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#27 - The Death Before the Rise
47 Plays3 months ago
Forget the filtered highlight reel. This is what growth really looks like—lonely, violent, and unforgiving. It’s death to your old self. It’s pressure, silence, failure, and pain by choice.
If you're not ready to suffer, you're not ready to grow.
This is the side no one talks about.
The part that makes most people quit.
But if you’re still here, you're built for this.
Let’s burn the comfort. And build something real.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Mindset Mutiny'
00:00:20
Mike Ivanov
Welcome to the Mindset Mutiny. I am your host, Mike Ivanov. Join me as we challenge the status quo, break free from self-imposed limits, and redefine what's possible. What's up, everybody?
00:00:32
Mike Ivanov
Welcome back. Real quick, hit the subscribe button for me, would you please? I need that from you so we can keep doing this. And I hate asking, but hurry up and press it.
00:00:48
Mike Ivanov
Anyway, let's get started.
Critique of Superficial Growth Portrayals
00:00:51
Mike Ivanov
You've been lied to. I'm sorry about that, but you have been. Everyone sells growth like it's some glossy feel-good path filled with gratitude journals, protein shakes, and morning fucking sunrises.
00:01:09
Mike Ivanov
It's not real.
00:01:12
Mike Ivanov
Influencers, they show that curated highlight reel. Podcasts tell you to manifest success. YouTube life coaches give you three fucking steps to rewire your mindset. And yeah, there's a place for that shit.
00:01:25
Mike Ivanov
I'm not saying it's all fake, but I'm telling you it's not the whole truth. Because real growth doesn't look good on camera. It's not clean. It's not aesthetic. It's not polished.
00:01:37
Mike Ivanov
It's violent. It's painful. And it's fucking lonely.
Mike's Personal Growth Journey
00:01:46
Mike Ivanov
It's so lonely.
00:01:51
Mike Ivanov
It's waking up in the middle of the night with anxiety because you don't know who you are anymore. It's breaking down in the car after a long day because you're carrying the weight of a future that hasn't yet aw arrived.
00:02:03
Mike Ivanov
It's showing up anyway. It's screaming into the pillow, lifting with rage, running until you break, not because it feels good, but because you have to.
00:02:17
Mike Ivanov
Those are all things that resonate with me absolutely personally.
00:02:29
Mike Ivanov
Growth has been really hard, really dark.
00:02:36
Mike Ivanov
And I've needed those runs. I've needed those lifts. I need jiu-jitsu
00:02:45
Mike Ivanov
to confirm That I'm in the right place. I need that to strengthen the mind further so that I can continue to grow. It's not about the miles.
00:02:59
Mike Ivanov
It's not about the weight. It's not about choking people. It's about pushing the mind to do things that it doesn't think it can do. Because when the real shit comes, you can count on yourself.
00:03:16
Mike Ivanov
That's why I do it. I'm preparing for something bigger to come.
Method of 'Going Dark' for Development
00:03:23
Mike Ivanov
So I mentioned that I have this big speech to in front of 8,000 people. If I hadn't been doing all of these other things, pushing myself into my fears, doing the things I don't want to do, pushing through burnout, all of this type of shit, wouldn't be ready for this.
00:03:42
Mike Ivanov
I probably would say no. But because I've taken all of these steps, I've been in the dark growing,
00:03:50
Mike Ivanov
I can accept that challenge. So I always use this term going dark, you know, and some people laugh at me for it, but it, it means so much to me. It's a mental signal that I'm locking in and that for 30, 60, 90, 120 days, nothing else is going to matter.
00:04:12
Mike Ivanov
Don't bother me. I'm locked in.
00:04:17
Mike Ivanov
I did it recently. i think it was in January. got off Instagram for 60 days, locked the fuck in, built something huge.
00:04:29
Mike Ivanov
I think you all should consider going dark, especially, you know, now that we're talking about growth being dark, it just works. Go dark, get rid of all the distractions, get rid of all the noise, and just focus.
00:04:44
Mike Ivanov
Focus on number one, making yourself better every single day. Go dark for 30, 60, 90, 120 days, whatever you picture, and then pop your head out after that. See if you recognize anything.
00:04:59
Mike Ivanov
You won't. Your perspectives will change. You'll be a different person. I challenge you to do it. Put the fucking phone away, man.
Real Growth: Discomfort and Sacrifice
00:05:06
Mike Ivanov
It's ruining your life. You think you're going to level up with that phone in your hand?
00:05:12
Mike Ivanov
Nope. And while we're talking about leveling up, most people say they want to. But they have no clue what they actually mean by that. Because real growth, it's not sexy.
00:05:26
Mike Ivanov
It's not clean. It's fucking hard. It's brutal. And if you're not willing to suffer, to get ugly, to sacrifice everything you think you know, then this path isn't for you.
00:05:42
Mike Ivanov
But if you're still listening, if you're still here, then welcome. This is the dark side of growth and this is where your evolution begins.
