Rebuilding Rob

2026 Reflection: The “Saturday Morning Audit”

Rewatching the Mike Tyson “Rock Bottom” video two years later on a quiet Saturday morning hits differently. Looking at that old post (retained below for posterity), the focus has shifted.

The 2024 version of me felt “charmed.” The 2026 version recognizes that “charmed” is often just another word for “supported.” I didn’t experience the full magnitude of that well because others—the people I audited—were holding the ropes.

My 2026 goal isn’t just about ensuring the cavalry is ready; it’s about ensuring that I don’t need the cavalry. The audit isn’t just external; it’s an internal measure of my own resilience.

If the cavalry didn’t show up, could I still hold the line?

This look back at a reflection on Mike Tyson, loyalty, and the fear of standing alone is where that realization began.

Mike Tyson is an incredibly fascinating person to me. I feel like, and obviously, I don’t know the guy, but at 57 years old, he seems to have really exorcised most of the demons in his life.

Let’s face it: at the height of his fame, he was a monster. Maybe he had some issues he was dealing with. Maybe he was on some bad drugs. But there was no excuse for his behavior. And while I’m sure he is guilty of committing rape; I feel like he was set up to get convicted by his own people. I saw on one of the documentaries or ESPN specials about him that he had a tax attorney representing him in his rape trial. No, maybe no attorney in the world could’ve gotten him off for those rape allegations, but if you’re going to defend yourself in court, and you have the resources that he had available to him, why not use them?

Even after his career of boxing, he went through some serious stuff. His 4 year-old daughter tragically died in his home in what is described as “a hanging accident”. As a man and as a father, I don’t believe that any parent should ever have to experience burying a child.

Tyson talks in this video about hitting rock-bottom, and the beauty of rock-bottom. He says that once you make that journey back from Rock-bottom, it is actually a beautiful place. I don’t know if I really agree with that, but I do think that when one hits rock-bottom, it really shows them who their friends are; who really has their back. sometimes you find out not only who is the most loyal to you; but that they often comes from very unexpected places.

Loyalty is very important to me. I feel like when I am at my lowest-point and when I find the people who are most loyal to me, I want to take them with me on my journey back up. I like the idea of lifting other people up along with you; the whole cliché about water rising.

I’ve had some pretty low points in my life. I don’t know that I’ve ever truly experienced “hitting rock bottom“. I feel like I have lived a very charmed life in that regard.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:

• Rob Reviews: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, episode 10 “Rubincon”
• The Silent Boundary & The Science of Sleep
• Episode 5: The Hum is now LIVE!
• The Daily Calibration: Strength Without the Scream
• The Autonomy and the Hum

AI art created with Google Gemini.

The article “On hitting rock bottom” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.