Jordan Babineaux, former NFL DB || Pivoting To Win

Jordan Babineaux, a former defensive back for the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans, is assisting people to "Pivot to Win.” In this episode of the podcast, he discusses his upbringing in Port Arthur, Texas, the impact of losing his father at a young age, his NFL career, authorship, and the influence of his mother. Currently residing in Seattle, Babineaux is a successful entrepreneur, business executive, author, and broadcaster.

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Transcript

Jordan Babineaux: 0:00

Life is this constant quest of the chase. And it's like, okay, well, I mean, when you see or hear about people who retire after 40 years in a workplace, suddenly deteriorate fast and life is that they lost the chase. It's a constant quest of learning and figuring things out. And, you know, once we, you know, put it in cruise control or, you know, coast or retire or find no value in the things that we're doing anymore, you know, health, declines, you know, finances, dwindle relationships deteriorate, you know, no rights. So it just, I don't know. I think, I think that's just what life is.[inaudible]

Collin Kushner: 1:05

Welcome everybody. To another episode of the Hayward. You got podcast on Colin Cushner and we have another fantastic guest. He's a former NFL defensive back, an analyst, a host, a speaker, an author of a brand new book, pivot to win and entrepreneur. He does it all. Please welcome Mr. Jordan. Babineaux what's going on, dude? How are you at the silent golf clap, right with the birds chirping in the background a hundred percent dude. What's up? Got it. Not too much, dude. Again, I'm excited to have you, and I appreciate you taking the time. And like I told you, before we started this recording, that introduction could have gone on for a very, very, very, very, very long time. So a pleasure to have you man. And I always like to start each podcast episode, um, from the very beginning of your life where you're from and you're from port Arthur, Texas. And, and for those that don't know, port Arthur is east Texas on the Louisiana border. How would you best describe where you're from?

Jordan Babineaux: 2:07

I'd like to tell people, uh, that Texas is the birthplace of football, right. And you know, people would like to think that it's all, uh, you know, country town with horses and oil, but what they don't know is that that's where football originated. You know, I tell them most people tell, I can tell them. And they're like, really? And they're like, really? It's like, yeah, man, Texas football. Um, but again, there goes the, you know, a guy from Texas, it's easy to know where a guy's from. Right. And we started talking about a guy from Texas man proud, uh, and, um, you know, um, more like that in your face personality, uh, growing up in port Arthur, you know, surrounded by drug abuse, you know, addictions, violence, economic ruins, living on government assistance. Um, the streets seem like a faster way to make money. Uh, and, um, you know, there were just so many, um, I guess, uh, negative influences as a young child, you know, in growing up where, I mean, had it not have been for, um, you know, the direction of my mother and other members of the community and even watching my older siblings, I'm the youngest of five, um, create this different space mentally to make it out of our environment. Um, it could have easily been a negative outcome for me. Um, and so I like to tell people, um, you know, our, our folks down there in Southeast Texas, this is a very resilient group of people, man, having been through storms and having, you know, been through the hurricanes and natural disasters, um, you know, are people still standing and are still fighting? Um, but I would say port Arthur made me adaptable, uh, in, in very many environments where I feel like, um, no situation is too big, no conversation, uh, is intimidating and I've had the extraordinary, um, you know, opportunity to travel the world and meet some very famous people and achieve some really, uh, some really nice things along the way. I have to

Collin Kushner: 4:11

Ask you this, I mean, you said Texas is synonymous with football. Um, obviously you said you're the youngest of five, your older brother, Jonathan, Babineau also played in the NFL. Uh, when did you get introduced to the sport of football?

