Lately, I’ve been reading Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson (yes, the boxer). It’s mostly a self-reflection on his life, all the way from his best moments in the ring, to when he hit rock bottom, to where he is now. I pulled some quotes while reading it, and here’s the best that I’ve found that relate to building yourself up to succeed, even when you’ve fallen.
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if you always looked good, people would treat you with respect.
424
You give a weak man some strength and he becomes addicted.
760
“Fear is the greatest obstacle to learning. But fear is your best friend. Fear is like fire. If you learn to control it, you let it work for you. If you don’t learn to control it, it’ll destroy you and everything around you.
781
So one must never allow fear to develop and build up without having control over it, because if you don’t you won’t be able to achieve your objective or save your life.
784
Fatigue in the ring is ninety percent psychological. It’s just the excuse of a man who wants to quit.
795
He would separate his mind from his body and then visualize the future.
813
Cus was a strong believer that in your mind you had to be the entity that you wanted to be.
821
Confidence was everything. But in order to possess that confidence, you had to test yourself and put yourself on the line.
830
“Money means security, and to me security means death, so I never cared about money.
866
You could conquer any world. Don’t use that word ‘can’t.’ You can’t say ‘can’t.’”
910
“Because doing something you hate to do like you love it is good conditioning for someone aspiring towards greatness.”
933
because if I failed, Cus would get rid of me and I would starve to death.
1046
called In This Corner . . . !
1047
I was serious about my history because I learned so much from the old fighters. What did I have to do to be like this guy? What discipline did this other guy possess?
1057
I had a tunnel-vision mission and I never deterred from it. I can’t even explain that feeling to other people.
1239
You have to face your demons, Mike, or they will follow you to eternity.
1503
I talked about myself in the third person. Even to myself.
1604
That was the day that I turned into Iron Mike;
1621
Jimmy and Cus were using all their contacts in the press to get me recognition.
1716
We really courted the press.
1717
People who are only interested in having fun cannot accomplish anything.”
1755
It doesn’t matter if you’re losing; it’s what you do after you lose.
3625
needed that vision, though. I needed that drive for accomplishment
4760
“I’m rich, Mario,” I said. “I don’t have no watch, no money, no phone, but I feel so peaceful.
6964
They don’t want to do that because they’re afraid they will fail and people will laugh at them.
8853
used to say that the reason that people were the best was because they thought about themselves with the grandest of visions.
9230
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Mike Tyson’s Undisputed Truth
11 responses to “Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson: Inspiring Quotes to Live By”
This book gripped me! Everything from the time he kicked Don King in the head so hard it looked like dust puffed off his hair to the fact that he had a fake penis created which he could fill with clean piss in order to pass urine tests! (You read that right, the guy had a fake dick made) He claims that was because of his cocaine addiction but It made me think if he was covering up the fact that he may have been on performance enhancers?
Anyway, you have to read this book. Every page had something on there which made me say “what the fuck” out loud…..even the time he caught his then wife Robyn Givens “practicing lines” in his home with Brad Pitt and Pitt begged for his life”
Also, if you ever inherit a billion dollars and need a quick way of spending it due to some kind of Brewster millionsesque type plot……this book will teach you how to piss money up the wall quicker than the road runner escapes Wiley Coyote’s rape attempts!
Love
You have to face your demons, Mike, or they will follow you to eternity.
1503
I talked about myself in the third person. Even to myself.
1604
Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I
guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything.
Do you have any recommendations for beginner
blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.
Learn SEO and keyword research. Start a blog and write for stuff that people look for.
If asked if would ever read Tyson’s book I would quickly say no.
I just ordered it after your comments here.
Cheers and thanks,
Carl Kruse
There’s a lot of people writing in self help and spirituality that fear is the opposite or enemy of love. Complete ignorant bullshit. Fear in proper context is an aspect of love. It protects and as Tyson pointed out, motivates. The current trend in self help and spirituality weakens the spirit and mind. It adds to the dumbing down of people and this country and frankly pisses me off. Thanks for the post! Wish more people read it. Dang tried to tweet but it’s -18. Not tech savvy enough to fix it myself.
My favourite Mike Tyson quote (not from the book): “Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face” . Very much related to business and life in general.
My favorite quote is “Fatigue in the ring is ninety percent psychological. It’s just the excuse of a man who wants to quit.” Thanks Noah
I bought it last week. I haven’t read it yet but it looks promising. You don’t have to be a great writer to write a good book.
Falling is the reason why people succeed.
The more I read and watch and listen to the greats, whether it’s Tyson, Conor McGregor, or whoever, the more I see the repeated theme of vision and visualizing your success.