In this episode, Professor Jacob Gold, Michael Cochell and Kelvin Gold interview the Arizona Cardinals punter Nolan Cooney.
You won't want to miss Nolan's remarkable story on how he became an NFL player.
https://www.azcardinals.com/news/cancer-visit-hits-close-to-home-for-nolan-cooney
In this episode, Professor Jacob Gold, Michael Cochell and Kelvin Gold interview the Arizona Cardinals punter Nolan Cooney.
You won't want to miss Nolan's remarkable story on how he became an NFL player.
https://www.azcardinals.com/news/cancer-visit-hits-close-to-home-for-nolan-cooney
You're listening to Finance Roundtable, a podcast that focuses on demystifying your money. Your hosts, professor Jacob Gold, michael Koshell and Kelvin Gold, will educate and entertain you on all areas related to personal finance. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
Jacob Gold:It's July 2023 and it is hot here in Scottsdale, arizona. Hello everybody, I'm Professor Jacob Gold, feel free to call me Jake.
Michael Cochell:Hello everyone, this is Michael Cochell.
Jacob Gold:Alright, guys, we're getting closer and closer to a new NFL season, and our guest this month is none other than the Arizona Cardinals punter, nolan Cooney. What were some big takeaways of this guess for you, guys?
Michael Cochell:I think you're actually going to find this interview very impressive. What stood out the most was how he speaks and holds himself.
Kelvin Gold:Yeah, he's got an amazing story that I'm really looking forward for you all to hear.
Jacob Gold:And of all of our episodes, I gotta believe that this is our finest piece and so, without further ado, please enjoy episode 7 of Finance Roundtable. Hello listener, this is Professor Jacob Gold and I want to welcome you to the Finance Roundtable podcast. I'm very excited to let you know that today we have a very special guest with us. Today it's the Arizona Cardinals punter, nolan Cooney. Nolan, how you doing today, bud?
Nolan Cooney:I'm really thrilled to be here and discuss a lot of the things that I'm passionate about and the things you're passionate about as well.
Jacob Gold:That's so great. We've been so looking forward to this, and I can't wait for our audience to get to know your story. So you are currently the punter for the Arizona Cardinals. Season hasn't gotten started yet, and that's why we have this great opportunity to be talking with you, but I want our listeners to get to know your story. I've heard a lot of stories and, quite honestly, yours is perhaps one that is the most inspiring that I've ever heard, and so please share with us your story, your introduction to football and everything that you've experienced up to this point and you're only 26, right?
Nolan Cooney:That's correct. As I like to describe it, it's the scenic route. There's been a lot of twists and turns, but the views have been nice along the way. So for me, I didn't play football until much later. Many guys will play from age seven, eight, whenever it might be. I didn't start playing until after high school, and the reason I started was when I was in high school I was diagnosed and treated for testicular cancer and during that time I needed to fill it, find ways to be entertained, and while I was at home, both my parents were incredibly supportive and my dad one day suggested the idea I go to a punting kicking camp.
Jacob Gold:Sure.
Nolan Cooney:And I was able to find something that I could look forward to when I was healthy in the summer. While I was being treated in the winter and the spring, I messed around a little bit in the backyard. I had a soccer background as a goalkeeper and I went to the camp with a little bit of knowledge.
Nolan Cooney:Truthfully, I learned from YouTube watched some videos and as much as I could find and scrub the internet for whatever material there was. I went to a camp, had a little bit of success and I thought you know, this could be an opportunity for the future. Going into my senior year of high school, I really had never looked at a college, I had never put that much thought to it and I knew I wasn't quite prepared. So I went to prep school for a year, which was a great opportunity to one play football. But to get that year back that I missed academically and I think a lot of men fall into the category of maturity where it doesn't hit till later and I think I could probably felt like I was. Academically it took a little bit longer and once I reached my senior year of high school is when I really started to find my stride in school and then athletically this was a really cool opportunity to go play football at Bridgson Academy in Maine in all postgraduate school with all guys. So everyone's in a very similar situation and I applied myself a lot in school first and then to football. It was OK, right. I mean there's a lot of first year trials and tribulations that go along with it, first time away from home and you learn a lot about yourself.
Nolan Cooney:At that time and I was fortunate that I had gotten into Syracuse and I asked the coaching staff there if I could walk on, to which they said, a couple weeks before preseason started, show up on this day. I had. I really didn't know what to anticipate, what was to come, and I showed up and they were incredibly supportive. I had opportunities and just crushed it. In school for the first few years I redshirted, I didn't play, didn't travel, which those other guys in that situation, and I sat behind a really good punter who was ended up being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons Sterlinghoff Frickter. And when you have somebody with such talent ahead of you, you can gain so much through osmosis, the things that he says, watching him. There's so much that you can pick up on and other teammates as well. And I found a niche in holding for the place kicker. I was fortunate that he ended up being the Lou Groza winner, which is the top kicker in the country, so he made me look better than maybe I actually
Nolan Cooney:was by putting the ball between the uprights, and that was my super bowl. I mean, whether it was just five or six plays in a game, a couple PATs. That's where my focus was, as well as trying to be the best punter I could. And then going into that last year, the fourth year, I was fortunate that they gave me a scholarship to stay for my fifth year and earn one earn a Masters, which was a great opportunity. When somebody offers you free education, you take it every time, and then to play for a year was great, showed enough to NFL teams that I had an ability. After just one season, which I then went to the New Orleans Saints and, like many specialists, I was cut, bounced around the league and now I'm here in Arizona, which is tremendous, and I'm fortunate to be here today in your office and get to learn about a different area which is also of interest to me.