Jordan Babineaux: 4:24

A man, right out of, right out of the birth canal, you know, football rattler waiting on me. They do that to all Texas babies, if you're born a boy. Uh, um, I, uh, you know, so my father passed at an early age. I was eight years old. Um, and my, my mom was looking for, you know, she was looking away for kind of fill that gap right here. She was, um, you know, having left to raise five kids, uh, by ourself. And, and I'll tell you, I'll just fast forward, real quick, briefly. I mean, we all graduated high school, we all graduated college. And of course you just mentioned, my brother played 12 years, uh, with the Atlanta Falcons. And so here we here we are now my brother and I was eight years old. He and I are 11 months apart and we'll just tear things up, run it around the store, you know, probably sneaking snacks in a shopping card that we can't afford when mom's looking away, you know, knocking over these cardboard cutouts, you know, that they used to have back in the day, sitting in the middle of the aisle, you name it. And, uh, this, this man approached my mom and asked her, uh, just basically just, just said, he said, man, have you, have you thought about putting your, your, your, your kids in football? Uh, they seem to have a lot of energy and, you know, my mom, you know, certainly wasn't aware of, you know, at that time or, you know, even had the understanding of what that meant. And so, uh, so you decided to take it, take them up on that when I was eight years old and, uh, here we are registering for pop Warner football. I mean, really, we couldn't even afford pads. You know, I tell a great story of getting my first helmet, uh, in a book pivot to when I shared a story of getting my first helmet, was it, wasn't the helmet that I wanted, you know, certainly, uh, you know, being from Texas, you know, I'm not a Cowboys fan, but if you grew up in Texas, you know, you kind of had a love and passion for a running back named Emmett Smith who played for the Cowboys. And he had this iconic helmet, man. It was the bird cage base Madison. I wanted that bird cage based mask, but we couldn't afford it. But I ended up playing my first season with a kickers helmet, one or two bar strapped right there across the, across her face man. And I was like, man, if I get hit, I'm going to crush my face. But, uh, eight years old was when we got started. And, um, you know, it was, it was really, um, you know, this man approaching my mom in the middle of the store. Um, and also dealing with that, that loss in a family that helped fill the void. And, um, you know, I never forget my mom sharing that. She saw this joy light up within us, uh, and you know, in, in playing that sport and being able to release, you know, somebody that hurt and pain that, you know, as an eight year old, I guess I really didn't know how to deal with our comprehension. And that's kind

Collin Kushner: 7:04

Of what I wanted to ask you next, in terms, in terms of being an eight year old, you're so young and the unexpected passing of your dad, aside from football, how did you navigate those waters or could you even navigate it? Because again, you're so young. I right. It's like, how do you even process that

Jordan Babineaux: 7:21

Practical standpoint, I guess, you know, I mean, you understand death, right? I mean, I understand that, you know, people don't come back from death, you know, um, but from an emotional standpoint, very different, um, you know, to kind of wrap myself around it at a very young age, it was the first time in which, you know, that was our introduction into our mortality. Um, but as the youngest of five, you know, I mean, for me, I was, I was a big observer of things, you know, watch my older brother is watching my mom watch other people. Uh, and, um, you know, from that standpoint, I guess Dylan with it was, I had to really didn't know how to, you know, um, and I think in looking back at that, as I've had a chance to, you know, now write the book and publish it, I've also graphs these emotions and these, these big, um, youth milestones or pivots in my early childhood when I never really had a chance to deal with them, at least not in a healthy way. Um, and so, um, you know, I, I would say one of the, what an incredible things and cool things about writing, um, writing the book, um, was that it gave me a chance to dive deeper into a better understanding of who I am, my emotions, my triggers, what motivates me, uh, relationships, conflict resolution, all of these things that, you know, our environment, our parents, our culture, our community, our, um, education, you know, it kind of shapes to, um, you know, to be who we are, uh, but understanding it from a deeper level. Um, it gave me more awareness of myself having that

Collin Kushner: 9:04

Deep awareness is so important. Um, and again, as a, as a kid, it's hard obviously go that far, but as you get older, you learn and you kind of hit on something, writing it out and actually feeling it. Cause I think it's easy to say, at least from my personal experience, I almost came up with like a mantra where it was what I felt like everyone else wanted to hear, but it wasn't how I truly felt. And it's taken a long, long time through writing to really find out like Bali. It's not just such a simple thing. It really hurts or I'm really angry or, or this, that, or the other,

Jordan Babineaux: 9:37

You know, Colin, there's a sense of growth there, right? There's some personal growth and development in understanding what moves you and your triggers are different than someone else's. I mean, in fact, you know, my triggers are different than my, my brothers, you know, I mean our motivations, you know, are the things that drives us to achieve the things that we want or the things that we believe that we can accomplish or even at we're deserving of having, you know, I think that's also one of the greatest enemies as well, is that we have this voice that, you know, in our true self, if we act on it allows us to do certain things, you know, whatever that is go after these great and audacious, audacious goals that we believe that we can achieve. But then there's also the enemy of the negative self-talk and inner voice that tells us we're not deserving, or we can't have this nice house, or why would I call to, to, you know, this dream client, um, you know, and stop us in our very tracks from achieving the things that we want. And so I, you know, it's, that's, that's a real key point right there. And I just caution people, as you know, we're all experiencing this inks in coming out of this pandemic, is that, well, there's two parts to it. I mean, there's, there's an element of that. You know, th the, the economic disparity between black and white Americans is growing, uh, is spreading, it's widening, but there's also tremendous new opportunities for so many other things that weren't available to us prior to the pandemic. The best way to describe where we are now is, is that we've all played the game monopoly. And it's as if, you know, the monopoly board is just got shaken up, right? I mean, a dog came by and kicked it over, or, you know, you got up and, you know, suddenly the, the hotels and the cars and the banker's money is just spilled all over the place. And, you know, you don't know who owns what property or, um, you know, for that matter, other than where you were on the board, you know, it's like everyone has this new place where they can start. Uh, if they're looking at, you know, um, this from a positive lens, rather than the viewpoint of a negative position, uh, suggesting or believing that they can't have the things that they want, or they're not deserving of a great life or a great partner or promotion or abundance. Right. And so, again, I just, I just caution us where we are and to think about this in a position or in a standpoint of, you know, coming out of the pandemic. Yeah. Surely the, the, the gaps are, you know, certainly widening and in many ways, in many respects, but there's also new opportunities. Or if we really shift our lens to look at it in a positive way, how do you get