Metaphor of Growth: Death of Old Self
00:05:56
Mike Ivanov
Growth begins with death. Not literal, but internal.
00:06:04
Mike Ivanov
Some of you that have known me for a while have probably heard me say that I killed the old Mike. At first, it was the fat Mike. How to kill that motherfucker. I buried him. He's never coming back.
00:06:18
Mike Ivanov
He's dead. Don't even recognize him when I look back in pictures. And I used to think that that was the only version of myself that I killed.
00:06:28
Mike Ivanov
And yeah, it needs to be brutal. I know like when you say kill, you know, that shit like that, people might get a little queasy about it. But you have to make that designation in your mind. Because if you don't, you'll allow that old person to still live, which will rob you of whatever you're trying to do.
00:06:46
Mike Ivanov
Right? So there's been many versions of myself that I've had to kill. And it's okay. Because the next evolution is better. The next evolution is more ready to take on the world.
00:07:00
Mike Ivanov
The next evolution is more equipped to walk into my calling. right So I have to talk about these things. I killed the old fat mic. I killed the old comfortable mic.
00:07:12
Mike Ivanov
I killed the mic that was afraid to public speak. you know i took I handled this stuff. So I want to share with you that growth starts with the death of the old you.
00:07:24
Mike Ivanov
When you decide to change your life, not just say you want to change it but you truly decide to change it, You are declaring war on the version of yourself that got you here.
00:07:37
Mike Ivanov
And that version, they're not going to go quietly.
00:07:43
Mike Ivanov
That version has been built for years, has had habits for years, years of shortcuts, years of rationalizing weakness.
00:07:55
Mike Ivanov
That's the guy who skips the workouts because he's tired. That's the guy who avoids hard conversations. That's the guy who lives in the gray area, half committed, therefore half alive.
00:08:07
Mike Ivanov
And here's the truth. You can't level up and keep that version of you alive. So what do you have to do? You got to fucking kill him. You starve out his excuses.
00:08:21
Mike Ivanov
You suffocate his distractions. You bury his doubts. And the funeral won't feel good. I promise you that. You'll grieve. You'll resist. You'll want to go back to what was familiar.
00:08:33
Mike Ivanov
But that's the fucking price.
00:08:37
Mike Ivanov
I've paid it many, many times. I've never regretted it. And when you finally pull the trigger on that old self, you'll feel something different.
Loneliness in Pursuit of Growth
00:08:50
Mike Ivanov
Freedom.
00:08:53
Mike Ivanov
Now you're no longer dragging the dead weight into your future. You're walking into it with your eyes wide open and a fucking weapon in your hand.
00:09:09
Mike Ivanov
Again, this path is not for everyone. I have to warn you. Nobody talks about the loneliness. When you just start demanding more from yourself, you start making people on uncomfortable.
00:09:24
Mike Ivanov
You might be uncomfortable right now. Good.
00:09:31
Mike Ivanov
When you start demanding more from yourself, people stop calling.
00:09:37
Mike Ivanov
Invitation stops showing up. The group chat starts drying out.
00:09:45
Mike Ivanov
Sometimes you might even think something's wrong with you, but nothing's wrong. You're just no longer available for mediocrity. You're not showing up to gossip.
00:09:56
Mike Ivanov
You're not wasting weekends numbing yourself. You're not fucking talking about the weather. You're not chasing cheap dopamine anymore.
00:10:07
Mike Ivanov
And people don't know what to do with that.
00:10:13
Mike Ivanov
I have noticed that growth creates distance.
00:10:18
Mike Ivanov
And that most people out there, they don't want to grow.
Despising Comfort for True Growth
00:10:24
Mike Ivanov
They want comfort.
00:10:28
Mike Ivanov
You show them what's possible and it makes them uncomfortable.
00:10:33
Mike Ivanov
So they'll pull back. They'll laugh at you. They'll say you've changed. And you know what? You have because you're supposed to.
00:10:46
Mike Ivanov
The path you're on, it's lonely, but it's sacred because only those willing to suffer for greatness will ever find it.
00:10:59
Mike Ivanov
You can be disciplined. You can have a perfect schedule, but if your mind isn't under control, you're not ready for war. Your brain, left unchecked, will sabotage everything.
00:11:11
Mike Ivanov
It'll replay every failure. It'll whisper every insecurity. It'll convince you that you're not ready. That you're not capable. That you're wasting your time.
00:11:25
Mike Ivanov
The mental war zone isn't loud like you think it would be. It's quiet. It happens when no one's around.
00:11:34
Mike Ivanov
You'll have moments where you're crushed by doubt. Where you're exhausted. Where quitting seems logical.
00:11:42
Mike Ivanov
And in that silence, you have a choice.
00:11:50
Mike Ivanov
Fold or fight.
00:11:53
Mike Ivanov
Because this is where the separation happens. Most people break right here. They back off when it gets heavy. But you, us, together...
