The Mindset That Builds Champions (From a 3x World Champion)

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Welcome everyone to another episode of the Elevate to Great podcast, powered by Factory 11, the nation's leader in sports marketing, and the podcast where you can elevate yourself to greatness.
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I am super excited about today's guest, a three-time WBC lightweight women's boxing champ and a member of the 2016 International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Anne-Marie Sacquerado, thank you so much for joining us today.
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Thank you for having me.
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It's an honor and a pleasure.
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I have no doubts that our listeners, our viewers are going to have a tremendous time listening to your background, your past, and your story.
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And as we dive in on it a little bit, take us back to when you were a kid, before boxing was ever on your mind.
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I understand that you were a volleyball and a basketball player.
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How did these sports and experiences in these sports uh really help you and propel you to what you would become in the boxing ring?
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Uh, you know what?
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It actually even started, to be honest, way before that, um, when I was in nursery school and I was running around with the boys, climbing on treehouses with the boys, and teachers told my parents, she's got to get involved in something.
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And it was always, I was always active, I was always looking to do something.
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Um, got involved first actually with with ballet and gymnastics, believe it or not.
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But actually, gymnastics held a really solid foundation, I believe, for getting to understand my body and getting having the desire to actually push myself to higher levels.
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Even at a young age, the individuals that I was surrounded by in that academy, um, they they started instilling something in me.
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My mother then instilled something even greater in me when she, you know, said, Hey, listen, watch out for the basketball team at at school.
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Um, and she always, you know, had that, she she started that spark inside of me that I she knew, you know, and I guess all parents say this, but I took it to uh a deep level.
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There was something more inside of me that I was always meant to be a leader, and I held on to that.
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And you know, she got me involved with I actually got involved with the basketball team, softball team.
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Um, I didn't get involved into volleyball until I was in um high school.
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And it those three sports, being part of that team and becoming captain of that team, um, of all the teams that I've been on, it it wanted me, it gave me that understanding of what was inside of me that I could develop others around me to become more on the field, to become more on the court, um, to push them to what I saw inside of myself and be able to lift the other, my other teammates up to achieving that and achieving greatness.
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And it was it was about that camaraderie, you know, just building that energy and and vibing off of each other.
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Um, and that's also where I started to feel that leadership within myself and took risks on the court, took risks on the field.
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Um, situations where I'd hear my coach on the sidelines about to yell at me, but then I'd make the shot and we'd be ahead at halftime, or we'd win the game, or you know, I'd make a risky play, but it worked out because I had the courage inside of myself, the belief inside of myself to make those things happen and to see the the effect it had on my teammates was something that kept pushing me for more.
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That courage and those things that that you were able to develop that gave you the belief in yourself, the ability to make those big shots, to be and to want those big moments and to succeed when you got those big moments.
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When you think back to all of those different sports you played, you know, where did that come from?
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Were was it coaches that were helping instill that in you?
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Obviously, you spoke about mom being a big uh driving force behind that.
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Um do you remember any coaches having a powerful impact on you, lessons you learned along the way?
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You know what?
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It really stems from actually something outside of sports that instilled that.
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Um I remember sitting on my basement stairs, and you know, my my parents, my father was very abusive to my mom, to be honest.
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They got divorced very early on.
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My father was not the best human walking the planet.
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Um, to go a little deeper into that briefly, you know, didn't pay child support, didn't pay alimony, left us with nothing.
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Um, you know, we had I went through having electricity shut off, car repossessed, like I seen it all, um, on top of my father being abusive to my mother.
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And I can remember sitting on the stairs in my basement um in grade school, very young, and having this thought that just went through me amidst all of this that you know I was watching going on around me, that again, that I was I was meant for more, that I was meant to give what I had inside of myself to others, and that sports was going to be my platform to do that and to build and develop the dream that I had within myself and to push me to other levels in my life of greatness.
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Um, becoming a professional athlete was going to do that, and that was really I you know, I can't say where it came from.
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It came from the man above, the Holy Spirit that put that inside of me.
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And, you know, I held on to that.
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I realized that everything that was going on around me was there to fortify myself almost as test to build what I had inside of me to become strong enough to possess the journey that I was on, the assignment that I believed in to this day is still placed on my life and allowed me to reach those pinnacles of strength.
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Um, so it wasn't necessarily a coach, it was actually life going outside of me and just, you know, being open even as a child to what I was feeling inside of myself and trusting in that plan, that this higher purpose that was put inside of me.
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And that's really what propelled me through every level of sports, through every level of school and to where I am right now.
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And that's a that's amazing the way that you frame that, because there are many times that people look back on some of the things that you went through as a roadblock.
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And one thing that we like to talk about on this podcast is the fact that you know, things do not have to be setbacks, things do not have to be roadblocks.
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If given the right uh thought process about them, they can be setups, they can be the things that prepare you for the greatness that you have the ability to achieve.
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And that's amazing that even at a young age you had the ability to think that way.
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Yeah, you know, it it went through me.
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You know, again, I can't say where it came from, believe came from the man upstairs, you know, and just it again, you know, it's having that courage, having that fortitude.
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And that's, you know, really what defines, you know, the good from the great, the good from the elite, creating those champions, the ones that have the courage and the fortitude to be able to hold on to that thought and that belief in themselves, and knowing that nobody else needs to believe in them, nobody else needs to see that vision.
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That's why the vision was given to themselves because it was meant for you, right?
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And it's having that impenetrable mindset, you know, the the fortitude and being just unapologetically, relentlessly driven savage on what it is that you believe in holding on to that against all odds.
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You know, it comes down to what is it, what is that end game, what does that end goal mean to you?
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And what does it mean to those that are around you that support you?
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And you know, allowing that, again, you know, having that courage, you're you're you're faced with obstacle obstacles, you're faced with adversity.
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That's what's going to happen in life.
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That's that's the game of life.
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Now, what are you willing to do, to give, to give up in order to overcome that?
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And that's where your destiny lies.
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That's where the greatness that's within you really starts to shine.
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So I say pressure, pressure is a privilege, right?
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So diamonds are made from that pressure.
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You're you have the pressure inside yourself to push against the pressure that's pressing upon you.
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That comes from the light that's within yourself that you're holding on to that allows to shine to become that diamond in the end.
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You know, how much do you believe in that?
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How much do you believe in yourself, and how much do you want the end game to be, what it is that you envision?
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That is outstanding stuff.
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That's if you just listen to that, listeners, that is outstanding stuff.
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That is how you take yourself and you take all of that ability within yourself and you turn it into something great.
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Let's fast forward a little bit um to getting it towards the end of high school.
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Um, you had a plan to go play volleyball in college.
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Was that that the ultimate uh plan at the beginning?
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Yeah, I mean, uh my dream was to play volleyball and to play basketball, uh, play a division one school.
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It's what I was pushing towards.
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Um, I actually ended up getting recruited uh by Seton Hall University uh for their volleyball team.
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And funny side note, I always had this vision that I was gonna be at the school and a coach, college coach was gonna see me and pull me onto the team.
