Elevating Your Game: Lessons from NFL Draft Families

Dennis Guzik is back for another episode of the Be the Ultimate podcast

• He always tells his listeners what they need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear

• Dennis was watching the first round of the NFL draft and noticed a pattern among the families of chosen players

• These players have worked relentlessly and put in countless hours of training to reach their goals

• In the Marine Corps, hard work and discipline are essential for success and promotion to leadership positions

• While movies may depict super-powered individuals, in real life hard work and dedication lead to success

• If you want to get promoted in your career, you must be willing to put in extra effort and constantly learn new things about your profession

• This mindset can set you apart from your coworkers and help you progress in your career faster

• Remember, careers are a competition and it's important to always strive for improvement

• As Vince Lombardi once said, "The man at the top of the mountain didn't just fall there"

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

All right, folks. Well, I'm back, the old jarhead Dennis Guzik, with the Be the Ultimate Podcast where I give you great career advice. And today is just that. Today I'm also going back to my adage that I'm going to tell you what you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear. So let's get on with today's podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:27

So the other day I was watching the first round of the NFL draft. So for those of you who do not know, this is where American football players, after playing football at a university, get selected to play professional football at the team that chooses them. So the teams with the worst record last season get to pick early in the draft and the first players chosen are typically the best of the best. So as I was watching the draft, I would see that a team would choose a specific player to be on their team. Then that player would go on stage for photographs and such Meanwhile. The player's family and friends would be offstage celebrating and there'd be an announcer of some sort or a reporter I don't know what you'd call that person but typically would go backstage to interview the family of the chosen player. Now, remember, these guys have really proven themselves over many competitions and the question the reporter would ask the family is how do you feel about your son being chosen to play in the NFL? And almost every one of them said they were so excited and that their son had worked so hard to get where he is today. They talk about the relentless training, even in the off season. They talked about the early morning training to push themselves further and they talked about how now all of that hard work is paying off. I've seen several things in my beloved Marine Corps where hard work and training is the norm and how it worked to promote the best of the best to senior ranks and leadership positions. Now the media like movies and these sorts of things. They have superpower humans who could do all kinds of things, but that is not real life. We don't have superpowers, but we do have super people and they get this way by hard work and discipline. So again, remember, I'm going to tell you what you need to hear, not necessarily want to hear.

Speaker 1: 2:21

So how about your career? Do you want to get promoted and advance in your career? If so, are you putting in the hard work needed to get there? Are you on your off time reading and learning things about your chosen profession. If this sort of thing is simply part of your life, of your daily life, then good. If not, then you should expect. How should you expect to advance? Maybe your coworkers are doing this and they get promoted ahead of you. At my last job there were several young ladies that were really smart and talented and if you're a listening ladies, you know who you are. But they absolutely outworked others, myself included, and they have progressed the senior ranks at that company well above their peers, well above what I was okay, and they absolutely deserve it because of their hard work.

Speaker 1: 3:13

Whether you like it or not, careers are a competition and whether you want it to be so or not, think about putting in the extra effort, even just a little bit, every day, to see how this works for you. So that's my thought for this podcast. As Vince Lombardi, legendary football coach, once said, the man at the top of the mountain didn't just fall there. So thanks for listening to the old jarhead ramblings and please share these podcasts with your friends and colleagues. Check out my book. Find a Job that Fits your Life. You may be surprised to find that you're not in the career you should be. Thanks for listening. Bye, thank you, thank you.