Boxing Legend Canelo Álvarez: How Meditation CHANGED My Life & Helps Me WIN!

Welcome to The School of Greatness! Today, we’re stepping into the ring with none other than Canelo Álvarez, a true titan of the boxing world. Canelo joins us to share the wisdom gained from nearly two decades in the ring, discussing everything from the evolution of his training routines to the deep personal growth spurred by life’s challenges. Whether you're a boxing aficionado or seeking to learn about perseverance and resilience, this conversation promises powerful insights into what it means to truly pursue greatness. Stay tuned as Canelo Álvarez reveals the lessons of his illustrious career, his ongoing journey of personal development, and his vision for life beyond the ropes. In this episode you will learnExplore the evolution of Canelo Álvarez's training methods from his early days to his current status as a boxing champion. Learn about the significant life lessons Canelo has acquired from his extensive career in professional boxing. Understand Canelo’s strategies for managing stress and maintaining focus during high-stakes competitions. Examine the role of family in shaping Canelo's personal and professional life, highlighting the influence of his upbringing and his experiences as a father. Delve into Canelo’s plans for the future, including his interests in business and his thoughts on legacy building post-boxing. For more information go to www.lewishowes.com/1609For more Greatness text PODCAST to +1 (614) 350-3960More SOG episodes we think you’ll love:Javier “Chicharito” Hernández – https://link.chtbl.com/1435-podAllyson Felix – https://link.chtbl.com/1456-podChris Bumstead – https://link.chtbl.com/1602-pod Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Nobody believes in me before. And I showed them what person can accomplish with determination, with that believing in yourself and everything. And I'm just starting.

• 0:15Speaker 01

  And now, entering the arena, here is the Power, the Power King. Saul Canelo.

• 0:33Speaker 00

  Meditation changed my mind. I feel in my best. I feel not just in boxing, in life.

• 0:39Lewis Howes?

  Do you have any fear when you fight today?

• 0:42Speaker 00

  I never feel fear.

• 0:44Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 0:47Lewis Howes?

  What is it you want your legacy to be after that last match?

• 0:52Speaker 00

  One of the best in the history of boxing. And I'm gonna cry that day when you walk into the ring and hear all the people screaming and singing that song you put and everything. I'm gonna miss that moment.

• 1:12Lewis Howes?

  Hey, guys, we're here in a remote location, and we just interviewed Canelo, the greatest boxer arguably of all time. And it's been amazing to see behind the scenes. We're here, where he actually trains. Some of his shoes, some of his gloves. You know, you've got the bag, you've got the Canelo right here, the logo. We've got his shoes and gloves over here that are actually drying, getting ready for a session, sparring session later. And we got the ring behind, so I'll show you really quick.

• 1:38Lewis Howes?

  All right, it's pretty cool. And one of the things that I was really impressed and inspired about him was his commitment and his passion for his sport, for his family, for a team that he's been with for a long time, and for just the process of being a champion. And he really talks about not having the fear of pursuing your dreams and pursuing your passions, but loving the process. Again, we're in this remote location. He's got his whole setup. He's got a detailed regimen every single day. Train, rest, run, rest. You know, think about and visualize. He's just getting into meditation. So it's so cool to see after nearly 20 years,

• 2:21Lewis Howes?

  almost two decades of mastering his craft and being at the top of his game. He's learning meditation this year and he's talking about how it's changing his mind. It's changing his life. It's changing his ability to bring the power to his fights by adding more skills. So he's not slowing down. He's only getting better. He's only improving himself even more. And I think it's really cool to see someone after this many years who has made so much money, hundreds of millions of dollars in his career. All the businesses, all the success, all the fame. He's a king in his country. People of Mexico love this man.

• 3:02Lewis Howes?

  It's so cool to see that he's humble, to see that he talks about love, that he talks about his passion. And I just think that's really cool. So we're here in this location. It was an amazing experience to watch him behind the scenes, to connect with him. And I hope you enjoy this interview. The first thing I want to ask you, you've almost been boxing for 20 years, almost two decades.

• 3:23Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:25Lewis Howes?

  Is there a difference between how you trained early on when you were a nobody, the first few years in your teens versus how you train now? Mentally, physically, is there a difference? If so, what is that difference?

• 3:38Speaker 00

  Mentally, I think it's

• 3:41Speaker 00

  the same mentality, the same hungry, you know, is for me is I train my mental, my mind is always try to get more. Try to get more

• 3:58Speaker 00

  history to my career and, and I never, it's never enough for me.

• 4:05Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 4:05Speaker 00

  It's never enough for me. I always train so hard because, you know, I, I started like that. Training so hard because in my mind always when I was kid, I say, I want to be a champion. And then I, I accomplished that champion and I say, it's something else more, it's something else there. So I always my mind is always, it's never enough for my mind.

