This is the True Story of when The Miz came to WWE.com. This column is going to give you the inside look on thoughts, events, wrestling and everything that goes on in my life. I'm not talking PG kind of stuff.  I'm talking reality-show gossip that no one knows about -- training to become a WWE Superstar, parties, not your local bar parties, I'm talking Playboy Mansion parties and more. So sit back and get comfortable because this is your reality check.

For those who have no idea who Mike "The Miz" Mizanin is, I was the runner up on the "WWE $1,000,000 Tough Enough Challenge." Yeah, I said it, "runner up." Thanks for not voting for me. Just kidding. I'm in a much better spot now and all I have to say is Daniel Puder who? Those weeks training under Al Snow and Bill DeMott taught me a lot about what it takes to become a WWE Superstar. Having the opportunity to go on SmackDown and perform challenges against WWE Superstars I grew up watching was surreal. Those of you who voted for me allowed me more time to train and experience the WWE lifestyle, I thank you.

If you didn't see me on "Tough Enough," you may have caught me on "The Real World: Back to New York" acting like a jackass, drinking too much, arguing, or talking to my alter ego, "The Miz." I know...I'm insane.  If not there, then maybe you've seen the five "Real World/ Road Rules Challenges" I was on, where I kicked ass and took names, drank too much, and hooked up way too much. Wow, that sounds bad, but you'd date Trishelle if you had the chance. Don't lie. :) If not there, maybe on some other reality show. Yes, I've been on way too many reality shows, but imagine getting paid to party, do cool challenges, and hang out with a bunch of entertaining drama queens and kings in an exotic location. It's kind of hard to pass up. Well, maybe some people could, but I've loved everything reality TV has done for my life.

Being on "The Real World" made me realize I could do anything I wanted with my life. It's actually where I started my dream of becoming a WWE Superstar. Being from Parma, Ohio (suburb of Cleveland), where life was pretty much drawn out for you, I didn't set my goals very high. Tell me if this sounds familiar... After high school, you go to college.  After college, you try to find a job and once you find it, that's what you do for the rest of your life. Then you start a family and then you die. I imagine there are a lot of kids out there that are just like me. They have dreams but don't realize they can pursue them. Since my life was drawn out for me back then, I did what everyone else was doing -- went to college. Did I know what I wanted to do? Nope. However, I was still shelling out $16,000 to go to Miami University of Ohio to major in business, something my dad wanted me to do.  My dad gave me a safe route to life, which was to take over his business. My life was set -- graduate from college and own my own business just like he did. After a year in college, I was in the Theta Chi fraternity. I was your stereotypical frat boy, Abercrombied out, doing keg stands, playing beer pong, caps, whatever the drinking game was. This was when I really got into watching "The Real World: New Orleans." I thought about how cool it would be to live in a place with seven complete strangers, all from different backgrounds. It sounded like college, except way better. So I tried out, and after five months of interviews, directors knit-picking and getting into my head, I was cast on the "Real World 10: Back to New York."

Sounds easy, but it was a long process. People always ask me how I did it. Honestly, I tried out and was an open book. That's it. Don't think for one minute I didn't get lines from random people saying "You're not going to make it. What's going to stand you out from 40,000 people?" A lot of people were putting me down, but I kept going for it. I was finally doing what I wanted to do, and not what my parents or friends or anyone else wanted. This one was for me. The experience of trying out and making "The Real World" taught me that if I put my mind to something and forget what negative people are telling me, I can achieve anything.

So I was a 20-year-old naive kid from Parma, Ohio, moving to New York City, the biggest melting pot in the United States. Was I scared? You better well believe I was! My excitement took over my fear once I got there. I guess you could say I was the frat boy from a small minded place who really didn't know much about diversity or other cultures, but was willing to learn. The very first day of moving in, I got into a fight with Coral (one of the cast members) and the fight went on for three months. If you saw the show, you didn't see half of our fights. It felt like I was living in a hell because I was the outcast for the first time in my life. In addition to that, every Monday we had interviews where directors would dissect everything we did that week. Our thoughts, actions, emotions, everything was brought up. I couldn't figure out who I was, and was always questioning myself and my actions like I was doing something wrong. This was the birth of The Miz. I was dealing with pressures from everyone wanting me to change and I almost felt like I couldn't be myself, until finally I exploded. That explosion let everything come out. I told everyone like it was, and I started to gain confidence. It was amazing to see the cast members respected The Miz more than Mike.

People ask me who is The Miz? The question should be what is The Miz?  The Miz is a state of being. The best way to describe it is when you're in a pressured situation, or you are afraid of something and you step into that fear. It's when you are ready to play the big game and right before you feel those butterflies in your stomach. You start second guessing yourself because you're scared. Then you say screw it and you step into that fear, turning those butterflies into energy which starts boiling up into adrenaline until you explode. At that moment you're being Miz. You don't care what people think. You are your raw, primal self.

After "The Real World" I moved back to Parma, and realized that I grew out of my hometown and needed something bigger. It was then that I began the dream I had as a kid I thought could never be possible. I wanted to become a WWE Superstar. The funny part was people laughed at me, saying "you're too small. You're on a reality show. They wouldn't want you." I ignored those people and moved to Los Angeles. I started training at an independent wrestling school (UPW). While training, I still juggled reality shows, and worked out hard, trying to get bigger (I was only 195 lbs.). Four years later with four reality shows under my belt, I finally got my break into WWE. I tried out for "The $1,000,000 Tough Enough Challenge" and made it. Even though I placed runner up, on July 13, 2005, Mike "The Miz" Mizanin signed a WWE contract, getting one step closer to the dream. Remembering how all of those people told me I couldn't do it just set me off and I became determined. I then moved from L.A. to McDonough, GA, to train in the brand new WWE developmental territory, Deep South Wrestling, by veteran WWE Superstar Bill DeMott and Legend Jodi Hamilton. Talk about amazing. I know I still have a hard road of training ahead of me, but you'll be with me the entire way through this weekly column. So until next week, Be good. Be Bad. BE MIZ!

The Miz