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And again, you know, having these visions and whether manifestation or whatever, whatever you know, word you want to put in there.
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I was at the school to look at the school and was on the basketball court at Seton Hall University, playing around, and didn't know this, but the head coach of the men's team was in there.
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And he saw me, and he comes over to me, he's like, You're Phyllis's recruit.
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Phyllis was the woman's coach at the time.
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And I said, No.
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He's like, Well, you need to be.
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And he brought me into the office to meet with Phyllis, said I need to be on the team, and then I needed to talk to her.
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Well, long story short, I ended up being recruited for volleyball.
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They were gonna have me come on and uh work with the team that year for basketball and then follow through with that.
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Um what ended up happening though was after my senior year in high school, I'm gonna actually go back a little bit now.
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My whole senior year in high school, I had a feeling that something life-threatening was gonna happen to me, but I was gonna overcome it.
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Okay, and that feeling actually got stronger inside of me as that year went on.
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Well, that summer of 95, I was competing on the volleyball team at Empire State Games upstate New York.
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It was uh three days after my 18th birthday, and coming home, and originally I was supposed to be in another individual's car, uh, change of plans.
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I ended up in a teammate's car, fell asleep in the backseat of the car, and we ended up getting into a fatal uh car accident where I almost lost.
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I was supposed to not make it through the night on my end.
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Um, the car that I was in, driven by my team captain and another teammate, was in the front seat.
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Again, I was in the back seat sleeping.
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Uh we hydroplaned.
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We did a 360 across Route 17 up in Montecello, New York, upstate.
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And we ended up wrapping a pole on the opposite side of the highway, on the uh northbound side of the highway.
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We were going southbound.
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Um on impact, I got shot through the back window of the car.
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They found me halfway out the car hanging unconscious.
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Um, I can remember, you know, when you have a dream and you feel your body spinning or moving.
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I I can remember that.
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Um, and actually, crazy enough, I remember being hanging out the car.
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I remember there being darkness.
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I remember feeling rain.
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And I can tell you, and I still to this day don't know if that was a reality or if it's my imagination, but I'm gonna go with that.
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This was real.
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Um, I can remember, like they talk about seeing a light.
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I could I can remember just dark, dark, dark, and then this globe of light being there.
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Um, and then I don't remember anything else but being on a uh board on the floor asking the medics if I was gonna live or not.
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Um so fast forward from that, they took me on advanced life support.
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They were supposed to fly me to a Trauma One Center um in Westchester, New York, which is actually where I lived.
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Um the weather was too severe.
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They put me on advanced life support.
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They drove me to a local hospital, um, then drove me down on advanced life support to the Trauma One Center.
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I went through somewhere between 16 and 18 hours of surgery.
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Um, they had my family in a private room.
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I wasn't supposed to medically make it through the night through the surgery.
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Um I did.
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And when I woke up, the actually the first words that I said coming out of surgery and out of all that um was what about sports?
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First thing that I said when I woke up, um, the doctors said they didn't know if I was going to walk or walk normal again and that I was never gonna compete again.
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And I told them that they had no idea what was inside of me.
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Um the extent of the injuries was I had no feeling in my left leg um due to nerve damage.
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I broke my left fibula and tibia, had a metal rod put in.
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Um I broke my right femur, had my leg in traction for about six to eight weeks, broke my right hip bone, uh broke all the ribs on my right side, punctured my right lung, shattered my right arm, had a plate put in there, tore apart my chin, uh, was in ICU, CCU.
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It's because in the hospital from August 5th of '95 to the week before Halloween.
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Week before Halloween to a week before Thanksgiving, I was in rehabilitation.
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And then the day that I got released from rehab, my mother picked me up, drove me home.
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I went up to my room, I changed, and the first thing I did was go out for a run.
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My mother's yelling at me.
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But it's like I had to, you know, I had to take we don't we get one one chance at this.
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And I've always lived like that.
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You know, every breath we get, we we have, every breath we take, we don't get back.
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And again, going back to you know what defines people that become champions with greatness, is they're willing to go that extra that one extra rep all the time and putting in it, so I knew I needed to get back on the game, and there was no better time than right then and there.
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I know probably the answer to this question, but as I was preparing it last night, I threw it in there.
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But um I would be shocked if you don't answer it the way I expect.
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But was there ever a thought?
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Um, obviously laying in the hospital, spending all that time in the hospital, was there ever a thought of why me?
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No.
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I knew it.
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Like I said, uh, you know, and I can't I can't explain why I've had the the thoughts that I've had prior to.
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Um, I said I had the feeling beforehand.
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Um when it happened and I was in the hospital bed, I knew it happened to me for a reason, and I knew it was again part of that story.
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And what I said, I put it out to the universe when I was a kid.
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I'm meant for more.
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I want to inspire lives.
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Well, if you want to be that source of inspiration and that source of greatness, right?
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Greatness isn't just what you do, it's what you're inspiring others to do and become.
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I needed to go through those paths and to go through those tests and show that, yeah, I'm that person.
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I'm her.
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And I needed to become, you know, again, that pressure being applied so I can truly see what I'm I'm I'm capable of and be able to show others what they're capable of.
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You know, I always, every second in there, listen, I had I had resistance bands attached to my bed.
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They were telling me, as simple as, you know, don't sit up too long because I was on my back for about six weeks.
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They didn't want me getting dizzy.
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I was fighting all the time.
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I'm the one that stood up on both feet in front of the doctor before they told me I could be weight bearing.
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You know, he just looked at me.
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It was constantly pushing against all odds, pushing the envelope to my limitations.
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I know what I'm capable of.
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So that happening was just like, all right, what's next?
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Let's go.
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And I, you know, I took it in stride.
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I had my friends coming in, setting up PlayStations, we're playing video games, food's lived.
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Like I was having a good time there because I knew I was coming back stronger.
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It was, it was just more fuel to the fire and part of my story that I knew needed to be there for me to have the outcome on other people's lives that I hope to have and part of my legacy that I'm meant to do.
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So tell us a little bit.
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You you spend time in rehab, you come home from rehab, you go out for that run.
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What does that next three to six months look like after that?
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I was in the gym every day.
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Um, you know, everything in life cliche, right?
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But cliches are there for a reason.
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I've come to realize that because they're true.
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Everything in your life happens for a reason.
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And my senior year of high school, they just started a program where if your grades were good enough, you can go out and get an internship your third or fourth quarter of your senior year rather than going to classes.
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So I was able to do that.
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And I was working in a gym, gym with physical therapy, um, sports rehab in it, and I just became an absolute sponge.
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I was there whenever I could be there outside of my interim hours.
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If I wasn't at practice or in a high school game, you know, I was at the gym just trying to learn from everybody there and started training myself and understanding the body and understanding the mechanics and how things work.
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Um so when the accident happened, one doctor say that if I hadn't been doing all that, the injuries that I sustained could have been much different.
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And when I got out of there, it was, like I said, running that day, and then the next day after that was right back in the gym.