• 4:32Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 4:33Speaker 00

  I always trained so hard and I and I love boxing so much. I enjoy it. I enjoy it. I still enjoy it.

• 4:41Lewis Howes?

  You still enjoy it? But it's almost been twenty years, right? Twenty years.

• 4:45Speaker 00

  Nineteen professional.

• 4:47Lewis Howes?

  Nineteen professional. What is the three greatest lessons that boxing has taught you in almost twenty years of boxing?

• 4:54Speaker 00

  It's gonna be very difficult to pick three lessons because I think the man I am right now, I learned from boxing because my whole life, I give my whole life to boxing. I think boxing teach me everything, everything, bad and goods and everything. I think boxing made me.

• 5:22Lewis Howes?

  It made you, yeah. What is the lesson that you would say to your younger self with all the wisdom and experience you have now?

• 5:30Speaker 00

  The only thing I can say to them, like if I-

• 5:36Lewis Howes?

  You're fifteen in front of you.

• 5:37Speaker 00

  I have my son and say, "You can do whatever you want. You just need to be able to have, able to sacrifices, discipline and hard work."

• 5:50Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 5:50Speaker 00

  And have a good mentality because if you have that three things, discipline, sacrifices and-

• 5:59Lewis Howes?

  Hard work.

• 6:00Speaker 00

  Hard work, but if you don't have that mentality, it's gonna be very difficult.

• 6:05Lewis Howes?

  How do you keep the hunger alive inside of you for so long though? Because you're starting out as a young man wanting to be a champion. You became a champion. But how do you continue year after year to stay hungry and love it so much?

• 6:20Speaker 00

  I don't know. I don't know. I always say because I love what I do and I have that passion on me and I love what I do and I enjoy it. And I'm that kind of man.

• 6:33Speaker 00

  I'm that kind of person say, "If I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do a hundred percent."

• 6:38Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 6:38Speaker 00

  No in the middle, no ninety percent, no, I'm hundred percent. I always try to do my best and try to do my everything and I think because I love what I do.

• 6:50Lewis Howes?

  Mm-hmm. How do you manage fear? Did you have a lot of fear growing up as you started fighting? And do you have any fear when you fight today?

• 6:59Speaker 00

  I never feel fear.

• 7:01Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 7:01Speaker 00

  In boxing, I never feel how it's like to-

• 7:07Speaker 00

  Feel that the fear, I always enjoy it, my, my, I just enjoy a lot. I, my favorite day, my favorite thing is sparring days and a fight day is I, I just enjoy it a lot.

• 7:22Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 7:23Speaker 00

  I enjoy it and I never

• 7:26Speaker 00

  have that experience to, to, to feel the fear or something on.

• 7:31Lewis Howes?

  When you became a champion, world champion, did you feel fear to lose that ever?

• 7:35Speaker 00

  No.

• 7:35Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 7:36Speaker 00

  No, never, never feel that fear.

• 7:39Lewis Howes?

  Why not? Well, did someone teach you how to overcome fear or is it?

• 7:42Speaker 00

  I don't know. I, I just, I always say because I, I really enjoy boxing. I really love boxing. I really love being in the, in the, in the ring fighting. I never thinking about, oh, if this happened or I always go with the mentality to, to win and enjoy.

• 8:01Lewis Howes?

  Do you ever, when you're preparing for a fight, do you ever think about, well, what happens if I get knocked down? Or if I lose, will I feel bad or?

• 8:09Speaker 00

  And I never think about lose. I never think about lose. I always think and train eh for the win.

• 8:17Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 8:17Speaker 00

  And yes, I do, I, I, I think about if I get knocked out, how I'm gonna reaction and we train about everything.

• 8:26Lewis Howes?

  Train it when you, you'll fall down.

• 8:27Speaker 00

  If I feel dizzy, what I'm gonna do.

• 8:30Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 8:30Speaker 00

  I, I, we always train about that.

• 8:33Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 8:33Speaker 00

  We, we prepare ourselves for, for everything, of course, but I never think about losing.

• 8:39Lewis Howes?

  Wow. What is the process like the day of a fight for you mentally and emotionally? How do you prepare for that fight?

• 8:47Speaker 00

  For me, it's a normal day.

• 8:49Lewis Howes?

  Just like grab a cup of coffee, relax, hang out?

• 8:51Speaker 00

  Relax, obviously eh very relaxed, but for me in my mind is, is, is a normal day.

• 8:58Lewis Howes?

  Really? But the world is gonna watch you on these fights. There's so much money on the line that, you know.

