Mike Tyson: Fight To Your Last Breath | E58 - podcast episode cover

Mike Tyson: Fight To Your Last Breath | E58

Apr 25, 202345 min
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Episode description

My guest today is Mike Tyson, a former heavy-weight boxing champion of the world and one of the greatest boxers of all time.

At the age of 20, he became the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold WBA, WBC, and IDF titles and a member of the international boxing Hall of Fame.

Mike has appeared in many movies and TV shows. He is the actor and creator of a one-man Broadway show Undisputed Truth, and the author of the best-selling book of the same name.

Mike is also a very successful entrepreneur and a founder of two cannabis companies, including Tyson 2.0. He is an incredible person and a dedicated philanthropist through his Mike Tyson’s Care foundation, and the support of other charities including The Make a Wish Foundation and The Special Olympics.

(1:52) Fame and money

  • Neither will make you happy
  • Become your own alarm system
  • The pain is the same at the top and the bottom of the world

(06:43) Three years in prison

  • Three best years of his life
  • Everything in life is psychological
  • Confidence brings success
  • Prison shifted his perspective (no one’s better than anyone else)

(11:33) Mike’s famous fights

  • Evander Holyfield - The Bite Fight
  • First fight in 1996, rematch 1997
  • The Sound and the Fury match
  • In the second fight – Mike got frustrated and got disqualified
  • Now they are partners
  • Buster Douglas – lost a fight from an underdog
  • Mike was happy that happened
  • He learned that losing is not as bad as you think
  • Never got discouraged in his life
  • Won the title again
  • His message to people who want to give up
  • The story of Don King
  • Adversities never stop, it’s how you handle them that can change

(19:16) Mike and Rodney Jerkins

  • Great friends with Rodney Jerkins Darkchild
  • Rodney is one of the nicest people he ever met
  • One of his best friends
  • Godley soul

(22:31) The importance of Extreme Preparation

  • It’s not for everyone
  • Balance doesn’t exist
  • Trained more than everyone else
  • Extreme preparation came from fear of failing
  • Everybody has a plan until they are punched in the mouth

(26:23) Life after boxing

  • Went totally broke after boxing and didn’t know what to do (called his wife for help and she helped him get back his life)
  • Discovered cannabis and got into the business
  • People allowed to drink and smoke on the show
  • Regrets he didn’t smoke pot while fighting
  • Mike Tyson's definition of success
  • The ingredients of success
  • What motivates Mike Tyson today?
  • The advice to a young boxer (prepare for disappointment and never give up and fight to your last breath)
  • Mike Tyson as a dad (7 kids)
  • Mike Tyson Cares Foundation

(39:16) Fill in the blank to Excellence

  • Mike Tyson's 10 year vision
  • Mike Tyson's biggest accomplishment 
  • Mike Tyson's biggest regret
  • Mike Tyson's bucket list
  • Mike Tyson's hero


Coaching and Staying Connected:

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Transcript

Mike Tyson

Whoever believes a lot of fame and money is going to make them happy. The people who believe that they never had any fame or money.

Randall Kaplan

My guest today is Mike Tyson. Mike is the former heavyweight boxing champion of the world, one of the greatest boxers of all time, and one of the most recognized sports personalities in the world.

Mike Tyson

Think of it and never once said it's over. One my title back.

Randall Kaplan

When he was 20 years old, four months and 22 days old, he became the youngest boxer ever two and a heavyweight title and he was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles

Mike Tyson

like Muhammad Ali, the man, you got to beat them to death and so they give up the rest of the on stop to play the corner. Fight, you gotta kill them, he met them to give up

Randall Kaplan

he finished his professional care with a 50 and six record with a knockout to win percentage of 88% and is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. In addition to this incredible boxing career, Mike has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows, and is the creator and actor of the one man hit Broadway show the undisputed truth and is the author of a best selling book of the same name.

Mike Tyson

Whenever you prepare to be the best in the world, and you have to be prepared for disappointment. So you gotta be disappointed. You're going to be discouraged. Never give up. Five to your last breath. Never, Never Never give up.

