Ryan Graft

Mike Vrabel gives a masterclass on mindset, self-talk, and dealing with doubt. "You can't let doubt creep into what you do as a person. I don't care what you do." "You have to be able to talk to yourself and not listen to yourself so much. You have to tell yourself what to believe." Read that again about your self-talk. Talk to yourself - don't just listen to yourself. Your mind will feed you doubt, fear, and negativity. Your job is to challenge it. Tell yourself what's true, not what's easy to believe. "That doesn't say that there aren't tough times that you struggle with failure. You have to be able to recognize it and know that that is a part of all of us." Failure isn't the opposite of success - it's part of the path to it. Successful people don't avoid adversity. They expect it. They know that they must learn from the setbacks and challenges. "If you coach long enough, you're gonna get fired. Just like if you play long enough, you're gonna get cut or you're gonna get traded. That's just how this business is." That's the reality. Not cynicism...clarity. "I've tried to explain it to the players that this is what happens. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to do it with this group of guys." Tough times happen. The choice is to be a tough person that overcomes those tough times. (🎥New England Patriots )

Marcus Freeman shares why "leading by example" isn't enough. "We don't love leaders by example. Because leaders by example are guys that do what they're told to do, they do everything they're asked, right?" "But they don't say things when their teammates aren't reaching the standard. We can't have that." Real leadership isn't just performing at the standard. It's protecting the standard. "We need more leaders. Guys that are willing to hold their teammates accountable because it's gonna make your teammate better." Accountability isn't about being hard on people. It's about caring enough to not let them settle. "I wanna make everybody in our organization the best they possibly can be. So if I let you cut corners or I don't say something to you when you're falling under the standard, then I'm not helping push you to the best you can be." Leading by example is the baseline. Leading with accountability is the standard. (🎥notredamebusiness )