Jacob Gold:Guys, come on. Is this not an amazing guy
Jacob Gold:Mike, what do you think?
Michael Cochell:Pretty remarkable. Honestly, Nolan, I learned a little bit about your story as Jake talked a little bit about it, but hearing it from you, it paints a different picture. And one thing that stood out is you mentioned about learning from osmosis to a degree, and you know what? Not everyone's built that way. I feel like I observe, I watch. I don't know exactly what I'm learning at the time, but you find yourself maybe utilizing some of that information to some capacity, and now that you mentioned that, I can imagine meeting with other whether it's coaches or other players, even if it's not that position, you learn something about the game and so that kind of stuck out. So nice job and a lot of work and great to hear your story.
Jacob Gold:Nolan, I got two questions for you. The first is just to have the confidence to walk on at Syracuse. That took a tremendous amount of courage. Now, have you always been a courageous person and have gone for your dreams? Or do you feel like your experience being a cancer survivor kind of put you in a situation of saying what do I have to lose, Tell me about. And then the second part is what did you get your masters in?
Nolan Cooney:So the first part would be walking onto a team. So the team is compiled of most teams. Let's say there's 105 players and there's 85 scholarships. So you're not alone when you walk on. There's other players, whether their preferred walk-ons were maybe the school provided help in the admissions process, or they're a true walk on, which I kind of was where I had applied already and gotten in, I think for one. I'm not afraid to reach out to people where I was fortunate that I had met some people on the staff. But truthfully, the reason, the first impression that I had was the punter at the time.
Nolan Cooney:His name was Riley Dixon, who's now played, might be going into his 10th NFL season, so there's been a good string of punters at Syracuse first of all, but I had met him once at a camp and I reached out to him via social media and I said, hey, what do I have to do to get on at Syracuse?
Nolan Cooney:And he said send over your film. And he was gracious enough to send the film over to their coaching staff and then that staff had moved on, but I still had my name relevant there and then reached out to somebody on the new staff once they came in and it was just kind of hope and hit that it would work and in it did. I was fortunate that they were willing to take me on and I didn't even know if I was going to make the team, if they were just there to have me there for a couple of weeks. I really had no expectations of what was to come and I think that there's just so much excitement when you show up and you got your own locker, there's a backpack waiting for you or whatever it might be.
Nolan Cooney:You see a practice jersey and there's so much excitement that goes into that, especially for me only my second year of football, which was super exciting.
Jacob Gold:Man, I mean honestly the willpower and the focus that you have, and even that desire and that curiosity that you have, is what kind of connected us, and would you mind telling our audience how you and I first met?
Nolan Cooney:Yeah, absolutely. And to go back to your other question that you had is I had gotten my masters in marketing, but the way that we met was wonderful and I'm grateful that you were able to respond in the first way. But I had gone on the NFLPA website and located you, that you were registered through them, and I had reached out to you and said you know, I'm hoping that I can learn from you as much as I can with whatever way it could be just to understand what your day to day is, because I have an interest in finance in general and I think that you know you're so grateful when somebody like you is able to say, absolutely, come on and let me teach you all I know.
Jacob Gold:I mean one. It was an honor for me. I still remember the day. I mean it's been a rough couple of years in the markets and so sometimes I'll have a difficult day and I'll come home and I remember that day. I came home and I said guess who? I got an email from today and the fam is like what? And I'm like an NFL player and they're like what, come on? And that was the beginning of our relationship. So I was just like hey, why don't you come to the office? I'll spend an hour or two with you and we'll just talk. And it's been maybe a month, month and a half. And so you come to the office for an hour or two every week and you pepper me with questions.
Jacob Gold:I have many questions for you because I'm just so curious about what you do and I would imagine of course you have to have physical capacity, but I got to think that it's mental strength that gets you through and that mental strength can be channeled into any industry. It can be channeled into anything, and I see that you're a man of action, no matter what you do, whether it's kicking a football or eventually being a dad or being a future financial planner. Whatever you do, I feel like you get your arms around it, you learn it and then you master it, and I really admire that and that's really awesome. You are a person by design and you just don't see that very often and when you do, you've got to admire the person and I just want you to know that we all have great admiration for you.
Nolan Cooney:Well, I have admiration for you guys for allowing me to step into this office and take time out of your day to allow me to understand a different industry, which has been a tremendous opportunity to challenge my mind in a different way.
Jacob Gold:Yeah, man, so good. Kelly, do you have any questions?
