Be The Torch

Sports introduced you to the 3 Headed Monster, and although the beast appeared to be harmless when you were younger, it now has a hold of you and your future. I honestly could do an hour episode on this topic as it is so deeply engrained in athletics and athletes, however I kept it brief so you get the main concepts. What now? Awareness. The more you become aware of the beast, the better equipped...

Go big or go home? Nah.... Your success in sports did not come overnight. Nor were you simply born with it. Sure your genetics and talent may have played a part in your success, however your hard work gets the bulk of the credit. This is a hurdle may former athletes need to get past, especially when crafting a lifestyle, a business, or the ideal relationship. It's time to toss your ego out th...

People buy transformation. Period. If you are looking to develop a personal brand (you should be), or want more clients, or even attract an intimate partner, you need to be able to tell your story in a way that gets people to say "yes." One of the biggest hurdles I see preventing former athletes from achieving the outcomes the want in life and business is ego. Their egos are preventing t...

Transition to life after sports looks differently for everyone. Judging whether one path is harder than the other is a waste of time. As is judging someone else by their worst moments, while having a vision for yourself in your best moments. If it is hard for you, then it's hard for you. Most former competitive athletes struggle in some capacity. So just recognize that you're not alone.....

When an athlete's competitive career comes to an end, and life after sports begins, most end up doing the exact same thing.... Look for ways to make a living. For most it's getting a job, while some venture into the world of entrepreneurship. Regardless if your last years in sports were in college or the pro's, with sports no longer taking up most of our lives, we were now free to p...

The Athlete Void in life after sports is real. Are you aware of what the Athlete Void is? First off the definition of "void" is: a completely empty space. Regardless of how long you last played competitive sports, do you feel an emptiness left by sports, and have yet to find something to replace it? The Athlete Void is that large element of your life that sports took up, and without it y...

What is your biggest most outrageous dream?  Now times it by 1,000 and go make it happen. Seem impossible?  It may be a lot closer to a reality than you think.  This episode is number 3 in a 3 part series with the NFL's first woman coach, Dr. Jen Welter.  Dr. Jen is also the first woman coach to appear on the famed video game Madden 20.  Our conversation was so rich and powerful, I had to bre...

What is your biggest most outrageous dream?  Now times it by 1,000 and go make it happen. Seem impossible?  It may be a lot closer to a reality than you think.  This episode is number 2 in a 3 part series with the NFL's first woman coach, Dr. Jen Welter.  Dr. Jen is also the first woman coach to appear on the famed video game Madden 20.  Our conversation was so rich and powerful, I had to bre...

What is your biggest most outrageous dream?  Now times it by 1,000 and go make it happen. Seem impossible?  It may be a lot closer to a reality than you think.  This episode is number 1 in a 3 part series with the NFL's first woman coach, Dr. Jen Welter.  Dr. Jen is also the first woman coach to appear on the famed video game Madden 20.  Our conversation was so rich and powerful, I had to bre...

As former athletes, optimizing our performance is nothing new. We were always looking for ways to get better in sport. However, the sports mentality we learned is often based on the physical work of getting bigger, faster, stronger and ignores the inner work for true optimal performance.  What about now in life after sports? Are you performing at an optimal level in your business, career, health a...

What words would you use to describe a former record setting NCAA and NFL running back? The experts would most likely address his balance and power. Maybe even acknowledge his confidence and fearlessness.  However, I am willing to bet inner peace and mindfulness were not words included in his NFL draft profile.  We don't often associate big, strong, accomplished warriors, such as NFL athletes...

It's March, and in the US sporting world that means one thing....Madness.  Yes, March Madness is here and while the college basketball season is coming down to it's final 64 teams and the marquee event of the season, for many former athletes the madness often extends far beyond the the final four and the buzzer beaters, and into life after sports. As a former NCAA college basketball play...

