Michael “Mickey” Goldwill is the fictional boxing trainer created by Sylvester Stallone for his famous Rocky series of movies. Mickey was Rocky’s trainer, coach, mentor, stand-in father, priest/confessor, greatest fan and friend.
It was Mickey who challenged the washed up, worn out and out of shape Rocky Balboa to do whatever it took to get back in the ring and compete again. It was Mickey who stood behind Rocky as he drank the raw eggs and ran the miles in the pre-dawn hours…all for just a shot at greatness.
Make no mistake, there would be no Rocky without a Mickey.
Mickey wasn’t perfect. Far from it. He was flawed and desperate. But Mickey sees the greatness in Rocky, buried deep under the years of neglect. Mickey is convinced that the Italian Stallion can rise out of the ashes and be the boxer Rocky was meant to be.
Are you someone’s Mickey?
It’s easy for any of us to become so consumed with our own victories and failures, aches and pains, high highs and low lows that we really aren’t any good for those who depend on us. We become so self-focused that we create a vortex where we become the center of our own pathetic world.
Do you find yourself in the vortex of your own drama? Take a look at your latest several status updates or tweets. What’s the focus? Is it time for you to break out?
Find someone you can be Mickey to. Find someone who has those deeply buried talents and just needs a coach or mentor to bring out the best.
You certainly don’t need to be perfect. In fact, far from it. Sometimes the only difference between mentor and protege (I hate the word ‘mentee’) is the fact that the mentor has traveled down the road a little further. He’s seen the traps, the blind curves and the dead ends.
So, who’s Mickey are you?
Who’s depending on you for training, encouragement, a pat on the back or a kick in the pants?
Get outside your own vortex. Create significance and influence.
Go find your Rocky.
(thanks for Daron for kicking me in the pants and encouraging me to write this post!)
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