Kelvin Gold:Yeah, you know, I think what would be really interesting. What was it like your very first game? Did it feel different from playing at a university? Did it feel natural, or was it still really frightening to go onto that field with all those people?
Nolan Cooney:For me, I've always felt that you put so much into practice, all your focus is so fine tuned to what you do in the film room. You're going through your technique. So for me, if I know that I put in the time you know let's use the NFL as an example. Or games are on Sunday If I put all that work all the way leading up to Saturday and I can sleep at, put my head on the pillow on Saturday night and know that I'm OK going into Sunday. And then, in terms of first game, I was a preseason game with the New Orleans Saints and it didn't feel any any different than any other game that I've played in. I think, like I said, if you put the work in and you feel like you're in a good position, there's no reason you can't succeed.
Kelvin Gold:Yeah, be prepared. Be prepared, that's right.
Jacob Gold:So would you say you kind of, if you feel you're prepared, you kind of give yourself permission to not worry. You're like, hey, I've done the work, I just need to trust myself and just go through the motion.
Nolan Cooney:Absolutely, and for me, I've always thought that the hundred people that are out on the practice field are the ones that I want to perform for the most.
Jacob Gold:Wow.
Nolan Cooney:Right, it's your teammates, it's your coaches, the people that have entrusted you. When you're out there and you're standing 14 yards behind the line of scrimmage, those are the people that you want to work hard for, regardless of who's in the stands, what cable network it's on, that part's kind of irrelevant to who you want to work hard for. And then you have. You know, many guys have incredible support systems, whether it be their family, their friends off the field, right, not just teammates and coaches and they're there for you every step of the way.
Michael Cochell:You know I made comment on that. That's an interesting perspective, Nolan, because when you watch the movies you're watching TV, you see everything from the cameras I can't help but think of some movies like Invincible or something like that and you see, when you walk on the field, their perspective and it's just blown up to a degree but you hone it into your specific place. I grew up in martial arts, so when you mention about, you actually put more efforts into the practice side of things. So when it's game time or any kind of event that someone's participating, that preparedness honed you into that. So it sounds like the focus is definitely there and if you put that effort and that would apply to anything, I think, whether it's finance or any kind of sport so that's interesting that you share that the camera, the limelight kind of goes away and you're focused on your job and what you're there, the impact that you're looking at making for that day. So interesting. Thanks for sharing that, yeah.
Jacob Gold:Nolan, I have another question for you. What's been like the biggest surprise about being an NFL player, whether it's a positive one or a negative one? What's something that just really shocked you as far as the experience itself? Is there anything?
Nolan Cooney:I think one of the things that you come to realize really quickly is that, let's say, a friend asks you about a certain player, right, these are somebody that they might idolize, sure, but these are your co-workers, these are the people your friends, these are the guys that you hang out with, and you get over kind of that hump quickly that what you see on Monday night football is a lot different than what it is in the locker room.
Jacob Gold:It's sensationalized a bit A lot A lot of it. Absolutely. Yeah, Kind of like the media right In some cases.
Jacob Gold:I've shared with clients and with Kelly and Mike, that last year it was a tough year in the markets, but the media was beating that drum so much that I feel like the emotions around the market were so much more intense. And if you're just getting your exposure to the markets through the media, it is much more heightened than if you're reading the Wall Street Journal. You're looking at the numbers of your portfolio, and so that's really interesting. I guess what you're saying is when you're actually in it you're not starstruck. It's your job and these guys you're playing with they're human as well, and so by being in the eye of the storm it kind of puts everything that the outside looking in it kind of changes that perspective for you to a degree.
Nolan Cooney:Absolutely and, like you said, it humanizes the element of professional sports. I'm no different than anybody else when I watch the NBA or I'm watching the NHL right, the MLB, I mean. I still have a rooting interest, whatever it might be whether it's a team that you grew up supporting, that's no different than anybody else, but when you're playing the sport, you get a real idea, in a sense, of what it entails. Nobody is perfect. This is a job at the end of the day.
Jacob Gold:Now, I know that a lot of times in football the quarterback or the receivers they get a lot of the attention. But you, being a part of the team, do you find that there are some unsung heroes that are part of the team that maybe the media doesn't highlight or the public doesn't recognize the importance of that player and how that player maybe leads in the locker room or just inspires people when they're on the field? Are there some people that are really kind of the unsung heroes?
Nolan Cooney:Absolutely, and I think that's individualized. I don't think that you could pinpoint a position, but if I were, I would say something like a long snapper right, if they're not noticed on the field, then they're doing a really good job. Good point, right. If they put the ball on the punters' hip every time they hit the holder in the hands, nobody will ever hear about them and they're doing their job.
Nolan Cooney:And that's what they want. Right or another, like non-skill positions, are people that are you're not going to get them at the podium after the game, but those guys are. You know, they could be rock solid and nobody could notice what they're doing.