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And I spent every day in the gym working on different, you know, different things that I needed to work on to build my strength, to get my movement back, to get my cardio base back up to be where I wanted to be.
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At the same time, now that's when boxing actually wasn't boxing first, it was um it was Jikundo, uh, which is the martial art that Bruce Lee had created that came into my life.
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And and actually some boxing classes.
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Um there's a a trainer that worked there that taught Gikundo.
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Um he studied it throughout his lifetime.
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Get involved in that.
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Then somebody sends me, a good friend of mine sends me something about the New York Golden Gloves, and I was like, okay.
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I can't do A, B, and C.
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Now this is a couple of months in.
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I can't do A, B, and C, but you know, I can strike, I can move, like, alright, I want to compete.
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So I ended up going into Golden Gloves.
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And when I get into Golden Gloves, I end up getting buys all the way to two uh two buys that I got that put me in the finals of the finals?
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Yeah, I think it was a no no no no no.
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It was two buys, got me to a a yeah, it was finals, and end up getting a fight at Gleason's gym, it had to be before the finals, against that's fight before the finals.
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Uh I fought this girl who was a national champion, and I had no boxing really experience.
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I was hitting a bag.
00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:44.400
I went in there fighting again, going from what's in my heart, and with 30 seconds left, she breaks my nose, the fight ends.
00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:52.880
They say, listen, we have an extra ticket to the nationals, which is that Sunday, and I have a broken nose, black eye.
00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:55.440
That doesn't happen in the amateurs, it's about safety.
00:19:55.519 --> 00:19:57.279
So if you're injured, they're not putting you anywhere.
00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:01.279
But they put me on a plane to Midland, Texas to go fight in the U.S.
00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:05.920
Nationals and end up actually fighting the same girl in the finals of the U.S.
00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:06.480
Nationals.
00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:07.920
I fought that whole, the whole U.S.
00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.559
Nationals I fought with a bloody nose, bleeding all over the ring.
00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:11.839
I get to the finals of the U.S.
00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.319
Nationals and I fight the same national champion again.
00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:18.799
I lose, and then put my whole, everything else goes on hold.
00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:20.480
I'm like, I'm boxing.
00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:22.960
And it became just a part of me.
00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:29.519
It's something I fell in love with because of how I push you physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually in that ring, it's your truth.
00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:35.519
And, you know, somebody said to me once, fight watching me fight was like my life as a living art.
00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:40.319
And I was like, wow, like, and it put things in a different perspective for me.
00:20:40.559 --> 00:21:02.000
Um I come back the next year and end up winning the New York Gloves, winning the national gloves, turning pro, and I kind of just set the course to the next step of my life, getting away from basketball, from volleyball, from all the other sports, into this is where I'm supposed to be now.
00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:26.960
So that accident, I think, happened to build other levels of my strength, guided me to where I'm supposed to be in this ring, fighting one-on-one with this other individual and seeing who I really am of myself, and being able to then, I realize, start to inspire others outside of the ring that knew my story, that knew my journey, um, not even just in the states, but in other countries.
00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:39.359
I remember there were times that I was, you know, you deal with you deal with a lot of stuff in combat sports, and some of the ugly that exists in it, I would see, and I'm like, this is not why I'm doing this.
00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:44.400
I'm doing this to push myself to new levels, and I'm doing this because I want to inspire others.
00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:49.200
Like I said, that's about my going, my going uh mission, right?
00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:59.839
And anytime that I thought about even stepping back from the sport is the day I would get an email, I would get a fan letter, or somebody would say something to me about how I inspired.
00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:05.440
And it was just sh sign showing me that this is greater than yourself, right?
00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:08.880
And kept me pushing towards uh what I've done.
00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:11.599
That's a that's an amazing story.
00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:21.599
It's it's funny how they use, you know, God used the accident to ultimately uh kind of detour you, steer you in a different direction.
00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:30.000
You know, my story is very similar to yours, in that all I had ever been and all I'd ever known professionally is being a college baseball coach for 20 years of my life.
00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:38.880
Our head coach retires in 2021, and I have a chance to go do showcases all around the country for high school kids and spend more time with my daughter.
00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:49.119
And through doing that, I started to realize, you know, as a college coach, I could reach maybe 40 kids a year on my roster and on my team and have an impact on those guys.
00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:50.960
But now I get to travel the country.
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:54.559
I get to speak with thousands of kids every single year.
00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:57.599
And you're right, it's those messages that you get.
00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:00.799
Hey, coach, you know, you changed my entire baseball career.
00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:08.720
Hey, coach, something you taught me at a camp three years ago changed my platform and changed my path and where I ultimately ended up.
00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:15.440
Those are the things that ultimately keep us going and keep us driving to do those things that we're doing.
00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:22.000
And, you know, sometimes you need a little bit of that reinforcement, especially when you're like, hey, is this really where I'm meant to be?
00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:29.119
Um, and for me, I look at a weekend like this past weekend, my daughter's softball team playing their first tournament of the of the spring.
00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:34.240
And I and I sit there and I look back and I see all the fun and excitement and enjoyment they're having.
00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:42.160
And, you know, I know that me being the giving them the ability to do this and enjoy this, you know, I'm right where I need to be.
00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:54.160
Getting an opportunity to jump on a call with someone like you, with the background that you have, and allow our listeners to hear this story and it let it impact them and change them for the better.
00:23:54.319 --> 00:24:01.839
I know I'm exactly where I'm meant to be, and that's the same thing you felt uh as you began that boxing path and that boxing trip.
00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:03.920
Let's fast forward a little bit.
00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:10.960
Um, start out that boxing career professionally 9-0 and two before your first loss in 2005.
00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:15.200
Um and I'm gonna try this name to Belinda Lara Quinte.
00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:17.599
Um, hope I got that one right.
00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:30.799
Um tell us how tell us how that set you up for a year later when you would ultimately win your first WBC title, how that loss propelled you to that ultimate victory that next year.
00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:34.559
That's funny because uh, you know, I I know Belinda to this day.
00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:37.039
Um she actually lives down here in Florida.
00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:40.319
Um and we trained together.
00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:44.400
Me, uh Belinda, uh Melissa Hernandez.
00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:46.160
I mean, there's a bunch of us, Dan at Cleason's gym.
00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:47.920
We're all we're all training together.
00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:53.680
But in that training, there's also that there's that competitiveness, and that competitiveness, that rivalry is very real.
00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:58.319
Um, a bunch of alpha females in the same gym wanting the same thing.
00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:02.880
And and Belinda, you know, she was one of the big names at the time, and I was just coming up.
00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:06.640
Well, I'm coming up to prove myself, and all that I wanted was the top dogs.
00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:08.319
I I didn't want any buildup fights.
00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:10.880
I was going against the grain on absolutely everything.
00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:22.000
Um and and to note that I say that because it was uh I was going against the grain, but I had nobody really reeling me back.
00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:28.160
I didn't have uh what a lot of people don't know is that I didn't really have a team, a solid team with me or a solid coach.
