Hey, and welcome back. It's Cody Sanchez, and this is the Big Deal podcast for those who don't

just want to be rich, but be free and do what it actually takes to get there. Okay, today I have a treat

for you. This is a long-form interview with a real man in, dare I say a world of boys, who's become

a friend, Mike Chandler. So he's a UFC fighter. He won the Bellator championship three times, slated to fight Connor

McGregor, and also oddly one of the nicest humans I've ever had the pleasure to become friends with.

Now, Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face. And Mike and I

joked about that because it turns out that's true. And it's useful kind of to talk to those

who have been repeatedly face punchedpunched and still keep

their demons in their mind at bay. So you should listen to this if you want to be more mentally

strong, you wonder how to take control of a life and a childhood that was hard, you wonder what

it's like to be inside the mind of a champion and you want to have it all, like an incredible

career, a six-pack, beautiful

wife and children like he does. So I think we should get into it. What do you think?

I completely agree. And before we even jump into stuff, I feel like you should read something

that you wrote the other day. So here's my contrarian idea. I think sometimes you need a story to tell yourself when life is hard, when you're losing, and you don't even want to get out of bed. And so I wrote this to remind myself of that. It's the dark of the night. My alarm says 12.44 a.m. but my brain says sleep no more. The world outside is

loud, pounding, insatiable, and it will not settle. A running to-do list races through my mind,

marching like incessant ants in a line. Then I remember, every army needs a general, so I throw off

the covers and relegate sleep to a future self. We've got work to do. God gave us a body filled with capacity, a horde straining

to break free. Better use it. The coffee pot whistles happily thrilled at being used for its true

capacity. Happy to have an early friend to start the day. My pen traces paper taking ideas out of my

head and onto the one place where they can't slip away from me so easily. It's quiet. No emails

coming in, no pings, just me in the night. That feeling of purpose

...