Randall Kaplan

Mike is also a successful entrepreneur. He's the founder of two cannabis companies, including Tyson 2.0. And he has a dedicated philanthropist through his Mike Tyson cares foundation and his support of other charities, including the Make a Wish Foundation and the Special Olympics. Like it's incredible pleasure to have you on my show Welcome to In Search of Excellence. And my friend, so many people I know are motivated by different things in life. I think when you don't have money, and I know as

a kid, I wanted money. And I was motivated by money for me I wasn't an athlete, I was terrible athlete. Much better today than I was then I think a lot of is mental and there's a lot of confidence. And I didn't have a lot of confidence being bullied and not being the cool kid.

Mike Tyson

The and I was the difference. Once I knew I had come once I got it, it took them to another place I wouldn't prepare the way appeared to be that you might even be better than some people. And they say you get to look at yourself from a different perspective. You know, you appear to be the path and people, but you don't like yourself. the more success you receive, the more conflict you have within. And I've understood

that. And I was always a glutton for more and more I was always took crystal ball to your feet more and more and more. And as I got older, I realized when I didn't have it, I want it but now that I have it, I don't want it anymore. You know, it's I have to understand that someone has to manage your life because you're not you're not quite qualified to manage your your life. When to some beautiful people that came from their experience with me and my wife, and life has changed so

drastically. We've never done that. I wasn't married to this woman.

Randall Kaplan

All right, we're gonna talk about your awesome wife, Kiki for 14 years a little bit. But let's talk about money. And I do want to talk about the motivation of money to our future. So many people I know are motivated by money and they hate what they do. A lot of my lawyer friends, for example,

Mike Tyson

unable to do that. But I don't like what I'm doing. I'm unable, unable to get any work.

Randall Kaplan

So how what's your advice to people in general, where money is their greatest motivator of success really.

Mike Tyson

Whoever believed a lot of fame and money is going to make them happy. The people who believe that they never had any fame or money or fame or money because they it becomes a job now as it becomes a job to watch people. The watch characteristic. Be prepared for a particular characteristic that you're looking for. For good people or bad people. It's good that people have prepared new skullduggery on you as you become your own alarm system. The other thing is become your

own system of protection. And that's just a middle way live. But we have to have some perspective on living in

Randall Kaplan

that way. I have a lot of friends who live month to month and I have a lot of very wealthy friends and some of the most unhappy, miserable people I know are sent to millionaires who are depressed, terrible parents. They traveled the world whose kids are have they're really fucked up and they have a lot of problems. A lot of drugs too. Aside is an issue. It's sad. Listen, I'm

Mike Tyson

here to listen. And people at the bottom of the world, I'm friendly. And I have people in the top of the world. Friends with me in the pain that's relevant. That's the thing. Right? Both people losing someone they love, they stay grieved the thing, okay, how much money you got, how much power you got, we both grieved the same, we both breathed the thing. And we The thing is, some people decided money was a big

part of their life, right? And there was nothing that was gonna stop them from getting that money. That's what love I'm the kind of guy that went from my mentor. You have to want to be up more than anybody in the world wants you to be down. And that's in once you feel that way. And you don't care what somebody that you don't care about a

Randall Kaplan

lot of people when you're successful, do you think your friends are not that happy for your success?

Mike Tyson

Especially they tell you to keep doing keep it up, don't give up and you do what they tell you to do. And you succeed as of now, they inspire not anyone to tear you down? Right? Isn't that ridiculous? found out there's a friend rather fighting and pay back a debt as well. People that you help and stuff and they believe they have to pay you back. They'll find some way to fight you have some altercation with you where you guys went and talked to you and I want to talk to them to see and get your

money back. But I look at it from a different perspective. If I was capable of helping somebody in anyone be residual helped me back when that I gave them one that I can never talk to him again. They can talk to me come around me again. So I paid for really. Back juncture in my life. I love to deal with it anymore.

Randall Kaplan

You already mentioned you're going to prison. You were sent to six years you did four years they call it the three best, most valuable years. How is present the free well

Mike Tyson

listen Is it started at 63 Even with them and three, I guess 60 years, wiped out the books. But the really, situation was then everything in life and psychological depth and themes. adaptable, and being able to get have the confidence to believe that you know you can survive this. Life is all about confidence. Confidence breeds success. It says breed confidence and confidence in the pie properly. It was superseded

genius. There's nothing more powerful in this world than confidence in IT person whose time has come. When that happens, you almost you almost got status. But

Randall Kaplan

how was prison? The three best years of your life? What did it do to make you a better person?