Collin Kushner: 12:16

People to shift that lens completely to the positivity side during whether it be like a pandemic or a massive loss in the family? How do you get people to create that in their mind? And to repeat that positivity over and over and over again, because it's so easy to generate negativity and let that be the mantra that you take.

Jordan Babineaux: 12:37

I mean, there's a, there's a few things here, right? One, one of it happening in its simplest form. I, I refer to like Earl Nightingale's the strangest secret is that we become what we think about really. I mean, it's like that the secret to success, is it really that simple, well, let's dive into and understand the mind a little bit, a little bit more, right. Is that as we have these positive thoughts in our mind, it, it triggers and embeds different, uh, connections in the brain for you to now go seek out how to accomplish that. That's the power of it, right. It's like, but it also works in the same manner. If you have a negative thought or, um, limiting beliefs, is that, well, I don't think that I can write or, you know, um, you know, I hope things don't go bad for me today. I know. It's like, well, come on. You know, I think it first starts with just your self-talk, you know, like how can the world give you what you want someone else to give you? What you want of your own expectation of yourself is that you don't feel like you're deserving of it. And it's, it's a bold and audacious, you know, uh, position to take, but it's powerful. Um, and also share with you that, you know, along this path of achieving whatever it is that we want, we will be faced with challenges. Right. I, I can promise you that, you know, it's nothing that, you know, you want, so like, okay, here we are at the end of quarter one, how many people have set up a goal for themselves? And now either through, um, you know, the, the back of immediate results or, uh, one late night or one bad meal, or one negative action to, you know, towards that has deterred us from achieving what we, what we want. Right. And so here we are with this act of persistence and perseverance, right? It's that? Okay, well, persistence portion of what it is that you want just keeps you going to doing something. Right. And, and I can say that in the sense that because, you know, having experienced many failures in my own life, um, I didn't let failure define me that's right. Because even though I failed at something, it doesn't make me a failure, right. That would be what is described as a fixed mindset. But when we take those failures and learn from them and apply them into, you know, reach chasing that gold or, um, you

Speaker 3: 15:11

Know, kind of starting point,

Jordan Babineaux: 15:20

Right. And, and I'll say that because you know, that you persist right in choosing, you know, your way of life, or, you know, this desired outcome you want for yourself and getting back up, not getting knocked down and getting back up, you'll still have to persevere, right? I mean, I can set this path for myself or this big goal that I want to achieve, but along the path, I'm going to have to go over obstacles. I'm going to have to find ways to overcome adversity. I'm going to, um, you know, have to maneuver over and under things that may impede my progress. And so it often marry persistence and perseverance together along this path of goal achievement. And this, this is why I love

Collin Kushner: 15:58

The title of your book and the first word of, of your book pivot, because you're, you're constantly, I mean, for you Jordan, like you, you had to start making pivots at the age of eight years old, unexpected loss of your father. Your mom is now in charge of five kids, and I know you and Jonathan probably didn't make it easy on her. Um,

Speaker 4: 16:20

And, and you guys, and

Collin Kushner: 16:22

You, and you had to start pivoting at a young age, and I kind of want to jump back to football real quick. Um, did you have any expectation that you were going to have the success that you ended up having, or was it just like, you know what, I love playing this game with my brother and I'm just having fun.

