Everything.

Everything.

You can't You're gonna have self doubts.

You're gonna have a tough moments.

You're gonna have everything you know.

You're gonna have people talking bad about you people putting you down, getting cut.

You know, uh, it takes getting up in the morning and doing the same thing.

You know, I understand.

People talk about a lot of mental toughness, right?

Uh, mental toughness.

You meditate and stuff for me.

Honestly, mental toughness is getting up in the morning and doing the same thing, Dane and they out Dane and they out for whatever it takes, whatever that goal is, you know, And by doing that, you become the best on it takes everything.

I mean, you have to.

I mean, the three aces that I love, you know, suffer, you know, a sacrifice, suffer, sacrifice, equal success.

You gotta suffer, you know, it's gonna be it's gonna suck, you know, like I mean, I worked what, 15 hours a day I'll get up, you know, and then trying to stay in shape.

Imagine that as a 17 year old European in Boston was spoken English, there was a lot of software.

Ah, lot of sacrifice.

You know, I don't have any friends or girlfriends or anywhere to go right.

I was just working, working, working, working.

And then success can you know later Because I build this foundation so it takes everything you know.

But it's not for long.

You know, people think that to be greater, to be something really good.

It's a lifetime.

It's not because once you achieve, that is another thing, right.

But by building the right foundation Dane and day out, you achieve something and that leaves another thing, opens upto different.

It takes everything you know And what is everything is your mind in your body?

You know, people are wishful thinkers, you know I wanna be the best.

I wanna be rich.

I wanna lose weight, Whatever that you know, The wishful thinking is, you know, But they hate to take the steps or they take the steps and it's hard.

Change is hard changing your body.

Changing your mind is very hard and people stop and people come to seven point their brain.

So everything is making up your mind mentally and not giving up, but also physically pushing through your hardship.

You know, when it hurt to be an Olympian, right?

You spent four years for two weeks or maybe one week because you might lose and get out.

So it's a It's a crazy work.

Workforce and discipline and mindset.

Right.

So to be able to play in Greece and then go have a chance to go to China I was blown away by my by my ability, right.

When you call about self doubt, I'm like, there's no self doubt and I'm like, man, now I'm the man, you know?

So I was the captain.

I was at the peak of, you know, the peak of my career.

Uh, we just lost in in Athens and as a group were young group that joined the team in 2000.

We're young in Athens, and then we made a pact to ourselves that we're gonna win gold in China.

We actually made a plan.

How when why we went toe work.

We went toe work and slowly, you know, build that foundation.

In 2007 hours, I was in Italy playing for the best team.

I was the captain making a ton of money, and then I turned and then my kill is not.

I fall down in tremendous pain because there's two ways to actually kill.

This one comes out.

You can walk and go the doctor or the second one is the hardest thing.

It snaps in half.

So I fall down on Di see my foot hanging on.

I can't move my toys.

My I mean my toes.

I'm trying to and I can't.

I'm just crying because there's so much pain and shock.

The doctor comes in, you know, put this thing in the Achilles and just, you know, I mean, it was just harsh pain, and I was like, Oh, it's your killers And I knew it that on that Beijing is done.

When he said that, I was like, No, and I just burst into years back seven years to build a truly American dream and hardship.

It's over.

In a matter of one minute myself, Dad was like, I'm done with us 18.

And that scared me because for me, that was most important thing.

Not professionally, not the money being part of use a team on that group of guys and that you know, that amazing tournament is just you know there's nothing like that in life, You know, it was already experienced in Greece, and now I'm the captain of the team.

So there was the number one self doubt and that, you know, kind off stroke of fear.

I mean, I had to sit 26 days with a leg up above your heart, not move anything.

And a lot of thoughts came to my mind, you know?

I mean, thoughts about quitting.

I was 32.

Thank God wasn't social media back then.

So you can be good, you know, good and bad, right?

But, you know, friends were supportive, but they're like, you know, 30 to maybe take the real estate test, you know, maybe think about the future, maybe think about that.

And then once all these people started doubting and start pushing me away, you know, even my parents, you know, my parents were still conservative and working on small job, you know, in a small town and say, you know something?

I mean, awesome.

And you made it like what else you want.

You know, like you're the man like, you know, Val Albanian that your God, I said, But I want to be the best player in the world, and I didn't achieve that dream.

You know, since 11 since nine, my dream has been to be the best in the world.

So why this injury will stop me?

So I started researching.

I said, what is the comeback time for Achilles?

I start doing a lot of research, and I start I made a bet with myself was weird one of these nights, you know, uh, in Italy a Z.

