From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
I do what I do because I am good at it, I enjoy it and I have been successful doing it. God gave me a talent and I have worked extremely hard to fulfil this talent.
There's an old adage that the boxer is the last one to know – it's not true, he's the first one to know, but the last to acknowledge it. You can learn from defeat – it's not the end of the world, but you have to learn from it.
When you're training in the martial arts, you always want to be getting beaten in the practice room. That signifies you're fighting good people. When you're getting beaten, you're getting better, you're learning.
Most people think, 'that's not me, I could never run a marathon!' That's precisely why you should do it – a marathon is a way of proving to yourself that you're better than you think- that you can go further- and endure more.
The more you do it – the more you build a mental scar tissue that you can lean on – That's the 'stuff' that lets you pick up the pieces and go again.
The level of preparation before fighters' step into the octagon is huge – at minimum fighters will train for 6-8 week, non-stop at camp, just for this 3 or 5, 5 minute-a-round battle. It is the loneliest sport in the world when it comes to it…. you are training with your team, but once you enter the octagon and that gate closes? It is you alone.
Champions possess a distinct mindset, a relentless drive for excellence that sets them apart. They're not content with just doing okay; they strive for excellence constantly. Being second is not an option for them, they aim for the top.
As a captain however, you don't have any power, but you still need to be able to influence people, do the right thing, and move people in the same direction.
I approached fighting, and each contest, as an experiment. I would develop hypotheses on what strategies and techniques were winning, I would set-up experiments (or go into fights)- try them out- run tests- look at the results and try to be as unemotional as possible.
I am not someone who puts a lot of pressure on myself. I love a challenge and live for the big stage of an Olympic Games or World Championships. Some people get nervous for the big events but I look forward to them.
Sports are the most valuable content and intellectual property in the world. MMA is the fastest growing sport and has the best business model in sports.
If we want to build or maintain function, we need to apply a stimulus. And then, as much as we can, we need to provide the environment that allows us to best adapt to that stimulus.