Jordan Babineaux: 16:40

The funny thing is that in growing up with siblings, right, there's always that brother, brother competition. And, you know, it was like, whatever he did, I did wherever he went, I went and whatever he wanted to do, I wanted to do better. You know, I'm the youngest, you know, it's like, man, if I could beat big brother, you know, you know how boastful that would feel, but at the same time, you know, I didn't know Colin is that we were developing and creating this desire and passion to win and this high level of competition that, um, that really set us both on a path of achieving the things that we wanted. And even when we got into the NFL, it was like, okay, well, I got to, I got into the league before he did, you know, he ended up getting drafted in the second round, a following year. I landed a nice contract. He comes, you know, so we always played this little game of ping pong, you know, of achievement and still felt like at many levels, we were competing against one another. And, um, you know, his team and my team had a chance to play. Uh, cause I was always a fan. My, of my brother, I was a fan of all my siblings, you know, it was my older brother. Um, you know, who made going to college a target, like, okay, well that's what you do after high school, you go to college. Right. And, um, you know, it was, it was just again being the youngest of five and watching my siblings, you know, all the things that they did, the things that they accomplished, you know, kind of lay, lay it down for me in the sense that, okay, we're, here's the path, here's the expectation. Uh, now it's time and achieve that out of high

Collin Kushner: 18:21

School. You go to Southern Arkansas, good old Magnolia, the mule riders, which by the way, I have to say that is probably the best mascot in, in all, in all of college sports. Can we agree on that one? Well,

Jordan Babineaux: 18:35

Uh, here's a great story. Uh, and here's how Southern Arkansas became famous is that it made Jay Leno's, uh, top 10, uh, worst mascots of all time. If you can imagine, you know, the banter of, of, of conversation that I dealt with in a locker room, I mean, you got these D one athletes, you know, the Trojans, the Huskies, you know, the rolling tide, the hurricanes, the Seminoles ride, you got all these great players and they're like, they're like, dude, you wrote a donkey. And I'm like, uh, I'm like, yeah, I did. You know, and we arrived at the same destinations, right? So here's, here's the note, you know, is that, uh, it doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you know where you're going, this is true. You

Collin Kushner: 19:20

Should never base it off of a mascot. Although, you know, it was actually funny in Louisiana. I interviewed a kid who went to play basketball at Southern Arkansas. So when I went in and I saw that's where you went and I saw the mule riders, you should have seen the smile that I had on my face. Well, it, it brought me back. Cause I thought, I remember when I said, dude, you're going to be a mule rider. And he just started laughing.

Jordan Babineaux: 19:45

It was my college experience. I, I, I loved it, loved the people there, but I was just dumped the entire time. I'm like, this is just a stop. This isn't my destination. You know, I'm, I'm here to get my degree, achieve what I came to do, uh, and get the hell outta here. You know? Um, I, I tell my story in, in, um, in pivot to when that my senior year going into, um, going into college my senior year, I wanted to know like, is the next level really there for me? Like, what do I have to do? Uh, there's two conversations I had. One was with this NFL scout, former players named cl uh, and all, and I had a conversation about what it would take to get me to the next level. It's like, well, you played division two football. You know, the NFL sees that your level of competition is a little bit lower than division one. Okay. Obviously you said, if you want to make it to the next level, there's two things. You have to do one, you have to play specialty. Right. And we'll say, okay, well, if you're not a starter in the NFL, you play special teams. Okay. No problem. And then two, you got to dominate. Like you have to like when, when Scouts put on the film, like you have to jump off the screen. Like you're just the best player on the field. Okay. Got it. I called my brother. My brother was at the university of Iowa and here they were right in their championship years. And they were going to BCS bowl was coach, coach barons was a Kirk parents was the head coach at the time. I mean, they had star players and a lot of them on that roster went on to play in the NFL as well. And that was Clark Robert gala, or just to name a few. And you know, here I was, I gave him a buzz. I said, um, I call it a monster. His name is monster. And I was like, Mazda, Mazda, Mazda. Ask your codes if I could come out there and train with you guys during the summer. And, um, you know, long story short, I got the, yes, you know, here I was spending the entire summer on my brother's couch, working out, you know, with their team. Um, you know, but trying to stay out of the way and what I realized when I got there. And here's, here's the, you know, the meat of the story, right? For young athletes or for anyone trying to achieve better in their own life is that you have to surround yourself with the people of the level in which you're trying to get to. Right. So if you're the smartest person in your circle, you're probably need to start hanging out with more other people. Uh, if, if you want to be a better father, a better community leader, then you got to find people who are already doing that and start to hang around them. Or even at least have a conversation with them or practice the things that they're doing, right. So how can I achieve greatness or at this point, know what the next level is that the NFL is coming to get their talent from, if I don't even know if I am NFL material and what I found out when I got there, I was just as strong. If not stronger, I was just as fast as not faster. I leave Iowa go back to Southern Arkansas. My senior year, I'm a division two player of the year on a national level, all American and I, and I had a chance to work out in front of 18 teams. There's something there. Collin, when you hear me, what I'm saying, I'll say it again. If you want to reach this new level in whatever part of your life and your career and your community impact and your spirituality and your finances find people who are already there and doing it, doing what you want to do and start to, uh, reach out to them, develop some of the habits that they have and get in that new circle. I'm telling you it works. It's amazing

