“You Ain’t Nobody:” Mike Tyson Sheds Light on the Quality That Made Him ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’

He was barely twenty when ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson became the youngest Heavyweight champion in history. At one point, for a young man barely out of his teens growing up in the grim and tough hoods of Brooklyn, reaching the summit of boxing must have sounded like a far-fetched dream. He did receive help from the most unexpected quarters when Cus D’Amato took him under his wing. But the young boxer’s willingness to sacrifice everything he had and, above all, the discipline required to do things most men would hate on a regular day drove him to succeed against all odds.

Life on the rough streets of New York can be unforgiving at times. It was the survival of the fittest: only the strongest and the smartest managed to break the shackles of endless poverty and crime. For the remaining, a bolt from the blue lined up a chain of events up for grabs. A chance meeting with Bobby Stewart at Tryon School for Boys took him to the doorsteps of Cus D’Amato’s lab for a complete transformation.

Mike Tyson, a life in self-mastery

The legendary trainer, who took care of Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres, joined by Kevin Rooney and briefly Teddy Atlas, deserves credit for shaping Mike Tyson from an unrefined street fighter to a top-notch boxer. However, the youngster’s hunger to win and prove everyone who doubted him wrong stood him in good stead. More than anything else, his zeal to follow a strict regimen, day in and day out, that might otherwise break a weak-hearted man ensured that he stayed on the right course to become ‘the baddest man on the planet.’

Reinstating his faith in the creed, yesterday through his Instagram account, Mike Tyson shared a post alongside a video. The message read, “Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but do it like you love it.” It’s easy to make out that the conversation in the background occurs between him and Joe Rogan.

The former champion said, “…discipline is what was it all about…I don’t care how good you are, and anything you don’t have discipline, you ain’t nobody, right? You’re nothing about discipline because you give up on the slightest struggle without discipline…”

Rogan mentions D’Amato, and Tyson shared that he barely knew what discipline meant. It was his trainer, who later became his legal guardian, who taught him the fine points of self-regulation. The youngest Heavyweight champion learned that discipline involves doing something one might dislike. However, instead of getting overwhelmed, you proceed as if you love it.

Read More: Years After Losing His $400,000,000 Fortune, Mike Tyson Reveals What Bankruptcy Taught Him

What is your take on ‘Iron’ Mike’s philosophy that brought him to the world stage? Share your views with us in the comments below!

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