Andy Levitre on NFL Mindset, Consistency, and Finding Purpose After Football

In this episode of The Asset Mindset Podcast, host Daniel Fielding sits down with former NFL offensive lineman Andy Levitre to discuss the mindset required to succeed both on and off the field. Andy shares lessons from his professional football career, including the power of consistency, overcoming negative self-talk, and building a strong community. The conversation explores the challenges of transitioning from the NFL to civilian life and how gratitude, discipline, and personal growth help create success long after the final snap.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Andy Levitre and The Asset Mindset
 03:44 Overcoming Negative Self-Talk and Building Confidence
 06:15 Consistency and Discipline for Long-Term Success
 07:11 Recognizing Opportunities in College Football
 11:03 Hard Work and the Road to the NFL
 13:21 Reframing Thoughts and Developing a Winning Mindset
 15:52 Building a Supportive Community
 19:27 Enjoying the Journey Instead of Just the Destination
 20:47 Lessons from the NFL That Apply to Everyday Life
 22:54 Navigating Life After Professional Sports
 26:42 Health and Wellness After an NFL Career
 28:50 Creating Memories Through Family and Travel
 32:22 The Power of Gratitude and Positivity
 36:22 Giving Back and Supporting Others
 41:32 Transitioning from Football to Business and Real Estate

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Produced by Security Halt Media

Transcript

Welcome & Guest Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Welcome to the Asset Mindset Podcast, where we don't wait for opportunities, we create them. I'm your host, Daniel Fielding, former Green Beret, author, life coach, speaker. But enough about me. Let's get into today's special guest. We have an amazing guest today, former NFL player Andy Levitre. Andy, please introduce yourself and say hello to the Asset Mindset audience.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Daniel, thank you for having me on, man. It's uh it's a pleasure to be here. And um, I'm excited to kind of share my story and my uh experiences in life. Uh and um yeah, share it with the rest of your followers.

Early Years And Finding Football

SPEAKER_01 0:41

That's fantastic. It's an honor to have you here. I love all your stories, your mindset, seeing the stuff you do, you know, your philanthropic activities. That's kind of how we met and came across each other, and you've done some amazing things. But I want to let you know in each episode, we dive deep into like mindset and habits and mission-driven thinking so we can help everyday people become high performers like yourself. I mean, you've accomplished so much in your football career, but then also post-career. So that obviously was a big transition. So why don't you share one of your big transition moments and what that was like and how you were overcome able to overcome such a dramatic transition?

Self-Talk And The Grind

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Yeah, I mean, I I think it started when I was was young. Um, you know, I didn't really have uh I grew up in uh a small town called Ben Loman out in California. Uh it's a mountain town in the Redwoods uh in the Santa Cruz area. And um, you know, I didn't really have uh any aspirations or or goals at the at the time to do anything big. And um, you know, I ended up coming across playing football with some of my friends and just I really enjoyed the process. Um, you know, and and and obviously just hanging out with my buddies is how it started, but uh eventually just fell in love with the sport and and the the grind and everything that comes with it, the discipline. And so um for me, it was um that transition uh uh for me was like I my mind kind of flipped in terms of not knowing what to do in terms to be like, hey, this is exactly what I want to do. And I'm gonna I'm gonna commit myself to this. Um and I think with anything, you know, if you have something that you really want to do, you're gonna put your time and effort into it to be great at that thing. And so um, for me, it happened to be football. Um, so I I poured my time, my effort. Um I was uh when I was a junior in high school, I was 340 pounds and really out of shape, but um, I was committed to to the sport and and wanted to continue my career. And so I made some sacrifices in my life to to get to where I wanted to go. And so, and uh, you know, that entailed losing some weight, continuing to train um and push hard through some tough times. I mean, being that large and and trying to run, you know, run sprints and stuff, um, you really got to tap deep into your mind and um and eliminate that self-talk where you where you just want to quit. Um, so so for me, you know, there was a lot of that. Um and I feel like once I was able to get through those barriers and and kind of um cross that threshold, uh, it's it felt to me like I opened up this new pathway to sport, you know, being being a professional athlete eventually, but um just knowing what what my mind was capable of doing and kind of the outcomes uh what comes from that.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

So I want to dive into you said self-talk that you were dealing with and battling with at that time period in your life. How were you able to defeat the negative self-talk?