Nolan Cooney:Yeah, but you players, you notice you notice and the things that you experience in the locker room or on the practice field that others don't have access to are the moments that you probably would prefer to. You know you would love to share with other people, but you know somebody might be a great leader, like you said, in the locker room, somebody that can rally everybody. But if they don't need the notoriety then you know they're just going to keep working in private.
Jacob Gold:Wow, now you were. I think it was last week or maybe the week before, when we were together. I was asking about hang time and distance and share with our audience what you shared with me of if you have a certain distance and a certain hang time, you could be in the NFL for a decade plus. What's kind of your framework of what you're trying to, you know, be in as far as a zone.
Nolan Cooney:Yeah, I think the first thing is consistency. I would say, before getting into the numbers, we'll look at it from a perspective of you have your A plus ball that will punt. You have your B, your C, and the goal is to avoid those C balls as much as we can. You know, everybody would love to hit, as you said, you know, a 50 yard punt, 55 yard punt, with 5 0 hang, and that would be great if we could do it every time.
Nolan Cooney:But it's not a perfect science, it's not a perfect game. So the objective is to avoid the really bad ones and, like you said, in terms of hang time and distance, usually we're trying to match them the way that it's designed in the game that we can have two players released before the ball is kicked, the gunners, who are incredible athletes and we want to give them every opportunity to make the play. So we're going to try and hit a ball, whether it's, you know, let's say it's 47 yards, and we give it, with four sevens, 4.7 seconds of hang time. We're giving them the best chance to make the play down the field.
Jacob Gold:So cool, a lot of technicalities that you don't think about.
Michael Cochell:It really is. I'm sure that you don't see that from the camera, or Monday night football and things like that, so that's an interesting perspective for sure.
Nolan Cooney:Yeah, and, like I said in terms of the long snap, are not being noticed, and I think the punter can probably fall into that category too. If you get a fair catch every single time you're out there, you're probably doing a good job that day.
Jacob Gold:Yeah, point to him Now. Do you know immediately if it's a good kick or not? Yes, just by the contact You're like totally.
Nolan Cooney:I would say you have a pretty good sense of if it's going to be really good Now. Sometimes I'll say to myself, as the ball is falling out of your hand and you already know and you say I might have to get lucky on this one. I might have to. I might chase this ball inside a little bit and I might, as we would say, match our foot to the ball, and I got to get a little lucky here. But in terms of good balls, yeah, you have a pretty good idea.
Michael Cochell:We were talking a little bit about golf and if I relate it to that, you have a sense where you hit that sweet spot, where it was almost effortless and it goes down the middle and I didn't have to put so much strength. So would you relate it to the feel of like all right, that just felt right, it's going to go where I wanted to go, or you're crossing your fingers and close your eyes and kind of see where it ends up? Would you say similar?
Nolan Cooney:I think there's so many similarities between punting and golf, the repeatable motion number one, how fluid we are with our swing and golf always feels good to get up on the tee and try and happy Gilmore the thing, but we know it's for me at least I know it's going into the woods. I'm not finding that one. And the same thing with punting. If I try and unload on a ball, the thing's not going where I want to. I'm trying to say as smooth and as concise as I can be.
Michael Cochell:Controlled. Totally Huge. Relating to golf, as you mentioned. You try and hit too hard, you really lose the technical pieces that make all the differences.
Nolan Cooney:Let the club do the work. Yeah, yeah, same. That's what you're doing here Exactly.
Michael Cochell:And that's where you get the consistency that you're shooting for Sense.
Jacob Gold:Wow, Very cool, Very cool. Let's change focus just a little bit. I want to get back to your interest in finance. Do you remember an age where you started getting interested in investing stocks, bonds or even just saving money?
Nolan Cooney:I would say I've always felt like I'm a saver by nature In terms of investing. In college I started to have more of an interest, and one of the things in college is that players that are on scholarship are given a stipend every month. It's not big money, but it's something for players, and being a walk on it didn't have access to that cash. And one of the things that you realize is that some of these players it might be gone the next day right in. Whatever they might spend it on, and whether it's something that's unimportant or important to them, whatever it might be. And one of the things that I recognized was that if you take this cash and you put it away, it's compound interest no different than what anybody else is trying to do. And if you can do this as a sophomore in college, I mean the more time that you have in the market, the better off you are.
Nolan Cooney:And I kind of told myself, if I can get on scholarship, I'm going to just dump all this stipend money that I have, even if it's just something like a Vanguard fund. It's just a good entry opportunity to understand the markets and it was probably my first introduction. And then I think, once you start to get into the NFL and you understand what other players are doing with their money, how they're investing and I'm a curious person, so I'm not afraid to ask other players what they do with their money. How do you find an accountant? Things like this that are important to somebody who's earning so much money at such a young age.
Jacob Gold:Yeah Now do you remember when you were a kid, the very first thing you spent your money on?
Nolan Cooney:It's a good question. I'm trying to think about what I spent my money on. So every summer in high school I worked a job. I worked construction every summer, which was wonderful I'd love to get up at 6 o'clock and building custom homes and it was great and I'm trying to think about the things that I found to be important to buy. I'm sure it was probably something that I took six weeks to decide to buy in the first place, whether it was a new pair of cleats or something like that.