Mike Tyson

And gave me a perspective? It gave more than that peace and no trouble and then the altercation no fight. Oh, everything went well for me and print everything was almost perfect. You know, I lived great the eighth grade. I was treated. Yeah, I was treated with privilege there. But I gave everybody respect the first year I was there with AF you know, I think hey, everybody had deserved to be down on me. I'm the man here. And then I have to get go to give a couple of

visits to isolation. And after I had a miserable year, I started getting the hang of it. I started became a trustee by respect me and anybody like my first one, they were like me, they say no, I had it. They had put another year on me for fighting with the gods and cursing everybody is being uncomfortable person in prison because I felt that I was wrong. I don't deserve you all these people deserve to be able to accept me and realize that we

live in life and life terms. I should be grateful that I'm still living. I did I did only three years there were guys that my my time 10 times they did 3030 And when I said I had three though said hey, that was really dude. I did get time three times already you know anywhere after after a year I'm not depressed. We have to live with life on

life's terms. And that's when I understood who the hell am I am nobody and I realized that some people so great from society's perspective that they hold you up so high Oh no, I'm gonna take you down as you because this is the way you can tear yourself down because what's more just as powerful as building yourself up is just as equally powerful is tearing yourself down. So that's a rush to

Randall Kaplan

when people go to prison you're kinds of new guy in there and you got to fight to establish respect with some of the other prisoners were you a target and said all right, I want to be them like Tyson the heavyweight champion of the world.

Mike Tyson

No I don't know how to save him I love you know any problem that happened to me because of my ignorance because I felt I shouldn't be there and I was better. These are the criminals and I'm not the real criminals. And we have to know that we're just here for a moment in time we just passing through no one's better than anyone else. For some people may have better opportunity. But we're just all God's creatures. Big and small.

Randall Kaplan

When you're there, you knew you're gonna fight again. You're training every day, you're running nine miles a day in prison around the yard, including four miles a day in your prison cell running around around and you're doing so many jumps. You said that you dented the concrete

Mike Tyson

floor, and I never saw that. The prisoners in administration saw that it wasn't even anymore. I would do it. It's neck ease. And that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be the best and well, I knew I was gonna fight I want to look the best. And most of my career find was based on my ego. And I had to determine as we asked them for my ego, I would think the way people got picked on me again, because there's cold, weak moments and people abused me. Isn't that what happened again?

Randall Kaplan

You went in at 285 and you came out of 215? Zero lean, mean fighting machine?

Mike Tyson

Yes. And then we went to the cafeteria. Oh, we've had great food, my my girlfriend Thymeleaf and food over some money to certain people and they would go out, putting the food in for me always have great. smorgasbord. Good.

Randall Kaplan

Let's talk about Evander Holyfield. Oh, yeah. He

Mike Tyson

works with us now.

Randall Kaplan

Yeah, well, we're going to talk about I know your partner's it's an incredible story. So you had a first fight with him back in on November 9 1996. You had the rematch June 28 1997. And it was called the sound in the fury. And then it was known as the bite match and I even asked this fight or the bite fight. So can you can you walk us through I saw that fight on Pay Per View.

I'm a huge fan of yours and I've seen a bunch of fights but it was surprising to watch that can you just explain what you were thinking and what happened

Mike Tyson

in this I was in the ring fighting them and those the first time setting a happy didn't hit me but I was dizzy about something. I don't know. Maybe I thought he hit me. But then when I watched the fight it was because he was head butting me. I'd run into his head all the time. And the second fight started happening again my head's busted. And I was just I was in desperation to referee with the referee referee wasn't complaining with him but the headbutts and I got frustrated

Randall Kaplan

and

Mike Tyson

disqualified. Yeah, he's kicking my ass a little too.

Randall Kaplan

Yeah, yeah. Let's talk about probably the greatest upset in sports history. You're fighting Buster Douglas is a 42 to one underdog. And you lost that fight? What? How did you lose the fight? And talk about kind of the habits you were doing before the fight and what you learned from that fight?

Mike Tyson

You know, that's a godless that I was just living ridiculously he had fought a great fight and he deserved to be champion at that time. He is deserved he will definitely be champion It was no excuses.

