THE ED MYLETT SHOW - The Mental Game: How a Fighter Uses Mind Games Before the Big Fight

Episode Date: November 2, 2024

Unstoppable Mindset: Discovering the Edge That Sets Champions Apart In this special mashup episode, we’re peeling back the layers of what separates the good from the great, and the great from the u...nstoppable. You’re about to dive into the minds of legendary athletes, entrepreneurs, and influencers, all revealing the strategies they use to dominate in high-pressure situations and overcome relentless challenges. We kick off with a powerful conversation on mental toughness from boxing champion Andre Ward, who shares how he harnesses fear and channels it into fuel. "Fear is real," he admits, "but courage steps in anyway." We also hear from wrestler Mark "The Undertaker" Calaway, who lived his life in the ring as a relentless character, pushing the limits to not only win matches but leave an unforgettable legacy. These champions don’t just prepare physically—they build a mental fortress that lets them stay steady under pressure, even when the world is watching. Throughout, Tim Grover, the trainer behind icons like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, breaks down how a relentless commitment to winning means being brutally honest with yourself. He says, "Winning doesn’t care about your feelings; it cares about how bad you want it.” Grover’s insights into pushing past fear and failure give you a glimpse into the “winning mindset”—the mental resilience that keeps these athletes at the top of their game. We round out the episode with Trent Shelton and Ed discussing how to turn pain into purpose. Shelton’s story of overcoming personal tragedy is a reminder that your greatest trials can become your most powerful victories. He says, “Your perspective can be your prison or your power,” reminding us that every setback has the potential to set us up for a massive comeback. Key Takeaways: - How to channel fear into courage under pressure from champion Andre Ward - Tim Grover’s no-excuses approach to winning and the importance of a “made-up mind” - The mindset that drives relentless preparation from Mark "The Undertaker" Calaway - Why your hardest moments can lead to your greatest strengths, with Trent Shelton’s story of transformation If you’re ready to learn from the greats and step up your mental game, this episode is your blueprint for building an unbreakable mindset. Thank you for watching this video—Please Share it and get the word out! What part of this video resonated with you the most? Comment below! 👇 SUBSCRIBE TO ED'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL NOW 👇 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIprGZAdzn3ZqgLmDuibYcw?sub_confirmation=1 ▶︎ WEBSITE | https://www.EdMylett.com #EdMylett #Motivation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:01:29 Conditions apply. This is the Ed Mylet Show. Hey everyone, welcome to my weekend special. I hope you enjoy the show. Be sure to follow the Ed Mylett show on Apple and Spotify. Links are in the show notes. You'll never miss an episode that way. This is one of the greatest boxers of the last two decades.
Starting point is 00:01:54 And you might even argue in the history of the sport. And so, Andre Ward, thank you for being here today. Thanks for having me. I'm curious, I'm a big boxing fan. So, when you became on my radar was during the Super Six tournament. Okay, so that was, and they called that the super middleweight division at the time, correct?
Starting point is 00:02:13 Yeah, super middleweight, 168 pounds. But basically, I'm paraphrasing, Showtime got together and said, let's just find the best one in the world. They put the sixth of you in this tournament. It ended up being a seventh dude or something. Wasn't Jermaine Taylor in it originally, or what happened with that?
Starting point is 00:02:24 Well, there were guys that, like, guys would get knocked out or get injured and then they replace it. But the court was always six. So again you had Kessler, you had Frock, your frock whatever they call them. There's some dudes in this tournament right? Yeah. And you ended up winning that tournament. I'm curious when it started at that level was that a new level for you? And like, did you have fear? Like,
Starting point is 00:02:45 did you wonder whether you were the man of those six? How did that work for you? I had to drop everything. We went, we got in the car, got back to San Diego, flew to the Bay Area, literally dropped my family off, packed a bag, double ear infection, got on a red-eye, went to Germany, and was there the next morning to announce the second leg of the Super Six, and was this close to not being a part of it. That's crazy. And the way they filmed it, everybody, by the way, this was so powerful,
Starting point is 00:03:12 all this 24-7 stuff you see now, this is kind of the original of that, and it was so well done. It really changed to some extent how boxing was promoted on either Showtime or HBO2, the way they laid it out, but I watched it closely, and you weren't the dude they were sort of steering the cameras towards in the beginning.
Starting point is 00:03:29 I mean, it was really interesting. It was the other guys that I've mentioned before. And I remember you won, then you won again. I'm like, oh, this dude's got a chance to win this whole tournament. So, every one of these fights, just curious, when you went into it, I just wanna know how a world-class person thinks or doesn't think. You're there at that thing in
Starting point is 00:03:46 Germany, you see these other five dudes, are you like, I'm gonna win this tournament? I've always had that belief, like my career was, my professional career was guided very meticulously, you know, the powers that be, the networks, the suits, the promoters, like they want bang for their buck. They wanna make the most money as quickly as possible. And I had opportunities to fight some of the guys that were in the tournament maybe a year or two earlier. And it was for more money than I'd ever seen
Starting point is 00:04:15 and great opportunity and I called Verz, like man, they're gonna give us 600,000. And we get to fight on HBO and this and that or Showtime. And he said, no, no, we get to fight on you know HBO and this and that or Showtime and He said no no he said hold on he said I understand that you know if we say no to this Internally there's gonna be some blowback, but he said you know when we fight these guys I want you to be a full-grown man, and I want you to destroy him like I don't want you know No, I don't want you to be barely winning or barely eking by. And we did that like two or three times before the Super Six happened. And we get blowback and some of the blowback
Starting point is 00:04:48 spilled publicly. Where fans are saying, oh, you know, Ward's he's a gold medalist, but he's moving too slow. And that's the heat you take. That's the bulls eye you have on your back coming in with a gold medal. But in Germany, I really saw what the intent was.
Starting point is 00:05:06 You had Mikkel Kessler who was Mikkel Kessler at the time, he was like 42 and one or something like that, but like I don't know how many knockouts. He had more knockouts than I have fights. You had Karl Fratsch who was from the UK, and you had Arthur Abraham, and then you had the three Americans. Jermaine Taylor who was teetering,
Starting point is 00:05:21 he was still relevant, but he was teetering on kind of being done. You had the young guy Andre Durrell and then you had the other young guy and myself. And I could tell that everybody that was there, they just looked at us like we were just a token just to be there. These guys will make it interesting. Some namesake young guys coming up, but these guys, these are the guys that are supposed to win.
Starting point is 00:05:44 And I took exception to that. To the personal. I took exception to that and I got on the phone, I called Virgill, I said, man, they don't really expect me to win this. He said, oh yeah, I know. He said, it's always been like that. He said, but just watch.
Starting point is 00:05:59 Unwavering faith, he's always that pillar. And again, that jumped off on me. It's already confident, but now now was personal and now it's personal Your physiology changes so dramatically you go into your virtual And at that time Kessler and frotch were like rock stars in their various countries to like they were big names I don't blame anybody for not picking us. I probably wouldn't have picked me. I was a young guy. Yeah, I had the gold medal, but I hadn't done anything as a pro. My biggest win was a guy named Edison Miranda who was a beast. He was a top contender, right? That was my biggest win as a
Starting point is 00:06:35 professional. So I don't blame anybody for not picking me, but I was also going to use that as fuel in that mission as well. I was gonna use it. So he goes on to win that like he wins everything else. This is another thing you said through I Just Want To Hear Everybody, everyone just hear things I hear that I think are important. I do think that there are times in your life where if you don't jump on an opportunity you will regret it the rest of your life. That there is timing to when you win.
Starting point is 00:07:01 There are moments. And you said this a few times where Virgil said this to you. And for a lot of you that are chasing what you're chasing You may get fatigued to that chase But there's got to be this party that goes if I don't jump on this now this may never come again for me So your timing is so critical on winning this super six tournament was a huge catalyst Let's talk some boxing stuff just for me. I I'm curious
Starting point is 00:07:23 When you I told you I was gonna ask you this and you haven't told me the answer, so I'm curious. Forget the training part just for a second, we're gonna get to that. You are getting wrapped, you're about to go out, okay, for a big fight. You're getting wrapped up, I'm sure Virgil's talking to you, you're going through whatever your game plan was.
Starting point is 00:07:40 What goes through you? Is there honest emotions here as a fighter? See, the thing about boxing to me is that it's different than every other sport. UFC has some of this as well, but the combat sports. This is a man and a man. I think people forget this. Even when you bat as a baseball hitter, there's another dude coming up after you. If you ground out, the other dude could get the hit, right?
Starting point is 00:08:00 This is a man and a man. And I'm just curious, when you have that happening, you're going to look at your physiology cage again, right? This is a man and a man. And I'm just curious, when you have that happening, you're gonna look at your physiology chains again, right? But I'm just curious, like, when you're getting wrapped at that moment, what's going through you emotionally? What do you, what's happening to you at that time? That moment can break a lot of men. You can have a great training camp. Everything could be clicking. You could have a great fight week leading up to that moment. And that moment, as well as the walk to the ring,
Starting point is 00:08:30 you can lose it. Like you can lose your confidence, you can live fear overtake you, and you can somehow convince yourself that you're not worthy to be there in that moment. It's almost like an out of body experience. You hear people say, you know, a guy froze, or you know, he didn't perform, or it was a deer in the moment. It's almost like an out of body experience. You hear people say, you know, a guy froze, or he didn't perform, or it was a deer in the headlights.
Starting point is 00:08:49 Like that's what they're talking about. Like you have, it's almost like a surreal moment. Like this moment that you've been prepping for, talking about, building up to, the world has been talking about. Like it's here, and the fact that it's actually here, like it hits you in a different kind of way. Like you're getting wrapped, and you have the commission from whatever state you're fighting,
Starting point is 00:09:08 they're coming in, they're checking on you, they're giving you the countdown, we got 45 minutes, we got 30 minutes, we got 20, then they come back in after you get your gloves back on and they say, we got five minutes, we're walking in two and a half minutes, and they start to count you down, like whether you train good or not. That's running through your brain. Thinking about my wife and my kids. I'm thinking about the fact that the whole world
Starting point is 00:09:36 is literally gonna be watching me in just a few moments. Thinking about my critics. They got a front row seat. They got a front row seat. They got a front row seat. Thinking about my supporters and the people that are riding with me, getting behind me. They got a front row seat. They're watching, they're pulling for me.
Starting point is 00:09:53 It's like this controlled chaos that's going on and it's literally an arena. With two gladiators getting ready to literally risk it all. Like boxing is the only sport, professional sport that I know of that one loss can change your pay scale. Like it's in the contract. If you lose a fight, your minimums can change. We can renegotiate those minimums.