Nolan Cooney:That I maybe didn't even need, but I'd say, for the most part I just felt like I was a saver.
Jacob Gold:Interesting. That's really great man. Is this guy not great, or what? I mean you are our type of guy. You are disciplined, you're focused, you're consistent, you're appreciative, you're optimistic. Those are some really amazing qualities, man.
Nolan Cooney:Well, I appreciate it and, like I said, I feel like this is such a unique opportunity for me, where you've entrusted me to take your time to share your information, and that means a lot to me.
Jacob Gold:Well, it's my pleasure, my man. Couple of more questions Completely off base. For people that know me, they know I love candy. That's it. I just love candy. Do you have a favorite candy?
Nolan Cooney:I do. I think I could put the favorite candy bars in power rankings.
Jacob Gold:OK, let's hear it. See, I love this guy Number one would be a Kit Kat.
Nolan Cooney:The wafer you like the wafer I do, and unlike others, I don't really care how I eat it, whether I break it apart or eat it like a crazy man.
Jacob Gold:All four in your mouth.
Nolan Cooney:No harm with that. Number two would be a Reese's.
Jacob Gold:I'm sensing chocolate.
Nolan Cooney:For candy bars. Yeah, I would say that, and my third hole would be a Twix.
Jacob Gold:OK yeah.
Kelvin Gold:Now, do you have to keep a really strict diet, or do you have cheat days, or can you have a Kit Kat whenever you want?
Nolan Cooney:So for me I have found and I'm sure probably goes back to my past health history, but for me I found the diet that works for me.
Nolan Cooney:And I think it's a great question, because it's actually something I'm pretty passionate about is what I put into my body is going to impact me for the next day, next two days, whatever it might be, and I love sweets as much as anybody does, but usually I try to do it on maybe once a week and I try not to go too crazy, because if there's anybody who could eat two pints of ice cream, I'm your guy right here, mike is an ice cream guy.
Jacob Gold:I'd like to see you guys go at it.
Michael Cochell:You nailed down the Kit Kat which the kids after Halloween. All the Kit Kats are gone. It's the wafer piece of it that stands out and I'm an ice cream. But I do think in healthy eating. Almost I use that as my treat at night, whether it's the chocolate or the ice cream, but I believe in eating for fuel. But then I got to treat myself and I think, you sacrifice, whether it might be two or three days, because I'm teased here in the office, because I eat almost the same thing every single day.
Michael Cochell:But at night I jump into the chocolates or the ice cream and it's my treat, if you will.
Nolan Cooney:Yeah, no, health is wealth and the things that I know. I like to eat a lot of the same things, like you said, and I know that I need a lot of sleep at night too. I like to track my sleep, whatever I can do.
Jacob Gold:What's your magic number of hours?
Nolan Cooney:I try to do. I think athletes need a lot of sleep, so I'll try to get. I'll try to be in bed for nine hours and then I track it with a whoop, which is essentially a heart rate monitor, health tracker, and typically I'll be in the 8 and 1 half of time that I'm actually asleep.
Jacob Gold:And so when do you usually get ready to go to bed? At what time?
Nolan Cooney:Well, I still feel like I'm on East Coast time sometimes, so I would say usually around 8.30,. I'm starting to wind down and I feel like I have a pretty good bedtime routine where, avoiding light in bed, I'll try to read before limit my exposure to anything that's going to stimulate my brain too much.
Jacob Gold:Now you mentioned reading Nonfiction fiction guy. A little bit of both Nonfiction for the most part.
Nolan Cooney:And I try to challenge myself because I might not necessarily love reading. I like it certainly, but if you can find ways to find something you like, it's a great way, I think, to stimulate your brain in a different way. Versus you know, and I think hard cover books too. Versus just you know, we read things all day, every day. We don't necessarily think about it, but a new way of looking at it, not just an article online.
Jacob Gold:That's a good point. Any other questions for this all-star?
Michael Cochell:I do have one, but I'll comment on the book piece of it. There is something to that. I think we're on the computer. So much reading, so much data information. If I'm reading at home, I usually use a real book. I'll never forget this because I actually pulled out a regular newspaper and I was in an Uber.
Nolan Cooney:What is that? I just kind of was in shock a little bit.
Michael Cochell:It's kind of funny. But I think, just that change of pace, the idea of looking at something different than a computer screen or the lighting. I do have a question and I kind of get back to a little bit on the finance part of it. It's great that you're expressing interest and that growth phase is not just maybe in sports but personally how do we evolve, how do we move forward? And to share some thoughts, when it relates to finances, there's always a technical piece of what we do and that might not be as fun as many people like.
