Why Good Leaders Sometimes “Blow It”

Count money, man.

Money that grits is fine.

I told him, I'm a beast.

But what's up, gang?

Welcome to another episode of the Grandcast.

Thanks for joining us.

Let's get it.

Let's talk about why good leaders or players blow it.

And then I want to also talk to you about performing when you're exhausted, how to perform,

why to perform when you're exhausted, when you're beyond what you think you can handle.

So why good leaders or players blow it?

Man, I could probably stop the whole thing and just say they lose humility.

And you know, the thing about humility is most people, have you ever met, I mean, they're

out there, some of them own it and God bless them.

But very few, most people don't know that they're losing humility.

They don't know.

They don't understand that it's happening.

They don't see it.

They don't feel it.

They don't know that it's going on.

That what is going on is they've lost their sense of touch of who they are and they

lost humility because they had some success.

And that's how I watch good players and good leaders blow it.

It starts at the root of it all.

And we'll talk about other stuff.

But at the root of it all, it's just you lost humility.

You started filling yourself.

And that is the, you know, that's why, you know, I love this way to explain it.

This is one of the big ones that always stuck out to me that author and leadership expert

my man, John Maxwell said, and it's, you can't get to the top of a mountain on accident.

That's intentional.

You got to climb, you got to, but you could fall off on accident.

You could slip and fall in and it's over with for you.

And so you can't get to the top on accident.

And it took you a lot of work, a lot of hours, maybe being coachable, whatever.

But you can slip and fall off on accident and trust is gained in drops and lost in buckets.

You could, I mean, you just lose it so much faster than gaining it.

You ever try to get in real good shape and how much effort you had to put in to get in

shape and then you eat like crap and don't work out for a month and look what happens.

It's very easy to get out of shape.

It's very hard to get in shape.

And so I think people start blowing it.

Then I think people start blowing it sometimes because they stop doing what got them there.

Now I understand you got to change up as you evolve.

You got to grow 100%.

I'm talking about the fundamentals.

Like you got it, you got to stay focused on the fundamentals in sports or in your game or in your business.

You can't lose sight of the fundamentals even though they're not as much fun.

Because those are areas where people stop practicing in those areas.

They start doing, they stop doing the small things.

They stop doing little things.

You know, they say you ever hear the term, your talent can take you to a place that your character can't keep you.

This is why I'm, oh man, I'm so it's so important to me for people to build their character up.

To build the inside of them up their mindset, their heart, spirit was going on inside of them.

Because if you go high enough, if you get to a place where your skill set takes you somewhere in your mindset and your character, then you won't stay there.

You can't carry all that load.

I think people fall off when they start partying too much.

Good leaders, players, too much partying, too much celebrating, too much vacationing, too much.

That's why it's very difficult for a team that wins the Super Bowl to come back and win it the very next year again.

It's natural to want to just reward yourself too soon.

Like people start blowing it when they don't reinvest the success.

I watch people want, you know, when you eat dinner, you know, you go to a restaurant, they bring you what?

Apatizer's first, right?

Then they bring you maybe a salad, then they bring you your dinner and then what's last?

Desert.

Desert.

People start blowing it because they start eating the dessert in a mill of the meal.

Like you ain't there yet.

People want to cash in their chips too soon instead of reinvesting that grind.

Reinvest that profit.

Re, rein, flip it.

Like, all right, you had some success last year.

You had some success in 2019.

Okay.

Now are you going to go be average and be like everybody else and start patting yourself on your back?

Are you going to go harder?

Reinvest the, you just created all the momentum.

You already built up some credibility.

Now you want to get lazy.

Now you want to get dessert already, huh?

No, you got to keep going.

You got to keep doing it.

If not, you know, I forget who, which one of these billionaires I saw it, they said work

like, work 24 seven like somebody's, like somebody's trying to take your job 24 seven.

There's always somebody out there trying to replace you, trying to knock you off the top,

trying to make you not the best, trying to, and so I just want to encourage you.

To stay humble, focus on the fundamentals, reinvest the success that you had.

Keep grinding.

Part of the humility piece comes from, are you listening to your coaches, to your mentors,

or did you forget who helped you get to where you were, who gave you wisdom and gave

you insight.

That's like the teenage years, you know, kids, you see them all of a sudden, what they

don't want to listen to, they don't listen to nothing.

They think they know it all.

They start, well, people go through that as adults.

They forget who their mom, like who took care of you, who gave you wisdom, who gave

you guidance, who's given, did you turn your ears off, did you stop listening to your

mentors?

Who's coaching you right now?

Let me ask you, who is coaching you right now?

Are you the most coachable person that they have?

Why not?

When's the last time you had them tell you what did they think you could improve on?

So it's not you're offended, they're afraid to tell you, like what can I improve on?

What do you think I need to get better at?

People blow it when they start drugging and too much drinking and drugging.