Starting point is 00:10:21 Like that's what's going through my head. And fear is very real. Really? Anxiety is very real. It's very present. And all the guys that say I don't get nervous, I'm Iron Man, they're not being honest. That's right. Like that's very very present but that's where my faith comes in and I start to believe beyond myself. I start to believe beyond the way that I'm feeling. We're called to walk by faith and not by sight. We're called to walk by faith and not by feeling.
Starting point is 00:10:58 So fear is present, the courage is going in the midst of fear. And I've had 32 fights before I retired and I had to do that every single time. It's not like, oh, this is the 25th time I've done this. It's easy. Because one punch can change your pay scale. One punch can change your life. And you're not guaranteed to walk out
Starting point is 00:11:19 the same way you walked in. So all of that is going through your mind, running through your body, and you gotta channel it. You gotta process it, and you gotta believe, and you gotta be unwavering. And one thing I would always do was I would kinda just pace the locker room. And even though my team's in there,
Starting point is 00:11:38 even though the commissioner's coming in and out, and again, this like controlled chaos. Television cameras are in your face, producers are walking around, you hear the crowd, you hear the announcer. I would just talk to myself, it's my night. It's my night, I'm not going home without my belts. Like those types of things,
Starting point is 00:11:56 they may seem corny to some people, but that stuff would really lift me up. And because a made up mind is a hard thing to break. And your mind has to be made up, not walking to the ring, or when you step through those ropes, your mind has to be made up before you leave that locker room
Starting point is 00:12:15 that I'm not gonna be broken. I will not lose tonight. Oh my gosh. You ever get there where you're at the stair down and look at a dude and know you got him? Has that ever happened? Or is it on a professional level you just don't know? Has it ever happened the reverse
Starting point is 00:12:30 where you're in that state, you're in that faith state, you're in that strong state, and you look, you're like, oh, I got this fool. Has that ever happened? You don't have to tell me who. Most times no. Okay. Because as fighters, we can lie.
Starting point is 00:12:45 Yeah, yeah. We're good chameleons. Because in a sport of boxing, if you show weakness, the opponent's gonna pounce. So we hide a lot of our emotions. You know, you got some guys that are scared to death and they'll put a mask on. There's one time, one time in a 32 fight career
Starting point is 00:13:03 that I knew I had a guy at the way Chad Dawson you knew and you even told me who it was and he by the way Chad Dawson was a great fighter Yes, how do you know my wife you know? He So you get a lot of rumors and you hear a lot of hearsay in training camp Yeah, this guy, you know They'll call my coach and I stayed away from that stuff with my coach always had his ear to what was going on with my opponent and he would decide on what he would what he wanted to share and what he wouldn't
Starting point is 00:13:30 want to share. The guy Edison Miranda that I just told you about, he was sparring with Chad Dawson to help Chad Dawson get ready for our fight. Big fight, Chad Dawson was the lineal light heavyweight champion and had just beat the great legendary Bernard Hopkins. Southpaw. The fight before, yes. Tall, rangy. He beat Bernard Hopkins. He's on HBO. Max Kellerman asked him, you know, Chad, what do you want next? I'm minding my own business. He calls my name. I had just won the Super 6. He said, I want Andre Ward. He said, I'll fight him
Starting point is 00:14:03 in his hometown of Oakland, California. And I'll go down to his weight Super 6. He said, I won Andre Ward. He said, I'll fight him in his hometown of Oakland, California. And I'll go down to his weight too. I said, really? And I liked Chad. I supported Chad and didn't see that coming. That was like the easiest fight that we ever negotiated right there. And I held him to every single word that he spoke.
Starting point is 00:14:21 Every word. He come to my weight, my place. So they get in the training camp, and because he's losing so much weight, his punch resistance isn't there. Edison Miranda can crack. Edison Miranda knocks him out and sparring. He hit him and sparring.
Starting point is 00:14:37 Stuff starts to circulate. Virg comes to me and he said, listen, babe, he's calling me babe. Listen, babe, I'm not saying this to get you off track, we gotta stay focused, we were probably about two and a half, maybe three weeks away from the fight, maybe about two and a half. He said, I'm hearing some things, man,
Starting point is 00:14:53 I'm hearing that Edison Miranda, he knocked Chad out, I said, knock them out. He said, knock them out. Like they had to stop the sparring, help him up, and that was it for the day. Now, if you're a fighter, like that's like the worst-case scenario. It's one thing if you get knocked out in a fight. Got
Starting point is 00:15:08 small gloves on, no headgear, it happens. That's acceptable in some respects. In sparring? Nah. Not if you're the top dude. There may be a sparring partner getting knocked out but not the top guy, not the champion. That was a no-no. We started hearing rumors, some kind of process, like, man, he got knocked down. Man, that's crazy. But in my mind, I'm always very much in my head, especially in training camps, I'm like, ah, maybe they're just floating out out there to get in my head or trying to get me off track. And that's what Verz, he said, but don't, don't, you know, don't, don't worry about it too much. Just, you know, stay focused. We kept hearing stuff,
Starting point is 00:15:40 kept hearing stuff. Nothing ever went on the airwaves. Nothing, nothing on the internet, nothing. Press conference came, the week of the fight. I'm thinking, man, I wonder if they're gonna say something. So rumor gonna come out if I'm gonna be asked about it. It's never asked about it. The weigh-in comes Friday, the fight Saturday. I said, now I'm gonna drop it on them. Now I'm gonna drop it on them.
Starting point is 00:16:04 We go face to face, and his team, they're over there woofing. My team's kinda woofing a little bit. And I leaned in his ear and I said, hey man, I heard what happened in the gym. I said, you better tighten it up tomorrow night. And you just see his shoulders just go. He's got this look on his face like, how did you know?
Starting point is 00:16:25 I won the fight with Chad Dawson right there. Oh my gosh. We turn and look at the cameras, turn back and look at him before I walk off the stage. I broke him. You just knew. Broke him. That is an awesome story.
Starting point is 00:16:40 He thought he got away with it. He thought we didn't know it. It's too late, you can't get out of the fight now. That is awesome, man. That was the only time I ever felt like I want to fight when I didn't face him. Thank you for all of that insight of that and what it's like getting wrapped. I don't know if I've ever told that story before. It's awesome. We're keeping it in whether you want to or not.
Starting point is 00:16:59 I'm keeping that one in there. No, we do too much. So you said that one punch. Couple more things on boxing, then we'll shift, cause we're gonna run out of time. But like I could go three hours of this, but you said that one punch, who's hardest you ever been hit by who? Hey, hey, hey. I would say,
Starting point is 00:17:17 it's tough to say one guy, but I would probably say, the guy with the, the strongest power, the two guys with the strongest power are Arthur Abraham and I heard rumors about him. The analogy people always gave was he feels like he's got bricks in his gloves and if you watched my first fight with him, the only fight that we had in the first round, he hit me with a jab. A jab. And for those that don't know, that's a basic punch in boxing, just a straight punch. Bow, he hit me and I kind of buckled a little bit.
Starting point is 00:17:52 I said, oh boy, it's real. Everything they said was real. And that kept me on my toes and kept me on my game the whole night. And then Edison Miranda, he hit like a mule. His money punch was the right hand. That's pretty much all he had. He'd paw with the jab. He had these long arms. And if he landed that right hand flush, a lot of guys went to sleep. And that was my first time facing a big puncher like
Starting point is 00:18:16 that. And that's probably the worst I've ever felt after a fight, was fighting Edison Miranda. Those two guys probably had the most devastating power. So I thought you were going to say, and we'll grab up the boxing piece here I thought you were gonna tell me Kovalov so I love your face when I said that so For those of you don't know so I'm a huge fan of yours. You know this but I'm now that we're friends. I need to tell you That before you fought him you little worried. I was worried for you. So I thought this is the crusher. This dude supposedly can really hit right and so y'all don't know this he beat him twice and but so just because those are the last couple fights right so just what would you just tell me about fighting him prepping for him getting hit by him those
Starting point is 00:19:01 fights anything you would tell me about those experiences. The first fight was like, hey, people thought it could have gone either way. The second fight, there was obviously no question. Yeah, no, I mean, Kovalev was like, he's a real deal. He's a real deal. Anytime you got a nickname like The Crusher, you better be able to hit hard. And he has good power, he has good power.
Starting point is 00:19:19 It's not what I thought it was. But he hits hard. And I think one thing that's always been overlooked in my career, you hear about, you know, people saying, oh, he's a good boxer, you know, Dre, you know, he can do this, he can do that, but they never talk about my chin. And that's not really something I wanna be known for.
Starting point is 00:19:34 Because you don't wanna get hit all the time. Hey, that's not really my thing, but like, I fought the best punchers in the game, and I've been down twice in a 32 fight career, and I fought the best. And one of those times was against Sergey Kovalev. I can't get into too much, because we're gonna be putting out the documentary soon,
Starting point is 00:19:54 and we're gonna detail a lot of what happened in the pre-fight for Kovalev 1, but just went through a lot of different things physically for that fight. I was moving up in weight from 168 pounds to 175 pounds, but again, like you just mentioned, I'm not going up there just to fight some Rudy-poo. I'm fighting the best guy. This guy was the real deal. Russian fighter. He was known for going into other people's hometowns and home countries and taking their belts.
Starting point is 00:20:20 And nobody really wanted to fight him. And here I am, a guy that's in a lower weight class, who's not really considered a big puncher, but has a lot of skill, and I've pretty much won everything at the lower weight class. And people are saying, man, he's going up in weight? Like, the overall consensus was, the critics were saying, he bit off too much.
Starting point is 00:20:39 This is the guy that's finally gonna get him. And my supporters were saying, Drain's going out boxing. We get into the fight, and the first thing I noticed about him was just how accurate he was. Like it wasn't necessarily that he hit hard, it was just, he was just very accurate. Like I was thinking, and he was punching.
Starting point is 00:20:58 And the first round was just like, man, it was just like a blur. I remember sitting down and Verge getting on me right away, said, man, stop posing. Meaning stop standing still, like move your legs. Like warm up, get moving. And I was just kind of like, man, I just, I don't know. I just kind of felt like I was in quicksand.
Starting point is 00:21:13 Second round, he and I exchange and I'm getting ready to throw a right hand. He's getting ready to throw a right hand. His right hand gets there first. And I just see a flash, bam. I look up, oh man, I'm on the canvas. I hear the crowd going crazy. I look up, the referee's in my face,
Starting point is 00:21:31 six, seven, eight, and I stand up. In those moments, we talked about pre-fight, but in that moment, that's for sure a fight or flight type moment. Like, whatever you got on the inside, it's gonna come out. If you got turn in you, it's gonna come out. If you got any kind of coward in you, it's gonna come out. If you got the dog in you, that's gonna come out too. And I thank my dad for these types of moments because my dad had that dog in him. He's the type of guy that would never start anything, but if you hit
Starting point is 00:22:02 him, he's gonna hit you back. And that was probably the best thing that could have happened to me in that first fight with Kovalev was for me to get knocked down because now I'm mad. Now I wanna get that back. And I'm no longer overthinking, trying to be perfect. Like I was too busy. I was incensed with trying to get that moment back from him.