• 9:03Speaker 00

  I don't think about that. For me, it's normal. I'm gonna do my thing and that's it. Obviously, I think I, I, I, I.

• 9:17Speaker 00

  I put everything together that day. We we put in the whole training camp.

• 9:25Lewis Howes?

  Uh huh.

• 9:25Speaker 00

  I put, okay, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that. We trained for this and that. But for me, it's a normal day. It's like a.

• 9:33Lewis Howes?

  You wake up the same time?

• 9:34Speaker 00

  If you see me in the locker room twenty minutes before the fight, I'm I'm listening music, chilling with my with my team. So for me, it's a normal day.

• 9:47Lewis Howes?

  Are you not visualizing the fight?

• 9:49Speaker 00

  Yeah, always.

• 9:50Lewis Howes?

  You are?

• 9:50Speaker 00

  I always visualize my my my fight in in the nights. I know, okay, if this happened, I'm gonna do this, everything.

• 9:59Lewis Howes?

  How much energy does it take from you to visualize? It's there's a lot of energy to train, to run every day, to to spar, to lift. But how much energy to actually think at night about what you're gonna do in the ring?

• 10:13Speaker 00

  I just think I I I don't I don't I don't put so much energy to think. Because I just I just, okay, I'm gonna do this and this. I trained for this and that's it.

• 10:25Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 10:25Speaker 00

  I for me, like, my life routine.

• 10:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 10:31Speaker 00

  It's not like I wanna do this or to stress myself, no.

• 10:38Lewis Howes?

  It's relaxing.

• 10:38Speaker 00

  It's relaxing.

• 10:39Lewis Howes?

  It's relaxing. Wow, that's beautiful. And what do you think about after you win a fight? When you've prepared for months and you win a big fight and the whole world is watching? How does it make you feel?

• 10:49Speaker 00

  It's the best feeling.

• 10:50Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 10:51Speaker 00

  It's the best feeling because you put your life there. You put everything in the training camp. You left your family, you left everything for that moment.

• 11:01Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 11:01Speaker 00

  For that moment, for that win, you prepare yourself for for that win. And it's the best feeling.

• 11:06Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 11:07Speaker 00

  Then is is when you realize everything, everything you do, everything, the sacrifices, the the discipline you put in the gym, there is the result.

• 11:22Lewis Howes?

  It's worth it, yeah, yeah. Did you ever doubt yourself growing up?

• 11:25Speaker 00

  Never.

• 11:25Lewis Howes?

  Like self doubt?

• 11:27Speaker 00

  Never.

• 11:27Lewis Howes?

  Insecurities?

• 11:27Speaker 00

  Never in my life.

• 11:29Lewis Howes?

  How did you learn that, though?

• 11:30Speaker 00

  I don't know.

• 11:30Lewis Howes?

  So many people in the world are insecure about who they are, right? They doubt.

• 11:35Speaker 00

  I never doubt about myself.

• 11:37Lewis Howes?

  Was that your parents, your grandmother, or?

• 11:39Speaker 00

  I don't know.

• 11:39Lewis Howes?

  Did they teach you how to believe in yourself?

• 11:41Speaker 00

  My mentality is always like, I don't care who is there, I'm. I'm gonna achieve my goals no matter what. So, and I just started professional boxing when I was fifteen years old. So, sometimes my trainer, my trainers saw the opponent and say, hey, he's too strong and he's, he's thirty years old and I don't care. I don't, I don't, I, I, I don't, I don't really care and then two rounds and that.

• 12:12Lewis Howes?

  And you knock him out, yeah. Do you have, I mean, do you ever have any insecurities outside of boxing? Like starting business or in some other ventures?

• 12:23Speaker 00

  No.

• 12:24Lewis Howes?

  No, no insecurities?

• 12:26Speaker 00

  I think the, the, the first time I jumped in the, in the bus and tried to sell ice creams and in the bus, I feel a little, I don't know, insecure or I feel a little ashamed because, you know, I'm red hair, freckles and everything and I, I feel like a little ashamed. I don't, maybe insecure.

• 12:53Lewis Howes?

  But you're like five, six, seven years old?

• 12:55Speaker 00

  Yeah, five, five, six years old.

• 12:57Lewis Howes?

  Selling popsicles.

• 12:58Speaker 00

  And then I say, oh, nothing happened. And then I start, I start feeling good. But I, I think that moment I feel like a little insecure because the people saw me and say something about me, I don't know. But then I don't, I don't give up.

• 13:17Lewis Howes?

  So like, so twenty-five years ago was the last time you were insecure?

• 13:21Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 13:24Lewis Howes?

