and being a circus roustabout while traveling from town to town. Nothing special. Except that the context of his humble beginnings is what makes the quote itself special to me. No one gave Jack Dempsey the boxing heavyweight title. He had to beat a 6' 6 1/2 inch tall 235 lb monster by the name of Jess Willard. Jack Dempsey boxed at 187 lbs. Rumors have abounded for years about Dempsey cheating as Willard was widely reported to have suffered a broken jaw, broken ribs, several broken teeth and a number of deep fractures to his facial bones. Whether he had or hadn't I cannot debate. But I can emphatically say that Jack Dempsey climbed in the ring and stood toe to toe with a giant of a man in true David and Goliath fashion, and won in 3 rounds.

If Jack Dempsey had never entered a professional ring and seized the moment, he would have not been remembered at all. If he had not stood in the face of adversity and overcome it, he might never have been known. If he had settled for saloon floor-boxing matches and picking peaches, I would not have his quote to inspire me to take action. Throw your best punch.