this idea and this notion that you could be anything you want you can accomplish anything you want right we hear that you've heard that from the time you were little boys you hear that now you're already incredibly accomplished you can win an NBA championship MVP the league you could become president you could become governor you can have you could be in in in in um you could be in entertainment you could do Charles and you could do Shaq you do that you could do whatever you want to do you guys know that the thing that
has worked for me is to remember the hard times so and I'm sure you guys all have your processes and again I'm going to tell you what worked for me so before a big movie comes out before back in the days when I was wrestling with WWE a WrestleMania match anything big that would happen I would always take a moment and I just remind myself all right I was evicted when I was 14 we were kicked off the island we couldn't live in Hawaii had no place to live uh a lot of [ __ ]
happened then when I moved to Nashville I was arrested multiple times by the time I was 16 years old like I remember that um if I were playing on this team uh which my you know my skills are um what's that term oh the shits so I never play but before I lace up before I get on the court before I play in these big games before I go to the Staple Center where history is there's those those are those are historic walls there at the Staple Center uh I would remember that and it allows
me then to be present in the moment and understand holy [ __ ] this the stuff I have around me right now this is the [ __ ] that I dreamed of when I was a kid I am here I played for University of Miami played great teams Warren Sapp Ray Lewis they were my teammates they were balling Warren Sapp was playing tight end that time I was starting defensive tackle yeah they moved him over to dline and he looked at me he's like Yo dude I'm going to take your spot I said you ain't
taking my [ __ ] spot he said I'm going to take your spot we battled and he took my spot thank you to imagine how that [ __ ] with me cuz there goes my opportunity he went in Switched a defensive tackle lit the world on fire but what that did it crushed me it crushed my dreams I had a piss poor senior year zero production no NFL no combine invite nothing finally went to the CFL Calgary stamp Peters making $250 a week Canadian Canadian I had to send that [ __ ] home to my
uh to my wife at that time had no money so I remember that when I got cut from Canada I had seven bucks in my pocket and I always tell that story so now my production company s bucks advertising agency seven bucks everything is seven bucks so I always remember that what helps me is to keep the hard times in the front of my mind because allows me to go into these big moments that I've worked my ass off and you guys have worked your ass off it allows me to go into these big moments
with a different perspective what it also does for me and again this just this is what works for me like I keep my back excuse my language my back is up against this [ __ ] every day it's against this [ __ ] wall excuse my language ladies but it's up against this [ __ ] cuz it's what I believe in and when my back is against this [ __ ] then there's nowhere to go but that way that's it so I feel like this could be something an ideology mindset that could help you could
if you look at it that way because you made it already we made it we're successful boys and we're lucky boys to be where we're at well you guys made it everybody's rich in the room nobody's going to get evicted anymore anything you got there's no more money problems right you got a lot of hands out now they going get a little bit can I get a little bit right that happens but when you make it for me I need this I need this so every day my back is up against this [ __ ]
and this is how I operate now doesn't mean you don't smile doesn't mean you don't laugh and joke quote right you're happy I'm happy I'm a happy guy but when it comes to business and when it comes to executing it's up against this and I got to go that way I don't give a [ __ ] who is in front of me they're not going to stop me I feel like for me it feels seamless cuz you prepared for so long but it's just like you guys prepping for a game that's the fun part that's
what I like [ __ ] it's fun man people are paying hard earn dollars to come see you they're cheering they're going bananas they're booing [ __ ] out of you around the road it's that's fun that's what you live for I mean that's the juice right there the prep is where the character is made and I just don't mean the character I play I mean the [ __ ] the character in here so for me the prep is getting with the director getting with the producers getting with the writers getting with the getting with
so in essence it's like getting with all your coaches and your different uh position coaches and and all the meetings that you have to have right so that's the work you put in the key for me was where does it start what's the anchor what's the anchor so I could have all these Ambitions and you guys have all these Ambitions which is great it's important I'll play this role You'll Play that role I'll execute this thing and it'll come out this summer you guys will execute this thing during the summer right when it's time to