Starting point is 00:22:20 And I found somehow some way, man, by the grace of God, I clawed my way back into that fight and I really felt like from the seventh round on um I broke him and when I say broke him it doesn't mean that he quit it doesn't mean that he threw in the towel it means that he wasn't himself I stopped him from being who he wanted to be that night. And I eked out a win. And I won the fight by the 12th round. From not mistaken, two judges gave it to me. One judge gave it to him. And some people were not happy about it.
Starting point is 00:22:56 And some people were happy about it. And after the fight, I thought I was done. I thought I was done. I thought I was done. I think it was a combination of just my career, like the physical toil that it took to get ready for fights and then the actual fights. And then you see the reaction from the people
Starting point is 00:23:16 and it's like, man, I just gave my all. I just beat the boogie man. I beat the monster and it's still not enough. And I didn't do anything for three months after that fight and that's a no-no for me. Like I always do something. I'll take maybe three, four weeks off, let my body heal and then I'll start to do some run-ins,
Starting point is 00:23:34 some light shadow boxing, I'll get back in the gym little by little. I like had no desire. Like literally for three months straight. And I remember going to see my pastor, Napoleon Kaufman, former Raider running back. Really, he's your pastor? Yes, my pastor.
Starting point is 00:23:49 Did he go to Notre Dame or Navy? No, he went to UW, University of Washington. That's right, okay, that's right. Yeah, yeah. From Lumpolt. I remember him, yep, yep. Yeah, I remember going to him, and you know, he abruptly retired after six years
Starting point is 00:24:00 in the league, and started at the church, and he's been doing great. I said, man, pastor, I don't know, man. I said, I think I'm done, man. He said, man, why do you say that? I said, I haven't done anything in three months. I said, that's not like me. I have no desire to do this.
Starting point is 00:24:13 And I thought he was gonna co-sign with me. And he kind of sat there like he did. He said, you know, Dre, he said, I think you'll be fine if you stop right now. He said, but I can see you doing one more. And I remember like, I was thankful for what he told me, but at the same time I was disappointed. I'm like, like what? Wait a second, you're supposed to give me that extra little oomph to like give me
Starting point is 00:24:34 the courage to walk away. And he challenged me some out there. I can see you doing one more. I said, really? I said, but yeah, but I just told you I have no desire to do it. I haven't been to the gym. He said, I know, I know. He said, but once you make up your mind that you want to do the second fight He said the fire be rekindled. Hmm And he just sat there And I got up and I walked out and again, I had mixed emotions. I was like man
Starting point is 00:24:56 I appreciate him and it wasn't what I thought he was gonna say Hmm, he challenged me just to go a little bit longer go a little bit further and challenged me just to go a little bit longer, go a little bit further. And I was content, even though I knew I was gonna get some heat and people were gonna say, you're running from Kovalev, you lost the first fight, you're scared to fight the second fight.
Starting point is 00:25:12 I knew I was gonna get that, but I was over it. Drove home and talked to my wife and mulled over her for about another week. I picked up the phone, I told my team, I said, man, get the money right. I said, we'll do the second fight. And just like that, the desire kicked back. It did come back. You trained just as rigorously for that fight as any other time. I had the best training camp for that fight than I probably ever had in my whole career. I was the happiest. I just enjoyed it again. The first fight, physical issues,
Starting point is 00:25:50 it was just a lot of pressure. It just didn't feel right. But once I got through that and got to this other side, man, I had a great camp and I was happy. I had the bounce back in my legs, my body felt good. I just mentally, like me and Verz had planned to knock him out. That was the first thing Verz said when I went back to the gym. He body felt good. I just mentally, like me and Verz had planned to knock him out. That was the first thing Verz said
Starting point is 00:26:07 when I went back to the gym. He said, we're gonna stop him. And in my mind I'm like, all right, how? Like, give me the how. That's the what, what's the how? He said, we're gonna hit him to the body. He said, you broke him that second half of that fight. He was exhausted.
Starting point is 00:26:21 He said, we're gonna pick up where we left off. And the camp was just amazing. It was amazing. Amazing. Like we had bumps pick up where we left off. And the camp was just amazing. It was amazing. Amazing. And we had bumps and bruises, but that was the best camp emotionally that I've had in a long time. So that leads to the big question. Like, you retired, by the way,
Starting point is 00:26:34 if you wanna see something, it's unbelievable. So this was a dominant win, okay? I think your best fight, myself, because of who it was against too, but. So, you wanna see an emotional clip, go to his Instagram, which we're gonna promote at the very end we're gonna promote some things here in a minute that I want you all to see that are awesome that he's doing but let me just be clear with you you need to go watch
Starting point is 00:26:52 this video it's it's emotional watch I told him I got teary-eyed watching it alone right but so you lost a little you juice after the first fight you found it then he retired after this fight okay Okay, but like, still the dominant fighter that you are, like why not fight again? Do you know you're not gonna fight again? Or is there the chance that something like that happens again and that fire gets rekindled and we see you back in the ring again? Because he walked into it, I'm like this dude is fit, I mean ready to go. It's been a year Friday that he decided to retire, but like really, you know how boxers are,
Starting point is 00:27:27 like really, now he's saved some money, he's not your normal boxer, but be real, like is there a door open? I know you can't, like is it cracked open, is it possible the right dude came along, called you out, whatever. Like don't do the TV answer, do the real answer. Like is there a chance that you would fight again?
Starting point is 00:27:46 Listen, it's not something I'm planning. It's not something I'm planning. It's not something that's being mapped out. But I'm also smart enough to know that you don't know how things are gonna unfold. You just don't know. So I'm always gonna keep myself in some kind of shape.
Starting point is 00:28:06 Yeah, you're smirking. I'm always keep my eye on the game and just see who's who and what's going on. But I'm not planning on it. Like, the why is what we're gonna address in my upcoming documentary, Unguarded. Let's talk about that. And I named it Unguarded because my harshest
Starting point is 00:28:26 critic will say that Andre's guarded, he doesn't give you anything. And some of that is true, but a lot of them haven't taken the time to ask why. Like we just met. I followed you, I know your body will work, but I feel like I can talk to you. It's kind of like a kindred spirit there. So you want to open up to a person like that. And sometimes the media, they come off abrasive and they kind of want the story for the wrong reason. And based on my upbringing and everything that I've had to go through,
Starting point is 00:29:01 I'm sensitive with my story, man. I'm sensitive with my whys and I'm sensitive with all those things. This is one of the first times that I'm gonna really open up, and not just open up, but show people why the best fighter at that time a year ago walked away from tens of millions of dollars. Without giving too much away,
Starting point is 00:29:23 of course, there's a lot of factors. There's wanting to preserve my long-term health. I'm dealing with physical issues. I've had multiple surgeries. And to use your line, I've maxed out. I've poured myself out. I've literally given everything that I was supposed to give.
Starting point is 00:29:40 When I jumped rope, I gave it everything I had. When I shot a box, I gave it everything I had. And literally to the point where my coaches had to pull me back and say, man, don't leave it all in here. Like that's all I know is to give it everything I have because like I've had 20 year win streak since I've been a baby, 14 years old. And that doesn't come easy.
Starting point is 00:30:00 And yes, I can have the faith in God and yes, I can have all that stuff, but faith without works is dead. And I put in that work. So I got to a point where I said, there's only a handful of guys that have walked away like this, a handful. And there's even a smaller percentage of guys that left undefeated. And I didn't just pad my record and then say I'm undefeated. Like I fought the best, the best available competition.
Starting point is 00:30:29 And I just woke up one day and I had tens of millions of dollars on the table. And I told my wife, I was like, I don't wanna do this no more. You know, I don't wanna do this no more. I don't wanna do this no more. And I said, and even me saying it like it's taboo. I'm not supposed to say that as a professional athlete and more importantly, a fighter.
Starting point is 00:30:52 Because when you start using the R word, the writing's on the wall. It's time to go. And she said, babe, if you're saying that, I feel like the decision is already made. And you know you got my full support. And the video that you just mentioned, for some reason that video was in my head.
Starting point is 00:31:14 Like I had it, I said, man, I want my, and those boys that were in the video were my sons. Oh wow. I said, I wanna show people like my career at each stage. As a young kid, and then, you know, young teenager, and then kid, and then young teenager, and then older teenager, and then I wanna let them know that I accomplished everything that I set out to accomplish. I got people that love me, I got critics,
Starting point is 00:31:35 but I've done it all that I wanted to do. I've made enough money, I'm ready to go. There's a piece of this decision that was for me, but then there's also a piece that was for the sport that I love. A sport that I've given up a childhood for and given my life to. You know, fighters are not always revered.
Starting point is 00:31:57 When you say certain fighters names, you get a certain reaction. When you bring up the name boxing, and you don't love the sport like you, most people's reactions are, you know, and they have something negative to say after that. And one thing that they always say is, you know, those fighters, man, you know, they hang on too long. And I went to Canastota, New York about three years ago to the International Boxing Hall
Starting point is 00:32:22 of Fame. And it was such a, it was a rewarding moment. It was an awesome moment. I'm seeing fighters that I grew up watching and I'm talking to them and we're getting at each other. Like, man, I ought to beat you, man, you're too small. We just had a great two or three days. But then I also saw the ones that neurologically weren't good
Starting point is 00:32:39 or maybe didn't have the money, tangible, you know, proof of what they did all these years. And it bothered me. And Ed, I didn't wanna be another one of those guys. Like when is enough enough? Like you can always say there's more money out there. But the question that me and my wife kept asking ourselves is what do we do with what we had?
Starting point is 00:33:01 With what was already in our hands? And since I retired, don't get me wrong. Like, I missed the boxing checks. Cause they were plentiful. They were large. But they come with a price. And I just wasn't willing to put my body through that anymore. And again, I'm a person that gave it all I had
Starting point is 00:33:22 or I don't want to do it at all. And if I can't give it all I have, and if I don't think my body's gonna respond like I needed to I don't want to wait until some young guy has to show Me that I don't have it anymore I'd rather leave on top and try to set an example for the next generation and say man You know what? I'm gonna do the Andre Ward. Oh wow you just have this overabundance of character Thank you, so that's what overflows from you right and I do believe in life There's these chapters
Starting point is 00:33:45 of our lives, and I think, you know, and I wanna make sure that everyone knows about this documentary too, is like, that's one of these chapters, just the preview alone, it's just gripping. It's like unbelievable, I can't wait for this to get out into the world. And you've turned the page, and one of the things about you,
Starting point is 00:33:58 because your character's so, by the way, selfishly I hope as you keep turning these pages, that sometime over the next two or three years again, the chapter turns where you feel the desire to do that or should do it but I admire and respect you for not doing it too because there is so much to be said to be finishing the way that you have and Because of your character because of your composure your elegance the way you communicate you have a lot of other opportunities outside of boxing To right I mean, you know that I just left my place in Maine, my favorite time of year, which is the fall.