Think that's a way to good leaders and players blow it, too much party and drinking,

drugging, not getting enough sleep, hanging around the wrong people, cheating on your spouse.

All these things are going to bring you destruction eventually.

And then I want to talk to you about how to perform and why to perform when exhausted.

So let's talk about why first.

Why you need to be able to perform when you're exhausted.

Okay?

I'm not talking about work yourself into the ground.

Don't ever get any rest or get nothing out.

Nope.

I'm talking about you have to be able to have another gear.

You have to be able to work harder, work longer, keep going when everybody else stops.

Like this is a legitimate, this is how simple we can make this thing.

It is simply, it's supply and demand.

So if there is a low supply of people that can do what you're trying to do, you're going

to be in major demand, you're going to make more money or whatever it is.

You're going to be in high demand.

If there's a lot of people that can do what you can do, then you ain't going to be paid

that well.

And so, you know, I saw during the holidays, me and my wife, we went to go see the Trans

Siberian Orchestra.

And I think it was something crazy is they were doing like 50 shows in 30 days or something.

Like as soon as the show was over, it was like 11 o'clock at night, people ran out there

to break the equipment and break the stage down like the shit was on fire.

And we start talking to the people because we were in the front row and we were talking

to the people that were breaking it down.

And they were like, yeah, we got a show in DC and we got to beat, we got to have this thing

whole set up by X amount tomorrow.

We're only going to get like four hours of sleep.

Like you don't think those performers are exhausted?

Everybody want to be in the Trans Siberian Orchestra.

That's your deal.

Everybody wants to be making a million.

Everybody wants to be the head coach of Alabama.

Everybody wants to, whatever it is that you think that you want to do, yeah.

Till it's time to grind.

Till it's time to suck it up and perform when you're exhausted.

You know, there's times.

Early on we had two young kids, my wife and I, and they're still young, but whenever

both just real young, it was a lot of just sleepless nights, not a lot of sleep, crying,

kids up, need this, need that.

My wife's still performing.

I mean, me too, but I had to go to work.

My wife just, just still got to perform when she was what?

Exhausted.

When you're exhausted.

Because guess what?

My mentor, Jim Trussell, one of his first quotes that I adopted that I grabbed onto

that I loved to me was he said, it's time and it's exhausting to be great.

Like the reason why you got to perform when you're exhausted is that it's exhausting to

be great.

And so if you want to be great, you have to be understanding that you're going to be exhausted.

And that's when other people quit.

That's when other people give up.

That's when other people rest.

That's when other people go on vacation.

And so the supply of people that are willing to be exhausted and continue to perform goes

down.

And so the demand of you, you wherever you are, your demand is going to go up.

If you learn how to perform when you're already freaking exhausted, you got to be dependable.

You got to be reliable.

No matter what, rain, snow, shine, and moan that grind.

Anybody can perform when they got energy.

Anybody can perform when they're all excited and enthusiastic.

You're going to have moments.

I don't care how much you like what you're doing or love what you're doing, that you've

got to be able to turn it on, flip that switch, whoop, and perform anyway.

Off the top of my head, I have no notes, I have no nothing here.

This is just me giving you straight from the heart.

How do I think that we can do this?

I think one of the things you got to go back to is asking, what is your freaking mission?

Like what is the mission?

Why are you doing what you're doing?

What is your motive?

Because when you're exhausted and you can't find motivation, you need to go to your

motive.

Motivation comes from motive.

What is your motive?

Why are you doing this thing?

I thought you said you want to be the best.

Thought you said you want to change your family's life.

I thought you, what?

So if that's the motive, it's going to take a whole lot more to get you to stop working.

Stop grinding, stop doing what you're doing.

Next thing you got to do is you got to know how to renew yourself, daily.

Do yourself.

What does that mean?

Well, I think you need to check your, you need to wash your, like people know they, they

wash their body.

And if you don't wash your body for a week, what happens?

What if you don't wash your body for two days?

What happens?

You stink, right?

What if you don't brush your teeth?

Okay, well,

what happens is people get, they start grinding

and they get themselves into thinking that they're exhausted

and they're burnt out because they stop brushing,

they didn't clean their mind.

You have to go to a place,

where can you get some peace and relaxation

and hit the reset button?

Is it yoga?

Is it working out?

Is it exercising, plugging those things into your schedule?

Finding a way to get sleep when you can,

sometimes it requires you to run on not a lot of sleep.

But not for 365 days.

You might be causing yourself exhaustion

because you're staying up too late.

Early to bed, early to rise,

makes one healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Do you want to be the opposite of those three things?

Now, I get it if you're in the club or the bar industry

or that you're a performer,

that's what you got to do.

I get it.

But if not,

get to bed.

I think nutrition plays a big part in exhaustion.

People can't understand sometimes how I can run the way that I can run.

