What I learned from reading Mike Tyson's Autobiography

The reason why he was so loved and hated is because of his real authentic vulnerability in sharing himself so openly, raw and no filter.

To have the courage he did to speak his truth like that is inspiring.

These were the passages that stuck out to me the most about the human condition

1. "Right then I decided I wanted to be great. I didn’t know what it was I’d do but I decided that I wanted people to?look at me like I was on show, the same way they did to Ali."?

I found it interesting that he knew right from the beginning that he was going to be great and become one of the most successful boxer who ever lived.

1. “Fear is the greatest obstacle to learning. But fear is your best friend. Fear is like fire. If you learn to control it,?you let it work for you. If you don’t learn to control it, it’ll destroy you and everything around you. Like a?snowball on a hill, you can pick it up and throw it or do anything you want with it before it starts rolling down,?but once it rolls down and gets so big, it’ll crush you to death. So one must never allow fear to develop and build-up without having control over it, because if you don’t you won’t be able to achieve your objective or save your?life.?
2. "Cus was a strong believer that in your mind you had to be the entity that you wanted to be. If you wanted to be?heavyweight champion of the world, you had to start living the life of a heavyweight champion. I was only fourteen, but I was a true believer in Cus’s philosophy. Always training, thinking like a Roman gladiator, being?in a perpetual state of war in your mind, yet on the outside seeming calm and relaxed. He was practicing and?teaching me the law of attraction without even knowing it."
3. "The goal of all these techniques was to build confidence in the fighter. Confidence was everything. But in order?to possess that confidence, you had to test yourself and put yourself on the line. It doesn’t come from osmosis,?out of the air. It comes from consistently going over the visualization in your mind to help you develop the?confidence that you want to possess."?
4. "The second thing I did was to go down to New Jersey and deal with my mom’s grave. Her boyfriend Eddie had?been hit by a car and died right before the Berbick fight, and he was buried next to my mother. So I had both of them exhumed and put into nice bronze caskets, and then I bought a massive seven-foot-tall headstone for her,?so every time people came to the cemetery, they’d know that that was the Mike Tyson’s mother there."? It's interesting how much he talks about his mother and how much of an impact she had in him. He cared so much about his mother and being broke and poor in the beginning he wanted to do everything he can to give back to where he came from.
5. “For a guy who just won the undisputed championship of the world, you’d think you’d be a little happier.” “As?long as you make mistakes, you don’t have the means to be happy,” I said. “I’m a perfectionist and I want to be perfect.”? His perfectionism worked but you can tell during the book how unhappy he was because he was so judgmental of his life and all of the people he has wronged.
6. "Before I went to Mexico, I had such a big chip on my shoulder. I had never known anyone poorer than me. I?couldn’t imagine anyone in the world being poorer than I had been. I was blown away by the poverty in Mexico.?I was actually mad at them for being poorer than I had been because I couldn’t feel sorry for myself anymore.?More than anything else, my success stemmed from my shame about being poor. That shame of being poor gave?me more pain than anything in my life."? It really gives you a perspective that in America we have a certain perspective of poverty but when you go to other countries, it really opens your eyes to the privileges we in the US. That's how I felt when I traveled outside of the country.
7. "Tupac was only twenty-five, but he had such determination and will. Where did he get that stuff from? Such a?big heart, such a caring man, but still a warrior. He was a beautiful person and I really enjoyed the time I spent with him."?

1. It’s funny, right around this time my new accountants discovered an IRA account in my name that over the years?had appreciated to over a quarter of a million dollars. The accountants began to dig around and found out that Cus had set up that account for me back in Catskill. When they told me it was Cus, I cried like a baby.?

"For the first time in my life, I understood what “It’s the thought that counts” meant. Cus must have known I’d screw up my money. I never thought anyone loved my black ass. It restored some kind of faith in mankind for me at that point."?

10. "We sat down and Cus told me he couldn’t believe I was only thirteen years old. And then he told me what my?future would be. He had seen me spar for not even six minutes, but he said it in a way that was like law. “You looked splendid,” he said. “You’re a great fighter.” It was compliment after compliment. “If you listen to me, I can make you the youngest heavyweight champion of all time.”?

It just starts with that one person who believes in you. I will never forget when Mike Ragone my previous manager interviewed me and saw so much in me. He helped believe in myself and for that, I am so grateful that he helped build up my confidence to see that I can be great.

I'm curious if anyone else read Mike Tyson's biography. I was listening to Tim Ferriss's interview with Jamie Foxx and he recommended Mike Tyson's biography.