Starting point is 00:34:28 Autumn leaves are beautiful. By the way, they're everywhere on my property right now. They're beautiful until they clog your gutters. So whether you're tired of unclogging your gutters or you don't even know what your gutters look like, like I don't, it's time for permanent solution that you can depend on with Leaf Filter. Right now you can save up to 30% off your entire purchase at leaffilter.com. If you're someone like me who doesn't like to do a lot of work around your house, I'm telling you right now you've got to address this leaf issue. I literally had to spend hundreds of
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Starting point is 00:35:24 If you listen to this show for a while, you've heard me and my guests talk a lot about how critical it is to have your wellness goals in order especially lately with me. So you know how powerful visualization is when you visualize yourself one ten thirty years from now you've achieved all your goals ask yourself this am I healthy at that point? In your visions of course you are but like anything else without a plan to get and remain healthy you can't hit the goal that's why I'm so thrilled to be partnering with life force it's co-founded by my good friend Tony Robbins and Peter Diamandis life force is a leader in proactive care the life
Starting point is 00:35:54 force membership includes everything you need to understand your wellness and help you make good decisions today to keep you on track in the future for your health listeners on my show get $250 when they first sign up for their membership by going to mylifeforce.com slash ed. That's mylifeforce.com slash ed. Take control of your wellness with Life Force and see what the healthiest version of you actually looks like and is capable of. These products and statements have not been evaluated
Starting point is 00:36:19 by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Very short intermission here folks. I'm glad you're enjoying the show so far. Don't forget to follow the show on Apple and Spotify. Links are in the show notes. Now on to our next guest. Trent Shelton, welcome back to the show my brother. Hey man, I appreciate you man. Thanks for having me back. You've had an injury that ended a career like we both had, right? Or whatever. That is not changeable. It's it, it, that is a,
Starting point is 00:36:48 that's a fact of life it happened or there was a divorce or you had a bankruptcy or a business failed or someone did you wrong. So you talk often about being able to not change the situation, but change potentially the way that you want. So go ahead. I'll let you, I'll let you answer that. That's so powerful because I get that question all the time. It's like, I can't change or even teenagers are saying, I can't, I'm in my parents household, I can't get out this household, I can't do this. And if that's the truth, if you can't change the situation, you must change your mindset
Starting point is 00:37:22 in the situation, you must change your mindset towards a situation, you must change who you are in the situation. And that's called perspective. Some might talk about all the time, your perspective can be your prison, or it can be your power. And so any situation that I know that I can't undo, I mean, even with my mother's passing, I can't change that. That's a situation I have forever. I can allow that pain to control me. Or I can say, you know what, I can do something with this pain and, and manipulate it to make it my power. And so I'm always thinking now, okay, how can I find power in this situation? You talk
Starting point is 00:37:57 about the word for the year, right? One of my words always say is this are monstrous is this is power. When I can't change situations, this is power. Because at some point I know I'm gonna look back and say, man, that situation I was supposed to break me that I couldn't change at the moment. Maybe God was allowing me to stay in that situation, not to break me, but to build me. And I can look back plenty of times in my life and say,
Starting point is 00:38:18 man, I'm glad I stayed in that or I'm glad that happened because now it created something inside of me that if I would have moved from that situation, I didn't have that situation. I wouldn't have the experience. I wouldn't have the knowledge and I wouldn't have the strength from it. Yeah. Now I want to stay on that because most people know your story, but maybe they need to be right.
Starting point is 00:38:36 Many may not, you know, people that are new to my show or or new to you. But this whole thing that you are, this man you've become, was really born out of a situation you couldn't change with your friend, right? Like the beginning of this version of Trent Shelton. And I think it's probably a great time in the show for you to tell that story, because I think there's a lot of people, they're in situations they can't change right now,
Starting point is 00:39:00 combined with the fact that they're not sure what their purpose is, or what their passion passion is or what to do about it. And you've become one of the biggest influencers in the world through what most people would view and was a tragedy with a friend of yours. So take everyone through that part of your story. It's the perfect time in the show because I think they can see themselves in your story, even though the situations are different. Absolutely. I was a college teammate, college roommate, even more than that, one of my closest friends in college. His career got cut short, football player,
Starting point is 00:39:31 and what I mean got cut short. He went through some trials, some relationship things. He left a football team, and he joined the military, and nothing wrong with that. But I just know that for him, in the conversations he was set on, he was unhappy just being around him. I could just tell something was different. 2011, I got a call one night.
Starting point is 00:39:51 I was actually on my way to our other best friend's house and it's ironic, because me and my best friend were just talking about him. It's like, man, we need to link up with Ant. Got a call from a girl who actually knew us at Baylor, but she was in the corner, she worked at the coroner's office. She said, hey Trent, Ann is here.
Starting point is 00:40:06 And I didn't put two and two together. I was like, okay, like where? Like, is he, you know, I don't, where is he at? He's like, he's here. And I was like, what are you talking about? It's like, I work at the coroner's office, he's here. And it still didn't register. Make a long story short, Ann had committed suicide.
Starting point is 00:40:19 They found him three days later with all the memories in front of him, pictures of people, you know, it's football things and, you know, he shot himself in the head. And in that moment, it hurt because, you know, when you lose somebody, the first thing you go to is guilt. The first thing you go to is regret and ask yourself, man, I wish I would have, I wish I would have done more. And in that moment, I knew that there was nothing I could have done more,
Starting point is 00:40:46 since the situation had happened. I remember going to the service, man. And I'm glad that you said this because being a speaker, being whatever people wanna call me, titles, author, all the stuff that people give me, this wasn't something that I wanted to do. This wasn't something that I sought out to say, oh, this is a great business idea, let me do this.
Starting point is 00:41:06 No, it wasn't. It was my promise to him at his funeral. My promise, and I love what you say, man, keeping that promise to yourself is so, so important. My promise to him was like, aunt, I'm gonna live the rest of my life to help people with their self-worth. So when people see my videos and they say,
Starting point is 00:41:24 Trent, man, like you talk about releasing things from your life or getting rid of toxic things from your life. This is why, because he had toxic things in his life that he felt like he had no life anymore and he felt like there was no reason to go on. And so with my promise to him, and from that day, I started picking up my cell phone, didn't have a following, started making these videos with just this. Didn't have some camera that you're seeing now,
Starting point is 00:41:49 didn't have no microphone, just my cell phone. And I committed myself for the rest of my life. And I wanna be clear about that, Ed, because I just feel like we live in a generation now where I don't wanna step on any, I don't mind stepping on people's toes, but I don't wanna make people feel a, I don't mind stepping on people's toes, but I don't want to, you know, make people feel a certain type of way by saying this.
Starting point is 00:42:07 And, you know, hopefully I have, you know, you have your insecurities to the side, but a lot of people, you know, when they sign up for certain things, it's for external reasons. It's because they see Ed Malette with, you know, this following, they see Trent Sheldon with this, but they don't know what we have endured
Starting point is 00:42:23 and what we still endure while we're going through it. That's right. And they don't have a deep rooted reason of why they want to do what they do. And every time opportunity to quit opportunity, throwing a towel opportunity to detour to something else, to change, you know, there's people that's on there. And I, I want to be clear. It's okay to, you know, change different things, but if you're just changing because it's hard because things ain't
Starting point is 00:42:45 adding up because you're not getting the likes and the views and the money, all that stuff. I see a lot of that. And for me, I said, there's no negotiation with this. Yes, like I'm burning the boats, burning the bridge, and I'm signing up for this forever. So every time I want to quit, man, I picture his face. Yeah, and it makes me go even harder. I hope everybody just hears what he just said. I mean, it's easy to hear it in hindsight.
Starting point is 00:43:09 This guy's a football player, right? And kind of then trying to find where, what am I going to do with my life? Imagine this, that because of this tragedy in his life, a situation as we said in the previous, you know, conversation wasn't controllable and he ends up becoming through grabbing his cell phone and just starting to talk about this stuff one of the biggest influences on the planet hundreds of millions of views probably over a billion if you added up all your content now you know all of it combined right one of the most sought-after speakers on the planet podcaster author guy i've had i've had i think three people on my show only two times he's
Starting point is 00:43:43 one of them and that gives you an idea of how highly I regard Trent. And a lot of you that are listening to this, you're thinking, I don't know what my passion is. Here's a place to look and it's not always there. Look for a real pain point for you. It's a really, it's not always there, but you go, what's a real pain point? Like for me, my dad was an alcoholic, my low self-esteem.
Starting point is 00:44:03 That's the pain point of my life has become my work that's that think trench is used deep rooted reason to keep going when you're not successful originally that's why this pain it always says has turned it into a purpose that's usually where your purpose is coming from is a place of pain from you that's why you see some of these influences that are super fit that used to be super heavy. It was a pain point. My guest today is The Undertaker, aka Mark Calloway. So Mark, thanks for being here, brother. No, thanks for having me, man.
Starting point is 00:44:34 I'm excited. One of the things that I noticed about you, brother, on that 30-year arc was how hard you are on yourself, how self-aware you are, particularly as it opens, I won't give the whole thing away, but it opens up with your match with Roman Reigns and you were injured at the time and you know maybe not at the top of your game and to watch you watch you back in that video, it made me emotional. I was out on my balcony alone, It was like 11 o'clock last night and I literally got tears in my eyes because I so admired your self-reflection, your awareness and your desire. Even at that time, you're probably 52 probably in your
Starting point is 00:45:15 50s already, right? He's 55 years old guys and if you're watching YouTube, look at this man's physique, right? But talk about that, like setting that standard for yourself, being aware, you setting the highest standard for yourself, not Vince, not someone else, but you. Yeah, I'm my toughest critic and I always have been. You got everybody telling you through the course of your career, especially when you're coming up, oh man, you're great, you're this, you're that.
