Behind the Fame: Lessons from an Evening with Conor McGregor

Ever found yourself looking at someone else's life with a mix of admiration and a hint of envy? We've all been there. It's that grass-is-greener syndrome that makes us believe that success equals a problem-free existence. But as I unravel my own eye-opening encounter with Conor McGregor, we're reminded that the titans we idolize face their own complex challenges—challenges we might not be so keen to shoulder ourselves.

This episode peels back the curtain on the glamorous facade of fame and fortune, sharing stories and insights from an evening spent with the MMA legend. Join us as we reflect on the relativity of success and why it's crucial to ground our aspirations in the reality of our personal values. Whether you're a business owner, an enthusiast of the fighting world, or just someone seeking a fresh perspective, this conversation is a compelling exploration of the often unseen trade-offs that come with the spotlight.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

The person that you admire doesn't have any less problems than you, they're just different. So often we compare ourselves to others and we look up at who we admire and we maybe put them on a pedestal and think if I only had their success or if I only had their business or their popularity or their perceived financial status, etc. Etc. And the level of success that they have you also have. But it's being displayed in your values and what's most important for you, and so often we perceive in them you wouldn't actually want to trade for what you actually value, because what you perceive in them is only one side of the coin. It's usually the positive, usually the pleasure, usually the upside. But just like a coin, it has to have two sides. So the opposite is also there, which is the negative, the downside, the stress, the risk All of those things are always present. But so often we only maybe see one side and we're blinded to what's actually really there. So I want to tell you a story. Last year me and my wife went to Dublin. I was doing a talk at a company in Dublin called Horizon and that night we went to Conor McGregor's pub for a bite to eat, had a bite to eat. It was beautiful. And on the way out, before we left, we get talking to Conor McGregor's mum and we get some photos taken etc. And on the way out, the guy Leem that is the front of house, the manager of the bar he offered us tickets to go to see Snoop Dogg VIP with Conor McGregor's mum and Conor McGregor. We were obviously a bit shocked and we jumped at it and we took the tickets. We always took his hands off, to be totally honest, and we jumped on the bus. So the next thing, conor McGregor comes on the bus. And I've been a fan of Conor McGregor for a long time. I've looked at and watched all of his fights and he would have been someone that I admired for the things that he's done. Whether you like him or not, it doesn't really matter, but what he's done in the game, what he's done for himself, the success that he's created, is admirable. So that night I got to spend a bit of time with Conor McGregor. We got chatting etc on the bus, we got to go to the VIP and to watch Snoop Dogg, which was fantastic. It was an unbelievable evening.

Speaker 1: 2:41

But what I got to also see was the other shade. What I got to also see was how that would actually be to be someone like Conor McGregor, like a star, what that would actually be like to be able to go out and try to go out and live a normal life. I've seen all the downsides of it. I could see the attention that people wanted. I could see the attention that he needed to give to certain people. I could see that he would not be able to like just be himself a lot of the same and maybe fully relax because there's so many people watching him, wanting to get photos, etc. So I got to also see the other shade of what it must be like to be someone like that, with that amount of popularity, that amount of success, and that's not something that I like, that's not something that I would want, it's not something that I could even think about, even living with. So I also got to see the other shade of the positive. I also got to see the other shade, which a lot of the times we don't get to look into, and I only got a glimpse of it. So I'm not too sure, but I can only imagine what that must be like. So, with every single thing, with every single person that we admire. There's also two sides of the coin. Now, I only got the experience that for one evening. Now imagine what that's like on a day-to-day basis. Imagine that's like living that type of life.

Speaker 1: 4:00

Of course there's a lot of upsides, a lot of positives, a lot of great things, but it also comes with the downside, it also comes with the challenge, it also comes with the drawbacks. So they put this back in the perspective for you as a business owner, as a moller, as a follower, like whoever and whatever you're doing. A lot of the times when we admire other people or we look up to people and we put them in pedestals, a lot of the times what we do is we kind of put ourselves in a pit. When we put ourselves in a pit, we judge ourselves unfairly and that's because we're not looking at things properly, we're not seeing the whole and we look at a certain level of success that a person has attained and achieved and we think that that's something that we want to have, but we're not seeing the other side of it. So here's the thing like a lot of the things that you maybe admire in other people, the level of success that somebody has maybe in their business or their social life or their popularity or their relationship, etc.

Speaker 1: 5:08

You're also successful in your own life. You're also successful in your own form, but you're displaying it in the areas that are most important to you, in the areas that you truly value, whether that's in your business, whether that is a as a moller, as a follower, raising a family. You're displaying your success in your form in the areas that you do most valuable to you. So, when we're going to, if we're constantly like putting ourselves into that comparison trap, if we're constantly falling on that comparison trap, or we think that if we can just get to a certain position, then it's going to be fantastic, or if I could just have that same level of success that that person has, then it's going to be fantastic.

