Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
The stars are the fighters climbing into the ring. They’re the ones who put in all the work, that battle through all the aches and pains, and who put their bodies on the line to entertain the masses. Of course, the healthy purses that come with upper-tier fights help. But as far as I’m concerned, they’re the ones who should be getting all the shine. Not us.
But there’s no denying, the atmosphere heading into the arena is absolutely electric. The stars are out in force, and the arena is filled to the rafters. Everybody’s dressed to the nines, and it almost has the feeling of a movie premier rather than a brutal fight. Grace and I are led to our seat down in the front row behind my guy’s corner. I took Tyson Branch on as a client two years ago, and tonight, he’s fighting for a title in his weight class. I couldn’t be prouder of the kid. He’s worked his ass off to get here.
I’ve built a name for myself, training fighters, and have become very highly sought after. It’s tough juggling all the clients I have because I still carve out time to run the after-school program for kids who want to get off the streets. Of all the things I’ve done, that’s the thing I’m most proud of. Teaching them the craft and the discipline that goes with it has yielded terrific results and has helped turn the lives of a lot of kids in the community around. More than anything, that’s what I want to be remembered for—giving back and helping people.
“How do you think Tyson is going to do?” Grace asks.
“I think he’s got a good shot,” I reply. “We’ve trained him up and taught him all the tricks we know. Now, it’s up to him to apply what he’s learned.”
“But how do you think he’s going to do?”
I give her a grin. “I think he’s going to kick some ass.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
We take our seats, and a waitress comes over with glasses of champagne for us. We take the glasses, then sit back and take in all the hoopla going on around us. A-list celebrities, sports figures, and other people of note are all milling around, making sure they’re being seen and having their photos taken, obviously believing they deserve the shine for just showing up. That kind of shit irritates me, to be honest. This isn’t their night.
Other than that minor irritation, I’ve got no complaints. Life has been good to me. Better than anything I had ever anticipated, to be honest. Better than I probably deserve. I’ve got an incredible wife who truly is my better half in all things. And together, we’ve got three amazing children. We’ve got such a beautiful little family that just the thought of them fills my heart with the purest joy I’ve ever felt or thought I would feel in my life.
Professionally, Grace is killing it. She had an offer from half a dozen teams in the NFL and NBA to come work on their training staffs, but she opted to open her own physical therapy clinic. Since she opened, she’s been drawing professional athletes through her doors and has developed a sterling reputation. Her practice just continues to flourish, and I’m so fucking proud of her.
I hate to say that my life is charmed because that only seems to be tempting the fates to throw some wrenches in the works. But even if they do, I know that everything will work out. As long as I have Grace and our kids by my side, I know that everything will be all right. It’s just so strange to think that way because it hasn’t always been the case in my life. For so long, I felt like I lived under a dark cloud and that everything was a struggle. Everything was a fight. It’s not surprising I ended up a pessimist.
It’s been a long, hard road to get to this point, where I can look on the brighter side of things, but with Grace’s help, I feel like I’ve finally gotten here. I’m not going to say that everything is great all day every day, or that there aren’t challenges and struggles. There are. But Grace has helped teach me to embrace and overcome the challenges. She’s taught me to stop letting them get under my skin. And she’s taught me the taste of victory after adversity is so much sweeter. I can’t actually list everything she’s taught me or the myriad of ways she’s changed me for the better, but I’m an entirely new man because of her.
I love my life. I love everything about my life. And I love it in large part because of my family. I honestly never expected to have a wife and children. I never expected to know the sheer joy they bring. Feeling a sense of satisfaction and contentment, both personally and professionally, was most definitely not on my lifetime bingo card. I won’t lie. There’s a small piece of me waiting for the other shoe to drop and have the rug pulled out from under me. A small piece of me waiting to have all the joy stripped from my life.