Starting point is 00:45:42 And I mean, yeah, that's fine. And, but you have to, you've got to take that and you have to put it aside. And it's like when I, when I watched my back when I was coming up and I watched my mat, my matches back, um, good, bad, indifferent, I always had to watch them alone because I didn't want any feedback from anybody else saying, oh man, that was, that was great. That was, oh man, how did you do that? That was so cool. I wanted to watch, even on the good stuff,
Starting point is 00:46:12 I wanted to watch and see what I did wrong. I wanted to know what, okay, in that situation, what could I have done better to make that match better? And that's, like I said, that's how you continue to grow. The Roman match at WrestleMania, that was tough. And what was so good about the doc was that was the actual first time that I watched it back. Being later in my career, at that point when I watched it back, I was pretty much done. I was like, I can't, my bodies give out on me. I can't, and I have to start thinking long-term after 30 plus years.
Starting point is 00:46:50 And so that was really raw and real because I knew, I knew it was gonna be tough to watch. And then having to do it in that environment with cameras on me. And it was... And out of character too, right? I mean... Completely out of character, right? So what you got is Mark thinking in his head like,
Starting point is 00:47:15 you know, there's a lot of things that I wanted to say, obviously that would have been bleeped and edited because I was so disappointed. And not just disappointed for me, I was disappointed for Roman in that sense. I saw that. Because it was my opportunity to give him something that was gonna push him to a higher level.
Starting point is 00:47:41 And I didn't deliver on that. And I can't make excuses, yes, I was banged up and beat up, but I was there. So, you know, I have a response in my mind, I have a responsibility. If my name is on is on the page, then you got to go. And I was just I got, I knew when I knew in January, that I was physically, I was physically not going to be at my best, but it was too late at that point. Like, I'd already committed, it's already down, this is what's going to happen.
Starting point is 00:48:15 And I was scrambling trying to figure out how to, you know, how I was going to make this work. And it just, I was, yeah, I was thoroughly disappointed. And then there we go. Then the documentary kind of gets, gets rolling because initially, you know, initially it was just, I had those guys there to cover that weekend. Oh, is that right? That's all it was going to be?
Starting point is 00:48:39 It was all it was going to be because I said, cause I thought that was going to be it. Yeah. Oh, the stuff with the hat and the coat, everything in the ring, all that was, that was just raw and real. And, um, you know, so I just, I'm not going to get another chance to catch this stuff backstage and my interactions with my peers and Vince. And I just wanted that and not knowing what we were
Starting point is 00:49:05 gonna have but I knew that I wasn't gonna have no chance to get it. Yeah, guys, I gotta tell you Mark, Mark's being humble. I don't care if you're WWE fan or not. If you're a fan of achievement, of redemption, of comebacks, which a lot of people need right now, learning about a beautiful marriage and how it can make a man stronger. You should go watch this. I gotta tell you, the last ride is I watched the entire thing and the thing that the reason that the show is called Max Out and Mark persona, you talk about maxing out a career.
Starting point is 00:49:36 That's the definition of Mark's life in the WWE as the Undertaker. He's maxed out that career. And I have a funny feeling he's not done which we'll talk about at the end. But I gotta tell you all something, what he's describinged out that career. And I have a funny feeling he's not done, which we'll talk about at the end, but, um, but I gotta tell y'all something. What he's describing here, guys, this not believing your press clippings thing, not buying into all the rah rah and hype and accolades you get. I talk a lot about is your will to win for sale. And yeah, people can lose their will to win when they lose,
Starting point is 00:50:01 but you can lose your will to win when you win. In other words, enough accolades, enough money, enough success, it buys your will to still want to get better. It buys your will to want to improve. The thing that I love about Mark and watching him was you can't buy this man's will to win. And I think that's linked to the 30-year plus career. The other guys, the accolades, the success, the access to different things at some point
Starting point is 00:50:25 stole their will to prepare. I'm not doubtful that you didn't get off track a couple times, but you kept getting back on track. And I got to ask you, because even as you're talking, it's a little odd for me to talk to you as Mark, because I think unlike, this is why the last ride is so interesting too. You've done very few interviews ever, Nye, as the character. Did you take that to the extreme? Like, I'm just, I ran into you in an airport when I was very young.
Starting point is 00:50:51 I'll tell you about that in a minute. But, like you were in character at the airport when I was there. We were at a baggage claim, guys, and I don't know how old I was, and Mark and I aren't even that far apart in age, but I was on like one of my first business trips. I was at a baggage claim. I never came, I didn't say anything to you, but I watched you interact with the fans first. You had your bag with you for about 40 minutes, brother,
Starting point is 00:51:11 and you've probably done this hundreds of times, and I watched you talk to every single fan, take every single picture, shake every single hand, and I watched him look them in the eye too, and I said, I like this dude, but you look like the Undertaker. Not with the eye makeup on, but it seemed like you were kind of halfway in character.
Starting point is 00:51:27 Am I crazy or did you do that in real life when you went out? I don't know, I live this thing. I really did, when I started and this character was so unique, especially for the time period, Vince had all these over the top, these all over the top characters and he gave me this, the original likeness, the name was all Vince's brainchild and he gave it to me and he said this is your opportunity.
Starting point is 00:52:00 And so I took it from there. So when we developed, when I started developing the character, I was like, there's only one way that this is going to work. And it was a lot simpler back then because there wasn't cell phones and people recording everything that you do. But I said, I've got to be this for this to work. I can't be that on TV and then be at the airport in a Hawaiian shirt, slapping high fives
Starting point is 00:52:33 because it was too big to me, it was too big a disconnect. And there was a lot of opportunities that I was presented with early on that I passed on. Like people thought I was absolutely nuts, but you'd have to realize that I was presented with early on that I passed on. Like people thought I was absolutely nuts, but you'd have to realize that this was my passion like being a professional wrestler, being with the WWE, that was me, right? That's what my focus was. And yes, I had opportunities to go and do a lot of different things, but in my head,
Starting point is 00:53:04 like, okay, this is my passion. Now, how am I gonna go off and do this and be this completely different character and then come back and expect people to buy into what I was doing? There's just all the elements of being the greatest. So he's being humble, but he's the greatest of all time. He's the most respected guy in the locker room,
Starting point is 00:53:25 most longevity, by the way, he's not gonna tell you this, kind of known as being involved in maybe three of the top three matches of all time, also has one guy in common, him. And you guys, forget what you do. You're an engineer, listen to this. You're a school teacher, listen to this. You're an entrepreneur.
Starting point is 00:53:42 There are elements that he's giving you that are the pieces to being great. And one of them, I'll help him say this because he's got so much humility, is his loyalty. It's his loyalty. When he's saying he passed on things, let me be specific, he passed on movie roles and things like that that he could have done
Starting point is 00:54:00 out of character. There were times where he was offered more money to leave the organization like other guys did that were hot. And he stayed and was loyal. And I think loyalty is a very undervalued commodity in becoming a leader. And you're sort of a leader in the locker room for that organization. I got to think that, and I like you to talk about both these things, Mark. One is being a leader and the way you do it, because I get the feeling you're not a rah-rah dude, jump up and down and all that,
Starting point is 00:54:29 but you are a leader in the organization. And then since we're on that topic, talk about the very unique relationship you have with the overall leader of the organization in Vince McMahon. It seems that that's become a special friendship forged through loyalty, probably more than anything. And I got to think that friendship's been both good to his career and your career as well. So speak to those couple things. Yeah, absolutely. So as far as the, you know,
Starting point is 00:54:53 being the leader, it was never really, it was never really something like I tried to pursue. It just, it just kind of happened through the years. And I fell into this unique position where the boys, the wrestlers, you know, they saw what the business meant to me and that the business always came first. No matter what, the business came first. When we're out on the road, obviously, you know, your family comes first, but in a business sense, when I'm, when I don't care how late we stayed out, how, whatever we did nightlife wise, it did not affect the next day's performance. If it did, then you knew you were going to get, you know, you get pulled aside and say,
Starting point is 00:55:43 look, if you can't handle this, then maybe you shouldn't be doing this. Because at the end of the day, it depends on what we do for our audience the next day. Guys appreciated that. But they knew like, okay, hey, you know, takes one of us, he goes out and he has a good time just like everybody else. But at bell time, all that goes out the window
Starting point is 00:56:04 until after it's all over with. And so, yeah, so there was this, and then I had the also, I had the trust of what we call the office, you know, there's the office, and then there's the boys. Somehow or another, I kind of landed in the middle. Like, I was always accepted as one of the boys, but the office knew that they could they could trust me. And there were a lot of times like whoever our our talent relations VP was, there was a lot of times they would come to me and say, hey, this is, you know, we're having this this issue. And I could go to the guys or a guy or a person, pull them aside and say, look, man, you know,
Starting point is 00:56:51 I understand and they appreciate that because they know that I've been through everything possible to go through. So, you know, it wasn't like, oh, well, you know, Undertaker's a stooge for the office and he's trying to, you know, they trusted me. Soooge for the office and he's trying to, you know, they trusted me. So I had that trust on each side, but I could, many times I could talk to somebody and say, Hey, look, this is, this is their perspective. Okay. I understand your perspective
Starting point is 00:57:18 because I'm, you know, I'm talent, right? I'm talent, I'm with you. So a lot of times that happened and I could divert bigger issues with guys if they could kind of get over, you know, if they could get over the ego and then they knew and they trusted me enough like, well, you know, Taker's not going to screw me over. So it worked out, it worked out really nice. And then with Vince and the loyalty and everything else, I was told by WCW, I was told I went out, I'd been there for about a year, my contract was coming up and I went in to renegotiate my contract. And I wasn't looking for a huge bump, but I was looking for, you know, I had a pretty good year And I wasn't looking for a huge bump, but I was looking for, you know, I'd been, I had a pretty good year and I was just looking for a slight, just a slight bump.
Starting point is 00:58:11 And I was told by, you know, Jim Heard, who was running the company at the time, Ole Anderson and Jim Barnett, they looked me square in my eyes. And they said, you're a great athlete, but no one's ever gonna pay money to watch you wrestle. Seriously, okay. That's all I needed to hear. So Vince, so I get a meeting with Vince, and he eventually gives me that opportunity. And that's all he ever promised me was an opportunity.
Starting point is 00:58:44 He never told me hey you're gonna be you're gonna be this guy here for 30 years and do all these things. He said I'm gonna give you an opportunity and and then but that's all I always remembered. When I did become a commodity when WCW wanted me back you know they wanted to pay me big bucks because they were paying everybody big bucks. Yeah. You know, it's like, no, I can't do that. You know, they're offering me a lot more money, but this is the man who made me and that's just the way it is.