Speaker 1: 5:59

What I want you to realize is that for every goal that you seek, for everything that you want to attain, for every level of success that you want to get to, it has just as many drawbacks as it does advantages. It has just as many negatives as it does positives, because you haven't then reached a level where everything is now happiness and blessing, there's no problems. What you've done is you've just basically switched and changed the Problems that you have at this level for a different set of problems at another level, and I think that when we really begin to grasp that and understand that, we can get the enjoy where we are right now, whatever level of success that you're at in your business and your life and your relationships and your health, whatever it might be. Because the mistake is a lot of the times that If I can just get to this point, then everything's going to be better, if I can just get to this level of success, then everything is going to be better, and it's an illusory line and what we think is going to happen a lot of the times Never really arrives.

Speaker 1: 7:18

Now am I saying that you shouldn't have goals and a vision and things that you want to achieve? Of course not. Of course I'm saying that you should have those things. I have my goals and dreams and visions and things that I want to achieve. But I also know that when I get to a certain level because I've done this in my own life in my business I've seen things change so much, but I still have the same sets of problems, I still have the same challenges, I still have things that I need to deal with and work on consistently.

Speaker 1: 7:49

So a Lot of the times when we admire somebody, it's not that they have any less problems, it's not that they have things different or better. It's not that they have all the upside and no downsides. It's not that they have all the positives and no negatives. That's always there, it's always present. So the set of problems that they have are just different. So again, every goal that you seek has just as many drawbacks as it does advantages. Anything that we want to achieve has just as many negatives as it does positives, and that's okay. If you know that and understand that and it's something that you truly value, then that's fine. You can work towards that.

Speaker 1: 8:33

But I think we all get caught up a lot of times and thinking that if I could just get to this point, or if I could just earn X, or if I could just have my business perform in a certain way, then I would feel much better, I would have less problems, and that may be so, but what I'm also saying is the problems will just be different. I coach a lot of successful business owners that have reached fantastic levels in their business financially and success all the things that they wanted to achieve but they still have problems, they still have challenges, they still have things that they need to deal with, them work on, they still want to be better in certain ways, in certain forms, which is fantastic. My whole thing is to help bring balance back to that perception, which is to help bring their mind and their perceptions back in the equilibrium. To see that where they are right now is also fantastic, and it's about bringing ourselves back into the present.

Speaker 1: 9:36

A lot of the times, while we pursue what it is that we want to achieve, while we pursue what it is that we really want to grow into and I shared something in my social media this morning, which was the goal isn't actually what you need to get in order to achieve the goal. The whole point of a goal is not to actually achieve it, but it's who you need to become in order to attain it. It's what you need to change in your life, in your habits, in your mindset in order to actually achieve that goal. And so often the pursuit of that goal is where the real enjoyment is, but so often we don't actually enjoy it because we're constantly thinking about the next thing and if I can just get here, but if you're listening to this podcast and you are a business owner, or you've reached some sort of success in your life, or you've set goals and whatever way or form in your life and you've actually achieved them.

Speaker 1: 10:34

If you actually be honest with yourself and you look back and you see that the whole enjoyment and the whole like the best part of that was actually setting it, to go and achieve it, the things that you needed to do, they learned to change, the growth that you had, the challenges that you had, those were the things that were most enjoyable, because when you get to that goal, as you all know, it can be fleeting, that feeling can be fleeting and it doesn't last. So, as cliche as it sounds, it is about the journey. But if we are constantly comparing ourselves to other people, then how are we ever really going to be able to enjoy the journey? So what I want you to take away from this is it's not that you shouldn't admire other people or it's not that you shouldn't get inspired by other people, but not to ever put someone on a pedestal and put yourself in a putt and think that because what you see in them is like a level of success that you want to reach, and that now because you're not there, then you should feel so par, or you should feel that you're not good enough, or you're constantly beating yourself up because you can't attain whatever it is that you think that you see in somebody else. What I want to get across is that what you see in them, you also have within yourself, but you're displaying it in the areas that are most important to you. So, whatever trait you admire in that person, look and see where you also perform the same trait, the same action, the same inaction. But you'll do it in the areas that's most important to you. Do it in the areas that you find truly valuable, and that's where you're successful. You're successful in the areas that you truly value. You're successful when you show up and do the thing that you actually really value, that you find most of a priority. That's your level of success. It might not be in something else that you see somebody else doing as a model. It might be that you show up every single day for your kids as a father could be the same as a coach, as a teacher, as a business owner. You show up every single day for your clients and that's your level of success. That's what makes you feel inspired. That's what gives you more energy, that's what you actually really want to do.

Speaker 1: 12:52

So so often we can get distracted. We get distracted thinking that I Wish I could just be this, or I wish I could just be that person or or how, the things that they have and that's fantastic. But also know that it comes with a price. Also know that it comes with the other shade, the negative, the downsides. And if you're willing to pursue all of that, fantastic. But just don't fall under the trap of thinking that the person that I admire has less problems than me because they've achieved X, y and Z. They have the same problems, if not more, and at every single level that you grow into, there's just going to be as many drawbacks as benefits, as many positives as negatives. There's just going to be problems. They're just going to be different sets of problems. Okay, guys, I hope it helps. Speak soon.