Memorable quotes
Fear freezes your actions because it takes you into the world of what-if, and that’s the worst place anybody can be. This is when you start doing stupid things like predicting the future, or thinking your career as a mixed martial arts world champion is going to end suddenly. Forecasting doom and gloom is not only useless, but detrimental. It’s giving away all your power to fear and letting it take over your life. The consequences stink. Once you start doubting yourself, you’re vulnerable. That’s when critics’ words start to influence your thoughts. Maybe he can knock me out, you think. Maybe I’m not that strong. Maybe he will catch me and put me down. Someone says about you, “He doesn’t have a chin,” and you think it’s true. It gets inside your head, like a smell you can’t scrub away. Maybe I don’t have a chin for real. And then one day you get tired of it, of the self-doubt, of the constant questions, of the disbelief. And you get angry at them—at yourself. And you realize it’s time to rebel. To fight. Because it’s from fighting—from doing—that you get your confidence back.
Another great reason to change training systems or approaches is to avoid boredom. Change is a great motivator, which is where all good training starts. When I get stuck doing the same things over and over again, I need something new or I start developing mental fatigue. I need to feel I’m constantly getting better.
When we realize the smaller successes, when the stepping stones are reached and become our new platform, we feel good about ourselves. We feel energized, like things are working right and we’re making them happen. Eventually, this pushes us on to greater visions, greater goals, greater ambition. There is nothing more satisfying and more personally empowering than realizing a goal. This just puts a smile on my face. It doesn’t mean it’s easy. How I adapt and change when confronted with something unexpected is important because life is unpredictable. Seeing tough situations as opportunities should be refreshing
The key to effective visualization is to create the most detailed, clear and vivid a picture to focus on as possible. The more vivid the visualization, the more likely, and quickly, you are to begin attracting the things that help you achieve what you want to get done. I think it works best in a quiet place, a spot where you can relax. Breathing is important, so take slow, deep breaths. The goal here is to let go of stress and just focus on what you want to see inside your mind. Then create the story you want to aim for, think of all the little details—how they look, how people sound, what’s moving, colors, everything related to your senses. It’s really not easy. On top of doing all these things, you have to stay positive and ignore the negative things that can happen. You have to let go of the obstacles that can bring you down, because you have no control over them. A lot of people waste energy worrying about the things they can’t control—that energy can be better used!
The best part is at the end of your workout on the crappy day. You feel better about yourself, happier and proud. Food tastes better and you feel like you earned the reward of a delicious protein shake or a healthy, reconstructive meal. The best part is mental too, because now you know that you have the power and the resolve to vanquish negative thoughts and challenge yourself to do better. Knowing I’m in control means my foundation is strong, and that right there is an unstoppable force of energy
I look at the people I care for, the ones who exist inside my heart, and I shake my head. I don’t fully comprehend the lives they lead or the choices they make. Their normal is not my normal, that’s for certain. Yet here we are, coexisting and dependent on one another. Achievers. As I look back, every single person who tried to change me is no longer in my life. All of the people who tried to shape me into something that better represents their idea of a normal existence are gone. My friends are fighters, coaches, managers and agents. They enter my life during training sessions, or when I need to eat or relax. The choice isn’t even mine, it’s my routine’s. There are a select few with whom I go to the movies or a bar. I treasure these occasions, probably because there are so few of them.
To become champion and do what Georges does, a great part of his life is egocentric. It has to be. When to train, when and what to eat, what to do and why: these are the priorities, and they can’t ever come second. He must come first, before anything or anybody else. It’s the only way he can have any hope of reaching his goals. Georges will never tolerate someone who tries to carve out a place in his life while bringing about change that is unrelated to his greater goal. He can’t. He won’t. His goal is to become the greatest martial artist of all time. Nothing can take away from his focus