Collin Kushner: 23:21

When you tell that story. And I remember reading it in the book because my first thought is he's sleeping on, on his brother's couch in Iowa for the summer. But again, you're surrounded by, I mean, you, you, you named, uh, some, some top notch athletes, Dallas Clark, Robert gallery, big name guys. And you're literally the competence that you had going back was probably insane. Um, and, and obviously you to the point where, uh, you ended up signing with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in carved out a fantastic, very long NFL career, the moment that Seattle came into play and you signed that NFL contract, uh, Jordan, what was, what was that feeling like for you given, you know, losing your dad at a young age, being in a place like port Arthur and, and everything that you've gone through?

Speaker 3: 24:09

I wasn't satisfied

Jordan Babineaux: 24:11

Clearly. I was not satisfied. The team had just drafted a first round corner back the year before at a second round safety. The year I came in and signed as an undrafted free agent, they sign a second round safety. They drafted a second round safety and, you know, I had the team had no investment in me, you know, to them. I was just a camp body, as they would say, right. I mean, you're there to relieve the veterans of having, you know, too much physical, um, you know, to do like too much practice. I can save their legs. Right. So they're, they're not out there physically beating themselves up like, hell no, I'm not like I'm here to stay. I don't know who the hell got to move, but it ain't me. And I, it was just, it was just this attitude and approach of belonging. And, um, again, I go back to the self-talk, you know, or, you know, the, you know, the power of the, of the, of the brain and in the mind. And what we tell ourselves is that, well, if you think it, um, as a man, think it didn't, so shall he be right? I mean, I knew that this was my place now. I was willing to work for it. No problem. You know, but I mean, there's some other things that comes with it, but, you know, I think it started with that. It was just a matter of, you know, putting a stake in the ground and saying whatever it takes, this is what I want for myself. And I'll be damned if someone else defined what that is for me, not if I got something to say about,

Collin Kushner: 25:39

Yeah, I love, I love the tenacity though, Jordan, because a lot of people think you get drafted, you get signed, that's it. But that that's, you're not even scratching the surface as an athlete. Right. You're, you're a competitor and I, that the fun is just beginning in that moment. Great. You sign it, you get your contract. That's, that's the, uh, that's the forward. That's not even chapter one of the book. Yeah.

Jordan Babineaux: 26:04

Yeah. And, uh, and, and signed a lofty sign bonus with that as well.$5,000.

Collin Kushner: 26:16

I love, I love the tenacity, man. I love, I love people that have that mentality where it's always striving for more, but to play devil's advocate for you. And I'm not just necessarily speaking about football. Do you think that having that being that way nonstop could also be a detriment in the sense of where it's never good enough, if that makes sense. Yeah. No, that's, that's great.

Jordan Babineaux: 26:40

Um, and you know what, it, it's, it's a, it's a two-edged sword. It really is. Right. Because, you know, even, so I guess in saying that, um, this drive and this level of competition is essentially a double edged sword because you have this willingness to always seek better, seek better. There's always new levels to hit, but it's, it's it's as if, once you hit it or become that, it's like, well, the chase starts all over again. I think the clarity behind that is identifying what that end goal is, or you know, who that person is that you desire to be or what it is that you want to accomplish, you know, and what level is, you know, good enough to merit, you know, is happiness, you know, having a family, owning your house, being debt free and having a nice job. Well, there's people who have that and still unhappy, right? Because they're always on his constant search for better. And, and again, we're, we're all experiencing that, you know, because I mean, there are a few things more that we want in life. And certainly for me, I know I'm always looking for greater contribution. I'm always looking to expand my impact. I'm always looking to help other people. I also think that's just a part of who I am like at the core of who I am. It's always a search for what can I do to help someone else? And so you have to be cautious of that, right? Because, um, you know, the quest of this chase of what we want, there's this adverse effect of who we are becoming in a process and it's dangerous, right. Because we can be addicted to the wrong things in, in the pursuit of something that we want that could have a negative effect on us that maybe we don't even realize it's happening, um, until devastation hits us and it's too late. And so, yeah, I mean, there's a balance and it's certainly common and you have to find that it's different for everyone else, you know, it's different for everyone. Um, but there's also some realizations that I think in finding that time to identify and get clarity around, you know, your own personal values, you know, what success is to you, um, would help, you know, I guess kind of bottle that in a more controlled way and give us more of those other areas that we desired, you know, the happiness fulfillment, um, you know, so yeah, again, I guess hopefully that answers your question, but again, it's, it, it does, it can work against you. I only

