Episode 105 From Underdog to Alpha Dog with JJ Birden (Part 1)

John talks with former NFL wide receiver JJ Birden - speaker, network marketer, author, husband, father, and grandfather. JJ played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, and the University of Oregon (football and track). Listen to this episode to learn more: [00:00] - Welcome notes and brief intro of JJ Birden [01:58] - No D1 offers despite being the #1 wide receiver in Oregon [04:12] - JJ's experience at the University of Oregon [07:18] - Training to become a starter [09:00] - Advice about being drafted in the NFL [12:10] - Classroom preparation that goes into every game [15:27] - JJ's nine-year career in NFL [17:31] - Drafted by the Cleveland Browns but never played for them [22:55] - Transitioning from a professional football player to an everyday guy [27:37] - The message JJ wants to send through his content [30:00] - Finding your purpose [32:09] - Acronym for FASCO (Failures, Adversity, Setbacks, Challenges, Obstacles) [35:53] - Failing vs Failure [39:53] - The purpose and audience of JJ's book [42:41] - How to get a free signed copy of JJ's book NOTABLE QUOTES: "Treat every day like it is game day; not just Sunday, Monday. Give your best and never give them a reason to think that they don't need you on the team." "I saw a lot of great athletes who went into camp but mentally could not pick up the system and to be able to comprehend the information and make those split-second decisions while under extreme pressure." "Pain leads to purpose, which leads to platform." "My whole life I've always asked three simple questions when I dealt with any of those things. Why did this happen? What can I learn from it? And - How can I turn this into an opportunity?" "Even with social media, we can learn from so many different people … whether we know them or not. I'm constantly learning from other people and people that don't even know they're mentoring me. That's one of the ways we grow, that's one of the ways we improve, that's one of the ways we get better." "Failing is I tried something new. It didn't work, and I have an opportunity to learn. Failure is something completely different. It is a state of being, it is an active choice to stay stuck."  "Failing is the only way you learn. You don't learn by doing it right. You learn by doing it wrong." BOOK MENTIONED: 48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal by Dan Miller (https://tinyurl.com/48DaysToTheWorkYouLoveBook)  USEFUL RESOURCES: https://www.jjbirden.com/  https://www.instagram.com/jjbirden  https://www.facebook.com/jjbirdenonline  https://twitter.com/jjbirden  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjbirden  https://www.youtube.com/user/birden88  https://www.jjbirden.com/buy-jjs-book.html  CONNECT WITH JOHN Website - https://thejohnhulen.com      Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen      Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhule       Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/johnhulen      LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen      YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA       EPISODE CREDITS Intro music provided by Tony Palacios - https://www.instagram.com/tonytonedog/      Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/