Starting point is 00:59:16 And then obviously we just are, we've been through so much together professionally, personally, that you know, most times now I don't even deal with Vince hardly when it comes to business. Our relationship 90% of the time is more of that of friends than it is of business unless there's a special ask that nobody else wants to ask me to do then they say you're the only one that's going to be able to get him to do it so. Yeah well I think what comes to you second nature which is loyalty isn't second nature me to do then they say you're the only one that's going to be able to get him to do it. So yeah. Well I think what comes to you second nature which is loyalty isn't second nature for most people
Starting point is 00:59:50 and I think that's one of the other elements. I see Michelle sitting back there. Come on in. So there's Michelle everybody and when y'all get the chance to watch this docu-series you'll get it okay but I'm glad you joined at the perfect time. Thank you for doing that. Thank you. Because what I want to shift to involves both of you and I want you both to comment on it. Let's be real. We just had COVID, right? The economy's in the tank, you know, things aren't going good. There's millions of people that have had a job and lost it right now. There's entrepreneurs that had a business that are losing it. There's people that got really fit the last couple of years. I've never even go to a gym in three, four months. They've
Starting point is 01:00:26 lost a little of their fitness. Bottom line is there's millions of people around the world right now that need to make a comeback. And as I was prepping for this and then I watched the last ride, I'm like, oh man, all right, this is perfect. Because what really happened was guys, when you watch this, it's really becomes a part of how these two people in love with each other Unified and create a comeback in his career because Michelle is it is and was a WWE superstar in her own right everybody And we'll talk a little bit about that in a minute too But talk a little bit about the comeback because it's pretty cool
Starting point is 01:00:58 You watch it like I was a broken down see do repair place or whatever that thing was if you were training in broken down CEDU repair place or whatever that thing was that you were training in. Yeah, it was, uh, yeah, that place, that place hadn't been touched. It was not sanitary. I can tell you that I don't think anybody had even walked in that place in over 15 years. Oh, it was bad. That just blew my mind because I'm like the greatest WWE superstar of all time ends up making his comeback in a place that's like no one's been in for like, it looked like they're in the middle of nowhere, like an abandoned whatever they were in, you know, and that's where the comeback started. But let's talk about that for a minute. I want to set the stage for everybody for whatever your career is. This is a man who's
Starting point is 01:01:37 climbed to the top of his industry, right? And Michelle's also been at the top of that industry. He ends up for his last, he's gonna have his last match and doesn't go the way he wants it to. And over time, it gnaws at him a little bit. Like anybody, he wants to make a comeback. It's like many of you right now listening to this, driving in your car or you're finally back on a treadmill at the gym listening to this.
Starting point is 01:02:01 And imagine after 30 years, his body's beaten up, he's already been to the top, he doesn't need to's beaten up he's already been to the top he doesn't need to do it he's already the most admired dude in the sport yet he makes come back what were some of the things mentally that you both had to do in order to create the mindset where you're willing to go do that work again like you changed your body that the Roman Reigns match to the comeback Matt Mike make you just physically look like a different person, right?
Starting point is 01:02:28 So, talk a little bit mentally what you had to do to do that. What were some of the elements? And both of you can comment on it. I think one thing that's key for both of us as a blessing and a curse is we're both completely stubborn. So, sometimes though that helps out like in situations like this. We both have the mentality of you're going to, you're gonna get it done and do it right and go after it, you know, and just give it your all.
Starting point is 01:02:51 And I think, you know, being stubborn helped. Yeah, definitely wasn't gonna let that be the last memory that people had of me. So I knew, you know, as you get older, you have to accept the fact that you're going to have to put in twice the work and get half the results. You have to accept that fact. So I had to make the, we had to make the mental decision like, okay, if I'm going to do this, I mean, we got to go. And she's like, all right, if that's what you want to do, then we're going to do it. So on her end, she, you know, she drops everything that she's got to do to make sure that I've got meal
Starting point is 01:03:37 prep and I've got, you know, all my appointments lined up like for rehab, stretching, all these different things that normally, she took all that worry off the table. And then, so then it's just the training aspect. And then the training was obviously getting my hip fixed, which was covered pretty well in the dock. That allowed me to train at a much different level. And then that was kind of a, that alone was a breath of fresh air. Although that's one little part of my body that I have issues with, that was the main one. Was there a doubt mark like, hey, I'm
Starting point is 01:04:23 going to come back and have a second match I'm not proud of and I'm going to embarrass myself or something like that? Because I think a lot of people right now that are thinking about making a comeback, they're like, if I fall on my face again, I don't know if I can handle doing that again. Did you have any of that? Michelle, were you worried about that?
Starting point is 01:04:39 No, but I know how he operates. And I was worried that he was, I mean, knowing him, I think safe to say you're probably thinking that it was in the back of your head, which is the reason you're going back in the first place because you weren't happy of, you know, from the last and just kind of out there to prove something. So, um, I knew he wanted to do it, but I think in the same regard, we're both the type of people you can't fear failure. If you're going to do it, go out there, you know, learn from the past mistakes.
Starting point is 01:05:04 And like he just said, train the best way possible for his body to get into the fear failure. If you're going to do it, go out there, you know, learn from the past mistakes. And like he just said, train the best way possible for his body to get into the ring and you know, see what happens. Just can't fear that failure. It looked to me like, I think there's a huge lesson in this guys. I'm seeing, I want you all to watch this thing. I'm not pumping the documentary. I'm just telling you, it will make an impact on you. And I'm a WWE fan. Of course it would, but the millions of you listening to me right now that aren't, it'll make an impact on you and I WWE fan of course it would but the millions of you listening to me right now that aren't it'll make an impact on you where You are in your life. You're gonna see you're gonna see what machine they're both really humble people You're gonna see what Michelle did. I think what made the comeback work guys
Starting point is 01:05:37 I don't think you can dabble in your comeback like they threw the kitchen sink It was like shock and awe at this thing. All hands on deck. The whole family rallied. They get this place set up. Even the little details mark with like the banners of the other dudes and you up in there like you're looking at one point you said those guys are watching me. Right? Like to me, man, like that was it was like almost like a real life Rocky movie for real. And then everybody and I'll warn you this, then he comes back and he does great but it's not even really what he wished for. It wasn't like it was a five minute match. He trained for 30-40 minutes and so even when you get your comeback the first time you come
Starting point is 01:06:18 back it may not even be exactly what you wanted and then he went past that moment. True, Mark? It wasn't what you were looking for. Yeah, I trained for a 45-minute all-out back and forth war and was so ready for that. And then I got there the day of and that's going to be five minutes and you're going to be a romp and stomp and dragon. And that's what we sell. I mean, we sell entertainment, we don't sell time. But we were just talking the other day about how life and wrestling matches are so parallel,
Starting point is 01:06:52 right? Like you know what your ultimate finish is going to be or what you would like it to be but you're going to get knocked down, you're going to get beat up, you're going to have like a little hope spot where there's this ray of light like oh I can do this, you're going to get knocked back down again. Then you have this comeback and it can be this great comeback and you can finish on top or it can be a great comeback and then you just get knocked back down. And what do you do from there?
Starting point is 01:07:14 You know, it's your choice. What happens there, if you decide to stay down, then that's kind of going to dictate the rest of your life, really. If you accept it, if you accept where you're at, I couldn't accept after watching that match back, I couldn't accept leaving on those terms. And then I knew where I wanted to be. And I knew like, okay, this is what we got to do to get to the point where I want to be.
Starting point is 01:07:49 That's powerful, man. Like Malcolm X has this great quote, it says, that which you do not hate, you will eventually tolerate. You almost have to hate where you're at and that's not a negative thing to want to move out of it. If you accept it, as you said, you're there. So, hey guys, it's been said that we really have two ages. There's our true age and our biological age. So a medical test can show you your biological age and it can show you if your body's aging prematurely. Better nutrition has been shown to help reverse one's bio age. My hope of living longer and especially healthier is why I take field of greens. Field of greens is an organic
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Starting point is 01:09:45 slash podcast to join the thousands of small businesses that trust JustWorks to take care of payroll, benefits, compliance and more. That's JustWorks.com slash podcast. That was a great conversation. And if you want to hear the full interview, be sure to follow the Ed Milett show on Apple and Spotify. Links are in the show notes. You'll never miss an episode that way. Tim Grover, welcome back to the show brother. Thank you so much. At the beginning of the book, guys, there's this unbelievable story about your last conversation with Kobe Bryant. Just your relationship with him because I think a winner I do think of Kobe and MJ, 11 championships between them. Tell everybody a little bit about that conversation. You know, Kobe and I, we text often.
Starting point is 01:10:27 He was no longer playing, he was no longer playing basketball. He had moved into the business world. Already won an Oscar, wrote an amazing children's book. And we text back and forth. We tried to see each other. He was busy, I was busy. And say, how you doing? He'd be, I'm good, how you doing?
Starting point is 01:10:42 And we, I'm chasing the next win. He's chasing the next win. And we were going to get together. The All-Star game was gonna be in Chicago. And our plan was he was gonna come in town, to support and some business stuff and so forth. So we had planned to get together. And he said he'll text me when I'm in town.
Starting point is 01:11:03 I said, hey, I'm not going anywhere and Sorry brother I'm the only guy who gets Tim Grover to cry on the show You're good it never happened. Yeah Never happened He said something to you at the end of that conversation too, right? Something about winning or I'm going to keep winning or something like that. It actually came out.
Starting point is 01:11:32 Chasing the next win? Chasing the next win. Chasing the next win? What was it like for you, Tim? Because obviously the emotion on your face is, this is not Tim. You're not a crier. No. I'm curious, when you heard the news originally,, by the way I was with him the week before.
Starting point is 01:11:49 Is that crazy? I'll have to tell you that in a minute. But did you just not believe it? Or was it just like the breath left your body? So what happened was, you know, I get some information, somebody shoots me a text, I was like, oh fake news, this is not true, this is not true, and then more media comes in, more people come, then people that were like, really close to him, like out in the LA area and so forth, said, hey, I just wanna let you know that this is, and I was like, it can't be, it can't be.
Starting point is 01:12:20 It didn't hit me until like three days later. Really? Three days. I was just like literally sleeping. And I got up in the middle of the night, and I was just like, he's gone? Because you just didn't want to believe it. You just didn't want to believe it. Do you think, because obviously you being
Starting point is 01:12:44 such a close confidant of his, and I get what you mean, like time happens in life, you're not texting every single day, you're both busy guys, but you don't have to when you're great friends. You and I, we text a lot, but even we don't for a month or two, it's like right back. It's not personal. It's never personal. Like you're busy, hey, your success comes in, send your thumbs up, everybody. You don't have to text anybody when they know
Starting point is 01:13:05 that you're actually excited for every win they get and every win that you get. You're like, they already know you're there for now. When they do something exceptional, you're like, hey, I just saw what you did or something funny. But yeah, exactly. I think something with him, like, because it grips so many people,
Starting point is 01:13:21 they're not even basketball fans. I think it's when someone lives so full out that when they're no longer living, the impact of that passing is greater for some reason. I mean, he was so alive. So to make the transition from winning on the basketball court to winning in the business environment, and then you got a chance to see, you know, when he was no longer that basketball player, how close he was with his family. How he supported everyone,
Starting point is 01:13:51 his daughter's basketball games and the volleyball games and everything. And he was just like, he was a much approachable person. Everybody used to see this rigid individual on the court and he was so much, he was smiling and he was talking to other players and so forth. I always say that his next move, his next win was, he had two things he wanted to do.