Collin Kushner: 29:19

Wanted to bring that point up just going off of my own personal experiences, because again, like the tenacity always striving for more, I freaking love that because how else are you going to expect to have success? If you just go on saying, ah, I signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent, I'm just going to be that body to relieve those veterans. And that's it. I mean, God, that is a horrible, that'd be a horrible mindset to have. And with that mindset, you're not going to play with the Seahawks from 2004 to 2010 and then go to Tennessee after that, or achieve

Jordan Babineaux: 29:49

Anything else in life. You know, it's, it's, I guess I almost think that that that's what life is, right. I mean, life is this constant quest of the chase and it's like, okay, well, I mean, when you see or hear about, you know, people who retire after 40 years in a workplace suddenly deteriorate fast and life is that they lost the chase and there's, you know, it just, it, I don't know. I think there's something that works against that. Um, I think that's just what life is, you know, it's, it's a constant quest of learning and figuring things out. And, you know, once we, you know, put it in cruise control or, you know, coast or retire or find no value in the things that we're doing anymore, you know, health, declines, you know, finances, dwindle relationships deteriorate, you know, no rights. So it just, I don't know. I think, I think that's just what life is. Look, I'm an average, but I just think I'm only 38 years old. I haven't, I don't have life figured out.

Collin Kushner: 30:53

Right. I'm following your lead dude. I did. So I did want to bring up this statistic, this statistic, because once you transitioned away from football, um, 78% of NFL players are bankrupt or under financial distress within two years of leaving the league, how did you not become one of those statistics when you pivoted away from the NFL? Yeah.

Jordan Babineaux: 31:19

You know, um, staggering statistic to, to read that and you know, the it's kinda like, um, you know, once you become a parent, you, you, you know, you, you kind of have this, this, um, this new, uh, scope or new position, this new stance to try to lead this young child and the experiences that you've had you share, right. It's like, well, don't touch that stove. It's too hot. It's going to hurt you. And the child touch the stove. It's like, oh, well, you know, and I try to tell you, but you know, if you don't know or try those things that, well, next time I know if I see it red light on the stove versus the fire, I'm not going to touch that. Right. It's like, they're their learnings along the way. I don't think we, um, you know, in general, as people look at the people who've come before us and learned from them more than we are willing to risk and do those things and learning for our own self. Now, there are some, some are different, you know, some are more conservative, some take the stance and have a different, you know, approach to, uh, lifestyle and how they're spending their money. Um, and certainly with the way things progressed, you know, in, in our world from a technology stack, is that well, everything's accessible. Um, you know, the ability to build a brand now is just like, I wouldn't say easy, but it's easier than it was 15 years ago. And, you know, the advancements that we've made is that like professional athletes, should, they, they're better positioned to have success in other areas as you know, you know, the previous decade or, um, older athletes. And again, as it should be, I'm not, you know, I'm not saying that it shouldn't, I'm saying that's how it should be. So I look at this pivots, you know, pivots are opportunities to grow both personally, spiritually, professionally, emotionally. And, um, you know, certainly it was the catalyst for me, in my discomfort of moving away from the NFL. I look after a, nearly a decade in the NFL. Like I almost felt like a failure, you know, it's like, you know, wow. You know, I felt like I could still play. I'm not wanted anymore. I was fired, uh, not once, twice. Um, you know, and I still had this passion and drive to, you know, to go out and play. And that was here. I was training for year 10 to go back into the NFL. Now there's one thing about being an athlete is that we all will be former athletes at some point. Right. And, um, but more cases and more times than not is that the team will, you know, separate or separate from the player faster during or before the players willing to let go of that identity. And I think that identity is, you know, is what kind of captured me into feeling like, okay, now I gotta go try something new. I'm back to being a rookie again. And whatever that is, whatever new, uh, the new space is. Um, but I'm also going through these psychological rollercoaster of emotions. Um, you know, and it really having to do some reflection on understanding who I am when for so long, I've essentially been defined or I'm used to a certain way of doing things. And it's like that for all of us. I mean, whether you spend 20 years at a company and suddenly you get a company goes under, or, you know, leadership change or you're fired, or you start a new relationship, or our spouse spouse goes through a divorce or move to a new city, right. There's, there's this level of familiarity that we have that, you know, that we're comfortable in, we're still thriving. And then there's this new space that we're pivoting into and, and, and have to find a new routine and what that looks like. Again, I, I think those are growth opportunities, but there's also areas and opportunities to really find what your ground zero is. And I talk about ground zero in the middle of, of a pivot is that this place where we need to better understand, I mean, is this the reflection stage I need to understand, like, what makes me tick, like what makes me get up in the morning and feel motivated to go out and do something. And if we've been used to it for so long, and then it is easily develop a routine or kind of take things for granted, or, you know, in that sense, um, you know, kind of be comfortable with what that is, but it also can stunt our growth, right? And so this level of discomfort became a catalyst for growth for me. Um, but it was certainly some challenges that I had to work around and navigate. But again, I, um, I th it was, it was very revealing to better understand me. So I, I kind of have that same challenge to all of us as we're in the middle of this pandemic. And, you know, many people that have been furloughed or laid off and job job losses and change this. And you know, now, uh, here we are looking at what life is post COVID certainly different than what it was, you know, a year ago, the inspiration

