Mike Tyson genius advice that no one gets.
I just wanted to highlight this for the group. As to the recent fight, I am happy that Tyson got a payday and what he needed, but the fight itself was ridiculous lol. But this isn't about that. This is about an interview that Mike did with a 14 year old girl that you might have seen. People thought it was pretty funny (as did I) because of how dark it was to answer a kid interview that way. But let's look at what he said because whether he intended for it to be this way or not, it's genius.
He was asked about the fight coming up and his legacy. His answer:
"I don't believe in the word Legacy. I think that's just another word for ego. Legacy doesn't mean nothing. That's just some word everyone grabbed on to. Someone said that word and everyone grabbed on to the words and now it's used every 5 seconds. It means absolutely nothing to me. I'm just passing through. And I'm going to die, and it's going to be all over. Who cares about legacy after that? What a biggie, so I'm going to die, so I want people to think I'm this or I'm great. I'm NOWHERE. I'm NOTHING. We are dead with dust. We nothing. Legacy is nothing."
Link to the interview:
It sounds nihilistic and morbid, and people think he's just a dumb boxer who's in the spotlight frequently. But I think it's actually genius if people think about what he is actually saying in the right way.
People are clinging to relevance. Clinging to importance. Clinging to meeting other peoples standards and trying to be "high value." When really all this breeds is pretentiousness and fear and shame. The reality is that nobody gives a fuck. You could impact millions of people, and a generation or two after you are gone, no one will remember your name. If they do, it might be in a history book or record somewhere. And you won't care. Because you are either dead, or you are in a different place if you believe in an afterlife.
This doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to be better, or strive to be the best. This was coming from Mike Tyson who is arguably one of the most accomplished fighters alive (despite the recent showing and some of his other ring incidents).
It doesn't mean that you shouldn't work to impact the world or impact others. You do those things because those things make life better. The process and the growth and the eventual accomplishment, and the positive effect on others affects things right NOW. It makes everything better NOW. And maybe your efforts will have effects for generations to come. But most people won't think of you or even know it was you. You aren't that important. When you turn the lights on do you think of Thomas Edison for the electricity? Probably not. You enjoy his impact but you don't care if it was Edison or Tesla or someone else. No one cares who did it, as long as someone did.
People who aren't comfortable with ego death, their own death, and their own insignificance are very uncomfortable with these ideas. Some of you reading this may be uncomfortable with this post. But think about it. This is good news. When you get comfortable with the FACT that there are far greater things that are more important than you, it takes the pressure off. You don't have to be so hard on yourself. What are you ashamed of? What are you afraid of? Why do you think you are so important that you should feel shame at all for being a human being and what? Having a failure? Looking stupid once and awhile? Why do you think someones criticism, be it your parents, peers, or some girl you like matters? No one fucking cares, and their opinions don't matter either.
When you realize your (and our) insignificance, it is freeing.
You can stop being hard on yourself. This doesn't make you less successful, because striving for success doesn't need to come from fears of being not good enough. It can come from other places, and it is better if it does. It is better if success is just who you are rather then something you are chasing because you are AFRAID.
Realizing your insignificance just makes you happier. It makes you not take life (and yourself) so damn seriously, and it makes striving for excellence a bit more effortless, which means you can go a lot further and enjoy the process.
Just something to think about.
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Paul Benjamin
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Mike Tyson genius advice that no one gets.
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