Competition Is For Suckas

You heard me right.

Apr 17, 2024

Welcome to Dog Whistle Branding, the official newsletter of The Misfits, brought to you by "IRON" Mike Steadman, Chief Misfit at The MisFits, and Drew O’Brien, Founder & Creative Director at We Make Cool Shit.

Dear Friend, Subscriber, and Aspiring Dog Whistle Brand Owner,

Whenever someone asks me my perspective on what the competition is doing, my immediate response is, "Competition is for Suckas."

I learned this lesson during my freshmen year at the Naval Academy as a member of the Navy Boxing team. At the time, my boxing Coach, Jim McNally, made me watch film on my competition before fights. We'd talk through different fight plans and how to react to certain moves by the opponent. Although watching film was somewhat helpful, it just made more nervous/anxious about the fight ahead.

Freshman year, I made it Nationals as a light heavyweight (175 lbs).

For my first fight in the quarterfinals, I matched up against a kid from the Coast Guard Academy. Coach told me he wasn't very good and that I should win. We watched film on him the night before the fight, like we always do, and developed our plan. Little did I know, the kid from Coast Guard was about to whoop my ass. Turns out, he became the first National Champion in the school's history, go figure.

After being dominated for three rounds and losing on all three scorecards, I vowed that I would be a National Champion and no longer watch films before my fights.

Instead, I decided to develop my own core set of fight principles and play to my strengths instead of worrying about the competition. If they were tall and lanky, I'd fight on the inside, Mike Tyson style, ripping them with body and head shots, going back and forth between high/low (body, head, body, head). If they were short and stocky, I'd stay on the outside and keep them at the end of my jab. If they were a banger, i.e., they had bricks for hands, I'd have to outbox them. I learned this lesson the hard way after losing to a boxer from the Citadel five times before outboxing him in the National Championships and beating him in the sixth.

I know business isn't boxing, but it's still a contact sport.

You will lose if you spend time stressing and worrying about the competition. Hone in on what it is you do best. Learn core business fundamentals, like how to create and dominate markets, establishing you as a category of one so there is no competition.

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