00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:51.359
Majority of my boxing career was me, myself, and I with the heavy bag, training myself, pushing myself through those, uh, through the movements, through the the learning and and the training and and the technical aspects, which you know, it it was different, it was a different thing for me because I didn't have because I was working so much and I needed to be working to support myself.
00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:58.400
And again, you know, I was pushing on building two dreams at the time, um, you know, as a coach and and as a fighter.
00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:10.160
Um well regardless, so the mindset that I have, the mindset that Belinda has um wanting to, you know, be top dog, I had a fight at the Westchester County Center in in New York.
00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:15.359
And while I was in the back after the fight, I didn't know this was happening.
00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:16.960
I didn't know she was in the audience.
00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:20.000
And I guess she had gotten into the ring and called me out.
00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:24.559
Somebody came running into the back to tell me, and I was like, absolutely.
00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:29.200
Um, you know, and and she definitely had more experience on me that that fight.
00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:40.480
Um, I made mistakes that, you know, looking back on that fight, and like it, I didn't have the business being in the ring with somebody that many fights at that time with the little experience that I had.
00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:43.039
Um, so I understood the mistakes that I made.
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:48.720
And again, that just propelled me to be like, all right, listen, you've got to work on A, B, C, Date.
00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:49.759
Let's make it happen.
00:26:49.920 --> 00:27:08.160
So every day was working on, you know, this day to vote to this, this day's devoted to this, and building what I needed to build and building the the reactionary skills that I needed to build, um, building the angles and the movement, the footwork, working on those little things that I didn't have to, you know, to compete with her on the level that she was at.
00:27:08.400 --> 00:27:11.039
And, you know, it it's that's what it is, though.
00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:20.720
Again, you know, it's it's putting the time into your weaknesses day in and day out until you can attain the level that you need to be at to compete at with the best.
00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:24.160
Um that's really simple, simple as it is.
00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:26.400
Um, fast forward a little bit further.
00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:36.319
November of 2008, you lost to Amiko Raikai, but answered back nine months later to defeat her and win your third WBC title.
00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:37.839
What changed from fight one?
00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:38.799
What changed?
00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:39.839
What was different?
00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:44.400
Honestly, honestly, uh, she wasn't promoting the fight.
00:27:44.799 --> 00:27:49.200
Honestly, that fight, and and I'll never say, listen, that I like I said, Belinda, look, I took my loss.
00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:52.799
I I had a title fight in France, and I just was was off of my game.
00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:57.519
And I definitely I had the ability to take the fight that I had in France, but I took the loss.
00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:00.400
I wasn't there, I wasn't performing the way that I knew I needed to.
00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:02.319
Just things weren't syncing up.
00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:07.920
Um, but that fight in Japan, that fight in Japan was hands down mine.
00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:12.640
There was not even a controversy, you know, over knowing that.
00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:16.799
Um I got the emails, I you know, had the people commentating that as well.
00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:24.720
And what I found out after the fight was that Amika was promoting the fight and she was about the whole promotion of the fight.
00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:32.240
Um, so and I believe if if I'm correct, that had to do with raising money for the orphanage that she grew up in.
00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:34.400
And you know, I'm not one to ever say that again.
00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:35.359
I'll take my losses.
00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:36.400
I I own them.
00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:40.160
And I appreciate them because again, you know, right, it's not losses, it's lessons.
00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:41.359
I value that.
00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:45.759
But that that fight, I, you know, that fueled me up knowing that that was a situation.
00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:47.119
I was like, no, no, no, no, no.
00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:48.480
I want the rematch.
00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:49.759
We got the rematch.
00:28:50.000 --> 00:29:00.400
When she was, you know, not behind the promotional team and put the definitive exclamation mark on that's my belt, this is my position, and you know, I own this.
00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:01.759
This is my ring.
00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:02.880
Outstanding.
00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:07.519
And you also got the opportunity to step in the ring a few times with Holly Holm.
00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:19.839
Um, did you ever see uh through those experiences with her, did you ever see her going on to what she would ultimately do in one of the biggest upsets in sports history against Ronda Rousey?
00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:21.200
Sure, absolutely.
00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:22.880
Um I I love Holly.
00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:24.720
Um I have a lot of respect for Holly.
00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:31.839
Uh and you know, me and her, the first fight we had, um, you know, I we we were toe-to-toe that whole fight.
00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:38.319
Uh you know, I got emails even when I came home on that from that fight saying, you know, it should have been a draw, it should have been a draw.
00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:40.400
Whether it should have or not, I wanted the rematch.
00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:41.039
I enjoyed it.
00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:44.960
It was, you know, uh the most intense fight that I had been in.
00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:47.440
Um I know she felt the same way.
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:53.119
She had, you know, uh interviews where she had stated, you know, I was the most uh the toughest opponent that she's ever faced.
00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:56.799
And I think we both uh in some way looked forward to a rematch.
00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:02.640
Um when the rematch happened, truth be told, I I was injured.
00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:04.319
I actually took that fight.
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:14.799
Um and the the day, it was the day before, two days before that fight was offered to me, um I broke my right elbow and I tore my right tricep.
00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:17.039
Um I had a freak accident.
00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:19.119
I was sitting on on my Harley.
00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:22.319
Uh I just bought it, and the bike started to tip.
00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:29.039
I put my hand down to catch it, just reaction, felt the crack pop, and broke, broke my elbow, tore my tricep.
00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:33.279
Um like I said, my team was like, no, you're gonna be fine, you're good.
00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:35.680
I had that stupid warrior mentality at the time.
00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:38.160
I was like, I got this, no problem, I want this fight.
00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:49.119
They're saying, but again, you know, I I didn't have the I didn't have the right people in my corner that were would have looked out for my best interests at the time.
00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:52.079
Um because I really should have waited.
00:30:52.240 --> 00:31:08.319
But again, you know, uh and again I look at it like you know, it it's it's part of who I am too, and if that fight didn't happen, that fight happened, you know, and it pushed me to uh uh opening my eyes to other things in in life and and where I need to be um because I had a terrible outcome in that fight.
00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:10.640
Um didn't go well at all.
00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:12.720
I basically fought Holly with one arm.
00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:21.039
Um but then you know I actually ran into Holly um last two years ago in Vegas at UFC fight.
00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:28.640
I was uh I had one of my fighters competing, and you know, I actually haven't I know we're going off topic, but this is a good story.
00:31:28.880 --> 00:31:37.359
Um I'm in the elevator and the guy gets in the elevator with me at the hotel, and uh he's like, hey, you fought Holly home.
00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:38.799
And I was like, Yeah.
00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:40.880
He's like, you want to know how I know that?
00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:42.720
I was like, You saw the fight?
00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:43.680
He's like, no.
00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:46.079
He's like, actually, I'm I'm staying with her.
00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:48.960
He's like, um she was talking about it last night.
00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:50.960
She said you're one of the toughest opponents she's ever faced.
