“Everybody is fighting something.”

Renzo Gracie, the famed Brazilian Jujitsu fighter, could not have said it any better. We are all facing challenges everyday. Whether it is addiction, the office nemesis, our diets, our self-image, our debt, etc., we are all fighting to survive. That is life.

Most of us would prefer not to be fighters. We dislike casting things in a live-or-die scenario, and the mental grit to succeed against opponents of all kinds is not something we are born with. However, it can be developed, and it should be developed.

The stories told in this book remind the reader that the human body is capable of amazing, miraculous things. One simply has to get their mind right. That means you will have to destroy your ego, build your mental toughness, and never stop improving.

To be the best, at fighting or anything else, one needs to accept that they can lose. Failure is an option. It does not matter how well trained you are or how well prepared you are for a task. There is still a chance of failure. However, once you accept this, the likelihood of failure drops.

Maturity is a big part of success in fighting.  Maturity means you understand the game – you understand that losing is part of the game. It doesn’t mean letting yourself be conquered, but it does mean knowing you can win again, and that at the right time you can be great. The key to doing well in competition is to accept. Accept you can lose, that you [cannot] perform. Take this big bag of rocks out of your backpack, take that pressure off, and you’ll do better. Once you understand that, man, you can do well. (Ricardo Liborio, p.70.)

“The most humble guys, who are the most open and willing to learn, are the ones who become the best (p. 81.)” You have to be willing to lose, and know that it is a part of life. If not, you will always lose your battles because you are fighting the man or woman in the mirror instead of the opponent in front of you. Tell yourself “I am just like everyone else. My work can be great, but I’m nothing special (p.197.)” Once the ego is crushed and left on the curb, the real fun begins. Training is all about mental toughness.

“It never always gets worse” is the mantra of David Horton, a legendary ultra-marathoner. The phrase tells you everything you need to know about pain. This is a man that runs ungodly distances, without stopping, distances that would break most of the toughest men and women in the world. Once you understand that whatever hardship or pain you are going through doesn’t always stay bad, you can truly fight through any pain. Pain becomes an illusion.

Ghandi said, “ Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I

cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability (p.18.)” Your body and mind can handle much more than you are willing to admit. Believing in yourself is a great way to train your mind to suffer any hardship. This is not ego, because you have a goal. You cannot just expect to be the greatest because you want to be, you have to be striving for something. “The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win,” Roger Bannister, first man to run a mile under four minutes (p.13.)

Anyone who has ever achieved at the highest levels, whether in sport, business, war, or life, is constantly improving. There are no natural talents that come without work. Demanding work.  We live in a world of the highlight reel; comparing ourselves to people’s accomplishments and activities they are willing to show the world. I blame Facebook, but the point is that no one shares the amount of work they put in to get to the top of the mountain.  Getting to the top is not easy, and will take over your life, but it is the price to pay for greatness. “The real guys know if they keep at it they can win a title (p.102.)” What ever you are fighting against you must be willing to put in the reps and the work to be able to face your opponent straight on, knowing that you left nothing up to chance. You prepared for every contingency. If you can do that you can win.

“Fighting has that beautiful bottom line: win (p.111.)” Winning is the thing we all want to do. It means we get to survive until the next fight, we get to sleep through the night and reap our rewards. This does not come easily, especially when you are pursuing ambitious goals. This book shows you how to keep attacking and how to keep not taking no for an answer.

The only person standing in the way of your dreams is you. Will you get out of the way? You can have an easy life or an awesome life, your choice, but choose wisely.