Randall Kaplan

You learn at some point when you lost the fight that the pressure was now off and you are not disappointed. You are actually happy it happened because you learned lessons from those what what did you learn from that? That was that was the Buster Douglas fight.

Mike Tyson

I learned that losing wasn't all as bad as me not to be that's what I realized about that. Isn't the you know losing as bad people think it is. You know me so what I cleaned myself up, I fought for my time. He made a fight again for the title and I got myself in trouble. But I never once said this after the fight is over. I'm not going to do this no more or less if I win my title back in six months, there have been a million left over I'm never going to table again.

My life though my career's over I knew from my experience and from watching fighter than talking to old fighter the flood and 20 they were fighting in the 80s and they were just telling me Mike man I know the great fight like you know the lesson this small discourage you. And I never got discouraged in my life after certain things as being a kid but if we let them discourage anymore,

Randall Kaplan

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Get your next amazing gift and order a copy of bliss speeches by clicking the link in our show notes. Lots of people when they have a lot of success, they have some knock downs, they get fired from jobs once twice, three times they give up. What's your message to all those people experience great disappointment? If they should keep going?

Mike Tyson

Well, I'll explain that what a story. Okay, you know, Don King with my promoter courses. You know, it's pretty much understood from society that he's still money. Some stuff that is in the past, he isn't real battalion stuff. And so he expect me to be on dog clothes on dope for awhile, slugged me stained, do the rest. And for awhile I've done lost everything and got in trouble. And then things has changed. My wife for Magna wave, he wrote his one man show and went

insane. We went all over the world performed all over the world, we performed a country that couldn't speak our language. And they had an interpreter and both had success puffing up this box. And then I have this appear with a pair of my clothes and everything. And then I have this box and I'm typing sports pretty much and they have the best equipment in

the world. And I go for more or less like being such a despite drug you the alcoholic, and I go through all this transformation forms of redemption, so to speak. And the what happened? Dunking is my neighbor now. But he never to me if I'd be this close to him again. You know, nice my neighbor was stabbed me. I could walk to his house. You have to see me to the day he dies. So I don't look at life.

Like hey, I'm envious or mad that people have graduates No, because life if it's all been written soon as eternity started, everything's been waiting to happen. I definitely should let there be light because he he wrote our life in the dark. And so whatever happens is meant to happen. It was written the other was Lawrence. Lawrence of Arabia.

Randall Kaplan

I've never seen it. My kids are horrified right now but I since you're saying it to me, I promise I'm going to watch it because I

Mike Tyson

want a movie because one of them will give this guy this one gentleman one to help. And that's it I think you're wasting your time it was written that this guy is gonna die and he's not gonna live and the guy was right it was written by somebody character them within themselves, them the futures already destinies they've written already. They want o box and friend of mine met me the other day said we never had a million years, believe that you

still be alive. Because I live that kind of right now live that didn't have any hope in life don't have a lot of materialism and hope for a better life and not have hope for a better life. You know, adversities don't stop would be if handled them differently. And from a positive perspective as well.

Randall Kaplan

You're a famous athlete, people come up and take pictures with you. Some athletes like it to a point some deli with your family. Hey, don't take my photo at some point. It's 12 year old kid comes up to you and later in life. You want to learn something about the music business. So you call some amazing guy named Rodney Jerkins. And he said, I know who you are. For those people who don't know Rodney is who goes by a dark child is one of the most successful music producers of

all time. He has worked with everybody you can ever imagine. Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Rihanna, everybody and everyone's dying to work with them. So you call them up. Figure living in Maryland at the time And you said I want to come see you the next day and Ronnie said, Hey, Mike Tyson, call me up. Come on over. You drove over

and black Rolls Royce. Where were you and and Rodney is known to be this incredibly nice, thoughtful, logical guy who's a great very logical and he's counseled a lot of people throughout hard time Justin Bieber and a whole bunch of people so you go over there you spend time with him you guys become great friends. And at some point he you want to fight Lennox Lewis but you don't really want to fight them. So Ronnie's kind of coaching you to tell us how you could pop them

in the chin. And can you also tell us what What is friendship means to you?

