Imagine for a moment that you are in a ring, about to fight a powerful opponent. What are you thinking as the blood pumps through your neck and you can't hear anything but your heart beating? The crowd is cheering and you have less than a minute before a painful full contact match.

Fear takes you over and you start to overheat and the sweat is pouring down your body and face. Your stomach is aching and trembling but, no one can see. What do you do? How can you win like this?

Ask any fighter who is willing to be honest and see what they tell you. They'll tell you that they go through this every time they fight! But, ask them how they conquer this and they won't be able to tell you directly. They may say that they turn their fear into fire and use it to fight. The fact is that any method they tell you will be right, but it may only be right for them.

So what do you do now that you have only a minute left before you are exchanging blows between you and your opponent? What does it take to win?

Fact: Everyone wins their own way BUT, there is a common word for all of them. That word is ACT! Every fighter must ACT. ACT? Here's what I mean:

A - Attitude
C - Commitment
T - Technique

Attitude
As fear takes over you, you must change your Attitude. Change your attitude and you will change your results. In a fight that may mean making yourself angry or cold tempered in order to give you strength. In life it may be being positive or indifferent. This change is the first step in winning. Without an attitude change, nothing will follow.

Commitment
Once your attitude is changed, only then can you commit yourself to winning and acting accordingly. If you are not committed then you cannot win. Commitment means that you are not only ready for the next step but, you are also ready to follow through with your attitude. If you re angry then someone's gonna get hit! Not only that but your fear is gone and you ve built up the guts to do what you have to. The same goes for being positive and/or indifferent.

Technique
Following through without a plan and thoughtful action means nothing but pain for you. Your technique as a fighter is what you have been trained to do with adjustments to fit the situation. Mastering your technique is critical to your survival as a fighter or for anything in life. But remember, things are always changing so you must continually practice and study your technique. If you can throw a powerful punch or kick, that's great. However, no one will fall for it forever.

There are so many people who do not ACT in life and without ACTion they get no results. These same people are the ones who will find it necessary to complain about what life has dealt them and how unlucky they are.

Have you been one of them? I know, I was one of them at one time. That is, until I found my ACT.

Remember this: if you do not ACT in life, then you will REACT to life.

Reacting is like dodging punches and never throwing any. How can you win?

Think about the now famous William Hung. Now there's an ACT! It doesn't matter how well you do it, it only matters that you do something.

Have you seen the movie Troy? The Greeks ACTed and by appearing to be beaten they:

1. Changed their Attitude about charging the walls of Troy and and being slaughtered by arrows. Instead they chose deception.
2. Built the wooden horse and Committed to deception for victory. The few who were in the horse would either be killed or conquer and complete their mission.
3. Their Technique was killing through stealth and then opening the gates for final victory and success.

The next time you get that feeling ACT or prepare to REACT!

"A warrior seeks to act rather than talk."--Carlos Castaneda

"Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still."--Chinese Proverb

"The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch."--Jim Rohn

"A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, Nothing else."--Mahatma Gandhi

Rasheed Ali is a personal development coach and speaker who publishes the 'Conquer Your Adversity' Newsletter.