  But when you're starting business, because you've got all these businesses, you've been building in Mexico and USA as well, are you, you know, do you feel like, oh, maybe I don't understand business fully like everyone else yet because I'm mostly a boxer? Do you ever get worried about that?

• 13:39Speaker 00

  Worry, yes, but I'm not insecure.

• 13:42Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 13:42Speaker 00

  It's it's different. Worry about, okay, I'm gonna do with the correct persons. Find the correct persons and.

• 13:49Lewis Howes?

  Partners.

• 13:50Speaker 00

  Partners and everything, you know, but never insecure. Because is is there a lot of people bring with business and this and this. But at the end of the day, I'm gonna do whatever I want. And I say, okay, I wanna do this, I'm gonna find the correct person to do it. So maybe worry about to find the correct.

• 14:12Lewis Howes?

  Mm hmm. Partner. Correct people, yeah, to make sure it's good. Do you ever feel, I mean, you're a legend and an icon all around the world, but specifically in Mexico. Right Mexicans love you. Uh, I love visiting Mexico, obviously, my fiance is from Mexico. And people love you there. Do you ever feel a pressure to make them proud or to do the right things or?

• 14:36Speaker 00

  In some, in some point, yes.

• 14:38Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 14:38Speaker 00

  In some point, yes, because you know, we have a huge history in boxing.

• 14:43Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 14:44Speaker 00

  Mexico. In some point, yes, but um.

• 14:50Speaker 00

  It's some there time I say, you know, I, I, I always do my best.

• 14:56Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 14:57Speaker 00

  And I put my best in there, so yeah, I know they, my fans, my really, my true fans, they proud of me.

• 15:06Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 15:06Speaker 00

  Because I, they know I, I, I put everything, everything there. Is, is, is there people who don't like, but uh, but I know that they. I can't do anything with that people.

• 15:23Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 15:24Speaker 00

  But in some moment, yes, I feel like, oh, I need to do this to, to make.

• 15:31Speaker 00

  My fans happy, but then you realize I put everything I can in there. So they will be happy.

• 15:40Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. What is it you love about Mexico and Mexican people the most?

• 15:45Speaker 00

  Everything, everything. Mexico is very unique. It's very unique, you know, the warmth or the person, the service they give you. And the love. We have a lot of places, beautiful places in Mexico. I think we have a lot of good things in Mexico.

• 16:09Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. The culture, the people, the love is something that I appreciate and really enjoy. You've got a, you know, you've got a family, you've got kids. What changed for you in boxing when you started to have kids? Did something shift inside of you?

• 16:25Speaker 00

  I started having kids since I was seventeen years old. So, yeah, I changed my mind a lot because then I have responsibility of a big man. So, very hard, very hard at the beginning, but at the end of the day, I have three jobs and then go to train, then go three jobs and then go to train. Because, you know, I have the best for my daughter at that moment when I was seventeen years old.

• 17:01Lewis Howes?

  What were those jobs? What were those three jobs?

• 17:03Speaker 00

  Sells ice creams.

• 17:04Lewis Howes?

  When you were seventeen?

• 17:05Speaker 00

  Yeah. I had my dad, my bro, and two of my brothers.

• 17:10Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 17:11Speaker 00

  So then go to train and...

• 17:14Lewis Howes?

  Selling ice cream?

• 17:15Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 17:15Lewis Howes?

  Because you dropped out of school, high school, correct?

• 17:17Speaker 00

  Yeah, when I was fifteen years old.

• 17:19Lewis Howes?

  Right. You didn't like school.

• 17:22Lewis Howes?

  I didn't.

• 17:25Speaker 00

  I didn't. But maybe if I have a

• 17:29Speaker 00

  different life and different different positions, maybe I I do like the school. But for me, it was different.

• 17:41Lewis Howes?

  You're speaking of the warmth, you know, you I I heard you talk about your grandmother really loving you in a big way. Growing up, your father, your mother. I'm curious, could you share the biggest thing you've learned from your grandmother, your father and your mother? One lesson from each that they taught you?

• 17:58Speaker 00

  I think they never, they never surrender in everything.

• 18:05Lewis Howes?

  They never surrender?

• 18:05Speaker 00

  Never. They always hardworking, they always with love.

• 18:14Speaker 00

  I think if you walking in life with love, you you you gonna be good. Everywhere.

• 18:24Speaker 00

  Everywhere, no matter what. If you walking with love, you gonna be good in life.

• 18:30Lewis Howes?

  Have you always had love in your heart? Or have you ever had anger or resentment?

• 18:36Speaker 00

  I think in some point, yes, but I always have love in my in my in my heart. Because, you know, I always, whatever I do, I do with my heart.

• 18:46Lewis Howes?