really put in a lot more work but the key with me is just always finding what the anchor is and the [ __ ] anchor is getting up at 4:00 in the morning every day before anybody else and grounding my thought process is in the no one will Outlook me no one I love and I respect you guys [ __ ] I'll start with this two hands putting it a work the anchor for me has always been the work in terms of the weight room training so when I first started wrestling I was 6 years
old rolling on the mats with my dad my old man a lot of you guys won't know this yeah Rocky Johnson my old man was Rocky Johnson he was the first black WWF tag wwwf at that time first black WWE Tag Team Champions with Tony Atlas back in 1983 uh my uncles were wild Sans I come from a long line of pro wrestlers um but before the wrestling part happened uh I was just in the gym putting in the work at 6 years old rolling around on the mats and finally when I could touch weights
at 13 that's what I was doing but the weight part for me and the gym part has has always been has to be the anchor look at the end of the day like again that's it's the kind of stuff that I talked about at at top is I have to hold on to uh my dad in his pickup truck came down 4:00 in the morning picked me up at in in Miami from Tampa we lived in a little shitty apartment in Tampa he drove down in his little pickup truck to to to Miami to get
me when I was cut from the CFL I was driving up I75 I don't know if you guys are from Florida any of you guys if you know it's I75 is like especially down in Florida Alligator Alley I'll never forget it's 4 o'clock in the morning and I thought well [ __ ] the I I leave home like you guys left home I'm ready to tackle the world get after it achieve my dreams and goals [ __ ] crushed by 22 23 years old now I got to move back in with my mom and dad
I played on great teams though wait a second this is not supposed to be my future I'm supposed to be in the NFL right now I'm supposed to be making lot of coin and buying my parents [ __ ] buying me [ __ ] taking care of my wife but it never happened so I pulled out my wallet I thought well let me see how much money I have I opened it up I had a five a one and change I'm not [ __ ] around and and I well at least I round it up
to seven bucks but I thought God ain't this a [ __ ] I got seven bucks in my pocket where the [ __ ] do I go now what do I do I can't go back to CFL cuz I are you know Point comes where you hear that voice big runs over like you're right so I heard that voice so as coach was saying man I hold on to that [ __ ] I'm telling you I keep my back is up against this [ __ ] we laugh we joke we have a good time press
is always fun to do some sometimes you got to make it fun that's another thing you got to do your best to make press fun if you can but my back is still up against this [ __ ] I do not forget it what this also helps me do and again it works for me is at some point you got to be [ __ ] tired of not being number one you have to be and you got to [ __ ] [ __ ] play angry and I play Angry now I'm cool and calm with
my Approach and when I step out on my field which is a set or you know like there's some and you're always going to have haters and haters are like well God damn man how many movies you going to make or how much [ __ ] are you going to do like you do a lot of [ __ ] I say yes it's my ambition of course why not I could do it yeah I love what I do and not only that but in what world do we not work every day doesn't mean it's just
like you guys in the offseason you got to work every [ __ ] day doesn't end I'm back is up against this thing you know and I and I and I started to play Angry by the way and and I still I still play Angry my last match Brock Lesnar transitioned and I realized if I had to be great at something I wanted to be great in this world of Hollywood and movie making and producing and entertainment I had to commit like you guys have to commit obviously you commit to something commit to the goal
so I quietly retired two years later I thought what the [ __ ] did I do with my career cuz my movies were not doing well I was written off I was like it was around 2006 2007 I was like godd damn I left I pulled a Jim Brown I left when I was on top like number one in the wrestling business and I left it was a ballsy gutsy some call it stupid move but I had to commit and I had to fall it was in my gut and at that time I'll share this
with you guys and Will Smith is my boy and I sat down at that time with the agency I was with they said what do you want to accomplish I said I want to accomplish the world I want the world and I want I want Will Smith's career but and I said and I mean this respectfully because I know he's here at this agency with this I want to do it bigger and better and they looked at me like I had three [ __ ] heads and they were like mhm okay but I still stayed
focused and I still had these still put in the hard work with my two hands and that's it and that's what it comes down to with you guys one of the keys is remember where you came from keep that [ __ ] in the front of your mind and when [ __ ] goes bad and it goes sideways a lot of [ __ ] does you're getting booed out of the [ __ ] building or coming through this injury or people you riding you off oh you guys ain't [ __ ] make it you know
any of that [ __ ] you gota you got to keep it in here and it really has to it should drive you