Author's Note

The 11th-anniversary edition. Revised edition. Once something like that would have been rare, but in these pandemic times, many things have changed. Since the publication of this book, they've changed for me, for wrestling, for the world.

As I'm the expert on my life and nothing else, I'll leave the more significant changes of wrestling and the world to those more versed in them. Please permit me to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- it may not always seem so, but the moral arc of the world, while very long, continues to bend towards justice.

With the passage of time comes clearer insight. When I look back on the wrestling chapter of my life, it may not be as grand as I thought when writing this book, yet it is still something I'm incredibly proud of accomplishing. It is not the fact that I won a DIII national title that brings me pride, more so the challenges and obstacles. That's what I'm most thankful for, oddly, the wrist deformity and injuries, the stacked weight class where I made my stand, the flu before New England's, an inexperienced team winning a title, the fire alarm the night before the national semis. Oh, the fire alarm.

Passions that once drove me have taken a backseat to the everyday moments that are rarely captured in books and movies.

I'm a father now, a filter I see everything through as I once did with wrestling. My children, Jack and Divina, are the lights of my world and have given me and my wife, Christina (@mrschamp18), more moments of joy than everything else combined. I've experienced the other end of the spectrum with the passing of loved ones, the most devastating being my uncle, Louis Bonora. The dread that those events will only increase as time continues its forward march hangs like a specter.

I've read this book a handful of times since publishing it. On the whole, I'm happy with it. As expected, there are glaring mistakes that make me cringe every time I read them. For years I've told myself, "it's a small error that doesn't need to be corrected; they get it." Until one day, not too long ago, I realized something -- these small mistakes matter. That has become abundantly clear to me; the little things matter more than ever. The result drives the storytelling ultimately, but the result is shaped and driven by a million tiny decisions, choices, and actions. Any and every story can always end up different. There are no foregone conclusions, one team or person assured of a title or a wonderful life. The little things matter in wrestling, in life, in the eventual outcome for us all.

In the last 11 years, I've learned that opinions not only can change on things that are core to who you are but that they absolutely should when new information emerges. To give a concrete example, my stance on religion has shifted dramatically. No watershed moment caused this, just a culmination of many minute things that changed a deeply held view for most of my life. The lesson here is not about religion; it's about the power of being receptive and ever-evolving to the little things. Enjoy them, learn from them, cherish them, and be propelled by them.

Little things add up and sometimes, when taken together, multiply. Use those things to your advantage and chase down your dreams. Enjoy it for as long as it is right for you when you get there. Then when you're ready, start with other little things to build momentum.

There are moments in life when we have to do something to meet our necessities -- work, school, etc..., and moments when we need to space out on the couch with our phones, a book, or a show. You can choose to do more of those things in-between or something different. Those in-between moments are golden opportunities. In those times, let this principle guide you -- in the end, will you wish you had more time for this? While not always easy, time with loved ones, writing this book, and wrestling are emphatic yeses for me.

Find your yeses.

Mike Bonora

February 2022