  Right. When you have love in your heart, but you're a boxer and you're fighting someone.

• 18:53Speaker 00

  I need to, it's like a, it's like a animal.

• 18:56Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 18:56Speaker 00

  If you are whatever animal, you're good. But if you need to bring food for your family or you need to take care of your family, you gonna do everything.

• 19:08Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 19:09Speaker 00

  And fight. So I'm I'm walking with love, but I'm a fighter.

• 19:15Lewis Howes?

  You walk with love, but when you're fighting?

• 19:17Speaker 00

  I'm a fighter.

• 19:18Lewis Howes?

  You're a fighter. Did something switch in your mind when you had your daughter at seventeen? Did you become more focused as a fighter? Or did anything shift inside of you in terms of I need to work harder? Or was it the same type of routine?

• 19:33Speaker 00

  Same.

• 19:34Lewis Howes?

  Same.

• 19:34Speaker 00

  Same. For me, I never doubt about being.

• 19:40Speaker 00

  A world champion.

• 19:41Lewis Howes?

  You never thought.

• 19:42Speaker 00

  No matter what, never doubt.

• 19:44Lewis Howes?

  Never a doubt about it.

• 19:45Speaker 00

  Never a doubt about it. I, I, my daughter comes and I say even more, even more focus, even more determinate, everything. I think my daughter teach me a lot of things and made me

• 20:03Speaker 00

  put that extra.

• 20:05Lewis Howes?

  Really? So you trained harder, you focused more?

• 20:08Speaker 00

  I think my daughter put, make me put that extra motivation.

• 20:13Lewis Howes?

  And you have, you have a big family, like seven or eight siblings, right?

• 20:17Speaker 00

  Eight, yeah.

• 20:17Lewis Howes?

  Eight, seven brothers or six brothers, right?

• 20:19Speaker 00

  Seven and one sister.

• 20:21Lewis Howes?

  That's incredible. And I, I saw a video of you talking about how your brother got kidnapped at one point, right before a fight?

• 20:27Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 20:28Lewis Howes?

  Is that true?

• 20:28Speaker 00

  That's true, yeah.

• 20:29Lewis Howes?

  How did you manage? And I, you had to do all these interviews, you had to prepare for a fight mentally, emotionally. How were you able to focus? And deal with the kidnapping of your brother?

• 20:41Speaker 00

  It was very difficult.

• 20:43Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 20:43Speaker 00

  For me, it was very difficult because it was the, the week of the fight.

• 20:48Lewis Howes?

  That's crazy.

• 20:49Speaker 00

  Was a very difficult time for, for, for me and for, for the family, but I,

• 20:55Speaker 00

  I don't know, I don't know how my mind go,

• 21:00Speaker 00

  go for that situation, but I, I always say, you know, I'm gonna do my best in everything and, and

• 21:12Speaker 00

  at the end, everything was good and, and, and, and I handled good.

• 21:19Lewis Howes?

  You handled, did you think about stopping the fight or?

• 21:21Speaker 00

  No, never.

• 21:24Lewis Howes?

  Just keep going, keep going no matter what?

• 21:26Speaker 00

  My life need to keep going.

• 21:28Lewis Howes?

  What has being a father taught you about life? Now that you're a father of many kids, what has that taught you about?

• 21:36Speaker 00

  I think, I think everything you need to.

• 21:40Speaker 00

  Because you need to walking with example for your kids. You know, it's the best teach for them.

• 21:48Lewis Howes?

  Your kids are the best, you're the best teacher for them.

• 21:50Speaker 00

  Yeah, if you do the correct things and they show you how you, how you do that, that things, I think they gonna learn.

• 22:00Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 22:01Speaker 00

  You can say a lot of things, but if they saw you doing.

• 22:05Lewis Howes?

  Your example, yeah, yeah, your way of being.

• 22:07Speaker 00

  You know, it's, it's the example is the best thing.

• 22:10Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, we're talking about meditation before we started filming, that this year you started getting into meditation.

• 22:17Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 22:17Lewis Howes?

  Breathing, listening to music, meditation. We're talking about Dr. Joe Dispenza before. What has meditation done to you to support you in your training and preparing for fighting?

• 22:31Speaker 00

  I, I feel in my best moment right now because of the meditation, yeah. I feel in my best, I feel eh, not just in boxing, in life.

• 22:42Lewis Howes?

  Life, in relationships.

• 22:43Speaker 00

  Relationship, eh, friends, eh, business, eh, boxing, everything, everything. I think for me, meditation changed my mind.

• 22:56Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 22:56Speaker 00

  Changed my, changed my life.

• 22:58Lewis Howes?

  What have you learned about it so far?

