The loving father and the ferocious savage: the key to going from Ghandi to full blown Leonidas.

I'm going to start this prolific article with the name of one of my favorites, if not my favorite fighter of all time. 

Mike "The Iron" Tyson

At one point in time, Tyson was the most feared and dominant fighter on the planet. This was in the late 80's and early 90's. Before the resurgence of mixed martial arts, the UFC and such names as Fedor, Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez appeared in the combat scene. Even though I personally believe prime Mike could beat the fuck out of anyone.

But that's just me fanboying.

Nevertheless, his reign was like no other of  a any heavyweight champion. Leaving forever his mark on the history books, what are some of the things that made him the most feared and dominant fighter in that era? You could say that:

• His viciousness?
• His great use of the Peek a Boo style?
• His ability to close the distance?
• The way 215 pounds of solid muscle could move that fast?
• His explosiveness?
• His devastating punching power?

In my opinion, above all else was his mentality.

I believe his mentality was the crown jewel of his kingdom.

Well, yes. You could say that his skills and physical attribute or talent had no equal.

I could make the argument that, on his descent. He still had his skills and physical talents. But his mind was not in the right place. The Holyfield sequel and the ear biting incident, should have been a clear indicator of that.

But what went into forging the mentality of one of the greatest fighters of all time?

A combination of nature and nurture. (After I explain this I'll tell you how you can apply this perspective to your life.) You see Tyson had a somewhat of a really tough and violent upbringing (nurture). That intertwined with his already incredible physical attributes (nature). Made him into a perfect prototype when he came into the hands of legendary trainers Cus D'amato, Teddy Atlas and Kevin Rooney.

Then when this incredible talent went into the hands of Cus. He only had to  sharpen the sword that would become Mike "The Iron" Tyson. From extensive training, to research ,study and even hypnosis. As Tyson said "He became a student of war". Learning history, mythos. Going from Alexander the Great, Jack Dempsey, to Achilles and Charlemagne.

He inducted the characteristics of all the greats into his psyche. Maybe it was easier for him. Since he resonated so much with them and their path to glory. This obsession with aggression, violence, fighting and war. Was ultimately the foundation to what I call the " Tyson mentality". That is when the cohesive duality of nurture and nature came to it's peak.

Now what I noticed, is the following.

 Tyson was just channeling his trauma, aggression, chips on his shoulder, childhood problems through his fighting style. You could feel the energy, that ferociousness. If you add to that the system of reward, he got every time he pummeled someone. Now you have a basically a killing machine in your hands.

Notice I used the word "channeling". You see Tyson was using his fighting prowess as a periscope or red dot to aim and shoot all of his innate aggression. In a way it was a form of emotional intelligence.

Depending on who you are, everyone has a certain level of energy. Aggression, fury, fire a primal instinct so to speak. That if not handled properly will burn up it's host. Similar to what Cus said about using fear as spark to start a fire. But controlling it enough, so that it doesn't burn you up.

Everyone has the same primal emotions:

• Love
• Joy
• Anger
• Fear
• Sadness

Within them, lies a spectrum of shall we say sub emotions.

Regardless we know that Tyson channeled his anger, fear & sadness. Through boxing, that primordial energy released. Maybe you could do it through other means, normally something that could get your blood flowing fast and hot. 

Depends up to you.

We learned what goes on the "evil" side of the human spectrum looks like. Now let's go to the pretty and fluffy side.

Let's take the example of the one and only Yehova, aka Jesus of Nazareth, aka Jesus

See now, Jesus was a completely different man. Not only where his motives and way of handling matters were somewhat different. Yet, effective and incredibly impactful. But the source of all his teachings, methods and actions. His primordial energy.

Was rooted in deep love and faith. You see his approach, was disarming to say the least. The most clear example of this, was the story of the prostitute Mary Magdalene. 

You see in this story, priests where about to stone a prostitute as was the law back then. Meaning they where going to throw rocks at her, until she died.  Pretty fucked up way to go if you ask me.

Regardless, then comes probably the  most influential and greatest person to have ever lived. Jesus of Nazareth. He simply stepped in front of the priest. Between them, with her moment away from death. 

The only thing he did? Write on the dirt so that priest may see

" He who is free from sin, may he cast the first stone".

Immediately, the priest dropped their rocks to the soil beneath them.