Building A Why And Consistency

SPEAKER_00 4:01

You know, in in a I I guess in a in the sports standpoint, it's like, hey, you know, you're running sprints, you're you have, you know, you've run 15, you still got five to go. And so for me, it's like, hey, you know, we got five left. We're gonna do it the best we can do, and we're just gonna keep going one foot in front of the other. Um, you know, somebody who really resonates with me is the David Goggins, right? Like I know he's kind of a hard ass and talks a lot about, you know, uh he's got a lot to say, but I I do resonate a lot with that self-talk of of um pushing yourself past those limits and knowing that, you know, when you get to the other side, like there's better things on the other side there if you can, if you can withstand that the grind there. And so um, for me, that was kind of the mindset that I had built over time was was being able to um, you know, just kind of withstand the storm and know that that there's some calm on the other side of that.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

Now, obviously, when you were doing this in high school, David Goggins wasn't around and his book and all that. Right. So was there someone else that really maybe lit a fire in your mind or your heart and got you, you know, pushing that hard, or was there a mentor?

SPEAKER_00 5:18

Um, I don't know, mentor-wise, from the that mindset. Um, you know, my grandfather was pretty instrumental in my career and and helping me, um, being very supportive of me in that regard, uh, in terms of taking my career where I wanted it to go. Um, but from a mindset standpoint, you know, I think it was a lot of like I was saying, like self-talk and and inner dialogue of of, you know, I wanted this and this is what I wanted to do, and this is what I was willing to sacrifice or or um push through to to get there.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

So you had your why. Your why was like, hey, I want to do this, I have a passion, and my purpose is to be a football player, and I'm gonna be uh the best football player I can be. Yeah. Yeah.

DIY Recruiting And First Offers

SPEAKER_00 6:02

I mean, just you know, pushing through the hard times and knowing, knowing that, you know, it's gonna come to an end at some point and you're gonna be able to recover, whether, you know, even if it's really hard now, um, you know, you're not gonna die and you're gonna be we'd be right back in there and you'll be in there next week doing the same thing and kind of rinsing and repeating.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

No, that's good. So what would you tell any young kid now that's you know in a sport or trying to do something and they feel like they're they're struggling, you know, they don't quite have what it takes at the moment, you know. What would you give them for words of encouragement?

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Yeah, um I I would say, you know, consistency is is a big part of it. Um to showing up even when you don't feel like it. Um you just gotta make those hard decisions. And if it's something that you're really passionate about, um being consistent, uh and the hard days may not be as good as the good days, but um, you know, cumul the cumulative effect I think will have a greater impact um in you know whatever whatever it is you want to do, whether it's in sports, whether it's in business, whether it's in relationships. You know, I th I think showing up and being consistent is uh an integral part of that.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

So in your career, when was the point you were like, wow, I really, I really have a shot at this and I can make this happen? Or was there one?

Hard Work Versus Talent

Team Culture And Peak Seasons

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Um yeah, so for me, you know, in in college, I guess, you know, in high school it was more of like the recruiting process, you know, not really sure where that was gonna fall. Um, you know, I kind of I guess I'll I'll take a step back on that is um, you know, when I was in high school, we had VHS tapes still. I don't know if many people know what those are nowadays, but um so I used to I took two VHS players and hooked them up, you know, wired them together and basically made my own highlight tape, let's call it, you know, with a grainy film. And and um my grandfather, like I mentioned earlier, helped me um he he kind of helped fund the the letters basically. But I sat in my bedroom and made a hundred, probably around a hundred VHS tapes of you know, my highlight tape. And I went on the internet, which was still relatively new at the time, you know, this was 2002, 2000, yeah, 2001, 2002, and um, you know, found addresses of these colleges and mailed off these tapes in hopes that maybe somebody would see it and like what they saw and and offer me a scholarship. And so um, I ended up getting my first scholarship offer uh from that. And it happened to be um LSU and Nick Saban was the head coach there right before I think they had just come off the national championship in 02, which was kind of shocking for me. Um so yeah, um I don't I'm I can't remember where I was going with this story. Um, but yeah, so it it it kind of uh helped me, you know, again, me putting in the effort to to make that happen and kind of um you know taking the initiative to to make that make you know my dreams become a reality um was was instrumental getting me to college. And then, you know, in going from college to the professionals, uh it you know, I I feel like I had that um a chance, let's say, um, because you never know how it's gonna pan out once you get in there, but um playing against guys, competing against guys that um you see that are older than you that end up going in the draft and and having successful careers um in the NFL. Um you know, these you I started getting these thoughts like, hey, you know, if if I can play well against so and so and he's doing really well in the NFL, you know, I think I got a chance here to to maybe make it to the next level. Um and so for me it was always, hey, I I want to do everything in my power to get that opportunity. Um, you know, and so you know, I I was in college, you know, I I hung out with the guys and went out. Um, but for me, I was very um I had you know, I had some some non-negotiables of not going out on certain nights of the week and making sure that um, you know, I was at my best come game day so that I could perform and and uh take care of business then. So um, you know, there were some sacrifices along the way and you know, ended up getting drafted. I didn't know where I was gonna get drafted. I I ended up getting drafted in the second round, which if you had asked me before, I'm I would have told you probably maybe late, a late rounder something. But it regardless of where it was, it was more of an opportunity for me to showcase my skills.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

Oh, that's amazing. So a lot of people think, you know, to be successful in life, you just to have luck. Uh from your story and what I'm hearing from you, it wasn't all luck. There might have been a little bit of luck, but it sounds like it takes a lot more hard work and talent. Would you agree?