• 23:00Speaker 00

  Everything, you, that what I say, if you walking with love, you wanna be good everywhere. And it's a lot of things that love comes, you know.

• 23:13Lewis Howes?

  Bad things too, right?

• 23:14Speaker 00

  Limits, respect, every, the loves come with a lot of things, but we don't solve, we just think our love is love. No, love comes with limits, with respect, with eh, a lot, a lot of things comes with love. So if you walking with love, I think you're gonna be good everywhere.

• 23:36Lewis Howes?

  Yes. Uh, I ask a lot of people about the difference between success and greatness. This show is called The School of Greatness. And I'm curious, what is your definition of success versus greatness? No say to the, to the use in Espanol greatness. Is there a word for greatness in, in Spanish? Is it?

• 23:58Speaker 00

  Uh greatness in Spanish is like a uh lo mejor. The best.

• 24:04Lewis Howes?

  The best, the best. Okay, what in your mind, what is the definition of greatness versus the definition of success?

• 24:11Speaker 00

  Success, I think success is uh in life, you do uh whatever thing. If you got success, does success, but a greatness is.

• 24:28Lewis Howes?

  Like an accomplishment or like a.

• 24:30Speaker 00

  Accomplishment, yeah, like a world champion.

• 24:32Lewis Howes?

  Uh huh, that's success.

• 24:33Speaker 00

  That's it.

• 24:35Lewis Howes?

  And what's greatness in your mind?

• 24:37Speaker 00

  What I, what I'm doing, that's greatness. Go out of your comfort zone and do things. Everybody say you gonna, you, you can do it.

• 24:53Speaker 00

  I think that's a difference and, and, and in believe and whatever you, you, you wanna do. I think what happened with me is nobody, nobody believes in, in, in me before. Because I'm too, too sure for that weight classes and all this and that.

• 25:17Lewis Howes?

  Skinny, short, yeah.

• 25:18Speaker 00

  And, and I showed them what person can accomplish with, with, with uh.

• 25:30Speaker 00

  With that determination, with that uh believing yourself and everything. I think, and I, and I'm just starting.

• 25:42Lewis Howes?

  Right now?

• 25:43Speaker 00

  Yeah, I'm just starting because.

• 25:45Lewis Howes?

  And, and boxing, you're just starting in boxing now?

• 25:48Speaker 00

  In box, in boxing, I'm. Whatever years come left, like four or five years, I don't know. But in my life, in my life, I think I want, I, I, I just want, wanna teach other boxer, other athletes, they need to put things outside boxing too. Because you know, that history, the athletes come and win a lot of money, or win a lot of, have a lot of success. And at the end of the day, they got nothing.

• 26:22Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 26:23Speaker 00

  Nobody, nobody, everybody forget that athlete.

• 26:28Lewis Howes?

  Five years later, ten years later, yeah.

• 26:30Speaker 00

  So, I wanna teach them, they need to do something outside the boxing, outside every sport they do. And

• 26:43Speaker 00

  if you risk your life for twenty years in boxing, and then at the end of the day, five years later, you go in the same position. What's

• 26:57Lewis Howes?

  Right, yeah.

• 27:01Lewis Howes?

  Do you ever get worried about um my, my boxing trainer, when I work out for fun, I'm not a trainer like you, obviously, but when I boxed for fun, a few years ago, I said, hey, you know, all these YouTube people were like boxing and fighting, and all these people. I said, hey, would you ever train me if someone wanted to fight me? And he said, I wouldn't train you. And he was an Olympic medalist, Olympic medalist. He said, I wanna train you. Boxing? He said, I wanna train you. I said, why not? He said, just the damage that people get with their, the head injuries, you know? And he said, I've just seen too many fighters get hit so many times and hurt themselves. Has that ever worried you about just so much head?

• 27:41Speaker 00

  Part of my job.

• 27:42Lewis Howes?

  Right. Has ever concerned you or worried you?

• 27:44Speaker 00

  I always, I always, that's what I train. I train to don't get so much hit.

• 27:49Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, you very good defense.

• 27:51Speaker 00

  Yeah, defense, I train so much in defense. I don't get, I don't wanna get hit.

• 27:58Speaker 00

  But, I mean, this is sport.

• 28:02Speaker 00

  I mean, I'm, I'm.

• 28:07Speaker 00

  But I can't, I'm never worried about it. I worry about it because I've trained, I don't, I don't.

• 28:15Speaker 00

  I don't wanna get hit, but at the end of the day, I'm, I'm there.

• 28:19Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, it's part of the job.

• 28:20Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 28:20Lewis Howes?

  When you see someone like Muhammad Ali or other boxers who maybe have brain injuries, who are older, does that ever worry you or concern you?

