Plan. Grow. Insure to Protect.

Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment

Would you capture it or just let it slip?

After the breakout session and during the break of our annual conference, I had run to pick up some pictures as a surprise for some friends that I had hiked a 14er with. When I got back to the hotel, I met up with the Eagle Life wholesalers in the Shep Bar at the Omni. I coincidentally had on the same shirt as the servers of the establishment—a checked blue and red pattern atop a white shirt.

I had been kidding with the gal behind the bar that I was going to end up doing her job at some point. I had a Mama’s Lil Pils and enjoyed our conversation. It was almost time for the evening event to start, so I headed to my room to change. I put on my new pair of slacks, white shirt, vest, and pocket watch. I had Great Gatsby-like shoes to match.

When I went down the elevator, there were a couple of guys standing there right when I walked out, and I was like, “Oh, excuse me.” They were standing there looking at the event, just kind of, you know, checking it out. We ended up walking over toward the Shep Bar, and when I was walking in, I thought, Oh man, I kinda know this guy, so I turned around. I walked back out.

I talked to Dana and John McClellan to ask if I should say hi to Sugar Ray if I saw him in there. They’re like, “Yeah, you know, shoot your shot,” so I went in there and met up with the Eagle guys sitting at the bar. We talked for a second. I asked them if they were going to the dinner at the event, and they said they were heading over there in a few minutes.

I noticed that these guys I’d followed in had been sitting in the corner and no one had helped them, so I casually told the bartender again, “Hey, I’m gonna do your job,” like I’d been telling her for two hours prior. So I went over to the table and said, “Good evening, gentlemen. Can I get you anything to drink?”

The first guy said he would have a Stella, and the second gentleman said Diet Coke. I said, “OK, sounds good—a Stella for my man and a Diet Coke for Sugar Ray.” Ray just kind of smiled and pointed at me.

I walked back over to the bar and told the gal I’d been messing with for hours, “Hey, I need a Stella and a Diet Coke. I don’t care who’s paying for it—charge it to me, my room, whatever. I’ll be right back.” She gave me the drinks. I took them back to the table and set them down.

It ended up that Baxter Humby asked about the Frankwurtr and what it was like on the menu. I told him it was popular but admitted I wasn’t familiar with the food and that their server would be with them shortly. I went back to the bar, stood there for a second, asked about the Frankwurtr, or whatever was on the menu, and then casually went back over and told the gentlemen at the table that it was a glorified hot dog, essentially, and that I’d be right back with someone to take their order.

I went back to the bar and told the bartender, “Hey, I’m happy to be doing your job. I delivered the drinks, I tried to explain the menu, but we really need a professional to go over there and help Sugar Ray Leonard and his buddy.” I don’t think she believed me because she kind of gave me a funny look, rolled her eyes, and kept making her drink. Then a few minutes later, she wandered around the corner and pillar to go see who it was.

I followed her over there to see what was going on and how the situation would transpire. She was taking their order, explaining a few things. I stood there as if I was kind of learning, you know, for the position, and then I walked back to the bar. When she started walking back, she had her hands up against her face with the whole expression of, “Oh my God, that was Sugar Ray Leonard.”

I said, “Yeah, I’ve been trying to tell you.” It was funny because Kurt and Jeremy from Eagle Life still didn’t catch on to the fact that it was actually Sugar Ray—they thought I was just playing a prank on somebody and the bartender.

So I walked back over, semi-kind of apologized but really said, “Hey guys, you know, I don’t wanna bother you, but I’m a huge fan. I don’t wanna make a big deal out of it, but can I ask you…”

I said, “What do you think of Crawford?”

To preface that—Bud Crawford is a boxer from Nebraska. He just defeated Canelo Álvarez a few weeks ago, he’s undefeated, and he’s a five-time champion across multiple weight classes. They’ve been comparing him to Sugar Ray Leonard. My whole thing was—if I could get my hand on the mic, I was gonna ask him.

So I asked, “What do you think of Bud Crawford?”

He said, “Oh, I like him. I like him.”

I said, “OK. I’m from Nebraska—he’s from Omaha. I’m a Nebraska boy. We gotta support our guys.”

He said, “Oh yeah, yeah.”

I said, “Man, that’s awesome. I really appreciate that. I have so many questions.”

He said, “Why don’t you sit down, man?”

So I did, just like a giddy kid. I asked him, “How did you know that you were good at that—or how did you get into it?”