He just saved this sinful woman's life from one of the most brutal and violent death a human could deal to another. He did it in the most efficient and effortless way possible.

That story taught you all you need to know about the man.

So, what is it? That differentiate these two figures from everyone else? The source of their "Powers"? Their environment and the way they channeled it, with what was already inside them.

For example; In Tyson's case when he was in the ring. It was incentivized and encouraged for him to have the mentality he had so he may better rearrange people's bone structure & facial features. His problem? He couldn't turn it off. Because to that point he didn't knew about this.

Now within all of us, there's a Tyson and a Jesus so to speak. Different sides of the human spectrum and psyche. At any given moment you can access both "Archetypes" so to speak.

How? By acknowledging  them  & accepting you have them is a good start. Exposing yourself to different scenarios that force you to expose or develop new forms of being also work. 

I'm not telling you that you're gonna knock people out like Tyson or preach a sermon to a million people like  Jesus. I mean who knows, you might be a great fighter or a great orator/ communicator. But my point is that in any moment you can access that ferocious and ruthless competitor.  The same way you can access that gentle blue eyed Frank Sinatra. 

This also goes to balance out the "Nice guy persona" or the Asshole "Bad boy" archetype. Whatever the fuck the people who saw Twilight say now a days. (It's me, I'm the people who saw Twilight.)

Regardless  by saying "Go fuck yourself more often" or being a courteous & well mannered individual you are fluctuating between both ultimately becoming fully integrated. 

In different endeavors or activities, you're gonna need different mindsets and activities. To make that simpler, I'm suggesting you channel you're already god given characteristics into such.

For example:

 Let's take the example of Shogun Rua, UFC hall of famer and MMA legend.

This dude was as ferocious a competitor and fighter as they come. He is also a loving father and a good husband. Do you think he had the same mentality inside the octagon as he had outside of it, knocking mfs out at family BBQ's?

Daniel Cormier, UFC Double Champ Light Heavyweight & Heavyweight, Commentator, arch nemesis of Max Holloway, Actor. Throws 260pounders like ragdolls on Saturday, teaches kid's wrestling on Sundays.

Another example, Tim Kennedy.

This dude, is a special ops green beret,  retired UFC fighter #6 middle weight at the time , entrepreneur, husband and father, if he wanted to an awesome comedian & TV cook.

When I think I do or am a lot of things, the dudes like Tim Kennedys, Jocko Willinks, Joe Rogans, Jamie Foxes, Elon Musks, Da' Vincis Humble the shit out of me.

Now. do you believe they would be as great at each endeavor they dive in, if they had the same mindset and mentality in each?

Fuck no.

It depends on their environment and how they handle it.

If you see yourself as1 dimensional person work on that. Get out that box/ stereotype.

 Your personality also plays a role. I say character and personality, because like I said earlier. You have a base line.

You've heard of alter egos? A good example of this is Beyonce. She says that every time she performs, an ulterior identity takes over. Personally, I think in the most respectful way to Yonce that this is bullshit.

In my opinion she enters a flow state and her work/environment takes over. She allows her subconscious to channel the environment accordingly.

So depending on who you are. How do we foster this "Channeling" or "Flow state".

First asses the situation you are entering.

Let's take the example of getting into a fight, Since it's one of the pinnacles of a stressful situation.

So you see your opponent and suddenly get a rush of adrenaline with a hint of fear depending on your confidence in your abilities. Now I just described the average scenario of a fight. Now, remember what we discussed earlier about "Channeling". The old Cus D'amato fear and fire analogy? Well, now you have a mix of external stimulus, that you can channel accordingly. That's an example.

Another could be on the other side of the spectrum the light/fluffy side. Spending time with family, friends, and dogs. In a cozy living room, filled with pillows and laughter and overall chillness. Now we got an un stressful situation filled with oxytocin and dopamine with a shot of serotonin. We have both stimulus and the way to channel it.

A good deal of emotional intelligence is attributed to this skill. Wanna know more about this? Check out( Influencing your insecurities away)

I've given you one of the many red pills and truths you will find in Influence.

It is your job to apply it and make wonders out of it.

Go and make me proud.

-A

As a side note: Get out there and learn. Have the curiosity of a child and the starlight wonder of a visionary.

Experience the world fully. But do it on your own terms and privately.

Be a gatherer of memories and experiences.