Michael Cochell:That's what you probably see behind the scenes. You might relate it to football, the playbook, injuries, yardage, first downs, all the details of numbers. But then there's the other side of behavioral aspect of finance and you shared a couple of stories where it reminds me of that and it seems like in life or finance, whatever place, you actually got to look at both and I think people are built one or the other a little bit and so efforts made toward the other. So I want to comment about there's a technical piece and we have a behavioral piece when it concerns the finances. So whether it's in college you shared a couple of stories there or going to the NFL. Was there a pivoting point of a financial decision in my life that, oh, I had to take a few months to think about, or something, a purchase, or something that really kind of took your brain power to think about making a decision or investing, or something like that? Was there anything that stands out to you?
Nolan Cooney:There is, and I think it comes down to how our decision-making change is based on the amount of cash that we have. So everybody a lot of times will say the more you have, the more you spend.
Kelvin Gold:A lot of times.
Nolan Cooney:I'm sure you both find that in your business.
Nolan Cooney:So the first year I was released at the end of training camp and you don't really have that much cash at the end of it, so you're probably saving a fair amount.
Nolan Cooney:But one of the things I did is I made the decision to go to an internship in Chicago, and it was with a sports agency, somebody that I had reached out to and had a good relationship with them, and one of the things I decided was I need to get a place to live. So I had found something online and that kind of felt like the first decision where I was making an investment in myself, where I said I'm going to go spend a couple of months. I still feel like there's an opportunity in football, but because it's the off season, I've got three or four months to try and gain other knowledge and spend my time elsewhere, and I went out there and spent a lot of the cash that I had made on an apartment. But it worked out great because one stimulated my brain and I got another opportunity in football. So it worked out OK, amazing man, thanks for sharing that, yeah.
Nolan Cooney:And then, in terms of once you've done a little bit better, I decided that I would buy myself a new pair of golf sets.
Jacob Gold:So that's what we talked about Nice to meet you. That's you treating yourself Exactly.
Nolan Cooney:Yeah, that's the new irons that I got. Big KitKat with you. Yeah, really big.
Jacob Gold:So I have another question off topic. If you have the opportunity to talk to 10-year-old Nolan, what advice would you give your younger version?
Nolan Cooney:Would say to be patient, and I knew early on I had a lot of energy. I don't necessarily know if it was all for school and everybody wants to have high marks and I knew that once I got to middle school I probably didn't have as much. Now this is a little bit later than 10-years-old, but I didn't have as much admiration for grades. My interest was sports and I knew that that's what I wanted to do. But you have to be able to check all the other boxes and to know that.
Nolan Cooney:It's OK that it takes time to find that maturity in school. It's OK that it might take longer for some guys to make it in the NFL, for you guys to create the client base that you want. It's OK that it takes time, and I think it took me. It can be frustrating, right? Or when you make the decision to go to prep school, that your buddies are at college and, regardless of whatever you want to do, they're going to game day and they're hanging out before the game. And I was OK hanging out at school and knowing that I had a four-hour best bus ride the next day to get to the game and that's OK by me, and I still feel that way today.
Jacob Gold:So would you say, steady wins the race.
Nolan Cooney:I would. I would. In there's times you do have to go fast, you have to make quick decisions, but understand that those frustrations and those nerves of what's to come in the future, that's very natural and it typically works out in your favor if you do everything that you can to put yourself in successful situations.
Jacob Gold:I think that's wise, because I think so many people they give up. Right, they give up. Maybe just they were just inches away from accomplishing their goal, but they gave up. And what I can see from you is you don't give up. If you have something in your mind, you're going to dream big and then you're going to reverse engineer it. You're going to figure out OK, that's what I want. And now these are all the steps I have to take to get there. And I think of the tortoise and the hare. And the hare is overly confident in things. He can take shortcuts, and the tortoise just knows that he needs to just go consistently in the direction that he needs to. And I would say, if there was a mascot of Jacob Golden Associates, it would be a tortoise.
Nolan Cooney:Nice.
Jacob Gold:Because we're the parable of the tortoise and the hare and it seems like you are the same. It's like you will put me in a direction and have me go that direction and I will not falter. And I think that that says a lot about you. And in reality, I think that if people had that mindset, they could accomplish so much more in their life. But too many people either don't have the patience or they don't have the confidence in themselves, or maybe they don't have the support system around them. And it sounds like you have pretty amazing parents that were right there with you, supporting you, loving you, inspiring you. You feel like that's a big piece of you, your magic puzzle.
Nolan Cooney:I think it's a lot of it and incredibly supportive people of what my interests were, but also understanding when they need to push me no different than a coach, right? They know when they need to say hey, we need to slow down things, or sometimes you just need to kick in the butt, and I think that's probably an important piece of what parenting or coaching might be.
Jacob Gold:Absolutely. Have you heard from coaches? Has any coach said that you are very coachable?
Nolan Cooney:No, I think that's probably something that they discuss, maybe on their own. They don't tell you. I don't think that they're going to share that, but be vulnerable to what they're saying. I don't necessarily need to know. When somebody says, hey, you did a good job, that should be the expectation. But when somebody says, this is something to correct, how quickly does the player respond to those things? I think is vital in how good a coach is, but how coachable a player may be.
Jacob Gold:Absolutely. Well, nolan guys, do you have anything? Any last questions, I've got one more.