00:12:08
Mike Ivanov
You plant your feet. You square your jaw. And you whisper, bring it. Because the voice in your head doesn't get the final say. You do.
00:12:20
Mike Ivanov
And when you learn to override that weakness with action, with movement, with fire, you become untouchable.
Embracing Failure for Growth
00:12:32
Mike Ivanov
People think failure is the opposite of growth.
00:12:39
Mike Ivanov
That if you're failing, you're doing something wrong.
00:12:46
Mike Ivanov
And as I'm talking about this right now, I'm fast forwarding to ah moment a couple years ago. was talking to my wife about something.
00:12:58
Mike Ivanov
You know, and I had said like, I've never failed at anything in my life. And I was saying it
00:13:06
Mike Ivanov
to say like, hey, I can do this, right? Never failed anything in my life. so it was like a positive self-talk. But at the same time, I'm thinking, well, shit, if I haven't failed anything in my life, then I'm not trying hard enough.
00:13:23
Mike Ivanov
Right? If you're not failing at anything in your life, you're not trying hard enough. If you're not the beginner in something,
00:13:35
Mike Ivanov
you're leaving shit on the table. And it's funny to look at my mindset those couple years ago
00:13:46
Mike Ivanov
because it's just seeing how fast I've changed.
00:13:51
Mike Ivanov
And all of these things I've chosen in the last couple years were all giant fears, were all things I've failed at. And now I've turned those failures into successes.
00:14:04
Mike Ivanov
And you can do the same thing.
00:14:09
Mike Ivanov
If you're failing, you're not doing something wrong. You're doing something right. If you're not failing, you're playing too small. Growth is born in failure.
00:14:23
Mike Ivanov
In taking the shots you're not ready for. In swinging and missing. Every time you fall short, you get a gift. You learn where you're weak. You learn what needs to be sharpened.
00:14:38
Mike Ivanov
That's fucking great. But most people avoid it. They build a little world they can dominate in. Where they can stay safe.
00:14:50
Mike Ivanov
Where they can stay competent.
00:14:55
Mike Ivanov
That's some toxic fucking shit. Think about that. People build a little world they can dominate in.
00:15:05
Mike Ivanov
god Think about that. How limiting is that?
00:15:13
Mike Ivanov
Putting yourself on a playing field where you're the best. What the fuck? I need you to think about it because you're probably doing it.
00:15:24
Mike Ivanov
I think about it all the time.
00:15:29
Mike Ivanov
When you're in a field where you don't dominate, it's scary.
00:15:37
Mike Ivanov
It's uncomfortable.
00:15:40
Mike Ivanov
It's growth.
00:15:44
Mike Ivanov
So stop building this little world. Take the long shots.
00:15:49
Mike Ivanov
You, you step into the arena where you're the underdog, where you bleed, where you take losses. And that's where the greatest is forged.
00:16:03
Mike Ivanov
You build resistance by not being the best in the room. You build resilience by not being best in the room. Sorry.
00:16:15
Mike Ivanov
You grow by choosing discomfort. So stop fearing the failure. Start chasing it. Because the man who's willing to fail more will always become more.
00:16:35
Mike Ivanov
You don't get a life without pain.
Discipline vs. Regret in Growth Journey
00:16:37
Mike Ivanov
It's not how it works. That's why you just can't stay comfortable because life isn't designed that way. You will get fucking crushed.
00:16:51
Mike Ivanov
But you get to choose the type of pain.
00:16:56
Mike Ivanov
One pain is sharp, clean, intentional. It's the pain of getting up early, pushing limits, grinding, failing when no one's watching, right? The other is slow.
00:17:07
Mike Ivanov
And it's quiet. It's the pain of watching your potential rot. The pain of waking up in a life you didn't fight for.
00:17:19
Mike Ivanov
Discipline, yeah, it hurts in the short term. But regret hurts forever. So stop running from pain. Start choosing it. Choose the pain that sharpens you.
00:17:31
Mike Ivanov
The pain that strips away weakness. The pain that builds armor around your soul. Every rep, every run, every hard conversation, every decision, that's a fucking brick.
00:17:43
Mike Ivanov
And brick by brick, you build a version of you that doesn't break.
00:17:50
Mike Ivanov
You want to live soft? You'll suffer harder later. But if you train yourself to suffer now, intentionally, you'll rise while the rest stay buried.
00:18:06
Mike Ivanov
So now that you know growth isn't cute, it's not inspirational, it's not perfectly curated journey, it's blood, it's isolation, it's screaming in the car after a hard day, but still showing up the next morning.
00:18:20
Mike Ivanov
It's telling the world no and telling yourself yes, growth is war. And every day you're either gaining ground or you're giving it up.
00:18:29
Mike Ivanov
So here's your choice.
00:18:33
Mike Ivanov
Keep pretending, keep lying to yourself, keep playing small and blaming your past, or burn your old life to the ground.
00:18:44
Mike Ivanov
Stand in the flames and rise as someone no one, not even you, saw coming. Let's fucking go.