He told me that his brother used to beat up on him, and then his brother got into boxing. He would take Sugar Ray to the gym so that he could make him stronger and have better competition when he was beating up on him.

That led to a conversation about brotherhood and ultimate competition. I brought up my boys and the fact that they’re three and four, and how we’re really trying to differentiate ourselves with discipline—learning how to control our bodies. They can be for good, they can be for bad, but we have to learn how to use them. Boxing, jiu-jitsu, sports—all of it.

I talked to him about my buddy and pledge brother Trey Lippe Morrison and his career, and how his dad was in Rocky IV—Tommy “The Duke” Morrison. I asked him about Jake Paul ruining boxing. We talked about people over anything. We talked about discipline and beliefs associated with becoming your best-self. I shared with them the impact and influence Ben Newman and his coaching had on my mentality for life. Instilling confidence in myself that I was then trying to demonstrate in every day life for my boys.

I alluded to the fact that I’ll never be a champion, but I sure felt like one the other day when I climbed a 14er. Neither of those guys knew what a 14er was, but it came out that Baxter had climbed Mount Whitney in California back in the day. I explained what a 14er was—how Ryan, Val, Matt, and I climbed Mount Elbert—and my answer to “What is a 14er?” was, “Well, it’s a mountain that’s a hell of a lot harder to climb when you get there than you think it’ll be.”

We talked about it, and I told them how, once I got to the top, I started to fist pump like Tiger Woods. I was overcome with emotion—like, “Yeah! Yeah! F*** yeah!” I shared how I’d had that pinched nerve a couple of years ago and could barely walk, and how being able to climb that mountain was an incredible triumph.

I alluded to going through hard times with my wife, mental toughness, fatigue, and what it took to overcome that. Sugar Ray Leonard put his arm around me and said, “Brother, you’re a champion of life.”

I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. His buddy asked me, “Hey man, do you want a picture?”

Absolutely. I’d kind of forgotten that’s why I sat down—to meet him. I told him I thought it was important to familiarize yourself with and respect other champions—to try and lay that groundwork and mentality for the kids, and how important that was to me.

So his buddy asked again, “Hey, do you want a picture?” I took out my phone and handed it to him. Sugar Ray Leonard put his fist up to my chin, pushed on me a little bit, and said, “Yeah, you feel that?”

I said, “Shit yeah, I feel that—you’re stronger than a motherf***er still! How much do you weigh?”

He said, “Probably about 160 pounds.”

It felt like a  300-pound man pushing against my jaw—we took a picture. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome, so I slipped back into the waiter role I’d been assuming. A gal walked by and dropped a fork, so I picked it up, followed her to the bar, thanked them for their time, and left.

I did make it to the event—probably three hours later. I talked to Pete Bergeron about it, and he was real giddy. I think he went to meet Sugar Ray and got the same picture, so he was pretty excited.

After the event, I went back into the bar to see if anybody was awake, just to see what was going on or burn some time, and Baxter was at the bar. I said, “Hey man, how’s it going?” Small talk—just wanted to make sure he felt welcome and that no one was bothering him.

I asked if too many people were bothering Ray for him to hang out, and he said, “No, he doesn’t drink.” So I asked what their relationship was.

I guess I’d walked off and talked to some people for a few minutes, then came back and started talking with him and Daniel—the bald guy (I’ll have to come back and revisit who that actually was). I ended up pulling up a chair next to him that Jeff Brohm was leaning on, and man, we must’ve talked for over an hour—at least.

We talked about the struggles of relationships, being a champion at life, his situation at birth and not losing a limb, Muay Thai and its discipline, and the discipline of life. The mentality you have to have—embracing your differences and understanding that they can be an advantage.

The things people say to you will fuel your burn—it won’t ignite it, because that lies within you—but it will perpetually fuel you. He’s got two beautiful daughters—young, probably, gosh, I don’t know—but you can tell he’s a proud dad. Pictures of them at Stonehenge. He climbed Mount Whitney, showed me pictures, and I showed him my photo on Mount Elbert.

We shared success and really talked about iron sharpening iron—men being better men. Ultimately, the pursuit we’re on is to be the best self we can be, because that’s the true measure of winning.

We talked about preparedness—you’re not nervous if you’ve prepared enough. Baxter Humby reiterated that—a two-time world champion. We talked about how you can never outperform or underperform your own self-image for long.

We talked about all the different ways to be successful—to parlay your talent, motivation, and pave the way. I told him, when you do the right things, the right things happen.

What an amazing experience—and what incredible individuals to share that time with.