Kelvin Gold:You seem very scientific. You're kicking down to a science. You're reading, you're diet, you're sleep, even what's something that you enjoy doing. That's a little bit more laid back.
Nolan Cooney:I can hang out with the best of them. I can sit down and get into a YouTube rabbit hole, whatever it might be my time.
Nolan Cooney:I don't have a problem doing that, but for me it would be just getting outside, probably, and getting exposure to nature. And the other thing that I'll say is when I've driven out here a couple times from Rhode Island now, ok, wow, and I enjoy driving, and a lot of times I don't listen to anything, which might sound crazy, but it's my opportunity to feel like I can escape and allow my mind to travel to different places.
Kelvin Gold:Yeah, that's really interesting, that's cool.
Nolan Cooney:That's cool. Like I said, some people they're like you're out of your mind here.
Jacob Gold:No, I think that a person, when they can be alone with themselves, I think that that shows a lot of maturity, as well as the confidence that that person has in being able to sift through all the thoughts. A younger version of me I could never be alone. I always had to be with a buddy or with my girlfriend, who is now my wife, and I had to be able to be by myself and accept that. And it's only when you are by yourself that you can really turn off the noises and just be. Those are some pretty magical moments when you can just be and not have to have the mind thinking or strategizing. I think that, too, is a testament to your success is that you can dial it up and you can dial it almost completely down and just be kind of in this zen type of mindset, and I think there's a lot of strength in that.
Nolan Cooney:Yeah, and I'm sure that you know I love your, your opinion on something, but when we leave the workplace so for me it's the football field and when I leave, I do my best to flip the switch and not necessarily think all day because it could drive you bananas whether it's good or bad. Yeah, you have this. You know it's one of the things that you have ultimate highs and you also have really low lows if it doesn't go your way. And for you guys to be able to switch it off and say I don't want to think about what the market did today, I don't want to think about the meeting that I had, whether it was good or bad. It can be tricky to do that.
Jacob Gold:Yeah, it can be, and I mean, I often say that my life is kind of like a bento box and everything's got its place. But that's the theory of it. The reality is is those hard days. As much as I'd like to containerize it and not think about it, it kind of just resides in my mind. And the good news is I get home and I can see my kids and my wife and that I can kind of shake it off. But some of those bad days stick with me and it is a trick to be able to start anew the next day and leave a bad day in in the past and be ready to accept a good day that isn't going to be coming tomorrow and but yeah, as much as I'd like to think I contain it, I probably don't do that great of a job.
Nolan Cooney:It's really tricky.
Michael Cochell:It is.
Michael Cochell:What about you, mike. You know what turning that switch I'll brief stories like in the past there were some physical jobs that I did and physically you feel the tiredness. But doing what we do, I remember trying to explain to my friends the exhaustion that you have and you're sitting in an office, you got a nice view and you're coming home and you're exhausted but it drains you. It truly, truly does. I think part of it. I do feel good that if I'm drained.
Michael Cochell:I went all in, I was working hard, I put effort, but you do have to learn how do you switch that up. Stopping at the gym, I stopped there before I go home so I can kind of just release everything, kind of do my thing and then and so that's my switch, I would say so I think it's creative on what you need to do and everyone's different. I've spoken to many clients and colleagues and they all do a little bit different to learn what that switch is. But I think that's important is just trying to at least get better at it, because you can't fully switch it up. There are times I've been here nine o'clock at night and no one's here and I leave the office. But I still try and think about. All right, I got to switch this up a little bit when I go home. So good point.
Jacob Gold:Whether you're a sports player, any kind of job that you do, it's important to do that and get better at it and I think for me the effort to containerize it is important because I know the next day I've got to be my best and I have two, three, four appointments.
Jacob Gold:Those clients are coming to the office or logging into zoom and and they're wanting something. They're in need of something. Maybe they're concerned about the economy, maybe they're concerned about the retirement, maybe they're going through some marital issues, I'm not sure. But I want to be my best for them and my goal is always to have my clients leave feeling better about their situation, financially and in general, than when they arrived in the office. So I know that if I get down in the dumps and I have a pity party for myself and I'm in a bad mood, clients are going to feel it in the meetings and I I carry a certain level of responsibility that I don't want my you know baggage to come off and then make their experience less than desirable. So, and as well too, when I go home, I I don't want to be my worst for my family. I want to be my best for my family.
Jacob Gold:We we had the opportunity, the family and I, to to travel a little bit this last month and we were talking with an individual and and she was asking you know, you give it all at the office, but when you get home are you just exhausted and you got to kind of go in your corner and I said you know, I give my hundred percent at the office and at home, and sometimes it's I've just exhausted everything and I crash. But I'm just that guy. I want to give my best to my family and my clients, and outside of that I mean very little exists outside of that bubble. Because I know how important it is to be my best for my family and I know how important it is to be the best for my clients, because if I'm best for my clients, I'm I'm positively impacting their lives, but I'm also able to then provide a nice lifestyle for my family.
