Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders on How to Elevate and Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field

Episode 171

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:

Order Don and Deion’s new book Elevate & Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field.

View All Episodes

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Co-Founder Horst Schulze

Episode 123 | Soccer in Germany
Condoleezza Rice encourages you to build bridges as a leader.

Episode 82 | College Football Playoff Committee
Coach K offers two questions you should ask to elevate team performance

Episode 160 | Basketball
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian: Lessons learned leading through the darkest hour

Episode 66 | Baseball, Basketball
NFL Chief Revenue Officer Renie Anderson teaches you how to put your pride to the side.

Episode 121 | Gymnastics
Chick-fil-A Chairman Dan Cathy reflects on the most exhilarating moment of his life.

Episode 112 | National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Savannah Bananas Owner Jesse Cole says: “At heart I am still a kid just trying to make my dad proud.”

Episode 144 | Baseball
P.F. Chang's CEO Damola Adamolekun says: Start your day with a conquest

Episode 147 | Football
Make-A-Wish CEO Richard Davis says: Set a direction not a goal.

Episode 119
Carla Vernon, Amazon Vice President of Consumables, asks: Athletes have a warm-up routine, does your corporate team?

Episode 94 | Dance
Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, asks: Do you have a curious mind?

Episode 22 | Rugby
Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann asks: Are you good at saying no to protect your priorities?

Episode 110 | Harvard Football
Broadcast Legend Lesley Visser says: Treat every opportunity like it’s the Super Bowl.

Episode 111
Longtime Waffle House President & COO Bert Thornton teaches how to engage your team in conversation

Episode 57 | Football
ESPN’s Jay Bilas says: Leaders should be demanding not demeaning.

Episode 88 | Basketball
Dolf Berle, Topgolf CEO, asks: Do you practice courage?

Episode 1 | Track & Field
Warrick Dunn, Atlanta Falcons Part Owner and Former NFL Running Back, Asks: Will You Choose to Be Bitter or Better?

Episode 37 | Football
Simon Sinek, Team Building Expert, asks: How do we win a game that has no end?

Episode 34 | Special Edition
Rick Hendrick, NASCAR Hall of Famer, asks: Are you valuing your people over profits?

Episode 27 | Baseball
Louis Carr, President of BET Media, asks: Can you overcome two pandemics?

Episode 2 | Track & Field
Chick-Fil-A Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility Rodney Bullard shares a leader’s need for grace and forgiveness

Episode 45 | Football
David Ross, Chicago Cubs Manager, Joins Us For a World Series Special Edition

Episode 14 | Baseball
Dawn Hudson, longtime NFL Chief Marketing Officer and Pepsi NA President, asks: Do you look at your company from the outside?

Episode 21 | Tennis
John C. Maxwell, Leadership Expert, Asks: Do You Know The Top Time-Waster In Leaders’ Lives?

Episode 8 | Basketball
Fred Perpall, CEO of The Beck Group, asks: Do you have a deep understanding of your teammates?

Episode 20 | Basketball
Dr. Kent Thielen, CEO of Mayo Clinic Florida, asks: Are You Willing to Go Off-Script When the Situation Calls for it?

Episode 18 | Basketball
CEO of Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux Brandon Landry asks: What is your underdog story?

Episode 39 | Basketball
Xavier Williams, CEO of American Virtual Cloud Technologies, Asks: Does The Content You Read Expand Your Thinking?

Episode 9 | Basketball
Carl Eschenbach, Sequoia Capital Partner, Asks: Do You Hate To Lose Or Love To Win?

Episode 6 | Wrestling