Matt Mayberry –  Former NFL Linebacker, Entrepreneur, Author & Speaker; Dealing with Pressures; Starting From Scratch; Overcoming Injury in the NFL; Becoming a CEO & Entrepreneur

Segment 1: (Length :08:00) – General Updates; Introduction to Matt Mayberry; Journey to Date; Dealing with Pressures Early On; Making Life Changes as a Teenager

“I think as a society we tend to focus on the successes or the end goal of an individual, but never do we really take the time to look at the hustle, the journey, the struggles and the ups and downs that every successful individual encounters along the way. So congrats, thank you.”

“You are who you hang out with. Show me your circle and I’ll show you where your destiny is.”

“After I got kicked off the baseball team, I just completely freaked out. I had just lost the sport that gave me any bit of hope. I was living in a dark depraved world. I neglected the people that loved me most and I loved most.”

“After I got kicked off the team, my problems went on for another few weeks . . . you try to make the necessary changes in order for you to take.”

“Just like in anything in life, if you want to make a million dollars, you can’t have the same habits that are currently making you $50K or $100K. You have to adopt and become a new person.

“The only way you’re going to change is if you want to change; if you want to make those proper changes.”

“For the first time in 3 years, I had the courage to look myself in the mirror. I literally looked at myself for the first time and I saw neglect, anger, depression, a monster, the tears that I put on my mother’s face – all the people that love me most in the world, I saw the damage that I had done. In that moment in time I just collapsed to my knees and that was my biggest epiphany that really started the building blocks to building a bigger future for myself.”

Segment 2: (Length :12:00) – Talking with Matt Mayberry; Starting from Scratch; Embracing Football;

“The majority are always looking at what they’re lacking, rather than if you just make up your mind and get very clear about what it is you want and put it in your heart, you will find a way.“

“When you know the why, the how will eventually come to you.”

“Once I decided on football, I wrote down I will get into a Division I school . . . I realized I had to get a scholarship; set the goal . . . I did everything possible. I researched colleges, I reached out to coaches and I had this new burning desire in my heart. People laughed at me . . . you’re never going to make anything of yourself.”

“Seven days a week I carried around my notecard (“I Will Get Into A Division I School”) with me, worked 7 hours a day and literally it was overtraining. I was doing everything possible to get faster and stronger to become a college football player that I desired in my heart.”

“A year later I received 19 Division I scholarship offers . . . It’s not as sexy as it sounds cause I was even reaching out to schools to take massive action. I didn’t know how I was going to do it and I didn’t have a lot of resources, but coaches saw I was hungry.”

“Coach Terry Hoeppner really believed in me. He told me, ‘Matt, if you come to Indiana, you’re not only going to get a chance to play in the NFL and become a great football player, you will become even more successful outside of football than you are inside of football.’ And after my past, . . . everything I had done wrong in my life, that’s who I wanted to lead me and go play for.”

“My next big goal was to get drafted into the NFL draft in 2010.”

“Come draft day, I didn’t get drafted that night . . . I started to doubt myself. Maybe I really am just meant to live a degenerate lifestyle . . . I started to question myself. For the first time I really believed the doubt; the critics, the inner critics, the inner demons telling me I don’t have what it takes.”

“Twenty minutes later the Chicago Bears call and they asked me to sign a free agent contract.”

Segment 3: (Length :20:00) – Overcoming Injury in the NFL to becoming a CEO and Entrepreneur

“After two and a half weeks were up (from leaving the NFL with a career ending injury), I get a call from Stedman Graham (Oprah Winfrey’s boyfriend) who I had met prior. He called me and said, ‘Matt, I know you’re hurt right now and you’re not playing. I’m speaking at a leadership conference and I’d love for you to speak with me.”

“I said, ‘Stedman, I got a D in public speaking in college and you want me to speak at a leadership conference?’ Long story short, I took the gig that night. I was depressed so I said what do I have to lose?”