00:31:51.119 --> 00:31:52.160
And I was like, no shit.
00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:53.839
And he's like, Yeah, you want to go say hi?
00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:55.279
I was like, absolutely.
00:31:55.440 --> 00:32:07.200
So I go up, we surprise her, and me and her were like two high school kids, like just hugging it out, tears in both of our eyes, just like it was the most beautiful thing, like the amount of respect and and love.
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:15.599
And I think that's something that needs to be, you know, brought out that you know, the top competitors, that's really what exists behind, you know, behind the closed doors.
00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:19.440
It really is it's it's love, it's admiration, it's respect.
00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:21.839
Um, it's the respect that I have for her for what she's doing.
00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:26.799
Yeah, you know, coming in against Rhonda, um, you know, I I love Rhonda, I have respect for her as well.
00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:36.000
But I think being a boxer coming into a MMA world, if you know Rhonda doesn't have a stand-up fight game.
00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:49.440
Ronika wants to go in and she wants to throw that you know, Holly's movement, you're not gonna take an MMA fighter, judo, um, or that has a ground game, put up against a stand-up fighter, and think that's that ground game fighter or that thrower is gonna take the fight.
00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:52.000
Holly's head movement was too good.
00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:57.039
So her coming out with that win, I I, you know, I I pretty much thought that's the way it was gonna go down.
00:32:57.200 --> 00:32:58.799
So, you know, I'm I'm happy for her.
00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:04.640
I'm happy for her and and for everything she's done in the sport and for the sport and continues to do for the sport.
00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:09.119
Yeah, that was the one of the heights, obviously, of MIA at the time.
00:33:09.519 --> 00:33:12.559
And um I remember watching that fight at my cousin's house.
00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:15.599
I used to watch them all back then, big fan of Ronda Rousey.
00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:20.480
But I just had a feeling that night, I was like, I just don't think these styles line up correctly.
00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:22.000
I think Holly's gonna win this.
00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:25.519
I think she was a 20, she was a big underdog in the beginning.
00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:27.519
It closed at 20 to 1.
00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:33.119
Um, so she made me a little money that night by uh taking taking her um in that one.
00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:37.920
But fast forward to you know life after boxing for you.
00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:41.839
Obviously, we mentioned at the open Hall of Fame inductee.
00:33:42.160 --> 00:33:46.000
But now you're in the business of training fighters.
00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:53.599
What kind of things do you see habits, characteristics in the most elite fighters?
00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:59.599
What are the some of the commonalities across the board in how they go about their business, you know, traits that they have?
00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:02.160
What do you see in some of the most elite ones?
00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:03.599
Mindset.
00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:13.199
I guess that impenetrable mindset of doing what needs to be done day in and day out without question asked.
00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:19.039
You know, as they them asking me what else can they do, what should they be doing, what should they not be doing.
00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:38.639
Um, having that that open communication, then being able to take um my advice or you know, me coming down on them about something, or you know, being listen, this can't be this way, if I see them falling off, um, to get to pull them back into that that championship mindset, you know.
00:34:38.719 --> 00:34:49.039
Um it's that being able to shut down whatever is going on outside of the gym to be able to handle business in that session.
00:34:49.360 --> 00:35:22.800
Um, but it's also being, and this is where you you earn the trust as a as a coach, and really what the bottom line, I believe, being a coach is about, um, besides you know the programming and and you know the the inspiring them to do do more and all that, great, but building the trust for them to come to you with other issues that they have going on in their life or pressures that you're feeling, or you know, anything that is going on outside of the gym that's affecting their mental.
00:35:22.880 --> 00:35:33.280
Because that's just one thing that you know, I think it's getting it's it's definitely getting uh more attention now, but that mental aspect and of uh any athlete, especially a fighter, is is so crucial.
00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:48.880
So as a coach, you know, having an athlete that can come to me, we can discuss, you know, what else is going on and you know, like ask for my advice and openness and being able to, you know, read where they're at in that session and where I can push them to where I need to kind of draw the line back on that day is really vital.
00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:57.920
So, you know, having that communication, having the trust, um, but again, that that athlete, having that that mindset and that ability to you know flip the switch when they need to.
00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:03.360
I think you hit on three big components of success and greatness in in anyone.
00:36:03.519 --> 00:36:08.800
Number one, the ability to be focused on your task at hand.
00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:12.480
Uh, I think that is a tremendous uh first step.
00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:17.440
Number two, the ability to communicate with your coaches and those around you.
00:36:17.599 --> 00:36:24.400
And then number three, the ability to take criticism, to take coaching and to utilize that to your advantage.
00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:31.679
And I think that's where a lot of athletes, no matter the sport in this day and age, that's where they many times fall short.
00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:39.599
Athletes hear a lot of what they want to hear from their coaches, from the people around them because they want to be their buddy.
00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:52.079
They don't want to make them mad and have them go, you know, in a in a fight game to a different camp or uh in, you know, a different world of sports, a different team, um, but they don't hear near enough of what they need to hear.
00:36:52.239 --> 00:36:58.960
There are more people that need to tell athletes what they need to hear so that they ultimately can become better.
00:36:59.119 --> 00:37:08.079
And the longer I tell guys all the time and athletes all the time, the longer you go without hearing what you need to hear, the less time you have to do something about it.
00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:22.400
I would rather you tell me exactly what I'm doing wrong and what I need to do better so that I have more time to work on that than you not tell me and waste a year of my life, and then ultimately I'm not any better than I was a year ago.
00:37:22.559 --> 00:37:24.400
Um, so that is uh tremendous.
00:37:24.559 --> 00:37:30.079
Tell me about a little bit about you know what you see in fighters that don't end up making it.
00:37:30.239 --> 00:37:33.280
What are some things that hold them back other than mindset?
00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:38.320
What are some things that you know trip them up and keep them from reaching the abilities they have?
00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:47.119
Um, I think it's you know, it's always gonna come down to mindset, even though you say not about mindset, but it's gonna control everything, right?
00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:59.119
Um but I'm gonna say that the two things that that come to mind right now, anyway, is not staying in camp, taking off um, you know, after a fight, yeah.
00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:07.360
Take some time off, you know, re you know, reevaluate things, restore yourself, rejuvenate, all that good stuff.
00:38:07.679 --> 00:38:34.639
But get back in the gym, get back in the gym, you know, and get back to work and start building, start building the foundation, let's start working on the things that we want to work on to gain advent advantages, you know, whether it be compensation or improper movement patterning, um, and building a foundation to become stronger so that we can, when it comes to you know, fight camp where you're eight weeks out from a fight, um, even though in the game, you know, and that's the other thing, you don't always get that opportunity in the fight game.
00:38:34.719 --> 00:38:39.599
You might get called on quick notice, on short notice, you know, and you've got to be able to ramp up real quick real quick.
00:38:39.840 --> 00:38:43.599
Um, so it's it's you know, always being ready when you're called upon.
00:38:43.760 --> 00:38:49.679
Um, I think a lot of fighters, you know, take too much time off after the camp or don't take their off camp seriously enough.
