What Muay Thai Taught Me About Rejection

Picture this: I’m walking into a packed arena in New York City, undefeated, headlining the main event as a professional Muay Thai fighter. I’ve sacrificed years, pushing my body and mind past the limits, climbing the ranks toward a dream. The crowd is electric. My friends, my family, even my 8-year-old son, are watching.

Then it happens. One punch. Ten seconds gone. I hit the canvas face-first.

That kind of moment, where everything you’ve worked for feels like it just disappeared, hits hard. But it’s not just fighters who face it. The sales world has its own version of the knockout.

Sales engineers face a different kind of fight.

You’re constantly:

• Jumping between deep technical work and high-stakes client conversations
• Managing last-minute demos, custom solutions, and pressure-packed RFPs
• Balancing product knowledge, competitor intel, and shifting customer needs
• Getting ghosted, even after delivering a flawless pitch
• Supporting AEs but sometimes feeling like the unsung hero
• Navigating internal politics while building external trust

It’s a high-stakes role. And sometimes, even when you do everything right, the deal still slips through. That’s a tough pill to swallow.

But here’s what the ring taught me: You can’t control the hit. But you can control how you respond to it.

That’s why technical mastery alone will only take you so far. What separates champions in the ring, and top performers in sales, is mental and emotional resilience.

There are three mental “dictators” that knock us down harder than any client rejection:

1. Self-doubt. 
2. Fear. 
3. Negative self-talk.

These inner opponents are louder than the crowd and more relentless than any client objection. But over three decades in the fight game, I built a framework that’s helped my clients bounce forward, not just back.

I call it the A.C.T. Framework:

Accept Reality

Wishing it went differently won’t help. Denial and blame keep you stuck. Acknowledge what happened, no sugarcoating, and decide to move forward. Own the moment, don’t avoid it.

Challenge Beliefs

When rejection hits, the mind spirals:

“I’m not cut out for this.” “I should’ve done more.” “Maybe I just got lucky last time.”

Challenge those thoughts. Ask: What’s another way to look at this? What would a champion do?

Take Action

You don’t climb the mountain in a single leap. One small step. Go for a walk. Call a teammate. Review the loss, but don’t dwell in it. Action beats rumination every time.

So the next time you get knocked down, whether by a prospect ghosting you or a deal slipping through, remember: your real fight is internal. The A.C.T. Framework is your corner man. Use it.

Because in sales, just like in the ring, resilience isn’t about avoiding hits. It’s about showing up again, sharper, stronger, and ready for the next round.