10 Lessons I've Learned About Life

About the Author

I'm Matt Goddard — a 34-year-old entrepreneur, former professional boxer, and a proud husband and father of three. I now work as a professional boxing coach, run two gyms, and have built a strong presence as a boxing influencer on Instagram. Beyond the gloves and grind, I’m a lifelong anime enthusiast, Marvel graphic novels collector, passionate music lover, self-confessed traditionalist, poet, and enthusiastic doodler with a deep love for expression through both words and art.

I’ve been in boxing for over two decades, fighting as an amateur and winning a title before turning professional. I went unbeaten in my pro career with 7 straight wins, but medical issues brought that journey to a close earlier than I had planned. I’ve worked as a lifeguard and a labourer. I was lucky enough to be sponsored to train, which helped me pursue my boxing dream. My coaching career began humbly—in my bedroom at my parents’ house—before I moved into the back room of a pub and slowly built everything from the ground up.

These days, I work 10 to 14 hours a day running my business, creating content, coaching, programming, and planning. But I always make sure I’m there to pick my kids up from school every day. That’s non-negotiable. I may never get to be a world champion—but now, more than anything in the boxing world, I want to train one.

My life has been a journey through hardship, passion, and purpose. The ring taught me lessons I never found in books. Fatherhood gave me perspective no fight could ever offer. Business has been its own arena of challenges, growth, and grit. These 10 lessons represent the values, insights, and truths I’ve gathered from boxing, from life, and from the people I hold closest. I offer them to you with honesty, fire, and a firm belief that within these words, you may find your own courage to keep pushing forward.

1. Please the Few, Not the Many

You can’t live a fulfilling life if you’re always trying to please everyone. Most people don’t have your best interests at heart—they take, they drain, and they often do so without remorse. True strength comes from recognising that your energy, your loyalty, and your time are sacred. Focus your love and attention on the people who matter most—the ones you would walk through fire for, and who would do the same for you.

There’s a quote I’ve always remembered: “You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.” That’s the truth. You’ll never win them all. So why waste yourself trying? Instead, be kind, be generous, be just—but don’t be a fool. Let your inner circle be small, strong, and sacred. They are your tribe, your foundation, your reason.

2. Work Harder Than Hard

In boxing, the harder worker always has a shot, even against the more talented fighter. The same goes for life. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. I’ve seen it countless times—fighters who had all the physical gifts but couldn’t stomach the grind fell short to those who simply refused to quit.

Muhammad Ali once said, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” That stuck with me. Whether it’s becoming a world champion, building a business, or being a present and loving father, you have to give everything. Take everyone who matters along for the ride. Let them feel the fire in your belly. Let them know they’re part of the dream. And never—ever—fall short because you didn’t give enough.

3. Dream Beyond Boundaries

Dreams are not of this world. They’re meant to be wild, bold, untamed. They’re not supposed to be logical. They’re supposed to make people raise their eyebrows, laugh nervously, and say, “Really?” That’s how you know you’re on the right track.

The quote that comes to mind: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” There’s beauty in setting impossible goals—because in striving for them, you often achieve more than most people ever dare to attempt.

Never constrain your dreams to what others think is reasonable. That’s their fear talking, not your truth. The human brain is an infinite vessel. If you release it from doubt, trauma, and fear, it will pursue your highest vision with relentless intent.

4. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel—Make It Yours

You don’t have to start from scratch. Greatness leaves clues. I used to study Roy Jones Jr. obsessively—his movements, his routines, even his quirks. I didn't try to be him. I tried to build from him, add my fire to his framework.

Steve Jobs said, “Good artists copy. Great artists steal.” It’s not theft in the literal sense—it’s recognising what works, absorbing it, and then crafting your own masterpiece with it. In business, I’ve dissected successful models and reshaped them into versions that reflect my purpose, passion, and perspective.

There’s no shame in learning from the best. Just make sure that by the time you’ve finished building, the fingerprints are unmistakably yours.

5. Tame the Beast of Fear

Fear can be a teacher or a tyrant. Left unchecked, it destroys. It keeps you from taking the leap, from being vulnerable, from putting your best self into the world.

It’s said that “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it.” You must acknowledge your fears, not be ruled by them. I’ve known boxers paralysed by the fear of losing. They trained harder than anyone—but under the lights, they folded. They let fear win. Others walked in shaking but still fought. That’s courage.

Fear doesn’t vanish—it’s conquered daily. Don’t let it steal your dreams, your love, your joy. Instead, let it be a compass, showing you what you most care about. Then face it. Head on.

6. Build Your Castle

Your body is your fortress. Your mind, its command centre. Your soul, the fire in its hearth. You must condition them all.

I’ve built my body like a castle—strong walls, vigilant watchmen, and weapons ready to repel any invader. Through lifting, running, swimming, breathwork, ice baths, cold showers, sun exposure, clean eating—I’ve made it a place that can withstand storms.

And yes, people will call it obsession. Let them. The truth is, they’ll never understand what it means to dedicate yourself wholly to becoming more. Your health is the foundation of your capacity. Treat it as such. Because when everything else fails, your fortress stands.

7. Find Your Guides

You won’t make it without teachers. Without mentors. Without people who’ve walked your path and want to see you succeed. I had many—my coaches, my parents, my brothers, my friends. They gave me belief, drive, values.

There’s an old saying: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Choose wisely. Choose people who elevate you, challenge you, support you.

And never forget the people who were there at the start. The ones who kept you grounded when your head got too big, and lifted you up when your heart got too heavy. They’re the reason you’re even still standing.

8. Give Up the Right Way

Giving up has a bad reputation. But sometimes, it’s the bravest thing you can do—when you’ve gone all in, done everything right, and it’s still not working. There’s no shame in pausing, retreating, reassessing.

Think of it like a video game. You’ve collected experience, power-ups, knowledge—but the final boss is still too strong. Sometimes you need to restart. But you restart smarter, stronger, more prepared. That’s not quitting. That’s strategy.

I’ve walked away from things before. Not because I lacked courage, but because I needed a better path. The trick is to never quit out of fear—only out of clarity. As Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

9. Be Generous, Be Good

Help when you can. Give when it’s within your power. But never do it for recognition. Kindness that expects applause isn’t kindness. It’s ego.

The world needs more quiet strength. More people who are just good—without the need to prove it. I’ve had help from people who didn’t know me well but believed in me. I’ll never forget that. I try to do the same now—offer encouragement, lift someone up, give someone a shot.

Don’t keep score. Just be the person who others feel better around. That alone is a victory. Maya Angelou wrote, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

10. Remember How Far You’ve Come

There was a time when I couldn’t hold my stance. Couldn’t throw a proper jab. Couldn’t dodge a punch. A time when my business was just a dream, my family just a vision.

Now I look around and see three beautiful children, a thriving boxing business, and people who believe in me. I stop and I reflect—because if I don’t, I’ll forget how far I’ve come.

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” Write your milestones down. Reflect regularly. Let your past remind you of your resilience, your growth, your grit. Life is fleeting, and tomorrow isn’t promised. Savor every step. Carl Jung once said, “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”

Final Thought

Live fully. Love deeply. Give all of yourself to the people and dreams that matter. Pursue relentlessly. Surround yourself with those you would want beside you in your final moments. Be kind. Be generous. Be fierce in your purpose. Have faith in your ability to become something extraordinary—and then do what most won’t: act on it.

And finally, remember these words from Theodore Roosevelt: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

Matt Goddard

Boxer. Coach. Husband. Father. Dreamer.