Well, look at my diet.

Look what I've eaten this week,

in drink,

and let's look at what other people eat and drink.

And they think they're so tired

and exhausted,

but they drank alcohol four or five times this week.

Or they were smoking all day.

Or they were eating a bunch of sugar that makes them crash,

or taking in too much caffeine that makes them crash,

or eating a bunch of junky carbs that make them tired.

And so you think you're exhausted

from grinding,

but you're just,

you're exhausted because you're not taking care of yourself.

Because to build something,

you got to be on that grind.

You got to be on your hustle.

Like an athlete.

You ever see a real serious bodybuilder or serious athlete?

They just got vitamins and shit in their bag.

They just taking post-workout, pre-workout, mid-workout, protein.

Because they understand you got to fuel your body with something.

You got to treat your body like that

if you want to be able to...

I want to be able to perform when everybody else is tired.

I want to be able to perform and go longer when everybody else gives up.

I want to be able to perform

and show up in the morning before everybody else.

You know it's crazy to me

how people want to be great,

but their boss leaves after them

or their boss gets there all the time before them.

I'm not saying this even for myself.

You know, some folks that follow me that are close to me that know me,

you know I'm at my office training a lot of times,

six o'clock in the morning,

Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, stuff like that.

I don't expect everybody to be here at six o'clock in the morning.

That ain't what I'm saying.

I'm talking about an enormous situation,

you're on the grind.

What time are we starting work?

Like I'm starting work before.

Like I've already read a book,

podcasts,

exercise and ready to start my day,

dress and shower ready to go,

usually by 8 a.m.

All that's done, ready to go by 8.

So if you ain't starting already by then

and getting some of that stuff done,

you're going to be behind

and you're going to become exhausted

if you're not taking care of your mind.

So you have to intentionally put things into your mind,

the right things,

positivity, encouragement, books,

audiobooks, podcasts,

getting the right sleep,

eating the right foods,

hanging around encouraging people.

You get exhausted when you hang around negative people

that ain't going nowhere.

But I don't know.

I think the way that you're going to perform

when you're exhausted is to keep your eyes on your vision

and your mission and your motives.

Allow that to fuel you

and remind you why you're doing what you're doing.

Think of people that believe in you,

improve them right.

Think about people that don't believe in you

and prove them wrong.

Make comparisons to people that have it harder than you.

Like you're exhausted but somebody just got sent to Iraq

or Iran.

Who got it worse?

Who should be?

You got to sleep in your own bed tonight.

You got to eat cereal.

You drink at a Starbucks coffee.

Somebody else is getting shot at.

It's all mindset.

You got to be able to,

you know, I saw a thing from a Navy SEAL vet that said,

when your body thinks it's exhausted,

it's only 40% through.

You got way more,

that means you got double in you.

I mean, there's people out there

look at people out there really grinding

and be motivated by their stories

and what they're doing.

There's people out there running 25, 30 miles in a row in a day.

Straight.

I mean, you can't do your normal job today.

There's somebody throwing grenades out there.

How can you get a good night's sleep when you at war?

Shout out in respect and thank you to all the veterans

and all our military out there.

But who do you think,

like you think they're, you don't think they're exhausted?

Now what?

Okay.

Now what?

So what?

Just quit.

Tap in.

Tap out.

Now what?

Okay.

So understand that that's part of the game.

You can go further than you think you can go.

You can go harder than you think you can go.

You need to run this race with 100 people

and be the one or two people that goes further

that keeps going when you're tired,

when you're exhausted.

And so that's, let's,

we'll leave it at that.

I just want to leave it with these two things

and encourage you with these two things.

Don't be the person that's getting

has success

and they need to get smashed

in order to realize what they had

and they have to go back and build it all up.

Just stay humble.

Keep grinding.

If you're on top,

do the right things.

Don't make bad decisions and don't blow it.

And if you're tired and you're grinding,

do the best you can with your health

and taking care of yourself

and sleeping and eating clean,

but understand

that you asked,

if you don't want to be great,

you wouldn't be listening to this.

You asked to be great.

It's exhausting to be great.

And now you're currently exhausted.

And now what?

If you want greatness,

you got to have to keep understanding

you're going to be exhausted at times.

There's going to be things.

You got to do crazy shit, crazy things.

And don't make any sense to work this long.

And don't make any sense to get up this early.

And don't make any sense to travel this far.

And don't make any sense to keep going this late.

It doesn't make any sense to keep coaching these people.

It doesn't make any sense to keep on running and working.

It doesn't make sense to train again.

That's, I'm ex-...

That's greatness.

That you're on your way to greatness.

And I want to encourage you on that grind.

And I ask you if this brought you any value,

if you could do me a favor,

please share it with somebody that needs to hear it.

And I would like to thank you for joining us

on another episode of The Grindcast.

Get ready. It's a new day.