Mike Tyson

Hey, listen. What time they'll always pop right knees every now and then. But listen, Ron is just the sweetest guy in the world. You know people you know of course you have to have the tough exterior in the music business, but he is one of the most beautiful person in the world. I'm so grateful to be friends with family friends with my family. And it's hard to pretty much how do you define this friendship is just total love.

Randall Kaplan

What does he mean you know how big of an influence is right? I had

Mike Tyson

one of my best friend he they were missing one of my best friends will famous person. Let's say fame doesn't mean some star perspective of Yes. Famous friend was like one of my favorite people. That's the famous I mean, that's one of my famous people that no celebrity.

Randall Kaplan

Well shout out to Rodney for Starchild

Mike Tyson

I'm in. I'm in Dubai and I'm talking about Ronnie Jurgen Randy doing this guy's the Notos Randy Jacobs as they come on, Ronnie do the deal with this guy. And then my friend has been NCAA doctors. Oh, yeah. No doctor didn't know his name. They only know my doctor.

Randall Kaplan

You gotta have a branding and business. So they

Mike Tyson

when I'm saying the name, I'm thinking these people. Oh, yeah. Wow, I knew that. No, now. That was my fifth. Okay, yeah. So one of the things as made known all over the world to fully music perspective, he

Randall Kaplan

he's a legend. Once again, shout out to Ronnie for setting us up. I really appreciate it you become a good friend a short amount of time.

Mike Tyson

He's you see him a godly. So what is it that God's work he's not doing and

Randall Kaplan

one of the things that's one of my favorite topics that's made me successful among a lot of hard work is something called what I call extreme preparation. So I'm talking about the kind of preparation that's not normal preparation I'm talking about when someone spends one hour on something I may spend five or 10 or someone were making a presentation to accompany they may spend 10, and I may spend 40 How important has extreme preparation been in your success?

Mike Tyson

Not for everyone. That's why it's called extreme not everyone's extreme. Some people are bounce. I haven't more balanced than that was that let me say that. But balance is almost impossible. How do you conduct honey? How do you perceive yourself to be balanced when it doesn't appear to exist? What is balance? Always listen? I'm going to be five hamburgers here. My eat what am I a five hamburger to achieve the milk everything on top of the big bread? extra fat bread bun. Um,

a fiber those five though? I mean one little piece of cookie. That feeling unbalanced. unbalanced? Maybe if I think five hamburgers and two pack for cooking, maybe I'd be balanced there. But do you want to be balanced in that perspective of sugar? No, you don't want to be you don't want to risk from that balance. Everything has to be done pretty much moderation. You

know my balance doesn't exist. I don't believe balancing the fish is a word we use to try to explain some kind of situation but I don't think that most people can't can't handle balance. You're gonna need the extreme for me the extreme and either on top of the world. It's just that's how it works to me. Balance doesn't make sense to me.

Randall Kaplan

But didn't you train harder than every one of your opponents you are known to train more than balanced. But my question was, How important has extreme preparation been to your success? Forget about balance. I mean,

Mike Tyson

my extreme racing come from fear. You come from me part success comes from fear. We turn the fear into happiness, but it comes from the fear the fear of failing to go through everybody having everything right and then you The fear of letting anyone down, let yourself down. If I can, some people would rather die than me let people down, let themselves down. It's just a feeling on the way from that. Desperation is a feeling if I don't succeed, I

don't want to exist. People we have been listened to extreme. It's got like Muhammad Ali, they read, you gotta beat him to death and I gotta give up. If the referee don't stop the fight of the corner, don't stop the fight. He got to kill them. He's not gonna give up. He's just not gonna give up and quit. And that's the mindset that I believe that

Randall Kaplan

one of the greatest quotes of many that you have is everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Mike Tyson

Listen, I hear that both casters. Commentators, politician, anyway, and I was thinking to myself, that became one of the most important quotes in the 21st century. And I'm saying to myself, Hey, that's not even my quote. That's custom motto as if he was here. Now, he laughed. Definitely took them that serious, but um, is it true? Yeah, we want to have the plan to they get hit and they find some kind of adversity in their, in their presence.

Randall Kaplan

Let's talk about life after boxing. You were addicted to drugs.