• 28:28Speaker 00

  No.

• 28:29Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 28:30Speaker 00

  No, because, you know, it's what I love and at the end of the day.

• 28:34Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 28:35Speaker 00

  If something happened, it is what it is.

• 28:38Lewis Howes?

  Right. I had, um.

• 28:39Speaker 00

  You can go in the stairs and.

• 28:41Lewis Howes?

  And fall.

• 28:42Speaker 00

  Something happen, you know?

• 28:44Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, of course. I had Mike Tyson on twice on my show and I had Jake Paul on. I know they're fighting, I'm sure everyone's asking about it. Um, I'm curious. Who do you think would be a harder fight for you right now? Mike Tyson or Jake Paul? In a hypothetical scenario, who do you think would be tougher for you?

• 29:07Speaker 00

  I think.

• 29:10Speaker 00

  If you put them together in the ring with me, maybe it's.

• 29:15Lewis Howes?

  Maybe both together.

• 29:17Speaker 00

  Maybe it's gonna be a little complicated.

• 29:21Lewis Howes?

  But one or the other, they're, they're not the same, you think? They're the same, you think, for you? Who do you think would, would win between them?

• 29:30Speaker 00

  It's, it's, it's hard to say, but you know, it's, it's risky for Mike Tyson.

• 29:34Lewis Howes?

  Really, why?

• 29:35Speaker 00

  Yeah, because he's fifty-seven and fifty-eight, I don't know. And, and. It's boxing is no, it's not a joke.

• 29:46Lewis Howes?

  It's no joke.

• 29:47Speaker 00

  It's. But, uh, you know. I know, I get it, I get, I get, I get it, what they, why they do this. It's a business.

• 29:58Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 29:59Speaker 00

  They're gonna fight with eighteen ounces with.

• 30:04Lewis Howes?

  Bigger gloves, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a business. You, speaking of business, uh, you've been getting into business more and more over the years, which I'm excited to talk about as well. Real estate, your own businesses, Canelo Energy, you know, all these different brands that you're building. What excites you the most about business and entrepreneurship?

• 30:24Lewis Howes?

  And is it a distraction to do all that as well as fight ever?

• 30:30Speaker 00

  No.

• 30:31Lewis Howes?

  No?

• 30:31Speaker 00

  No, no, it's a distraction because I have my correct people doing my team, everything. And, and I do what I need to do for my business and I'm, I'm, I care about every business I have. But I like it. I enjoy doing real stays. I enjoy being my drinks and, and, and everything I do, I, I, I really enjoy it.

• 30:58Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. What is your vision for your?

• 31:01Speaker 00

  My stations, everything.

• 31:03Lewis Howes?

  You got a lot going on. What is your vision for your, for your future after boxing? Is it to be a business leader in the world or what is the main vision that you have for business?

• 31:15Speaker 00

  Yeah. That's, that's my goal is being one of the best businessmen in the world.

• 31:22Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 31:22Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 31:23Lewis Howes?

  Why does that excite you so much after boxing?

• 31:27Speaker 00

  I, I just, I, I like, I, I, I love to be involved in this kind of things and, and, and, and see how they going big and big and big and big, you know, starting with,

• 31:42Speaker 00

  with some and then grow up. So I, I, I like it so much because when I was young, I saw my brother Ricardo. He put a ice cream store with $5,000. And, and we, we built in five, six months, like bring people, bring people, bring people. And then he sell it for 30, 40,000 dollars. So, and I saw him and I, I just start learning.

• 32:21Speaker 00

  Start learning and I really enjoy that kind of things.

• 32:24Lewis Howes?

  Well, that's beautiful, man. I've got three final questions for you. But again, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this. This has been exciting. This is a question I ask everyone towards the end of my conversations. It's called the three truths. So it's a hypothetical question. So I want you to imagine you get to live as long as you want in life. Be a hundred years old or a hundred and twenty, whatever it is. You get to live as long as you want. You have the career you want in boxing for the next five, seven years. You become a mega billionaire in business. You do everything you want. You see your kids grow up. But at the end of the day, it's the last day of life. And you only get to share three lessons with the world

• 33:08Lewis Howes?

  from everything you've learned about boxing and relationships and love and business. What three lessons would you share with the world on your last day of life?

• 33:26Speaker 00

  I think love is the first one. Love.

• 33:36Speaker 00

  I think love is have a lot of a lot of that three lessons I want to say because love come with limits, respect and everything. But I think love,

• 33:51Speaker 00

  determination and believe in yourself.

• 33:56Lewis Howes?

  Believe in yourself. How do people who feel very insecure, who don't love themselves, who don't have any skills or talents?

