Will Smith's Autobiography

Listening to Will Smith share his life story while I’m on a long drive along the ECR on a Sunday evening. Have to give it to him. He is one hell of a story teller. Very articulative and impressive. If I ever create an audio book this is how I’d wanna do it.

One of the lessons I heard from him today is this:

Imagine you’re gearing up to fight an opponent like Mike Tyson. You hire the best coach in the world, train like a beast, and give it everything you’ve got, but you still take a hit. That’s a loss you can hold your head high for.

But, if you skimp on the prep, don’t go all in, then it’s not just Tyson you’re up against; it’s like you are up against you AND Tyson. That’s a whole other level of tough.

When you’re not all in because you didn’t put in the work, it’s like you’re fighting yourself and the opponent. That’s the real knockout punch.

Losing to Tyson, the best in the world, that’s one thing, but losing to yourself? That’s the real knockdown. He says that’s the worst. You can’t have that.