Starting point is 01:14:15 And I have no proof of this, but just knowing his mentality, one was he wanted his daughter to be the first female to play in the NBA. No kidding. Not the WNBA, the NBA. That's what he was getting her ready for. And the second one was like, he was like, I already own LA from a basketball standpoint. I want to race the basketball thing. I want to own LA. No kidding. He was that driven to continue to win. Yes. Which is the theme in the book. See,
Starting point is 01:14:51 I'm going to tell you, you'd be proud of him, by the way, because I know you were, there's Interment and I did not know Kobe well. But our daughters played in the same volleyball league. So the week before he passed, we were in the same gym. I remember you telling this story. Yeah. Three, and ends up these two volleyball tournaments are long as you know being a volleyball. Yes, they are. But anyway long story short There's three dads left. It's almost 10 o'clock at night left in this gym Me him and another dude who's a good friend of mine and it was just striking for me I watched this it's the black mom a man to do is a killer, right?
Starting point is 01:15:20 But I watched him and I have no idea why it like really struck me. I'm always evaluating him. You and I talk about it. Am I a good dad? How's your daughter? You know, like we're always evaluating these things and I watched him, other end of the gym, I watched him with his daughter and he's carrying the baby in his one arm and just the game was over and he was like kind of just caressing his other daughter's back just watching him. I remember literally going, I don't hug Bella enough. Like I don't hug her enough, you know? And he was such, I mean, because he's a man,
Starting point is 01:15:50 he's a flawed man. He's a guy who had, he really changed, you know? That's something to be so proud of. Anyway, long story short, because to me that's winning. Winning is improvement, winning is growing, winning is ultimately, he was a better man on his last day than he was in the middle of his career. Right.
Starting point is 01:16:06 And when you said flawed, everybody thinks of flawed as a negative. We're all flawed. Right. We are all flawed. Accept it, use it, learn from it, and be like, okay, this is who I am. This is who I am. I'm not trying to be somebody else. What's your flaws that makes you exceptional? That will make you different. who I am, this is who I am, I'm not trying to be somebody else.
Starting point is 01:16:26 What's your flaws, what makes you exceptional, what makes you different, that's what allows you to win what other people don't want to win, is the people that can say, hey, we're flawed, we've both wrote bestseller books, and people won't know this about, they know this about me, but you shared this when we were at Arate Cinec at one time. You can't spell. That's totally true. And I can't either. That's such a great point.
Starting point is 01:16:55 Those are our flaws, and what do we do? We just laugh at them. And we write best selling books. Yes, we laugh at them. I never even thought of that. I got knocked out in a spelling bee, which is in the book, and the word they asked me to spell was ham. That's so awesome, dude. It was ham.
Starting point is 01:17:19 That's so awesome. I'm crying. So you cried on sad stuff, I cry on funny stuff. I just, yeah, I think about it, man. Like, you say something in the book, there's all these lessons, and they're all listed like as number one, which I like too. He's like, hey, there's not 21, there's not 28.
Starting point is 01:17:34 There's like, there's just an unlimited list of things compiled on this book and winning. And it made me think of Kobe because, you know, when he walked out of the gym that day, I've said this to you too, but he had six days left to live. And I just, what if the world would have, if he could just have a whisper when he got into that car with his family that night,
Starting point is 01:17:51 Kobe, six days left to live. Yeah. Three days later, Kobe, three more days. Three more days. That's Saturday prior. Kobe, one day left. And the one thing I do feel like about people that win is in the book, because Kobe was doing this to the very end,
Starting point is 01:18:09 you talk about the sprint versus marathon thing on winning. Just talk about that. Because I think Kobe did that till right in the last moment. Right at the end. Kobe had this great line that he used to use all the time. He goes, rest at the end, not in the middle. Rest at the end, not in the middle. Rest at the end, not in the middle. So to me, life and winning is a bunch of sprints within a marathon.
Starting point is 01:18:34 It's a fact. Yeah, a bunch of sprints within a marathon. And you can't see the end line. Like in a marathon, you know where the end line is. In winning, that win, that race may have an end line, but there's another start line right after it. For people that are really driven, and this is not about money, and this isn't about fame. This is about, you could be winning as a school teacher.
Starting point is 01:19:00 You could be winning as an entrepreneur. You could be winning in business. You could be winning as an athlete, as a waiter winning in business, you can be winning as an athlete, as a waiter, whatever it is, a waitress, whatever it is, it's that every single time you sprint to that finish line, there's another start line that's coming. And that's why it never ends. It's a marathon that just keeps going, going, and going.
Starting point is 01:19:21 And I try to tell people, listen, I'm not an avid runner. I used to be, in my much younger days, not avid. I used to enjoy it. You see the times of the best marathons, they're running. Insane. Insane. Insane. They're basically sprinting.
Starting point is 01:19:41 They're basically, they're sprinting. They are, they are sprinting. They are sprinting. I think that's one of the things, Tim, that you say in the book that I think is like super profound is that I think a lot of people think there's some pacing to winning, but the truth is there's not really pacing, is there? The best are full speed, knowing it's a long race,
Starting point is 01:19:59 but there's only really one gear for them. Or am I wrong about that? No, no, you're absolutely right. But everyone looks at the physical condition. Are you mentally prepared to sprint every single day? Are you mentally prepared to sprint every single day? And for how long? Because somebody else is sprinting.
Starting point is 01:20:23 You don't want them to get what should be your win ends up being somebody else's win. And everyone that says hard work now will get you closer to that win. How many individuals have you known that you've outworked and they got that win? Yeah, right. Winning has no loyalty to you, it has no loyalty to me,
Starting point is 01:20:42 it has no loyalty to anybody. You can outwork somebody, you can outstudy them All right, you can do all these different things. Yeah You can apply for a job and somebody who's less qualified ends up getting that job So winning has no loyalty to you. This is this is where The book is so I call it like hardcore, because that's your style too. It's like, look, there's so many things in the book where you talk like that about, you know,
Starting point is 01:21:10 hey listen, winning doesn't care about you. Winning will lift you up and then slap you back down again. Right, there's all of these unbelievable, and I think as somebody who wants to win more, I've done some winning, who wants to win more, when you read it, if you've had any wins in your life, confirmation of truth, when you read something that you know is true, it just instantly sits on you as a fact, right? And so, here's one of the things you say in the book, you say, all over the book, I'm
Starting point is 01:21:36 highlighting it, right, stuff down, for people I know, for myself, I read this to Max last night, about 1 a.m., he goes, dad, wake up, I'm reading Grover's book, he's like, bring it back with you tonight, which I'm going to Max last night, about 1 a.m. He goes, dad, he's the way I say, wake up, I'm reading Grover's book. He's like, bring it back with you tonight, which I'm gonna do, but. You give him this one. Okay, I will, give him the clean one. Yeah, give him that.
Starting point is 01:21:51 Thank you. Winning requires you to be different, and different scares people. So if you're worried about what others will say, the long-term effects, the sacrifices you make, the sleep you lose, your family being angry, I can't help you with that. There's nothing quote typical about
Starting point is 01:22:05 lifestyle and choices you have to make. Winning is an inside, winning is inside all of us, but for most that's where it will stay. Trapped under a lifetime of fear and worry and doubt. The race, to speak of the sprint, to greatness has no rules to protect you. Nothing says you're going to lose, you're going to get, you're not going to get, nothing says you're not going to lose, nothing says you're not going to get hurt, you're not gonna lose. Nothing says you're not gonna get hurt. You're not gonna do all this work for nothing. There's no guarantee it'll be fair. Most likely it will not be fair. You'll lose at the buzzer. You lose to someone who didn't work as hard as you did. You lose on a bad call or a bad
Starting point is 01:22:37 place. Someone else will get the job. A pandemic will wipe out your season, your bank account, your career. Yet, the prize at the end of that race remains so compelling, so addictive, so gorgeous, we keep running and stumbling and sacrificing and competing to catch it. That's exactly what you're talking about, right? It's exactly what I'm talking about. I couldn't describe it any other way.
Starting point is 01:23:00 You just look at it. Everybody, how many times you've heard it, it's not fair, it's not supposed to be fair. It's not everybody said how many times you've heard it. It's not fair. It's not supposed to be fair It's not it's not supposed to be fair winning is not supposed to be fair life is not fair There's nothing that's going to guarantee you that win It's but the only thing that's gonna guarantee that loss is if you don't get in this race How many people and you talk about this all the time about about the fears and the emotions and like, you know, just getting, just going for it, just like here it is.
Starting point is 01:23:31 Look at yourself. You've moved three different times in probably the last six months for whatever reasons you've had, all right? And you've literally packed up and moved, like here I'm going, here I'm going, here I'm going. You got people that will move themselves out of a chair, and you've literally moved families, lives,
Starting point is 01:23:57 and there's literally a fear behind every single one of those, but there was no doubt. Right, that's really well said. There was no doubt. That's really well said. Everything that you've done, and everything that I've done, there's always been a little fear.
Starting point is 01:24:08 And the fear is what allows us to be like, you know what, I'm gonna throw myself over the ledge. I'm going to do this, but I have no doubt of what the end result is going to be. That's so amazing you say that. I was with a group of guys, influencers, one of them you were with this morning, about four weeks ago, and kinda went around the table like, what moves you?
Starting point is 01:24:27 And one guy's like, hey, my dreams, you know, my confidence, my this. And so it got to me, and I think probably at that, well, anyway, I'll just say that at that table, I kind of, I just said, hey, I'll be honest with you, I'm still afraid. I'm still afraid. They're like, you're afraid? You got this, you got that? I said, no, man, I'm still afraid. And it's a real afraid. It's not something I'm trying to conjure up. It's like, you're afraid? You got this? You got that? I said, no, man. I'm still afraid. And it's a real afraid.
