7. Carlos Vera- The Ultimate Fighter Contestant- Adapting a Winning Fighter's Mindset to Sport and Life

Welcome to another episode of tales from the trail. This edition is a special one, Justin Chezem and I welcome an up and coming professional athlete, Carlos Vera. Carlos is outside the usual guest profile, he’s a professional mixed martial arts fighter. He is currently a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter on ESPN. The UFC produced show brings in 16 fighters to compete against each other to determine a winner who is awarded a contract to fight in the UFC. On the show, the 16 fighters are divided into two teams of 8, each coached by a veteran of the UFC. In this season, the coaches are Michael Chandler and Conor MacGregor. Carlos is on MacGregor’s side and shares a bit of that experience with us. However, the main reason I wanted Carlos to join is that he is uniquely qualified to share what mindset it takes to continually progress and reach your goals which transcends sport. As you’ll hear, Carlos went from his comfortable life of wearing a suit and tie in the financial world to become a professional fighter. There are many lessons to glean from this episode about discipline, resilience, sacrifice, overcoming obstacles, and maintaining focus on your objectives. I can’t thank Carlos enough for joining us, he’s put a lot of thought into pursuing a career in fighting and it shows in his thoughtful conversation with us. I’m certain you’ll enjoy this episode and hope that you’ll share it, rate it, and subscribe to Tales From the Trail.