It's harder to be a dad than an Olympic champion.

It's one thing to never accomplish anything. You start from the bottom, you remain at the bottom, and all you know is the bottom. When you start at the bottom and you get to the top, and you feel the success and the notoriety and the recognition from being the champion, and you go back to losing, that's a tough place to be in.

Everybody makes money; not everybody makes history.

A lot of guys get out of wrestling immediately after winning a gold medal. Every time another Olympics comes around, it's always a bunch of fresh faces. For me, to win an Olympic gold and have a chance to win another would be huge for our sport.

I've got the ability to control my destiny, and I take pride in that.

Anything less than gold is a failure to me. It's extreme pressure, but I hold myself to a high standard.

I've won every single event there is to win as a wrestler, and I still continue to come back every single year. The hard part for me is, 'OK, how long can you do this?'

John Smith from Oklahoma State was the greatest American wrestler of all time.

I definitely want to fight after I'm done wrestling.

There was a time period where I was obsessed with the rivalry between the Lakers and the Celtics in the 1980s.

It's been a lot of responsibility to be an ambassador for U.S. wrestling and the sport. It's a tough journey. There's a lot of obligations but also a lot of opportunity.

So many kids dream about playing in the NFL. But I was 130 pounds in ninth grade. I looked around and didn't see any 130-pound wide receivers in the pros.

I think the ultimate sign of an icon or legend in any sport is the ability to elevate their teammates.

Every person I wrestle, it's the biggest match of their career. They're Buster Douglas. But what's the honor in being Mike Tyson and beating Buster Douglas? I win and move on. They win, and it's a game-changer for the rest of their lives.

I missed a lot of important milestones in my children's lives to pursue this sport.

The worst thing for me would be going back to where I was - relative obscurity.

When I was growing up, I was a big Ultimate Warrior fan; I liked Macho Man Randy Savage and a lot of other bad dudes.

It's always been a battle for me between personal goals and wanting to be able to share the success I've had with my family. And I guess as I've gotten older, I've kind of realized, you know, you can do all these cool things, but if you don't have people in your life to share it with, what's the point?

Once you've reached the highest level, you always want to get back there. It's like, once you drive a Ferrari, you're not satisfied driving a Honda anymore.

I love the sport of wrestling because it's a testament of your will and what you're capable of as a man.

Nebraska and Indiana were really the only Division One schools that expressed any interest in me.

Dorm-room life was a tough transition. You're young, and you realize how much you miss the comfort of home.

I remember my first World Championships. I got zero turns, and I got turned multiple times, and I was still a World Champion.

I wouldn't go to pro wrestling. It's not really my thing. I'm a fan, but I think every sport could take some notes from the WWE - how they've progressed and stayed relevant for such a long period of time.

As wrestlers, we're not trying to hurt or damage physically our opponent. All we're trying to do is score points and get our hands raised, so I think that's where we differ from the UFC, but I think that also the way in which we could address each other could be cool from a competitive spirit.

There was a period of time early in my career where I was like, 'I'm gonna definitely fight. I definitely want to be a part of this lifestyle.' Then there was a period of time where I had so much success in the sport of wrestling, and I was like, 'I don't really need fighting.'

If I do consider fighting, it won't be until after the Olympic games in 2020, and then from there I'll reevaluate, see if it's something that would be a realistic option for me.

I think that Ben Askren, when he competed as a wrestler, he was an amazing athlete.

Wrestling is different than MMA or boxing or really any other contact sport in that you can't really draw along an opponent.

You watch Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather fight, Floyd can just throw a few punches, or he can do a lot of defense; he can slip a few punches, let Conor get a few shots in. You can't really do that in wrestling without getting scored on or putting yourself at risk.

I've always thought about it. I've considered it when I was young. I was like, 'Listen, I'm going to fight. I want to be a star. I'm going to fight.'

I just want one fight. Because, like, for me, it's not about the status, not about the glory. It's not about the money. Like, I just want to throw my hands and see what I'm made of. And I think that wrestlers and fighters have that same fighting spirit.

There's just a spirit about you that it's such a beautiful art form in which you can implement strategy in order to subdue another individual. And I really feel like that's in wrestling and UFC; we're kind of - we collaborate in that way.

I don't know if I'm really going to do it. But I've considered doing one fight and then getting out with my hands clean.

I'm so comfortable in my identity as a wrestler that if I never fought, it would never bother me one bit.

I think my mental toughness, athleticism, and my physical prowess, I'd be successful if I decided to fight, no matter what.

It's one of those things: we've got guys that are very offensive and can take down anyone, and we've got guys that don't shoot at all but are very hard to take down. It's one of those things. You've got to decide what you're good at.

I'm not going to sit on my laurels.

I think Americans, as a nation and culture, once something is recognized for a week or two, people kind of forget about.

Every year I win, everything I do, it cements my legacy.

I have a lot of confidence because of my success.

I'm getting older. That's realistic. I can't reverse time. I can slow it down a little bit.

I want to make sure that everyone benefits from my success, not just me.

It's become a lot bigger than just winning championships. It's about inspiring hopefully millions at some point in my career.

There weren't a lot of people who believed in my abilities. But the more I grew and developed as a man, the more I believed in myself, and the harder I worked, the better I got and the more I progressed.

That's my job: work hard, win, and inspire.

I want to be the guy who our sport looks up to, and win multiple championships.

I didn't see my son walk for the first time. I've left my wife at home with two kids for long periods of time to go to training camps, to foreign countries.

It's a difficult place being on top because, for me, beating the Average Joe has no significance, but for the Average Joe, beating me could be the biggest match of his life, potentially.

I approach every match with that mindset, that this guy is trying to beat you, and it will change his life if he does.