00:38:49.760 --> 00:39:17.679
You know, they might be in the gym doing this technical work, but they're not in getting in, you know, strength conditioning, any of the performance aspects that really can be critical because those performance aspects were building, you know, whether your speed, you your precision, uh your ability to react, your ability to continue put applying pressure from round one to round 10, or you know, if uh MA fight round one to round five, that can cost you the fight, right?
00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:19.280
You talk about inches and seconds.
00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:24.880
Those inches and seconds that win or lose that fight come from the buildup and the foundation.
00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:34.719
Um, so I think you know, with with my guys, they they stay in camp, you know, they'll take a week, two weeks off after the fight, and then they're right back in because they understand that value.
00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:52.159
Um, and then I think the other aspect is when, you know, a fighter, and maybe it is because they're not willing to communicate, they get too locked into their head and they too much pressure on themselves, and they're just eating themselves up inside because they're not letting out to their coach or something that they rely on what's going on inside of them.
00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:56.800
And then that just has a negative effect on their outcome and their performance.
00:39:57.199 --> 00:40:07.760
And I think you you hit a unique aspect of MMA and the fight game that you know other sports don't necessarily see that much, and that is you know, you never know when that call is gonna come.
00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:22.320
And if you haven't been taking care of your business, um, you know, even when it might not be close to your fight or or in camp preparing for a fight, uh, if you're not taking care of business, you're not gonna be prepared for when that opportunity comes and that time comes calling.
00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:32.719
That could be a life-changing opportunity for you that you don't want to pass up on and that you have to take, but you want to make sure that you're staying prepared when that call does come.
00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:36.639
Uh, that is obviously very, very important um in that game.
00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:44.079
Tell us a little bit about um Rise and exactly what that is, what that means, and uh what you're doing with that.
00:40:44.880 --> 00:41:02.400
So, Rise, the actual name came to me, man, years maybe 15 years ago or so, um, where I was actually sitting in a in a continuing education seminar and was taking notes, and then you know, this this word started, I think they're talking about business.
00:41:02.559 --> 00:41:04.079
This word rise started coming to me.
00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:07.679
So I wrote it down, I wrote down RYSE, and I'm like, what does this stand from?
00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:09.519
Like, why am I why am I seeing this?
00:41:09.599 --> 00:41:11.519
And like, why am I seeing it spelt this way?
00:41:11.599 --> 00:41:14.079
And then I started playing with it, and it's it's evolved, right?
00:41:14.159 --> 00:41:26.079
It's been years, so it's evolved, but it started out as all right, Rise, R Y-S-E, realize your strength every day and that your strength is your physical, your mental, your emotional, your spiritual, and building upon that, because again, everything is built from the mental.
00:41:26.159 --> 00:41:29.599
And when you're in the gym, I want people to actually understand this.
00:41:29.760 --> 00:41:36.400
That's where you're building your mental in the gym, as well as you know, listening to podcasts, reading books, all that other stuff is great.
00:41:36.480 --> 00:41:38.000
I do that on a regular basis.
00:41:38.159 --> 00:41:47.119
Um, but in the gym is where you're building that mental strength because that's where you're defining your willpower, you're you're facing adversity, you're dealing with resistance, right?
00:41:47.199 --> 00:41:49.360
You want to push against that resistance, you're dealing with failure.
00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:51.440
The gym, you want to take yourself a failure, right?
00:41:51.519 --> 00:41:54.800
You want to take yourself a failure, see how far you can go, and then what do you have to do to get above it?
00:41:55.039 --> 00:41:59.119
Well, that's the same thing in competition, that's the same thing in life, but people don't see it the same way.
00:41:59.280 --> 00:41:59.599
All right.
00:41:59.679 --> 00:42:02.719
So that was where it stemmed or it started.
00:42:02.960 --> 00:42:07.599
Uh, and then growing on to that was standards are very big to me.
00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:18.559
The standard I hold myself to and accountable for every day, and the standards I hold my athletes to um every day, and continue to bring that higher to level that up, so then raise your standards every day.
00:42:18.800 --> 00:42:28.159
And then a passion that I live with, the fire that's in my heart and my soul to do what I'm doing, you know, and continue to do that and impact lives and came to reignite your soul every day.
00:42:28.320 --> 00:42:33.920
So if you you know, prime, I I don't like even in training to use the word warm-up.
00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:39.440
We're not warming up, we're we're prepping and priming our bodies for that session and what we're going to do, getting everything active.
00:42:39.519 --> 00:42:44.639
Well, you know, prep your prime prep and prime your mind for the day and what you want to achieve that day.
00:42:44.800 --> 00:42:48.559
So you think about your your strength internally as well as physically, mentally.
00:42:48.719 --> 00:42:58.079
You think about the standards that you hold yourself to and want to raise upon yourself and others around you, and you think about your soul and the passion that you live with, those three things are going to set you up for the day.
00:42:58.239 --> 00:43:00.880
So that's really where rise comes from, rise performance, right?
00:43:01.039 --> 00:43:04.079
Performance can be mental, physical, emotional, spiritual.
00:43:04.239 --> 00:43:08.000
Um, so basically, it's where that's my brand.
00:43:08.239 --> 00:43:13.599
And the umbrella of that brand is working with not just athletes, but also working with general population as well.
00:43:13.679 --> 00:43:20.239
I do work with Gen Pop and I've had incredible life-changing transformation stories that that I've been blessed to be a part of on that.
00:43:20.320 --> 00:43:29.119
Um, and that's just as listen, changing any life, being able to bring any life to you to their greatness is the most fulfilling thing that you I feel or that I can do.
00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:42.000
Um, you know, and and being in somebody's head even when they're not with you, and they you get text messages from these individuals of how what they're doing today and how they're still thinking about things that you said, or even the one thing that I said to them um is impactful.
00:43:42.159 --> 00:43:45.280
So, you know, working with athletes and and yeah, I work with all athletes.
00:43:45.360 --> 00:43:50.159
Um, I do specialize in working with tactical athletes and um combative athletes, right?
00:43:50.320 --> 00:43:58.079
Athletes in the UFC, BKFC, professional boxing, um, tactical athletes working with Leos, SWAT, fire rescue.
00:43:58.239 --> 00:44:09.760
Um, so being a Trained coach, performance specialist, doing speaking engagements and just getting out there to be a source of inspiration, empowerment, and impact.
00:44:10.559 --> 00:44:11.760
That's awesome stuff.
00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:18.239
And then one thing that I want to touch on that you mentioned there is the concept of the weight room.
00:44:18.320 --> 00:44:23.280
And in the weight room, we push ourselves to failure and then we go again.
00:44:23.440 --> 00:44:26.320
And why don't we do that more in life?
00:44:26.480 --> 00:44:29.360
You know, everybody's afraid of failure in life.
00:44:29.519 --> 00:44:34.320
Everybody's afraid of failing and being labeled a failure.
00:44:34.639 --> 00:44:38.079
But ultimately, life is the biggest game.