Jacob Gold:So everything is so interconnected but it's. It's a challenge to kind of motivate myself some days to just get up and go and do, but because I believe in what we do, that makes it a lot easier. But yeah, it's, it's tough to let go of some things, but we have to to be able to have enough room to take on those responsibilities that we know are waiting for us tomorrow. Yeah, yeah and any last words, guys, no only do you have any questions for us, we've just been drilling you for the last hour. What questions do you have for us?
Nolan Cooney:I think one of the things is for you guys is to to discuss how you can distinguish that, regardless of what somebody might have, and you know whether it's money or retirement, whatever it might be, to give the same energy to every single person yeah, I mean I think early on in my career.
Jacob Gold:I mean I started while I was at ASU, I got fully licensed and started working underneath my father and when you're 21 and you're an advisor, deep, deep down you're very insecure. You're thinking, why would someone twice my age have me manage their money? And so I really knew that I had to really push myself and I had to be my best for them, otherwise I'd be doing them a disservice. And so I really put that bar really high for myself because I wanted to be my best for, for for my clients. And then it just became a habit and then that's just kind of the path that I've continued to follow.
Jacob Gold:But it comes from an insecurity of if I'm not focused, if I do not take this seriously, then it's so fragile it could end up being a bad experience for the individual. And I so appreciate the fact that they put their confidence in me that when someone decides to become a client, at that moment I'm not going to look at the number of zeros that they have in their account number. I recognize it as they are choosing me to be their financial captain and that is an honor and a privilege. Whether they've got $1 or $20 million. They chose me, and so I want to repay that compliment by just giving them my all, and so that's always been my mindset, and I'm grateful that that was my mindset from day one. I think those people that qualify their service based on how much money someone has, then maybe they're not fully in it for all the right reasons. What do you think?
Michael Cochell:Mike. Well, my story is a little bit different in the fact that I didn't have that early financial exposure, jacob, you having your dad being in the business, your grandfather as well Great story, jake. I think mine flipped a little bit where I didn't have that exposure or that knowledge base coming in, whether it was friends, family and I always had interest in finance, though always, I mean, I was reading the Wall Street Journal and had no idea what I was reading. They were just numbers and dots and numbers and dots. But all of a sudden you start to learn from it, and mine was more or less. Since I didn't have that exposure, I always wanted to give that back somehow.
Michael Cochell:So forget about the dollar amounts. What's really powerful is you make a slight difference, at whatever capacity and at whatever age. I've met with some 19-year-olds and I had good discussions and it's amazing how impactful something like that is for them. I've met some individuals who are 75, and I never worked with someone financially and I made an impact. So a little bit of the opposite, where I didn't have that early exposure, but I always knew I had the interest and, honestly, I'm here to serve them and that makes all the difference in the world.
Nolan Cooney:It's powerful.
Michael Cochell:It is. And then the rest the financial benefits that I might get from is the results from the work, and I think that's very impactful. So it's really making small, medium or even large dense with each person I have an opportunity to meet with, Even if I don't work with someone. There are some companies I work with. I may talk with individuals but we might not be working one-on-one with, and later on I find out from HR or some other individuals how much of a difference that made. So I think my younger age of not having that exposure or the resources allowed me to say I want to do this to some degree, or bigger degrees in some cases. If someone's working with me one-on-one, yeah, Does that help?
Jacob Gold:Absolutely, Give you a perspective yeah. Any other questions? My man Great question.
Nolan Cooney:I think I'm good. This has been awesome. This has been great.
Jacob Gold:The pleasure has been all ours and, for what it's worth, we wish you a very successful upcoming football season with the Cardinals. We will be rooting you on and hopefully we'll be able to see you during the season a little bit. We know how busy you are and did I see now did you change numbers recently? 15 to 16, or was it 16 to 15?
Nolan Cooney:I had 15 last year. Ok yeah.
Jacob Gold:And is it 16 this year? Yes, that's correct.
Nolan Cooney:I'll take what they give me. I love it.
Jacob Gold:Well, I know your parents, your girlfriend. They're probably your number one fans, but we're right behind them. We're going to be cheering you on. And if there's anything we can do, let us know. And for what it's worth. I've really enjoyed this relationship, this friendship, this relationship that we've cultivated, and I look forward to where it takes us into the future. It goes full-course. Thank you, man. Well, thank you everybody for listening and catch us next time on Finance Roundtable podcast.
Nolan Cooney:This is Finance Roundtable.
Jacob Gold:Jacob Gold and Michael Koshell are financial advisors offering securities and advisory services through Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, doing insurance business in California as CFGAN Insurance Agency LLC, member FINRA SIPC, a broker-dealer and registered investment advisor. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity. Jacobs California Insurance License 0E55425. Michaels California Insurance License 0K90130. The views depicted in this material are for information purpose only and are not necessarily those of Cetera Advisor Network. They should not be considered specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Neither Cetera Advisor Networks nor any of its representatives may give legal or tax advice. Kelvin Gold is a marketing associate. The registered address is 14850 North Scottsdale Road, suite 255, scottsdale, arizona, 85254.