Longest Reigning Heavyweight Boxing Champion Dr. Wladimir Klitschko On Achieving (And Maintaining) Peak Performance Athlete-turned-entrepreneur Dr. Wladimir Klitschko explains how one can go about achieving lasting success in the professional and personal sphere.
By Tamara Pupic
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In 2017, Dr. Wladimir Klitschko ended his professional boxing career as one of the best heavyweight champions of all time. According to Wikipedia, his boxing career recorded 64 wins in 69 fights, of which 53 were by knockout. Throughout his two decades in boxing, the Ukranian boxer was equally committed to his philanthropic and business goals, establishing Klitschko Foundation (2003), K2 Promotions (2003), Hotel 11 Mirrors (2012), Klichko Museum (2014), Klitschko Management Group, KLIWLA Family Office, and Klitschko Ventures (2016), to name but a few of his endeavors.
Following his retirement from boxing, Klitschko systematically analyzed his approach to challenges as a competitive athlete and developed the F. A. C. E. The Challenge method, which is today available to individuals and businesses seeking to enhance their performance.
We talked with Klitschko at the Milken Institute's Middle East and Africa summit, where he shared the key characteristics of his F. A. C. E. The Challenge method, as well as advice for entrepreneurs on how to manage growth successfully.
"Speaking as a former athlete, to stay successful and be a winner, you really need to know how you can lose," Klitschko said. "Everyone wants to be successful, and everyone concentrates on that, but what is success? What is happiness? Happiness is to know the sadness; so, to be successful, you need to know your failures. As an athlete, I was practicing a lot how not to get hit. So, the main part of my strategy was safety first, and that is why I lasted almost three decades in boxing."
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