I got better at wait 23 months to fly back to U.

S A.

I was drinking wine on.

I couldn't walk still with crutches.

And I said, You know what?

It's gonna be a test between me and activists.

Honestly, I mean, I was like, I made a bet with myself.

I'm like, Who's gonna win?

So my mind started working on that moment or the moment of like, Okay, how long they take?

What work do I have to do?

How to do it?

Where and then once I had the plan, I just wake up every morning.

I was the first one of us a team and eyes and stretch on the last one to go so It was just a simple bet.

Meal, meal, the leg.

Andi I want at the Olympic team every four years.

The summer of Olympics.

The cost comes in, brings all the guys about 30 40 guys that try out for four years.

And then he sits down and tells the team who makes it or not.

It's a very, very ruthless decision.

Right on.

The coach comes in and hey said, You know, put the list of a team and I e got upset the first time.

Told that I became Albanian man, I I Albania of me came out.

I was just became angry and loud.

I'm like what?

You know, like why you know why cutting me like you know you, you stupid, crazy And I'm costing at the coach.

He's like he gets it.

Thank God.

You know, he took the high road just coming down, and we're just talking for two hours and I was crushed, you know, like I kind of went back to the old mentality, you know?

And that summer I kind of give up.

You know, that summer I was drinking, playing beach volleyball for fun.

It was weird.

It was just very odd mix of feelings.

I didn't know how to control them.

I had no idea.

Back then I was engaged and then break up with my with my fiancee toe.

I start doubting everything, right.

And my Italian team that I was playing had a big contract for three years.

Massive amount of money and they caught me.

They said we want to pay you.

You know you're not ready yet.

I'm like I'm ready.

Look at me.

I'm jumping.

I'm running.

No, you're done.

So that month of August Waas it was very dark.

2008.

I made the dream.

I was a top of the mountain And then it was not all the cost.

I took a second.

I was nobody.

E just wanted to kind of get lost.

Forget about Europe U S A team and everything should be on my own.

It was the best medicine ever, you know, because that's what you really find yourself.

You gotta hit drug bottom when they say it right.

And I realized that I was blaming everybody else by myself.

I was like, Man, I blame the coach.

My fiance, team, the Italian manager, everybody but me first time in my life that I was maybe I become too cocky or confident, I don't know.

But I realized I was blaming everybody else by myself.

So I made another bet with myself.

I said, I'll never From this moment on, I'll never allow anybody or anything else to dictate my life.

It's gonna be my way.

And I called the coach and like I wanna try out, I'll study 3.

34 the coach like, Are you crazy?

I'm like, I'm gonna try out.

You put me on the bottom of the list.

I want turning that on went toe work instead of getting a crappy contract.

I went to Italy, got a cheap contract, and I proved myself again.

And I became the best in the world way.

You gotta hit that.

You know, it's about experience.

And I think like, if you don't have that experience, if you don't, um, uh, confident to go through those experiences people.

When people, when people go through tough times, they protect themselves.

They're going to the show because and we as humans, as you know, you know our mind, you know, from back in the day it was it was to protect yourself from fire from fighting.

So human mind is always kind of like being, you know, risk is not good for you, you know, go hike over the mountains, right?

It's bad for you.

Write everything is bad.

And I was like, No, no, no.

I mean, I e have to take this risk.

I have to push myself.

I have tow suffer, you know, I have to sacrifice in order to achieve that success.

Otherwise, I will never be the guy that I wanted.

Thio, Um, first of all, to get up every day and outwork others, you know, being a great teammate, you know, being a great part of whatever team it is, you know, whatever.

Wherever you are at school, with your friends, at sports, you know, being a great person around your teammates, you know, And lastly is like, don't burn bridges.

I told my kids because I was I went through a lot of ups and downs, you know?

So I you know, I burned footbridges by mistake.

You know, I have mental those bridges now.

You know, I went back and apologized, you know, because I was in a dark space.

But, you know, I said, you know, it's you as good as the person next to you know, you as good as that mentor or business person or teacher or coach, you know, you know, you know, alone is very hard to make it.

You know, people will actually help you if you ask for help.

But you got to show them that you are hardworking, a good person, and then success.

All this comes whatever that is monetary or passion or whatever that is for.

You know, it always comes.

If you do that work, there's not gonna come to nobody's gonna give it to you.

Uh, you know, when things are hard, when you're in the dark place, they're still like, you know, it's just a matter off, you know, switching your mentality.

You know, switching that thought process on continued to work for the right thing.

And it's not scary just because they sound scary.