• 34:06Speaker 00

  I think everything comes from that.

• 34:07Lewis Howes?

  How do they learn to believe in themselves, though, if they don't have it?

• 34:10Speaker 00

  It's very difficult because, you know,

• 34:15Speaker 00

  it's difficult to learn to have.

• 34:22Speaker 00

  Securing yourself because they come with a lot of problems, not from them, from the past generation.

• 34:30Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 34:30Speaker 00

  It's not from them, it's for the past generation, they have a lot of troubles.

• 34:34Lewis Howes?

  From their parents.

• 34:35Speaker 00

  That's why you're acting like, because you have, you have problems that not your problems.

• 34:43Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 34:43Speaker 00

  Your, your, your generation. So it's difficult. I think with meditation is.

• 34:48Lewis Howes?

  It's possible.

• 34:49Speaker 00

  It's possible.

• 34:50Lewis Howes?

  Because you had a lot of past problems in your, you know, in your family in the past, but how did you?

• 34:55Speaker 00

  It's not your problems.

• 34:57Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 34:57Speaker 00

  But meditation teaches you that.

• 35:00Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 35:00Speaker 00

  I think meditation is one of the best things I learned.

• 35:05Lewis Howes?

  That's beautiful, man.

• 35:05Speaker 00

  Because when you're walking with that thing you carry from your past, you're acting like you're normal, but not. You're carrying with problems.

• 35:18Lewis Howes?

  From the past, yeah.

• 35:19Speaker 00

  And you have a lot of problems too because you, you, you're walking with that.

• 35:23Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 35:24Speaker 00

  Problems.

• 35:26Speaker 00

  And you're acting.

• 35:27Lewis Howes?

  You're acting from the past too. Yeah, yeah. I've got one final question for you. Um, but before I ask it, I want to acknowledge you, Canelo, for your generosity, for your passion, for your love, uh, for your country, for the sport, for people, and, um, just how you show up with consistency in your life. It's inspiring to watch a champion be a good person as well. I know you give back to charities in your, in your country, and you do so much good. So I acknowledge you for the loving man that you are in this world.

• 35:59Speaker 00

  Thank you so much.

• 36:00Lewis Howes?

  Um, my final question, when you're on top of this ring with your hands raised and the flag of Mexico behind you on your last fight, four, five, six, seven years away, and it's your last moment to stand up and say, "Viva Mexico!" after a win, what is it you want your legacy to be after that last match?

• 36:27Speaker 00

  One of the best in the history of boxing.

• 36:33Speaker 00

  And I'm gonna cry that day.

• 36:36Lewis Howes?

  That day?

• 36:37Speaker 00

  Yeah, a lot. Because I'm gonna miss boxing so much.

• 36:40Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 36:41Speaker 00

  That moment when you walk into the ring and hear all the people screaming and this singing that song you put and everything I'm gonna I'm gonna miss that moment. But that's life.

• 36:57Lewis Howes?

  That's life, man. You're a legend, man. Appreciate you, Canelo. Thanks, brother.

• 37:00Speaker 00

  That's it. That's it. That's it, you too, brother. That's it.

• 37:06Lewis Howes?

  So we just finished with Canelo. Amazing time. His English is getting better every time I see him do interviews. So it was really cool to watch him talk about love was one of the main things. How to have love in your heart for your sport, for your family, for your country, for the business that you're a part of. But he talked about love a lot, which I thought was really cool. And to see someone almost 20 years in a profession, love his sport and his career just as much and have just as much hunger as when he started almost 20 years ago is really inspiring to see. And to see how he keeps his, his family close, his team very close, and he doesn't have a lot of distractions.

• 37:47Lewis Howes?

  You know, he likes to train in an isolated location where there's not a lot of distractions. He likes to live in a location where he's not distracted, but just have the most important things in his life at all times. So I think it's really cool that at this age, this season of life, he is continually showing up, training harder than ever to be the best he can be, and he has no fear. He's not afraid to lose. He's not afraid to get hurt. He understands that comes with part of his career and what he's up to, but it doesn't hold him back from being determined to succeed and do something beautiful and great with his life. And, you know, what he said at the end, which I thought was really cool, you know, what's

• 38:32Lewis Howes?

  it gonna feel like when you win that last fight and you decide it's time to retire? Where he was reflecting on how that would look after 20, 25 years plus of a career to then feel all the emotions rushing in on that last fight. So have a beautiful time, amazing inspiration with the greatest of all time, Canelo.

• 38:54Lewis Howes?

  I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels at Lewis Howes. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world-class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness Newsletter

• 39:38Lewis Howes?

  and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com/newsletter. And if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.