The Price of Fame

- Let me tell you something folks

everybody's got a price for Ted DiBiase.

- If I've said this once, I've said it a million times.

Money isn't everything, it's the only thing.

And everybody, everybody's got a price

for the Million Dollar Man. (laughing)

He's got money, he's got fame.

Everybody's got a price for Ted DiBiase.

I've had everything

that most people think will make them happy.

I know what it's like

to travel around the world in first class,

to ride in limousines and Learjets,

To stay at first class hotels,

to have my likeness made into

action figures and be on television and be famous.

They say that the love of money is the root of all evil.

Hogwash, with enough of this you can buy anything.

I can buy stuff, cars, houses.

The problem with the people

in the entertainment industry, and just in that world,

is they've got everything the world can offer.

You've got money, you've got power, fame, you get stuff.

- I can buy love, I can buy a good time.

But you remember this most of all, I can even buy you.

- Everybody's got a price for Ted DiBiase.

- And like so many others, I began to fill that void.

Out there on the road, away from my family.

And I would go to the bar with the guys, you know.

I didn't want to go to that empty hotel room.

What was God in my life, was me.

And on that day as I looked into the mirror,

I saw a man, a man who had been blessed with so much.

Blessed in his career,

blessed by a wonderful wife, blessed with children.

I was looking at a man who had been willing

to put at risk the future, and for what?

To stroke his ego.

To stroke his ego.

- Ted DiBiase, making the most of his money.

Using it to his advantage.

- Every one of you, remember one thing.

Everybody has a price for The Million Dollar Man. (laughing)

Right now, you've got everything

you thought you ever wanted.

You're famous, you've got money, nice house, big car.

But what do you really have, son?

My friends, you know what the answer is, nothing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing!

By the grace of God, every day I try

to be a man of strong character

in integrity, a man of God.

A loving husband and a caring father.

And like that old character,

The Million Dollar Man always says,

Everybody's got a price.

Everybody's got a price.

Everybody has a price.

The price of fame is high.

Well I'll tell you what I'm gonna do, Shawn,

if you can dribble this basketball 15 times consecutively

without missing,

look at here, I'm gonna give you $500,

and I know you and your family could use $500.

I can tell by looking at you

that you could use a lot more than 500 bucks.

Ready go, two, three, four, five

six, seven, eight, nine

10, 11, 12, 13, 14, whoops!

Aw, we didn't get to 15, Shawn.

You didn't get to 15, did you?

No, he didn't make 15.

And you know what that means?

What that means Shawn, is you've got to learn

a hard, cruel fact of life.

When you don't do the job right, you don't get paid.

Yep,

that's my dad, The Million Dollar Man.

I definitely had an interesting childhood to say the least.

I mean, growing up the son of a wrestler

I found myself running around the locker room

with guys like Hulk Hogan,

Andre The Giant, The Ultimate Warrior, Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

I mean these guys were larger than life.

They were superheroes.

My house on Saturday mornings

was a very popular place to be.

My friends would come over

and we'd back the couches back

climbin' up on the side table

dropping' elbows off the top

like macho man Randy Savage

and quite often, breaking a lamp or two.

It was cool watching him on TV.

But that was the only place I got to see my dad,

'cause he was with you.

300 days out of the year, when I was with him,

everyone wanted to meet him

because he was The Million Dollar Man.

And me, I wanted to be just like him.

I followed in his footsteps.

I became a third generation superstar for the WWE

and I traveled all over the world.

I main evented pay-per-views

and wrestled in Wrestlemania.

I even starred in a movie.

With or without you, I'm going on.

Oscar worthy, if you ask me, but nobody did. (chuckling)

But even when everyone told me that

I could never achieve these dreams

I chose to follow my dreams anyway.

Alright, yep.

Well I'll see you in Willcox soon.

Several hours, me too man.

Love you, bye.

And I would soon find out,

as John Maxwell says, the dream is free.

Love you buddy.

But the journey is not.

- One of the questions I'm often asked,

having been a professional wrestler

for almost 20 years, is why?

Of all the things I could have

chosen to do in life,

why did I choose such an odd occupation?

The answer to the question in a word, is Dad.

I was very fortunate to have

been raised by a very loving step father.

My biological parents divorced when I was two years old.

And when I was five years old

Mike DiBiase came into my life.

I had a dad that was worth admiring.

I had a very good role model.

I was one of those kids who said,

"I want to be just like my dad."

- Mike DiBiase was a very, very tough guy

all through his period in wrestling.

- Iron Mike DiBiase was very well respected

within the business by his peers

because he was a legit athlete.

He was a nice man.

He was a multi-sport letterman

at the University of Nebraska,

which is a major division one university.

So he had a great pedigree,

really a stellar reputation.

And no one ever said any bad things about Mike DiBiase.

- He was a great one, he was great to me.

He always had time for me, you know,

He would pick me up and we'd ride to towns together.

I'd say, "Mike how much money do I owe you?"

And he'd say, "Terry, you don't owe me nothing."

Always had great advice for me too,

"Keep your nose clean," and,

"You've got a wife at home

"and you take care of her

"and you take care of your family first."

That's the kind of guy he was.

All I knew when I was five

was that this man showed me his love.

And, I loved him.

It's great that you were able to come

on this trip with me, Teddy.

You know, I've talked to you boys

about where I grew up and where I lived

and everything most of my life.

But you know, you've never seen it.

But you know, I want my kids to know,

- Where it all started. - Where it all started.

We're gonna drive by the high school.

I used to run these bleachers.

The old stomping grounds.

The old stomping grounds.

- So that's where you won your...

- That's when I earned a scholarship.

- Scholarship to West Texas State.

Yep.

- This is the house you grew up in?

- This is the house I grew up in.

- Should we go knock on the door?

I guess it feels pretty good coming back

to a place like this you know?

It means even more now.

I hold you on on pedestal,

but now seeing this firsthand, it's like, wow.

I don't know that I would have

had what it took to get out of here.

For all the fond memories

that I have here, what was I gonna do here?

I mean, you know, my dream was to be like my dad.

My dream was to be like my hero, and my hero

had been a national amateur wrestling champion

and could have been a pro football player.

And you know as you look around this town,

you can see how I felt, can this happen here?

Is it possible for me to make it here?

- It's actually just really cool hearing the stories

for the past 30 years and now actually,

it's like putting a face with a name.

Let me go on out to