The Greatest Irony Of Life

When I first started ONE Championship in 2011, no one believed that Asia needed a multibillion dollar global sports media property. I faced rejection after rejection. I suffered failure after failure. I made mistake after mistake. I literally got my ass kicked every day, every week, every month, and every year. This story played out for 3 years. To say that it was bleak would be an understatement. There were doubters, haters, and naysayers everywhere.

Today, ONE Championship is Asia’s largest global sports media property in history. And it is still only the beginning of our journey. If there is anything I can share from my story, it is that suffering is the price of greatness. Greatness lives in all of us, but it is only unleashed when we have the courage to chase our dreams, and when we are relentless in the face of adversity and failure. If you are unwilling to suffer for your dreams, then you are not worthy of them.

Chase your greatness. Forget the haters. Forget the doubters. Forget the naysayers. Don’t let anyone deny the world of your greatness. Follow your heart. Live your dreams. Do good. Find something that ignites your soul, give everything you have to it, and let it kill you. The greatest irony is that life only truly begins when we have something for which we are willing to die.

Live your life.

Chatri Sityodtong is a self-made entrepreneur and lifelong martial artist from Thailand. His rags-to-riches life story has inspired millions around the world on BBC News, CNN, Financial Times, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Channel NewsAsia, and other major media. He is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ONE Championship, Asia’s largest global sports media property in history with a global broadcast to over 1.7 billion potential viewers across 136 countries around the world. Forbes most recently selected Sityodtong as one of Asia’s next generation tycoons. He was also named “Asia’s King of Martial Arts” by the Financial Times and the “3rd Most Powerful Person in Sports in Asia” by FOX Sports. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD, Europe’s top business school. Sityodtong holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Tufts University.