057: From the NFL to Rock Bottom to Unstriving

Welcome to Meet the Author, a show that takes you behind the scenes to meet the authors of today's most impactful books. This is a show about stories and ideas that will educate, encourage, and inspire you to live a richer, more meaningful life. Today, we're joined by Caleb Campbell, former NFL player, West Point graduate, and now first-time author, to discuss his debut book, Unstriving: 12 Lessons on Authentic Success from a Recovering Overachiever. From a seven-year-old scoring the game-winning touchdown to the height of an NFL career built on a carefully perfected facade, Caleb spent decades believing his worth was measured by his performance. In Unstriving, he shares the journey from a life of endlessly striving to prove himself, to a much harder, much freer way of being.About Caleb Campbell and Unstriving: Caleb Campbell's path took him from a small town in the Texas Panhandle to West Point, and eventually to the NFL, along with a stint representing Team USA. But behind the accolades, Caleb describes a life built entirely on a "survival self," one that could help him achieve, but never let him actually live. A rock-bottom morning surrounded by the aftermath of a night he doesn't remember, and years of quietly hating who he'd become despite his outward success, eventually led him to walk away from professional football and toward a very different definition of a meaningful life.Unstriving is Caleb's account of that unraveling and rebuilding, exploring the difference between striving to make life happen and learning to participate in life's ongoing evolution. In the book, Caleb writes about grief, darkness, and the poet Rilke's own reflections on suffering as unexpected doorways back to a person's own deepest aliveness, arguing that what we're often searching for through achievement has been within us all along.Links:Pre-Order Unstriving available September 22nd Follow Caleb Campbell on Instagram: @caleb_campbellLearn more about Caleb at his website https://www.calebcampbell.me/Follow Allison Trowbridge & Copper Books on InstagramDownload the Copper Books App: https://author.love/appLearn more about Copper Books: www.copperbooks.comApply to publish with Copper: https://admin.typeform.com/form/zqBcs2sM/create?block=01HRZD9J9B8XV7VDN759VWM2RTFollow Copper Books on Instagram: https://instagram.com/copper.booksFollow Allison Trowbridge on Instagram: https://instagram.com/alliebridge