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Yeah, I d I do agree. Um, you know, from the I I guess my my experience has always been mostly the hard work. Um I don't I personally don't feel like I was ever like a a heavily, you know, naturally talented kid, let's say. You know, I like I said, I was 340 pounds, not in good shape, by the way. Not like a, you know, like I worked out all the time. I had, you know, before I started high school, never really lifted weights. So um I was definitely like an out-of-shape, 340-pound kid. And um, for me, the the theme for me throughout my career, whether it was high school, whether it was college or pros, was always a hard work, is is kind of helped get me to where I wanted to go.

One Snap And Clear: Mindset

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Yeah, hard work definitely, I think was Tim Thibault says it, you know, hard work beats talent any day, right? Like absolutely, I agree. You know, and you get the special sauce if you have some talent and you do the hard work, then you get to be unstoppable. That's right. That's what I gotta say, you're very humble because it's incredible to get in the NFL. I mean, it is such an elite level of athlete or performance and dedication. It's similar to yeah, anybody can kind of join the military, but to be special forces, you gotta go that extra step. And I like that you're here because you can share a different perspective on going that extra step or that extra mile so that people can learn, like, yeah, you don't have to be special forces or, you know, you can do other things if you have the right mindset, whatever your goal or your dream is, you can accomplish it with the hard work and dedication. So someone that's maybe stuck in a victim mentality and thinks they can't, how would you help them or or what would you say to them?

SPEAKER_00 13:00

You know, I I think a big part of it is just reframing your your thoughts. Um, you know, having being confident in your abilities or or what it is that you want to accomplish and and taking small steps. Don't, you know, I think some people think too big, which is good. It's good to have big, you know, a big goal, but I think, you know, you got to take these micro steps to get to where you want to go. You know, for me, when I was in high school, I wasn't thinking about the NFL. I was thinking of, you know, hey, I want to win this game or I want to play well in this game, and you stack games and you do well, and then next thing you know, you're in college and it's you know, similar deal. So um, whether whether it's in the sports or in business or life, you know, it's it's um setting setting goals for yourself and then setting small goals to get you to where that ultimate goal is that you want.

Life After Football And Structure

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Yeah, stepping stones or like we talk in the military, we say, hey, take care of that 20-meter target. That's your immediate threat. You know, don't worry about a thousand meters down, you know, click away. Let's take care of this, and then we'll move forward and keep moving forward. And then, like you said, you stack and it builds and you make progress. That's where if people can do something every day to chase their dream, whatever it is, big or small, days stack up. And before you know it, you're a mile down the road or whatnot. Yeah. So what do you think contributed most to your success in the NFL?

SPEAKER_00 14:28

To my success. I I think it was my my like I said earlier, the the the hard work. Um, you know, I put in the time. Um, I was committed to to being my best. Um, I think sometimes people get the wrong vision of trying to be better than a certain someone. Um, and at the end of the day, again, I I kind of I definitely had this realization later in my career, but you're really competing against yourself. You know, you're you're you're trying to push yourself to be your best self and and be better every day, not not so much, hey, I want to be better than this guy. You know, that just comes with it. Um, that's part of your process as you improve. You'll eventually become better than somebody else that maybe isn't, you know, taking the right steps like you are. So um, you know, at the end of the day, there you're gonna be competing against people that may be more talented than you, but um, you take care of your process and and and um you know you stack that and you're gonna have good things happen to you.

Health Routines And Recovery

SPEAKER_01 15:31

I love that. Wise words, take ownership, and you are your ultimate opponent. Absolutely. You know, and that's where your biggest challenge comes from, the person you look in the mirror. So we've talked about you as the individual. Let's talk about how important it is to have positive people around you or like a good team or good teammates in life or football. Yeah. Um, you're oh, you're saying in football? Well, life or football. I mean, how how important is it? I'm trying to let people know and your thoughts on having good people around you, being surrounded with good people, positive people, and how that affects you and your goals.