Mike Tyson

You know, listen, that stuff. You're not starting after life. After boxing. I was totally broke at the finish spa. Totally, what 5 million $50 million. But that's totally broke to me at that particular time. And I didn't know what I was gonna do. Didn't care. So I really enjoyed myself and what my discouragement my my fears My I saw that my wife was a wave and all that crap. And I did a lot of drugs and the violent

Nicator about it. I became a glutton a full like 332 No 383 60 Something to that effect. And then I decided the call my wife wasn't my wife at the time and see what I could shuck out of her something. And she came, she saw my condition. She never saw me like that before. But before she came to see me, friends, as I was saying, Have you seen Mike lately? You've been math. And so she saw me I was on medication, then. Maybe now and then I might not think I'm gonna cook me. I thought I

was. And so she saw me I was a meth. I don't know why she got involved in my life. She had some adversities, well, my stuff was just nasty, dirty, I had nothing, I can't believe I still had a house and nice cars. They didn't come and get this stuff. I mean, so I'm saying, Wow, what's happening, I'm ready to go to my friend's house, do some creepy stuff. And my wife, she had came in single handling to say, Hey, I'm gonna clean this

mess up. And so she was really diligent, and really allowed me to be a respectable human being in the society. And so I'm really grateful and appreciative of that, because that was that was just before we were coming here, that we were getting ready to go in a totally different direction. So we got it together. And no one else helped as much. I had a young we have a young daughter in Milan 19 2009. And that changed the whole game pretty much. We will work in two feet and and given a great life.

Randall Kaplan

I will go on to talk about a huge pivot in your life. You discovered cannabis? Yeah, at some point, it's changed your life. It's brought you a lot of peace. And I want you to talk about that, how you discovered it. And I want to talk about your Toad experience and what that was like.

Mike Tyson

For the cannabis thing. I've always smoked my whole life as a kid. And I had no idea I mean, arrested for before. I got in trouble before illegally. So someone came to me they have opened up a cannabis. I had no idea what to do. I had no idea what was going on. So we got involved with these people, we partner with them, it didn't turn out well. And I managed to find everything, all that stuff, right. So we ran into some my brother in law invited introduced us to some other

people. And these people. We made more money in the year than I did four years with other company. And so this seemed like to be the right ticket and my brother in law allowed the people to explain what they were capable of doing. It seemed like a no brainer, and it wasn't, it wasn't a no brainer. And when we're in over 100,000 stores, we're the biggest cannabis How many in the country is not the world? And it's not yet it will

be. And that's just it took the whole world by surprise even gotten me a pot pot, you're like you have podcasts. And so my podcasts and hotboxing you know, well, I'm the boxing with smoking hot. So definitely my podcast has been very successful. And people are allowed to drink and smoke on the show,

Randall Kaplan

talking about what the actual CBD has done to you as a person and your mood and your calmness and

Mike Tyson

let me explain something to you. This is gonna be funny. Wallets fighter hounds. Part One and never smoke pot. My whole fighting career was once and I wish I did. I wish I wasn't sober during my fighting career. Why? Because I was smoking cannabis. I was drinking like a fish liquor. But I was smoked cannabis, I think it would have been a benefit.

Randall Kaplan

Most people think the opposite is true. It slows you down people you see the signs on the highway. Smoking, if you're high if you're drunk,

Mike Tyson

little smoking is too high. It feels like that a little high too high, they say. But listen, when I talked about being on we talked about Elevate, and I felt the word high comes into people's language. One word high doesn't mean you mean, your high form of thinking. And that's what I mean. Doesn't mean oh, I'm high. I'm gonna control.

Randall Kaplan

You said that the high point in your life is that when you have a willingness to die, I think just the opposite. I don't want to die. But you've been you've been quoted as saying that is that? Is that a high point of of your life?

Mike Tyson

This is what I found out. Since I've been involved with psychedelics, and I don't know, cannabis is in that same categories. Right? But listen, all the psychedelics, the toes and the laughter I'm finally realized, why did God create this? And how could God know that this stuff attacks a certain part of your brain to make you see certain images. And as time you'll have been doing this for a few years, and it's about preparing you for death.

So all this is about all the psychedelics all that stuff and so it's all about even liquor from from GABA paying you for that, but you could die with dignity. And oh, God, no, please. I don't want that. No, that's not what it's about about accepting death. Because if definitely my great value life be great. If Life magazine I could this be great. If they go hand in hand. They're related to each other. Without one they won't be the answer.

