Everyone needs a Mickey.
Belief in characters overcoming the odds drives millions to the cinema every year. We love stories of heroic deeds under fire and flame. We love to see an underdog triumph. We love to watch a team find a way to win the cup in the very last reel.
In 1976 the Oscar for Best Film went to ‘Rocky’. The main character is famously played by Sylvester Stallone. He’s a boxer called Robert ‘Rocky’ Balboa. In the film, Rocky is suddenly plucked from obscurity and offered a chance to fight for the World Heavyweight title. Although Rocky has the resilience to take incredible punishment and stay on his feet, he is very raw as a boxer and a rank outsider. No one believes he can win.
What Rocky needs, is someone to teach him how to box properly and give him the belief that he can win. Former fighter turned trainer, Michael ‘Mickey’ Goldmill, steps up to train Rocky for a series of fights over the Rocky series, resulting in Rocky winning, losing and regaining the World Heavyweight title.
The cinematic partnership between Rocky and Mickey is special, with the element of belief at the heart of it. Mickey believes in Rocky and is utterly committed to him. Rocky believes in Mickey and is utterly committed to him too. Mickey quickly becomes an important influence on Rocky. Their relationship grows deep roots. Their symbiotic relationship is what drives Rocky’s success.
“I’m gonna stay alive and I will watch you make good. And I’ll never leave you until that happens. ‘Cause when I leave you, you’ll not only know how to fight, you’ll be able to take care of yourself outside the ring too.”
Michael “Mickey” Goldmill, from Rocky
Their partnership is one of total support and total honesty. As a result of the challenges they face, it’s never easy for them; and the exchanges between them are abrasive at times. But underneath it all, these are two men who have willingly bonded as a father and a son. And that devotion to each other is what endures. It’s a deep level of caring about each other than matters as much as anything matters to them. Mickey’s last dying words to Rocky are “I love you kid”.
Partnerships and belief
The leading characters in Rocky are very loosely based on Rocco ‘Rocky’ Marciano and his trainer Charley Goldman. They were a very succesful partnership. Rocky Marciano won the Heavyweight title in 1952 and successfully defended in six times, before retiring undefeated after 49 fights. Charley Goldman was very able in his own right. He trained four other boxing World Champions as well as Rocky Marciano.
Rocky and Charley are certainly not the only great partnership in boxing history. The list Is long and distinguished with far to many to mention. Think Angelo Dundee and Muhammed Ali, Cus D’Amato and Mike Tyson, or Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao. The partnership between real-life father and son, Roger Mayweather and his son Floyd, was one of the most successful partnerships in boxing history.
The bond between each successful coach and their boxer is centred on belief. It’s a circular belief that fuels and powers itself. The more the coach believes in the boxer, the more the boxer believes that they can win. The more belief a boxer has, the more likely they are to win. The more a boxer is likely to win, the more their coach can believe in them; and so on.
I believe in myself and I believe in you
Bonds
In other sports, there have been many great partnerships between a head coach and their players. The most successful partnerships seem to have involved a relationship of total faith between coach and player. The tightest of bonds are formed in the furnace of war, but many are created in the cauldron of competitive sport. The best relationships are of mutual belief and support and they remained just as strong many years later, despite the effluxion of time.
I believe in myself
A common trait in all these coaches, was their incredible self-belief and their total belief in their players. Great football managers like Sir Alex Ferguson, Brian Clough and Jose “The Special One” Mourinho certainly didn’t lack self-belief.
“I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business, but I was in the top one”
Brian Clough
Many other coaches and managers in all walks of life have had an inner belief too. It’s what allows you take a stressful and high-profile leadership role. It’s what helps you to stick to the philosophy you believe in when the critics question it. It’s what helps to sustain you, when people leave and during periods of poor results.
On top of helping the person themselves, a manager’s self-belief has other benefits as well. A self-confident manager tends to willingly offer advice and support to their team. As a result the organisation gets much greater clarity and consistency in how it operates. It feels much more confident in the way ahead. That helps everyone in the organisation to find their place in it; and to be confident about what they need to do, to be successful.
I believe in you
Crucially, these confident managers also had a similar level of belief in their players. It wasn’t all about them and they knew it. The manager’s belief in their team was absolutely crucial to that team’s success.
“He put me back on the straight and narrow and enhanced my career. He was like an adopted father to me”
Kenny Burns on Brian Clough
The reason this belief in others matters, is that people who offer their belief to others, tend to willingly offer their appreciation and support. As a result, the other people in the organisation get much more praise, more support and a much greater feeling of confidence in their own ability. That helps everyone in the organisation to keep going when it gets hard. It keeps up a positive momentum when results aren’t great. It helps other people to be confident about the future and what they need to do to contribute to it. It’s provides a drive towards success.
Belief matters
Belief is vital to success. Believe in yourself, then pass it on. Believe in others and they will achieve more.
If you believe a player is capable of becoming much better, offer your belief in them. Offer them everything else they need, to achieve the level you believe they’re capable of. Then they are can achieve it. If you believe it, they’re much more likely to achieve it. Help them to make that a reality. Then your belief in them was justified. That way everyone wins.
When times are tough, don’t stop believing. As Dawn Staley says “What is delayed is not denied. Keep the faith.”
Believe.