Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth Part 2

In the book "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth" Tyson reveals his rock-bottom upbringings that shaped him to become one of the best boxers of all time. Things that you wouldn't think a celebrity would ever have to go through; he lived through it all. For a multi-millionaire to have once been starving on the streets of Brownsville not knowing where he'll sleep that night, that's Mike Tyson. He speaks about how he is unable to find love or understand how to love. It seems contradictory that such a successful person had such a hard life early on, but without the early hardships, he would've never had the success he had.
Tyson wrote in his book a whole part about how when he had money, it was almost as if he had to buy love and friendship. Growing up, he didn't know how to love. He didn't know what it meant. His mother never showed him affection and he didn't even know his real father. When I personally think of a celebrity, naturally you think they have always had everything they wanted and were just incredibly talented at one particular thing. But that isn't the case. In fact, I've always believed it was the upbringing that made someone be successful. If you're always handed everything, there can't really be that feeling of really working hard at something and then getting rewarded. If you're handed everything, then there is no need to work for it. Not to say that sometimes you won't be successful if that's your case. But with people like Mike Tyson, Andre Agassi, Muhammed Ali, and a lot of other successful people, they had hard upbringings but that's why they became so successful in their fields. They wanted something so badly that they did everything in order to get it.
In conclusion, Mike Tyson seems like someone who was just successful and got rich and lived a happy life. But that's the complete opposite, he came out of nowhere, was rock-bottom poor, and fought his way (literally) to the top. It was with hard work, dedication, and motivation to completely turn his life around.

Investing Money in Athletes

In the UpFront Magazine article "I'll Buy 50 Shares of Tom Brady" the article speaks about how now the new stock market may revolve around buying shares of professional athletes. This new concept of investing money into people is something that could be the next generation of stocks. And just a new way of thinking that could lead into investing money into things that people thought we could never really invest in.
One reason I think this could be the future of stocks and investments is because of the recent boom of investing of professional athlete's performance. For example, Fantasy Football has become so popular, which is games that you can make a lot of money off of if you have the right strategies in creating a good team. Personally, I play in a few money leagues and I've made almost five times what I payed to enter the league when I've won. This can't really be called an "investment" but it's become increasingly popular in some online ways people make money. As it says in the article, "your share will go up if the player receives a big contract or performs well on the field." It's weird if you think about it, you can make money off of how someone performs in a football game. I like this concept if you are into investing in a favorite player that you think has a lot of potential. And it's more of a short term investment which would make it more exciting for a little younger generation.
In conclusion, I think that investing in people is something that is still in its early stages, but could develop and could lead into being able to invest into other things. It could be the future of stocks and shares. It could really attract a certain group of fans and people that are into sports.

In the book by Malcom Gladwell "Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants" it speaks about how underdogs in either sports or life in general have the advantage. It speaks about how there isn't the pressure that you're expected to win something or do well. People expect you to lose and have no expectations.
One good point he makes is that you can always perform with a free spirit in your head. That free spirit is a critical part of success because it means that you are less tense and stressed out, therefore causing you to perform better. One example he used was in college basketball. The "March Madness" tournament is the biggest college basketball tournament that always has a few major upsets. The 15th seed underdog beating a top seed is always a common occurrence every year in the tournament. Those top seeds freeze up when they are down by a few points with not much time remaining. They're psychological game isn't as strong as their physical game therefore causing them to panic and then lose to a team they should beat. It happens a lot in sports, because as the old saying is "you have nothing to lose".  Personally, I play tennis competitively in tournaments and I always enjoy playing seeded players when I'm not seeded because I know I have nothing to lose. And that's always when I play my best because I have a free state of mind.
In conclusion, Gladwell's idea of underdogs really having the advantage is very accurate. They don't always win, but it allows them to play more freely, with less to lose. I've had that feeling of being the underdog and although people may not know you because you are the underdog, it's a great way to start by making a name for yourself and beating the higher ranked opponents.