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Going to the dog track as a kid when he wasn’t supposed to be there and watching the “rabbits” setting the pace as the greyhounds tried to catch them gave a boy named Deion Sanders a metaphor for life. Back then, he didn’t think of the experience metaphorically; he was simply having fun and trying not to get into trouble. But the seed was planted.
“I always remember how the dogs just kept trying harder even though they would never catch that rabbit,” said the Pro Football Hall of Famer now affectionately known as “Coach Prime.”
Coach Prime came to identify with those greyhounds. “I’m always trying to get to the next level. And the way you get to the next level, you have to put something out in front of you,” he explained. “I’m not gonna catch it, but I’m gonna go get it. I’m gonna always try to attain it and go get it. And everyone has to have a rabbit … and to chase it.”
The rabbit metaphor is so much of Coach Prime’s mindset, he devoted an entire chapter to it in the book we wrote together, Elevate & Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field which will hit bookshelves on March 12.
For those of you who may be less familiar with Coach Prime, he is a two-time Super Bowl Champion who played 14 seasons in the NFL and nine seasons in Major League Baseball. His 1992 World Series appearance makes him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
Sanders, who dubbed himself “Prime Time” as a college superstar at Florida State University, now prefers to go by the moniker “Coach Prime,” an appropriate title after he turned to coaching, most recently at the University of Colorado.
Just as he was during his playing days, Coach Prime remains the supreme motivator, not only of others but also of himself. And this just might be his secret weapon.
In the podcast, Coach Prime reveals the mindset that keeps him highly motivated – and highly motivating – after a long career marked by much success. It’s all a matter of … let’s call it free-agency, a commitment to push himself every day and stay fired up about lessons including:
- 5:00 How to “make confidence your natural odor.”
- 8:30 The doubters Deion faced at an early age.
- 10:30 Emphasizing “team” in a system where individuals are drafted and compensated.
- 12:30 The unexpected place where Deion played his best football.
- 17:00 How he turned time on the Aflac set into a mentoring moment with Nick Saban.
- 23:00 Distinguishing between great skill and great leadership.
- 30:00 Coaching someone to excel in their existing strengths.
Resources:
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- Order Don and Deion’s new book Elevate & Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field.
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