In Knockout Entrepreneur, two-time world heavyweight champion and entrepreneur George Foreman shares the principles that led to his extraordinary success in the ring and in business. He won his first world heavyweight title in 1973 by defeating then-undefeated Joe Frazier. When he returned to the ring in 1994, he became the oldest heavyweight champion in history at age 46 and 169 days old. As an entrepreneur, Foreman is famous for promoting the George Foreman Grill, which has sold more than 100 million worldwide.
HOW THE GEORGE FOREMAN LEAN, MEAN, FAT-REDUCING GRILLING MACHINE CAME TO BE
Attorney:
“George, there are some guys who want to talk with you. You’ve helped other companies by advertising their products. Have you ever thought about having your own product?”
Right then I almost made one of the worst financial decisions I could have made. I thought, I really don’t have time for this.
Fortunately my wife, Joan, was listening and she changed my mind. “I’ve tried the grill, George,” Joan said, “and I like it a lot. It works great; the meat comes out nice and juicy. The grease drips right off, and the food tastes really good.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “I’ll fix you a burger.” After taking a bite I realized Joan was right. I said, “Yeah, it is really good. And the grill is easy to clean up. I like this grill!” When I talked to the attorney again, I said, “I’ll do it!” I wasn’t thinking about making any money on the deal. I just signed the contract so I could get sixteen free grills for my homes, my training camp, my friends, my mom, cousins, and other family members. That’s all I really expected to get out of the grill deal. I never dreamed this opportunity would turn into a grilling empire!
We were ecstatic when we sold 1 million grills. Then sales hit 5 million. Soon 10 million grills sold. It be- came so popular that Salton, the appliance maker, offered to pay me a fortune for my rights to the George Foreman grill.
Today, more than 100 million George Foreman grills have been sold worldwide. It won’t be long before sales surge past the 150 million mark. And it all started when a friend asked me to consider an interesting opportunity.
Listening to Wife
I give my wife, Joan, credit for the success of the George Foreman grill because she was the first one to use the product and she sold me on it. She saw the grill’s potential before I did, and I’m glad I listened to her. That one decision not only blessed my life but also improved the lives of millions of other people. My family has prospered, and as a result we’ve been able to help a lot of other families prosper. Not only that, but a lot of people who have purchased George Foreman grills are enjoying some fine eating! You never know how making one small decision can change so many lives.
Just because an opportunity doesn’t pique my imagination or look too exciting at first, I’ve learned not to discount it. Sometimes all sorts of blessings are right behind an unopened door, but you’ll never know until you open it. If you want to be successful, you must think in terms of potential. Don’t limit yourself to what the opportunity is, but allow yourself to dream a bit about what the opportunity can be.
Believe in Yourself
In the Good Book, I read about a time when King David, the second king of Israel, was discouraged, and even the people he had hoped to help were speaking evil of him. Distressed as he was, he decided that he would encourage himself and exercise his faith in God. Sometimes that is exactly what you have to do. Don’t wait around for everyone else to pat you on the back or tell you how talented you are; pat yourself on the back, and remind yourself of all the good things you have going for you.
Anyone can be encouraged when things are going well, when you are winning at every point. That’s easy. But when you get knocked down on the canvas of life, that’s the time to encourage yourself. Get up and re- mind yourself, This is a new opportunity; my best days are ahead; this is going to be the best time of my life; my business and career are going to flourish. What happened yesterday is over and done. You really can’t do anything about what has happened in your past, but you can do a lot about your attitude regarding the past. Now is the time to seek the next opportunity.
When one dream dies or comes to an end, don’t wallow in despair. Dream a new dream and then work hard to see it come to pass. That’s what I did. I took every opportunity to promote the grill—doing interviews and television programs, constantly looking for a chance to turn the conversation from boxing to grilling—and it worked!
Deal Breakers – Be Willing to walk away
In business, however, you must draw firm, immovable, impenetrable lines when it comes to maintaining your integrity. Anything that might cause me to cross one of those lines is what I call a deal breaker. It’s an issue that can cause the best deal to fall apart.
Draw those lines, and don’t cross them. In business and in life know your deal breakers before you enter negotiations. Ponder the things that really matter to you in life as well as in a business deal; often these matters come back to integrity issues. Being honest and fair, maintaining your reputation, creating an excellent product that you have confidence in and you know can do the job or perform properly when the public uses it— these are the lines that matter.
DON’T SET YOUR STANDARDS BY THE SCOUNDRELS
A good fighter knows there are times to throw in the towel, especially when given advice by trusted cornermen, the ring doctor, the referee, or other friends or objective observers who have your best interests at heart and are not easily overwhelmed by your fighting spirit. If they advise you to walk away, they can see that you are in danger of suffering injury or perhaps a potentially career-ending trauma.
That’s why it is all the more important to keep good people around you, so when you are having trouble seeing the issues clearly, they can be your “eyes.” Remember, there is no shame in walking away from a deal if it allows you to fight another day.
Don’t burn yourself out, using up all your options in the first couple rounds of negotiations. In boxing, quite often nothing of significance occurs during the first round. Oh sure, occasionally you will see a dramatic first-round knockout, but that is the rarity rather than the norm. Usually the fighters are scoping each other out during the early stages of the match; they are testing each other, looking for weaknesses they can exploit or opportunities of which they can take advantage. Sooner or later somebody will throw the first hard punch, a potentially match-winning blow.
Be Interested rather than interesting
Take an interest in the client or customer. Instead of concerning yourself with how each new client can assist you, ask each per- son, “How can I help you?” Sincere questions such as, “What can I do for you?” will set you apart from most of your competitors. If you don’t believe in what you are selling and aren’t excited about it, why should anyone else buy it? Socialize in your community, meet people, go to functions, and talk about your product everywhere.
PERCEPTION IS REALITY—WHAT THEY SEE IS WHAT YOU GET!
In boxing, unless a fighter is staggering around, gasping for air, or lying on the floor, the opposition’s perception of your condition becomes his reality. In your situation, the picture you present to your competition and to the public is what the competition and public see. No one will know that you have a broken hand or a cracked rib unless you reveal it.
Often the worst thing you can do is to let your competition know where and how you are hurting. Why? Because that is precisely where they will hit you. Furthermore, if the public senses that you are on a downward trend, your chances of enlisting the public’s support become minimal.
All the best in your quest to get better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.
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