00:44:38.239 --> 00:44:42.159
And we have to push ourselves to failure to understand what our limits are.
00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:45.440
And then we've got to reassess and push those limits even further.
00:44:45.519 --> 00:44:49.440
And I think that that's something that people miss out on because they're afraid to fail.
00:44:49.519 --> 00:44:50.639
They stay in that comfort zone.
00:44:50.719 --> 00:44:52.159
They do things that are easy.
00:44:52.320 --> 00:45:01.280
But if you're going to train, whether it be for a sport or whether it be in life, you have to train yourself in an environment where you're going to fail.
00:45:01.360 --> 00:45:04.639
That's the only way that you improve and get better.
00:45:05.599 --> 00:45:06.400
Go after it all.
00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:07.679
You gotta you have to own it all.
00:45:07.760 --> 00:45:12.559
You have to go all in, everything that you got for what it is that you want to attain this life.
00:45:12.639 --> 00:45:14.480
Look, we only have right now, right?
00:45:14.559 --> 00:45:15.519
Again, cliche, right?
00:45:15.599 --> 00:45:19.039
We only have right now, and you know, I'm not here, I'm here for a good time, not a long time.
00:45:19.199 --> 00:45:20.400
Unfortunately, that's life, right?
00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:24.320
We don't know when that last day is and we won't be sitting there and saying, Oh man, what if I tried?
00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:25.920
Because what if you do fail?
00:45:26.159 --> 00:45:26.800
Great.
00:45:27.039 --> 00:45:33.199
Go at it and go again and go again and go until you get it, or until you learn, or until something says, okay, wait, I'm seeing something here.
00:45:33.280 --> 00:45:34.880
I want to pivot and it takes you a different way.
00:45:34.960 --> 00:45:36.639
Either way, you're winning, right?
00:45:36.800 --> 00:45:41.760
But if you're not going after and you're not taking those failures, you're the only one that's losing because again, it's a game.
00:45:41.840 --> 00:45:46.000
We have right now, and if you don't take those chances, those risks, how are you ever gonna know what you're capable of?
00:45:46.239 --> 00:45:48.719
That's that's right there is where greatness lies.
00:45:48.960 --> 00:45:58.239
Going after again, being unapologetic, being relentless, you know, unyielding fortitude, and and and and just put everything into what it is that you want.
00:45:58.400 --> 00:45:59.599
Be that man in the arena.
00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:01.920
Failing forward, be that man in the arena.
00:46:02.079 --> 00:46:04.000
Failing is a thing.
00:46:04.159 --> 00:46:06.159
Failing forward is a big thing.
00:46:06.320 --> 00:46:08.880
That that that is something that's failed so many times.
00:46:10.480 --> 00:46:11.519
Absolutely.
00:46:11.760 --> 00:46:12.400
Absolutely.
00:46:12.559 --> 00:46:24.400
And then also, you know what, it it shows you how should you, when you fail, how you feel from that failure, showing you how important something is to you, what the value of that is to you.
00:46:24.639 --> 00:46:25.440
It really affected you.
00:46:25.760 --> 00:46:26.559
Go after it again.
00:46:26.639 --> 00:46:28.000
What's holding you back?
00:46:28.320 --> 00:46:29.679
Because fear is gonna, right?
00:46:29.760 --> 00:46:35.119
Someone said fear is the the greatest or the most invisible disease that there is with the worst outcome.
00:46:35.280 --> 00:46:38.960
It can scale you of your dreams, of your health, of your finances, of it.
00:46:39.119 --> 00:46:40.400
Fear can take everything away from you.
00:46:40.559 --> 00:46:43.440
What's on the other side of fear if you push past it?
00:46:44.400 --> 00:46:45.280
Greatness.
00:46:46.000 --> 00:46:46.320
Right?
00:46:46.559 --> 00:46:47.199
Greatness.
00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:53.360
Um we're gonna dive into a new segment here on the Elevate the Great podcast.
00:46:53.679 --> 00:46:56.719
You have seen us do Elevate Eliminate.
00:46:56.880 --> 00:46:59.599
This week, we're gonna do start to finish.
00:46:59.840 --> 00:47:04.480
So I'm gonna start a sentence, Anne Marie, and I want you to finish that sentence.
00:47:04.719 --> 00:47:06.079
I've got three of these for you.
00:47:06.320 --> 00:47:07.360
Okay, all right.
00:47:07.599 --> 00:47:11.519
The first, to be elite, an athlete must.
00:47:13.519 --> 00:47:14.400
Be relentless.
00:47:15.440 --> 00:47:17.119
Be relentless, great words.
00:47:17.360 --> 00:47:19.119
Be relentless in the pursuit of your dream.
00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:25.119
To find one's greatness, a person must.
00:47:26.239 --> 00:47:27.280
Look within themselves.
00:47:28.880 --> 00:47:29.599
Outstanding.
00:47:29.840 --> 00:47:39.679
And in the last one, everyone has a plan until everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face, but you know what?
00:47:39.760 --> 00:47:44.159
It's it's that's the truth, because how are you going to deal with that?
00:47:44.639 --> 00:47:44.960
Right?
00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:56.000
You get punched in the face, you face failure, um, you know, any ad adversity that you can put in there, um what do you how are you dealing with it?
00:47:56.159 --> 00:47:59.119
How do you go about overcoming it, achieving it, going through it?
00:47:59.280 --> 00:47:59.679
Right?
00:47:59.920 --> 00:48:01.840
And that's what you have to look at.
00:48:02.639 --> 00:48:04.800
I I was hoping you would take it there.
00:48:04.960 --> 00:48:09.679
I really was being uh we do mocking grind being the hall of training.
00:48:09.760 --> 00:48:13.920
Um but I'm also hoping that you would put an awesome spin on it like you just did.
00:48:14.079 --> 00:48:16.400
You know, it's not about getting punched in the face.
00:48:16.559 --> 00:48:26.639
As Rocky said in one of the greatest speeches in movie history, it's not about how hard you hit, or it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
00:48:26.719 --> 00:48:28.960
And that is the key to greatness in anything we do.
00:48:29.039 --> 00:48:33.840
I got two uh questions for you to wrap up uh this episode.
00:48:33.920 --> 00:48:45.840
Uh, number one, if someone listening to this were uh post-accident with doctors giving them a grim outlook just like you were on the future, what would you say to that person?
00:48:46.960 --> 00:48:49.039
Believe in yourself and what's inside of you.
00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:51.519
Nobody else can define that.
00:48:51.760 --> 00:48:58.800
You define that if you give into those limitations, because what you tell your brain is very real as to what the outcome is.
00:48:58.960 --> 00:49:01.039
I never once listened to it, I never believed it.
00:49:01.119 --> 00:49:06.960
Not an ounce, not an ounce that I believe any of that, and kept pushing against it because I knew what was inside of me.
00:49:07.199 --> 00:49:14.320
And, you know, it it doesn't matter what anybody else says about you, it matters what you say about yourself, and that's all.