Starting point is 01:24:45 It's not something I'm trying to conjure up. It's like a real afraid that I have. However, I actually think successful people have this really unique nuance of tons of self-confidence combined with enough humility to want to keep working and learning. It's a really unique look. We both know people that are super confident but don't have
Starting point is 01:25:03 that dose of humility where they want to work hard and want to be coached, right? And then you also have the people with all the humility in the world but they don't have the confidence and they're not going to win either, right? You have, you coach people at all different levels. Your most successful people are your most coachable. A fact. Fact. What about when you were training Kobe, you say something in the book, like when you first
Starting point is 01:25:24 met him, the first workouts or whatever, like he didn't want you to make it easy on him. He had no expectation. No, I mean just like, hey listen, and the thing that he said was unique about this, when we were starting to work out, one of the reporters asked him, said, oh you hired Tim Grover, Michael's training. He goes, well what have you, how do you feel about that, Kobe and I'm going to use a little language here. He goes I Don't know he ain't done shit for me He goes I'm not gonna judge him by what he did
Starting point is 01:25:53 Last time I want to know what he's done what he's done for me We relish that yeah, you do relish what Jordan told him about you. Oh, yeah, it's okay So the language would never what Jordan said about you to him? Yeah so he just said. Kobe asked him what about this guy? What about? He goes he really knows his stuff but he goes he's the biggest asshole you'll ever meet. It's a great compliment right? It's a great compliment. It's a great compliment because how many people when they're when they meet winners, fold. They become yes men, yes people. Yes, exactly.
Starting point is 01:26:30 And then you have to be the person that holds them accountable. And it's funny, I just, as you said earlier, I call people out, I want people to call me out on my bullshit, I call them out on their bullshit. You've done it with me before. Yeah, I have, I do it with everyone. And I do it not out of a bullshit, I call them out on their bullshit. Yep, you've done it with me before. Yeah, I have. I do it with everyone.
Starting point is 01:26:46 And I do it not out of a place, out of hate, not jealous or anything like that. Listen, the one thing that you've offered me that no one's ever offered me is access to your jet. Mm-hmm. All right. Now, if I would have came when I put you in check, if that was coming out of hate, that offer wouldn't be there. You know it's coming out of love. 100%.
Starting point is 01:27:14 By the way, you also have helped my son unselfishly. And by the way, never told me that you were doing it. Only through him do I find these things out that Tim does. That's what I meant by a real man. I think the winners have this thing. By the way, you should use it. You're the type of person that will never take me up on it and you should, but I have to tell you guys that I think one of the things that the winners have is they lose this expectation that's going to be easy. They lose the expectation that they're going to
Starting point is 01:27:35 be liked. They lose the expectation that it's going to be perfect. Like once you've sort of given up, you've actually surrendered to the fact this is not going to be easy, people aren't going to like me, I am going to be judged. I am going to be disliked It's not all that bad when it starts happening to you And that's what winning is about that in order to win you have those are all the things that are in the unforgiving race So you already know they're there You know they're there and then people are still distracted by it You know everything that you just mentioned is in this race.
Starting point is 01:28:07 So if you already know it's there, you know what your opponents are, deal with it. You also though, like there's a level even past that. Like every time I'm reading the book, I'm like, okay, oh, there's another level, another level, another level, and you articulate it. You've been up close and you're including yourself, to the biggest winners in sports. There's layers to this that only someone in that type of proximity to it would know too. So many people are governed, like what we're really describing right now is they're governed by their emotions. Yes.
Starting point is 01:28:37 Their emotions rule their lives, right? You talk in the book about mindset and thoughts being bigger and more important than that. So this is so huge what he's about to share with you right now because right now some of you, you're driving right now or you're on a treadmill somewhere or you're watching this on YouTube and you're being governed by your emotions. It's literally dictating the direction of your life,
Starting point is 01:28:58 your effort, your belief level, your confidence, all of it. But the highest level winners do what? Your mind has to be stronger than your feelings. Your mind has to be stronger than your feelings. Think about every poor decision you've made in your life. Gosh. There was more emotion that was involved in it than there was mind.
Starting point is 01:29:21 Every single one of them. Think about it. Really wise. Your feelings keep you in bed Your mind tells you get up. Hmm Hmm think about it every single day your mind is one that tells you get up and your feelings like an extra 30 minutes Just roll this don't worry about it. Hmm Well, I could tell you this every bad decision decision I made has been ruled by emotion. Guess what?
Starting point is 01:29:46 You just said that. You and I have both. You and I both. You're making me think. Every single one. Your mind has to be stronger than your feelings. Listen, it's not the popular decision. You are going to hurt, you are going gonna piss a lot of people off. Yep
Starting point is 01:30:05 All right, are you gonna piss them off for the short term? Are you gonna piss them off for the long term? I've had so many individuals athletes that I used to train back in the day and I used to tell them You're not good enough to go to the NBA You would evaluate I'm gonna be willing to tell you're not good enough to but you can make a ton of money overseas Hmm. I said, what do not good enough to, but you can make a ton of money overseas. I said, what do you wanna do? I said, overseas you can make, I said, you can literally,
Starting point is 01:30:30 you could have a very long career, be extremely popular over there, live a nice lifestyle, and be successful for numerous years. Go over, you don't know what you're talking about. Okay, I'm telling you. 10 years come by, they're chasing the NBA dream, they don't know what you're talking about. Dad, okay, I'm telling you. 10 years come by, they're chasing the NBA dream, they don't make it.
Starting point is 01:30:48 I run into them and they come up to me and says, you're the only one that told me. You're the only one that told me. Do you think the fact that they deny this interesting thought, like you are candid with me, right? Like I actually look at, my dad was candid with me. So I, maybe it's because I played sports, I don't know, but like I look at people who are really candid
Starting point is 01:31:09 and frank with me as like, that's actually real belief in love. 100%. But don't you think most people that don't win, and I'm not calling myself a winner, but I think most people that don't win, don't view candor and direct feedback that way. They view it as hate or criticism
Starting point is 01:31:23 or you're rooting against me. Don't you agree? I actually have very few people who are candid with me. And those are some of my most cherished people in my life. Well, here's the thing. So when's the best time for the truth? All the time. It's the best time for the truth.
Starting point is 01:31:43 All the time. The truth should lead to more action But what does it usually do it leads to more emotions? Wow, that's really true. So when you tell somebody the truth, so what's the first thing anybody in a relationship? You go in a relationship with business Personal whatever it is. The first thing they always ask me with business, personal, whatever it is. The first thing they always ask me, honesty, honesty is the most important,
Starting point is 01:32:07 until you're honest. Until you're honest, yeah. Then the emotions get in, and then everything goes haywire. Then your mind has to be stronger than your feelings. That's awesome. I have one of the great fitness icons of all time right here, Mike O'Hern.
Starting point is 01:32:24 So Mike, thanks for being here, man. Thank you, thank you, man. So good to have you, here. Mike O'Hern. Thanks, brother. Thanks for being here, man. Thank you, man. So good to have you, man. Thank you. Someone said to you, because I think, like, it's rare that you put someone who's the best on the planet at something in front of you. Like, on the earth spinning right now.
Starting point is 01:32:36 And we said, who in the last 25 years, let's say, take that window of time, just that basic window of time, which is a fair window, who's probably the healthiest, fittest person, the icon that sustained it, grown it, and got more fit, and also helped more people get there too that he trains with? It would be this human, right, sitting next to me. So what does that, I know we've talked a lot about it, but like it's hard to describe yourself. I have a hard time doing it. It's like I'm not even sure how I am, you know, I'm just that way, right? But let me ask you something, seriously. What's that mindset like? Like, don't sugarcoat it. No BS. Don't be humble. Is it just like you want to crush everybody? Is it you're trying to chase the best you? Is it just like this stacking of
Starting point is 01:33:15 disciplines that's built you into this thing? Like, what is it that's like this world-class mindset you hold? Do you know? I would say it's it's I want to be the very the number one guy. I want people to be able to say hey I want to do a Mike O'Hern. I want to be like Mike O'Hern when I'm that. And whatever it is. It's just that long period of time. Yeah. And it's not just I don't want you guys to sit there and I guess I want people to live what I've lived and stop giving the excuses and stop saying, I'm 30 now, it's downhill from here. That's pretty good.
Starting point is 01:33:49 College, I peaked. And then it's like, there's a thing called science. And science will show you what's possible, what's not possible. There is something that's called heart that can break that and something that can set it apart. And I'm just saying that the one heart that can break that and something that can set it apart and I'm just saying that the one thing that we're doing now and I'm lucky enough to be around is that be around doctors and science and
Starting point is 01:34:13 actually doing tests now going why is why is it that I got to be able to do this for such a long period of time and not just as a average Joe because everybody's like as long as I can be healthy, fuck healthy, I'm sorry. It's all right, it's okay. Leave that out, but be a freaking superhero for your whole life. Yes.
Starting point is 01:34:32 So I guess for me, consistency is me describing myself, but the hunger to be the very number one. Yes, yes. What's the next five or 10 years look like for you, do you think? We know what the past looks like, we know what the present looks like. we know what the present looks like, we're going to do more of these, but I'm going to have you back here in five years.
Starting point is 01:34:48 What do you think? I love the purchasing properties and commercial real estate, and I love this, and it's something that, again, I think you agree with this. You can be around your friends, but you need some elite people that are raising you up, and I've got that, and I've got that. And I've had that, in the last 10 years, my life has completely changed to the point of where I'm doing all charity, and I'm around guys
Starting point is 01:35:14 that are better than me in other facets. And they make you stand up and go, listen, this is great, whatcha doing? But I need you here, this is what you need to do. Now you need to man up. You all need these people in your life. Yeah. And so I, I, I.
Starting point is 01:35:27 You gonna buy more property? You think we're seeing movies? More properties, leads in movies, and continue to travel the world and talk. Yeah. Do you think you'll be even more fit? I do. Listen, I'm, as much as I got crazy this year,
Starting point is 01:35:41 I already told my girl, and I said I wanna even be better than I was for New Year's. I love this brother. I love you inspire me. Thanks man. No you inspire me you do. You're inspiring to me. That's a fun that's a fun love oh is this your ride? Yeah this is how you get home. Helicopters coming in guys. Right over the ocean. Yeah we're gonna do more of this. This went too fast but I just something that when you can push somebody that's already at a pinnacle level, that's badass. It is badass, and that's why I try to surround myself
Starting point is 01:36:10 with guys like you, and like you just said, that's part of the formula everybody, is that you surround yourself with people who do make you better, whatever the industry is, it doesn't even matter, they just make you wanna be better by their example, not their yelling and screaming, right? Their example does. Thank you for saying that though.
Starting point is 01:36:24 It's a fact. The other thing I want to tell everybody that when you're listening to Mike, there's a uniqueness to him that I want to point out. It's that not only can he do these things, but he can articulate them. That's rare for an athlete. It's rare for a business person to be able to articulate it. The reason I point that out to you is you can get Mike to come speak to your organization. You can have him come talk to your group.
Starting point is 01:36:40 He can do inspirational talks, fitness talks. This is someone that you want to bring into your company to have speak to you and he also somebody just by following him on social media will alter your life. You you will have no excuses, you will be inspired, right? You will see one of the great lives being lived but there's also all this fitness stuff, all this information out there.

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