Back in the winter of 2004/2005, there was a lockout in the National Hockey League. 

That's right - no hockey for an entire winter!!! 

For we Canadians, that's the equivalent of taking away air, food, or shelter for a whole season. 

Would we survive? What would we Canadian men do for that winter to occupy our minds while the temperature plummeted and we were blasted with snow??? 

Write a novel? 

Work on puzzles? 

Hit the garage to do woodworking? 

Take up knitting? 

No way ... Canadian men came down with a serious case of "Texas Hold'em Fever"! 

It was crazy - suddenly ever guy that I knew in my area was playing poker. Weekly games popped up everywhere. Heck, some of my friends were playing three or more times a week. 

I ran out and bought at least ten books about poker and starting studying about pot odds, betting strategy, deciphering tells, and all that jazz. 

I started hosting tournaments at my house, where I'd have over 25 guys playing on a few tables at a time. And I learned a valuable lesson from one of the guys named Mark. 

Mark was a few years older than me, and just as much of a poker fanatic. And he took the game SERIOUSLY - especially if he suffered a "bad beat". 

(A "bad beat" in poker is when you have a really strong hand that is almost guaranteed to win, but you lose to a weak hand that's help by some fluke. It's frustrating, and makes you want to pull the hair out of your head)

Whenever Mark experienced a "bad beat" he played aggressively to win the next hand. Without fail, he'd start betting like crazy - even over a crappy pot with not many chips in it. He'd chase us out, and collect his measly winnings. 

I finally asked Mark why he did that. It didn't seem to make sense to bet so many chips to win so few. He told me: 

"When I lose on a bad beat, I want to get back on the winning track as soon as possible so I don't let that loss get to me" 

Translation: he wanted to get momentum back right away. 

It's the same in business and in life. You'll get knocked down, even times when it looks like there's no way that you can lose.  Then you have two choices: 

1) Mope around and curse at the heavens, or 

2) Move on and try again. 

I've adopted Mark's poker philosophy into my own life. When I get a bad beat, I want to get busy right again and not let it eat me up inside. 

Keep moving, and rack up wins (even small ones) so you don't get into a funk! 

If you're looking to rack up more wins, a coaching business is a great way to do it. I can help: 

Marc "Recovering Poker Addict" Mawhinney