In our current pandemic state where we all are social distancing so much of our world has come to a halt, including the sports world. There are no fields to play on. No balls. No teammates to train with. No gyms, and for many of us, no parks to practice in.  Now two months into a stay at home order, coaches, teams and parents running out of content and ideas to keep athletes motivated. If you are...

What are the chances this would happen.... An author commits over a year to write a book titled "We're All in This Together," and his publisher decides months ago to launch it in April of 2020. ⁣ Right during the heart of a global pandemic.  ⁣ For over 12 months author and speaker Mike Robbins has did exactly this. Having committed over a year to writing his new book titled “We’re A...

In Spring of 2007 I made a choice that would alter my world in ways I could have never expected.  While playing football in college and professionally, I had to work my butt off to keep my weight on. Having weighed around 193 to 195 pounds.  Keeping my size required endless food consumption. My 193 pounds and very little body was a picture of a very healthy and fit human being. On the outside I wa...

The current state of the world has us facing a lot of uncertainty about what the future will look like. As it stands, this unique place in time has many people weighing what is most important in life.  If you have followed this podcast for long, or have consumed any of my content you know that in business, sports and in life, the level of your production, performance, profits, or points, comes dow...

As a former athlete, I have had my share of highs and lows. Struggles and success. As athletes we are not given the playbook for finding fulfillment in life after sports.  We have a fire, a drive and a passion for our sport, but when we are done we often do not know where to put this Athlete Mindset. Thus for many the stress, anxiety and depression turns to abuse of substances, people we love and...

In our current society where so many are seeking results and success immediately, there are constant reminders that patience will always win out. Combine patience with consistent action, doing the right thing and being of service for others and good ol' fashions belief....well know you have a recipe for success.  That recipe is one used by former high school basketball coach and my guest this...

Marques Ogden was a successful student-athlete at Howard University who followed in the footsteps of his Father and his NFL Hall of Fame Brother and played football in the NFL for six years.  He always new the football game would end sooner than later which is why he saved all his earnings while playing.  Listen in to episode 29 as Marques shares his story of how he went from playing in the NFL to...

"What's wrong with me?"  A question I have asked myself more times than I can count since retiring as a competitive athlete.  I was stuck. Lost. Unsure of my identity and who I really was.  Can you relate? After believing I had it all figure out, I crashed and burned emotionally, financially, in my health and my relationships. I painfully learned that I indeed did not have it all fi...

Jarrod Barnes was the first NCAA Division I football player in history to be enrolled in a Doctorate program at school while on an active football roster. He new football would go only so far.  However, he still had a dream to make it into the NFL. He did all the right things, attended a Power 5 school, played for top tier coaches, and tried out for all 32 NFL teams.  The result? He made it into t...

As an athlete you sought out a challenge, wrote your goals out, found a guide (Coach) to help you plan and take the action necessary to implement and accomplish your goals.  Where many of us get hung up in life after sports is when we are unsure of what our next challenge is. We loved sports. We know how to complete and feel alive when we are working to accomplish our goals, yet do not know where...

Could you imagine giving up your life's dream, something you have worked your entire life for, in order to serve your life's true purpose?  My guest on Episode 25 is former Major League Baseball player Mike Marjama who abruptly retire from the Seattle Mariners in 2018 in order to make a greater positive impact off the field than he ever could on the field.  In high school, Mike suffered...

Are you a former athlete who struggles with what truly fulfills you in your life after sports?  Me too! Jobs, relationships, family, money, material things are common things to have, but fulfillment, meaning and purpose are crazy rare in today's society.  As an athlete I had a purpose, and I was laser focused on it. I was completely fulfilled and could have been truly satisfied being an athle...

Breakups are never easy, wouldn't you agree?  Like me, I am sure you have been through some really tough one's in your day, however as a former athlete have you ever considered breaking up with your sport?  I had not thought about the need to break up with my sport until my conversation with Chris Smith, the Founder and CEO of Athlete Network, the largest community of current and former...