Randall Kaplan

How do you define success?

Mike Tyson

Success comes in many forms, is not necessarily financial success is not drinking anymore. It's a form of not cheating on your wife. Success at so many different perspectives. When I think of success, another thing Well, money. I think we're happiness. And I believe that the success of happiness, your perspective on happiness, what is success has successful for you. Success worth to me is when I'm in a competitive mode, I don't think no one's gonna beat me. And

that's just in life. Not from a physical perspective, but just in a competitive perspective. My whole I was born to compete this is what I'm doing. It's a game for competition. If it's fighting is cannabis, it's an entrepreneurship, whatever it is, I want to fight you on break when whatever system that is fighting, I want to push it to my feet.

Randall Kaplan

What motivates Mike Tyson today?

Mike Tyson

We just think it's my children. So making sure not necessarily that I'm going to give them a great life I want to give them great perspective on my life on life period. You know, I don't know if people I might be scared that I don't know by no I don't clean the life. I don't want to be here for and people are not here.

Randall Kaplan

We've got young kids. Yeah. What's your advice to a young 18 year old boxer and more generally to an 18 year old in general male or female?

Mike Tyson

Just that No. And under some Billie Jean King I heard it said she just didn't know this whenever you want to be the best thing where and then put them on a book like the garbage can collect the boxer watch collect the you know anything and Lloyd. Whenever you prepared to be the best in the world, anything. You have to be prepared for disappointment. Because you gotta be disappointed. You're going to be discouraged. And you have to prepare that's going to happen not to give up. Never give up.

Five to your last breath never never never give up.

Randall Kaplan

You have a great family talking about your last 14 years together you have two kids together you have seven kids total you moved to Florida because you haven't

Mike Tyson

do it please attendant she played tennis simply golf and they told me this is the place to be for after they want to be professional this my daughter does.

Randall Kaplan

That's amazing that you did that shows what kind of parent you are, what kind of family you are. Talk about what it is like to have Mike Tyson is your dad and then talk about the work life balance

Mike Tyson

when depending on what particular me you quote me, as I'm younger, I'm not as good of a father in my 20s and 30s. And, and I am in my late 40s and 50 middle 50s It just changed the perspective change. The selfishness evaporates a little and you self Lis and that's when

life becomes better. That's what true Self Love is loving other people only feel self love was me buying the Big Magic buying beautiful cars, fancy clothes, cell phone lovelies helping other people, give them what you want and give it to someone else.

Randall Kaplan

We talk a little bit before the show about our kids we live for our kids. What's your advice all the successful people out there who don't spend enough time with your kids and look back and say listen,

Mike Tyson

whatever you do with your kids, it's going to pay off dividends and you spend time

with them. There's dividends that you know that have a good relationship with them if you spend a lot of time with less dividends that good stuff is gonna happen to you you know just about what you want to put that time and then what you want to get out of from from that time I want total respect for my kids could I give them total respect you know we can we go out to the people and outside of our house but we can't lie to people in the house they watch us every day they watch us when

we when we don't have our faith up you know if I'd said they if they if they feel sad i Bethany fears that I worked through when people have tricky relationships with their children because the children seem things they did that the people in the streets never did. or their friends for nothing, I'm sure met with different relationship with their parents than they do with

another people. They don't look at Listen, my kids don't look at me like if everybody in the world my father gave kissing, you know, it gives my athletes younger speak that I'm giving them and here's the interesting Gibbons, I had a real had a challenge with my kid. The challenge with having trust me again and have self respect with my family came over last night. One of my folders son, my middle daughter, her girlfriend, and then mother and it was just just like family, it's just it's the

best part of my life. When we're all together my affect what makes me happy. Every one of my kids are together in one place. That's my happiness every one we have to be together in one place and this vibing off each other. That's something that my Beth,

Randall Kaplan

tell us about the mike tyson cares Foundation. And how important is giving back and search

Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson I'm founded it's just such an array of things then that really get him in expressly you know, what we do we help the family that's dealing with domestic violence, they don't want to go home, we could have to go home to this over poem right in person. So we have a facility for them. We have we're in position where we can help the kids with scholastic equipment, books,

pencils, even teachers. And it's just like I was saying it's such an array of things that a charity perspective, I don't even know all of them. But it's just man. It's just an array of beautiful stuff doing and my family and my team is doing

Randall Kaplan

what is next in your future. Sky's the limits

Mike Tyson

man anything's capable of happening but keep giving that affirmation to God.

