From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
Until James DeGale won a World Title, no-one who'd won a gold medal for Britain in the Olympic Games had ever won a professional World Title, which is quite amazing. Sometimes the greatest boxers get overlooked.
My discipline lies in taking full responsibility; I don't blame anyone else. If I lose, it's on me to accept and address it. The very next day in the gym, I start working on what went wrong.
As the great baseball star Earl Weaver once said, 'Nobody likes to hear it, because it's dull, but the reason you win or lose is darn near always the same – pitching.'
I don't see things as impossible; I got right to the equations to figure out how this could be achieved; I didn't put a barrier on my mind or body. A practitioner is the person who goes out and breaks the limits of the mind, the soul, the body.
On the court, there was no prejudice, just your contribution to the team. Off the court, teamwork seemed like a parody of what we did. So, the lesson I eventually learned was to distinguish between which teams are sincere in promoting true teamwork, and which are jingoistic self-serving pretenders.
We have the ability to push much further than we think is possible, but the brain wants us to rest to allow the body to recover. With practice and training we can overcome almost any discomfort.
Martial arts gave me my identity, my purpose, a passion for a pursuit in life. I wasn't particularly good at sports, I didn't have many friends, and was a bit of a loner. Martial arts changed everything. I finally found something I was good at... it became my identity... it helped my confidence... it gave me a social circle!
Building mental fitness is akin to being an elite athlete. It's not enough for the athletes just to have great technical skills, they need to be equally mentally prepared also.
This stubbornness was further highlighted during a significant hiatus from swimming at 15, amidst the turmoil of war. My father had left the country, leaving me to navigate adolescence in rebellion, seeking normalcy in defiance. That year was transformative—cutting my hair, getting a piercing, and quitting swimming symbolised a personal revolution, leading me to realize my participation in the sport was for my own sake, not merely to fulfil my father's expectations.
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.
When you go out to run 100 miles – the lessons of a lifetime get compressed into 24 hours of non-stop running.
MMA serves as my ministry. As a Christian, I want to convey unconditional love to everyone. The real value lies not in winning titles but in the ability to positively impact the lives of my teammates, trainers, friends, family, and future generations.