Don't be afraid to be who you really are. Enjoy it and don't take it and yourself so seriously. I probably wouldn't have listened, but if I did, I would have saved myself some heartache along the way.
You have to continue to hone your craft.
I have no doubt that LeBron James would've loved to have played against Michael Jordan, but that simply is not going to happen.
The wrestling world is unique. There are things that happened, and there are things that didn't happen, but in wrestling, you just say they all happened. Some of it's fun to let stay out there - it adds to the mystique and wrestling lore.
Our line of work is very cynical, and a lot of it is driven by cynicism, cruelty, and meanness. It's easier to believe the negative stuff than the positive stuff. The feel-good stories don't usually spend a lot of time on the front pages.
You don't have to be a believer in Jesus Christ to be a gracious individual and understand that everybody messes up and that most are looking for a second chance.
I like learning new stuff, also, and I can sit there and watch shows on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel or stuff like that and learn something new. I think once you've gone through such a long stage of learning one thing, you're not as well-rounded as you'd like to be.
I enjoyed the theatrics and the physical demands of everything that went on in the ring. But I was, initially, a relatively shy kid. I think that's probably what attracted me to hunting is that it was such a polar opposite of the other, and it was that opportunity for peace and quiet and to decompress.
Acting is something I always wanted to try after wrestling, and I felt like this was a perfect fit.
I suppose a lot of people don't understand that one of the things that drew me to hunting was the peace and the solitude, the mushy spiritual stuff, strangely enough. The quiet away from 75,000 roaring fans. The fans, that's very wonderful - I get a great charge from that.
We are a family that lives probably 90 percent on wild game. We're certainly working our way toward 100 percent self-sufficient. Looking to raise chickens for eggs, things of that nature, start a garden. We enjoy the simple life.
As badly as everybody feels like I'm a sellout for one thing or another, I guess, ultimately, when it came to wrestling, I just wanted to wrestle where I want to wrestle. And something had to be bigger and more important than the money, and for me, it was the time inside that ring.
If I'm appearing on 'Raw,' then I'm usually there to help sell tickets to something, and that's when you see the 'HBK' Shawn Michaels come out. At panels, I can be more open and honest and show some more humility. They don't want me talking about my family on TV, but I can in a panel setting.
I look at Samoa Joe, and I've told him a number of times that I see his stuff at 'NXT' and think to myself, 'Man, I could have a great deal of fun with you.' He's a guy I have sort of enjoyed, and one of those sleeper guys that no one talks about.
You see the standard hunting show; it's an outdoor television show. A lot of times, it's just a guy sitting in a tree, waiting on an animal. I don't think it does it justice, and I don't think it captures the enjoyment and the splendor of the incredible outdoors and the feeling of being out there.
If we're not a good steward of what God gives us, he takes it away. I think that's what happened. I wasn't a good steward of the gift that he gave me in this line of work. I abused it, so he took it away.
We can bring it all down to the subtleties of the shifting of an eye because we know the camera will catch it. That has been a great thing to learn, and it makes it interesting for a guy who has been in it as long as I have.
I live in a constant state of gratitude, thankfulness, and appreciation for the second chance I was given, so anytime in any film, when that is given to someone, I always appreciate it.