Randall Kaplan

I want to ask you some one word quote, I want to ask you some fill in the blank questions as we end today. Okay, okay. And 10 years from now I want to be doing

Mike Tyson

what about what I'm doing, you my family, we'll all be together. I don't want to live far from one another as one celebrating in my life doing that loving my family trying to prevent any altercation from us. And hopefully that when we all said and done, we loved each other before we die and with no kind of intervention to fight anything and they loved each other. Sometimes there's some families that die not loving each other. You know, don't even want them at their deathbed.

Randall Kaplan

The biggest accomplishment in my life is,

Mike Tyson

I think, marry my wife and my kids.

Randall Kaplan

My biggest regret in life is

Mike Tyson

six one is

Randall Kaplan

the one thing I've always wanted to do in my life that I haven't done is

Mike Tyson

nothing with dying for. I don't look at life that was both elegant life is just enjoying every great moment when everybody's loved because life is just a blink of an eye. And it's over. We can't even anticipate our next breath. You know, and look at life from that perspective to life. Life is beautiful, definitely beautiful. I was looking at the story of Buddha, I was going to, and I had no idea that His purpose, His purpose, was to stop self suffering. I had no idea you

might want to do that. But he realized that suffering doesn't exist only so suffering exists. And I thought thinking about that feed, right? Because I don't suffer most of the downtime I suffered when I'm doing it to myself. Right, you know, you're low self esteem comes in when you're doing so good. Wow. I gotta be doing so good. Thanks so much. I want to get the greatest ego with lowest self worth. And I don't know how that works, but it works really good for me.

Randall Kaplan

The one person in the world that I've liked to meet and I've not met yet is God.

Mike Tyson

Being the one in the amount of women man, ciao baby energy, it's magic in dealing with God. offense that I deal with God every moment day, every second of the day, he's dealing with God because God is you. We know who we are. We know without even being involved with us being like Mongoloids cavemen, we know the difference between right and wrong. You know, how we feel when we do wrong, even though we laughing? And we know, even though we're evil, we know

this is just not right. You just don't do that to people at a cafe? Yes, don't do that. We know, you don't care. If you're invalid. We know the difference from right and wrong.

Randall Kaplan

The number one person I want on my podcast and haven't had is

Mike Tyson

no. And the idea is like talking to people and acting people, I listen, I will take the guy on the street. And we have just as much fun to my homeless guy, we have just as much fun that I would ever have the best me comedian in the world on podcast. My podcast is all about love dealing with reality, and not taking the world too serious. You know, I've been saying this to people that learn from somebody. He said that human beings take things from what we're that way.

Human beings take things too serious with God meant to be fun, and always kept them. You know, I always kept that idea when I get my extreme mode. Hey, this is not meant to be complicated is meant to be fun and happy. So that keeps me in perspective.

Randall Kaplan

The one piece of advice I have for a 25 or 30 year old is, Hey,

Mike Tyson

isn't that as bad as you think? You might make things in life worse than it really is. Just believe in yourself. And don't let nobody knock you off. You know, live in the way not your family, you have to believe you have to stand firm in life. You know, you don't have to win all your fight, but you got to fight them all. You have to win them over. You do have to fight them all.

Randall Kaplan

The one question you wish I had asked but didn't is

Mike Tyson

always asked my mother. What would your life like? What did you do when you had 1015 20? What did you do? That what did you do with your life? We never talked about my mother, my mom. I never talked about family. I never knew anything about I lived more after she died. But I wish I asked more questions about it. So I got to become acquainted with my father as time went on, and he told me about the story about him and my mother from his perspective, as far as you know. And so that's I know,

Randall Kaplan

if your mom was sitting here today, what would you tell her?

Mike Tyson

I was saying I turned that better than we thought we were. She should be. Yeah, very proud that my family will have paid the price and we have a lot of pride and we price too so it will I pray.

Randall Kaplan

Like it's an honor to have you here today. I'm super grateful for your time. I'm a huge fan of yours. You have a great story of success, and redemption one of the great stories of all time.

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