00:49:14.400 --> 00:49:15.280
That's what's gonna guide you.
00:49:15.360 --> 00:49:16.320
What you keep conditioning, right?
00:49:16.400 --> 00:49:21.360
We condition our bodies, conditioning your mind to think until you believe, until you know.
00:49:21.599 --> 00:49:24.400
And once you know something, nobody's gonna take that away from you.
00:49:24.559 --> 00:49:26.000
Nobody's gonna stop you from that.
00:49:26.320 --> 00:49:27.519
That is outstanding.
00:49:27.679 --> 00:49:38.159
I tell kids all across the country, you know, ultimately, if you want to achieve anything in life, you ultimately have to start with true belief in yourself.
00:49:38.400 --> 00:49:40.320
You can't wait for someone else to believe in you.
00:49:40.480 --> 00:49:41.679
You have to believe in yourself.
00:49:41.760 --> 00:49:45.360
And it it is a byproduct of three ingredients, in my opinion.
00:49:45.519 --> 00:49:47.039
It is positive self-talk.
00:49:47.199 --> 00:49:48.639
You got to speak to yourself positively.
00:49:48.719 --> 00:49:53.360
It doesn't matter what the world's saying to you or what doctors are saying to you or what teammates are saying to you.
00:49:53.440 --> 00:49:55.199
It matters what you're saying to yourself.
00:49:55.280 --> 00:49:56.960
Are you saying negative things to yourself?
00:49:57.039 --> 00:50:00.559
Because that negative is going to come to reality in your life.
00:50:00.719 --> 00:50:02.719
Are you saying positive things to yourself?
00:50:02.880 --> 00:50:04.800
Are you visualizing yourself being great?
00:50:04.960 --> 00:50:11.440
Are you visualizing yourself winning that match or winning that at bat or winning that uh game when the game's on the line?
00:50:11.599 --> 00:50:17.599
And then finally, in my opinion, the separator from the guys who make it and the girls who make it and the ones who don't.
00:50:17.679 --> 00:50:19.360
And that is ultimately hard work.
00:50:19.440 --> 00:50:29.760
You got to be willing to put in the work and you got to be consistent with it, and you have to know that when you step into the ring or you step on the field that you've put in more work than the person across from you.
00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:36.639
That's what, in my opinion, gives you ultimate confidence to know that you deserve success more than that other person does.
00:50:37.920 --> 00:50:43.440
Second question: a young girl out there wants to pursue a career in boxing or MMA.
00:50:43.679 --> 00:50:45.760
What advice would you give to her?
00:50:46.320 --> 00:50:47.679
Get started now.
00:50:48.400 --> 00:50:49.519
Get started now.
00:50:49.679 --> 00:50:56.079
Don't listen to you know, any naysayers, anything negative that anybody has to say to you.
00:50:56.239 --> 00:50:58.559
You have the belief in yourself and the fire in your heart.
00:50:58.880 --> 00:51:06.960
Go look to your your local boxing gym, PAL, jujitsu gym, you know, any avenue that draw go to all of them.
00:51:07.039 --> 00:51:07.760
Try them all out.
00:51:07.920 --> 00:51:11.920
Which one really pulls at you and stick with it, you know.
00:51:12.079 --> 00:51:15.840
Um, and then you know, anybody wants to reach out to me, DM me.
00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:18.559
DM me, go to IG, go to AM.
00:51:19.199 --> 00:51:25.679
Sakurado S-A-C-C-U-R-A-T-O, and you know, DM me for any advice, anything that I can help you out with.
00:51:25.840 --> 00:51:26.480
I'm I'm here.
00:51:26.559 --> 00:51:28.239
That's what uh that's why I'm here.
00:51:28.320 --> 00:51:29.760
Um, but get after it today.
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:31.840
It's almost like you've got my outline.
00:51:31.920 --> 00:51:35.199
Everything today has flown exactly the way I wanted to.
00:51:35.280 --> 00:51:37.199
And I didn't even have to ask you some of the questions.
00:51:37.280 --> 00:51:40.800
You just dove right in and it it just flowed so, so well.
00:51:40.960 --> 00:51:46.559
Um, as we wrap up here today, anything else that you want to say or that you want to plug?
00:51:46.719 --> 00:51:49.599
Obviously, this has been a tremendous hour.
00:51:49.840 --> 00:52:05.519
These people listening are getting audio rolled, um, learning about your story, learning about what it takes to push past adversity from a young age to a almost a life-ending accident and to achieve amazing, amazing things.
00:52:05.599 --> 00:52:06.960
But anything else you want to plug?
00:52:07.039 --> 00:52:10.800
Anything else you want to say to our audience before we end today?
00:52:11.679 --> 00:52:22.400
Uh listen, you guys can also, you know, I I did plug my my personal IG and then my business is Rise R-Y-S-E underscore performance underscore NASA and IG.
00:52:22.480 --> 00:52:24.480
You also can reach out to me there.
00:52:24.719 --> 00:52:37.760
Um, but yeah, anybody who's who's interested um in working with me directly, online, um, virtually, or having me come out to do any speaking engagements, you can reach out to me there as well.
00:52:37.840 --> 00:52:40.239
Um, just a blessing to be a part of your podcast today.
00:52:40.320 --> 00:52:40.639
Thank you.
00:52:40.880 --> 00:52:42.880
Well, thank you so much for your time.
00:52:43.039 --> 00:52:49.599
It has been a tremendous, tremendous experience sitting down and talking with you on the other side of this break.
00:52:49.840 --> 00:52:52.000
Ladies and gentlemen, stay with us on the other side of this break.
00:52:52.159 --> 00:52:55.199
You'll get our elevate to great final take for today.
00:53:03.119 --> 00:53:07.599
Welcome back to this week's edition of the Elevate to Great Final Take.
00:53:07.679 --> 00:53:19.039
And my goodness, what a bunch to digest from Anne Marie Sacurado, a three-time WBC boxing champion, and a women's boxing hall of famer.
00:53:19.599 --> 00:53:21.679
Just tremendous, tremendous content.
00:53:21.840 --> 00:53:27.280
I hope you didn't miss a second of it because if you did, there's just a great chance that you missed something awesome.
00:53:27.440 --> 00:53:40.000
But the my final take from what she said and something she said very early in the episode was to truly have greatness and truly define greatness.
00:53:40.159 --> 00:53:45.599
It is not just what you do, but what you inspire others to do.
00:53:45.760 --> 00:53:48.800
That is ultimately where true greatness lies.
00:53:48.960 --> 00:53:53.679
Not just what we accomplish ourselves, but what we inspire others to accomplish.
00:53:53.840 --> 00:53:59.280
If you have the ability to do that, if you have the platform to do that, that is where true greatness lies.
00:53:59.599 --> 00:54:07.119
We hope you enjoyed this episode of the Elevate a Great podcast, powered by Factory 11, the nation's leader in sports marketing.
00:54:07.280 --> 00:54:10.159
Until next time, keep reaching for your greatness.