Collin Kushner: 36:42

Behind the book, Jordan, your brand new book, pivot to win. What made you decide to take all of the life experiences, the ups and the downs, and, and write this book to better help other people and businesses. We're not even talking just people, people, businesses, former athletes, the whole deal. Yeah.

Jordan Babineaux: 37:02

Um, you know, so the underpinning of the book, uh, pivot to win is, um, really at the core of who I am. Right. I, I want to help other people, uh, early on, I mentioned that in working or in, in the pursuit of chasing greatness and becoming a professional athlete, I never really stopped and paused to look back at where I come from. I mean, I did, but it's like, yeah, but I'm always still looking forward. Right. It's like, okay, well, what, you know, how can I develop the skill and the new skill and hone in on, you know, learn, learn more about my craft. I mean, look, it's life is a constant quest of learning, right? So, um, and I, and I, and I would share the story with many people. Then they would just be fascinated with that story. So, you know, pivot to win is essentially, um, it comprises, uh, 30 years of life experiences, uh, growing up in port Arthur, surrounded by economic ruins and making it to the NFL. And after a division two college football career, uh, being a black man in America, growing up with discrimination and racism, and then sharing the vulnerabilities of pivoting away from the NFL, when I knew I didn't have things figured out. Um, and it's really what professional athletes, most professional athletes kind of go through is like, what is this new identity of me? And there's some, again, I mentioned, um, the mental health component of having to redefine what success looks like for me, it was no longer putting on a Jersey, uh, making big plays or tackling Tony robo before

Speaker 4: 38:30

Running into the zone. Right. Right.

Jordan Babineaux: 38:34

And so you, until you got to kind of have that, that real fierce conversation, uh, with yourself. Um, and so, you know, a lot of these stories I share, uh, in, in the book, uh, and my ultimate goal is to empower and elevate other people, both personally and professionally to reach their greatest potential. The one thing

Collin Kushner: 38:57

Jordan that really stood out to me in the right off the top beginning of the book, your mom actually wrote, um, the first portion of the book, and I know your mom recently passed away. And how has your mom shaped you? And when you think about the relationship, um, over the years, what did you learn from her?