“I literally walked out of the stadium, sitting in my car after that event, hurt, not playing, just lost my dream, I’m miserable and a wreck, but I’m on stage sharing a message of hope, helping others become the best version of themselves while inspiring and motivating others people to follow their dreams and pursue their passion regardless of how many times you get knocked down. I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life.”

“This was a another magical moment where I knew that this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Football is what I did, it’s not who I am. It was right then and there that I truly discovered my purpose and I haven’t looked back since.”

“The difference between champions and losers is one simple thing. Champions grow through tough times and don’t just go through them. I think that’s what really makes the difference between winning and losing whether in business and in sports.”

Segment 4: (Length :10:00) – Similarities Between Being an Athlete and Being an Entrepreneur.

“I tried to go out on my own too early. I realized I’m not ready to do this. I had to go get a job with a pharmaceutical company in the mean time.”

“While I had a job, I was laying the foundation. I was doing everything that I could. I was building the network. I was building a business. I was doing everything that I had to do and about a year later was when I was able to make that jump.”

“When a company brings me in, I do one of two things. Number one, we want to increase performance of employees on a daily basis. We want to get employees to perform like a professional athlete day in and day out. Or number two, the company is going through some type of change or adversity throughout the company or organization and we need you to come in and teach your ‘gift of failure’ concept to get people to grow through change.”

“There are a lot of similarities. To be a professional athlete, there is no ‘let’s take the next day off’ – you have to perform. Like Wall Street, you only get what you have today. A lot of these companies and aspiring entrepreneurs don’t want to put in the work day in and day out without seeing much of a reward 5 years from now.”

“You have to perform at a high level every single day. As a professional athlete you’re gong to get cut if that’s not the case and Wall Street, you’re not going to have a job if that’s the case.”

“If I don’t change my perception of failure then I’m going to go to my grave with everything still left inside of me.”

“The companies that dominate have leaders that care about their employees. These leaders truly care about their people. They will do everything possible to make sure their people taken care of. And I think that’s why you see companies like Google and Facebook just dominate the market.”

“Business is and will always be forever about people.”

“Treat people like a human being, you’ll have greater results.”

Segment 5: (Length :03:00) – Hustler Thought of the Day:

If your thinking doesn’t change, then nothing else will ever change. If you’re not happy with where you’re at in life right now, the first place that needs a checkup is the quality of your thoughts.

– Matt Mayberry (from the article, Never Stop Growing – 3 Ways to Maximize Your Potential)

GENERAL NOTES:

Matt Mayberry – Former NFL Linebacker, Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker

• Matt Mayberry is a former NFL linebacker for the Chicago Bears.

• He’s currently one of the most read columnists for Entrepreneur Magazine (Entrepreneur.com), as well as an acclaimed keynote speaker, consultant and peak performance strategist.

• He’s the CEO of Matt Mayberry Enterprises, a training and consulting company, specializing in maximizing the performance of individuals and organizations all over the world.

• Little sports background:
  • Matt is Indiana University’s current record holder for most sacks in a single game and was the team recipient of the prestigious Howard Brown Award, which exemplifies leadership, courage and work ethic.
  • With a 4.45 forty yard dash, Mayberry was signed by the NFL Chicago Bears in 2010.

• Reaching the pinnacle of his sport, he suffered a life-changing injury. It was this event that inspired Mayberry to embrace his true passion—his true gift—helping others achieve massive success by learning how to turn failures into gifts.

• Been known for helping people turn failure into gifts, improving sales effectiveness, and elevating human potential.

• Clients include: Fortune 500 companies, NFL and NBA teams, government, civic and nonprofit organizations, professional associations, hospitals, and universities.

• Matt has been featured in NBC, Business Insider, MSN Lifestyle, Fox Business, ABC, and ESPN.

• Matt is writing his first book, The Gift of Failure, planned for release in 2016.