Speaker 3: 39:16

It's, it's been a

Jordan Babineaux: 39:17

Really tough three months, you know, of, um, of dealing with the loss of, you know, my mom and, you know, here we are, I like half a million other us families have had to bury a loved one due to the pandemic, uh, due to this virus. And, you know, I think this is also an opportunity to Collin to share my gratitude for our healthcare workers, who, you know, when your loved one is alone and their bedside nurse is the only medium for you to have a connection and using, you know, the hospital's iPad to have visibility or get into that, you know, sick unit at sick ward. Um, I really had a chance to, to, you know, to, to, um, to understand, you know, what our healthcare workers were living going through, uh, and have repeatedly been the only person present after the transition of someone's family member. And they're brave for that. And I'm incredibly thankful, um, for not just, you know, the care team that took care of my mom, but I know half a million other Americans can relate to and feel the same way, uh, about our, um, the bravery of our healthcare workers. So I really wanted to share that and express that level of gratitude, uh, and recognize them for their leadership being on a frontline for over a year now. Um, you know, I think the one thing about my mom, I mean, there are a few things that sticks out, um, obviously, you know, incredibly grateful for being raised in those early values of childhood of, um, you know, that early form of developing spirituality, uh, helping other people, uh, and this relentless pursuit in education, um, you know, really set me on a path to achieve the things that I wanted to, and here she was at, um, you know, 30 years ago, um, you know, things with the biggest pivot of her life. And, you know, certainly as a child, I mentioned as a youngest, I wiped all my oldest siblings, you know, do the things that they, you know, that they did before I could, that created the path for me, but also watch my mom, you know, navigate this in a way where, I mean, we, we, you know, resources were scarce, you know, um, and how she did it. I can't fathom, you know, what that was when I know myself and my brother was eating everything before he even got in the house. I mean, we come out of the grocery store, eating in a car bag of chips or whatever it is, snacks, little Debbie cookies, snacks, you know, whatever it was. And I couldn't keep food in the house. Um, you know, but I think the incredible thing too, is also seeing in other people, this level of resilience to the point where it actually gives you the courage, uh, and the ability to take this wild pursuit of achieving something wild as making it to the NFL or starting your own business, or, you know, these crazy dreams that, you know, when the only way yeah, we can pursue it as we see it visible in someone else. That's what I saw in my mom and thing that her footprint, her fingerprint, her touch is all throughout the book. Um, and, uh, you know, I, I would, I would strongly encourage, you know, um, while those, so reading a book, look at it through that lens, because here I was enrolled in, in, in my MBA school writing a book. And when my mom came to Seattle, I was being awarded by the United Negro college fund for this community award. She came here, packed her bags for a week and stayed six months. And it was, I hadn't had that. I hadn't had that chance to spend time with her since leaving high school. And, um, you know, when we did get her back to Texas safely, um, three months later she passed. Um, so it's, um, it's, it's been powerful. It really has. And I, and I, and my, my hope is that in being able to connect with other families who've experienced, this can look at this pandemic through a different lens of, yeah, I'm tired of it. I'm sick of it. I'm tired of working from home. Kids are getting on my nerves. Can we just get back to some level of normalcy? But I think the power of that is taken this new, um, new position of where we are post pandemic and, um, using it for, you know, some level power or some level of influence, some greater level of impact and some higher level of achievement for the things that we want for our lives and for our families, because life in itself is just too precious for us to not achieve our greatest. And, um, and I think that's, that's the challenge. That's where I am right now, Collin. And, um, and, um, you know, I'm, I'm, uh, I'm morning, uh, and I am incredibly passionate about the next wave, the next chapter of life. And you

Collin Kushner: 45:04

Said it's very beautiful in the way that you've, I mean, again, having the time, the six months, it's all about perspective, right? You're able to have one week turned into six months to spend with your mom as an adult, which is, it's almost like spending it with a friend. You know, I, I think a lot of people fail to realize that, like, it's not mother and son, it's like hanging out with your best friend. Um, and the even more beautiful part that tugs on my heartstrings is the fact that you dedicated the book to her and that her, her footprint is, is, is there. And it's a very special thing. Jordan,

Jordan Babineaux: 45:38

I mentioned writing a book while in MBA school while I was in while enrolled in MBA school and, you know, had I had a chance to pick the timing. Um, I probably wouldn't have done that. Uh, but I'd already started to book in 2019 before I, I was accepted into the program. Uh, but the timing of it, it was just divine. And, you know, for that, you know, to be able to have that time and, you know, my mother, you know, uh, the chance to lay down some of those bags in which I know, um, you know, she cared for so long. Um, you know, it was, uh, for, for that matter, you know, riding pivot to win is incredibly gratifying. Jordan

Collin Kushner: 46:23

Avenue, everybody, he's a man of many hats, former NFL defensive back and analyst to host a speaker, the author of the book, pivot tune, win, um, pivot to win.com to check it out, Jordan Babineaux on Twitter and Instagram, uh, Jordan, how else can people get in touch with you and, and learn more about you and the book and in order the book?

Jordan Babineaux: 46:43

Yeah. So, uh, on the website pivot to win, um, you can log on right now, get a free chapter download, and you can also purchase it on Amazon and for, you know, business leaders and community leaders and others who want to, uh, share the gift with other people. Um, I mean, they're like discounts on bulk orders of five packs, 10 packs, 30 packs. Um, again, the goal is to, to, to empower in and create a, uh, you know, a better way for people to understand how to navigate change, because change is constant, it's consistent, but growth is optional. My hope is that our listeners and our viewers can take that one idea and apply it to their life.

Speaker 5: 47:55

[inaudible].