Travel, Parenting, And Memory Making

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Yeah. You know, some of the um some of the best teams that I've I've been able to play with um had guys that were like-minded, um, that had similar goals, um, that that worked as hard or sometimes harder. Um, and so being in a room with people that are gonna push you to be um, you know, bring the best out of you. Um, I think that for me, you know, I had I had a couple teams in college I played with, same with the pros, um, high school as well, obviously. Um so I was lucky to have some of those experiences. And then I was also able to see, you know, pick some teams that we were not um as successful and and you kind of if you start looking at that, you know, you see those relationships and they're they're definitely not as tight. They're not you don't have guys that are pushing you to be your best. Um yeah, and there's some missing links there, you see. So um I felt like that was huge, and I feel like it you can sense it in the room throughout the season, um, of when you have a good group of gu of of people in the room um and having a good support staff, um, I feel like that the results are just tremendously better, and your experience is better too. I mean, uh I I just I remember in 2016 we played in the Super Bowl, and um even though we lost the game that season was just so special that the group of guys that we had, everybody was such a competitor. Um, but it's also some of the most fun I've ever had playing football. Like I think I had more fun playing football that year than I had, you know, goofing off with my buddies in high school playing football. So um it was, you know, it's it's special to have uh the right people in the right room or in the same room as you. Um it definitely is a game changer, whether again, sports or business or life. Um, you know, my wife has been instrumental in being super supportive of me through through my career and you know, come home during some rough days, and she's always been there for me. So um, you know, having having a good support staff is definitely crucial. You know, there's there's gonna be some times you're gonna need to lean on somebody, and there's gonna be some people that need to lean on you. So so being there for for your people is is um is good as well.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Absolutely. And I really like the message that you just shared as far as you didn't win the Super Bowl that year, but that was still your best or most special year and with the teams. Did I get that right? Because I think people, you know, sometimes think too much on that goal and they forget about the journey. Because you can really, you know, a lot of your times that you spend in life, the journey is what makes it special.

Gratitude And Positivity

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Really is. I mean, I I think that that season really hammered that home for me too, is you know, enjoying the journey. Um, at the end of the day, that's that's what you're gonna remember. You know, you're not gonna remember, you know, what happened at the end. That's kind of just a byproduct of the you know, the culmination of that season. So um, but it it was just yeah, it was so much fun. And um, that's that's definitely gonna be the thing that stuck with me the most, whether we won or lost. I think um, you know, those that would be the story that I would tell if we had won or lost.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Do you have any interesting stories that you can tell from locker room or behind the scenes on the field that maybe you know would be inspirational? Or even some laughter? People like to laugh and smile.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Oh man. It's been a while. It's been seven, eight years since I've been in a locker room. I'd have to I'd have to dig deep to to figure that one out. Um if something comes to mind, I'll share, but um, I don't know if anything's popping into my head right at the moment.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

What lessons or things from life in the NFL could you share with like the average person that's listening that would apply also in their life? So it's not just a you know NFL football player lesson. How can that cross over to regular people that are just have a career or doing something else or have whatever goal they're trying to achieve?

Service, Community, And Giving Back

SPEAKER_00 20:31

Yeah, there was um there's one one like coaches used to say, um, used to say a one snap and clear, um, you know, kind of um in terms of like if you have a, you know, in football terms, it's more of like, hey, if you have a bad play, don't sit there and dwell on this last play. You gotta clear your mind, be, you know, be in the present moment and move forward. You know, we're on to the next play. If you if you're sitting there and thinking about the play before, you're probably gonna have another bad play and you're you're gonna stack some some negative situations there. So um, you know, transitioning that into life, um, I I try and take that approach. Some bad stuff's gonna happen. You know, I have I have young kids at home, or they're gonna get sick, or you know, somebody's gonna get hurt, and it's kind of like, hey, this is the situation. We don't have to, you know, sulk on it. We're we're dealing with the situation in the moment and the present, and we're gonna, you know, move forward. We don't have to continue to stress about things that had happened in the past or you know, be overly uptight about something that we can't really control.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

Well, that's great. I like what a wise coach, like one snap and then clear it. Let it go. It's behind you, it's water under the bridge. That is a powerful concept that really can't apply to anybody's life because we're all gonna have bad plays or bad days. It happens. So let it go, accept it, learn from it, and then move on. Clear it and have your next play, your next day, whatever it is. You're gonna accomplish.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Yep, exactly. Yeah, whether it's day to day, you don't, you know, you don't want to stack bad days. So um, you know, it's a new day, fresh start. And yeah, don't don't dwell about the past.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

That's great things. So now you're coming to the end of your career. Did you already know what you were gonna do when you got out? Or what was transition like? Because I know for us in the military, especially in special operations, you're at such a high level and you're you're doing so many different things with such amazing people, and you lose your team, you know, your purpose and kind of things which you're doing. Transition can be very difficult. Do you find that also flows over into NFL players?

Starting Over In Real Estate

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Yeah. And actually, um, I know they there's a group called uh MVP, it's called Merging Vets and Players. They they they merge, they got a group of veterans and former athletes. I don't know if it's all NFL, XF, NFL guys, but um kind of in a group together, because it sounds like there's a lot of carryover in in both of those worlds where you know you you become a civilian and you know you're you're kind of back, you know, you're you're used to being regimented and having a day-to-day thing, and and now all of a sudden you're home and you have no, you know, you don't know what you're supposed to be doing or kind of where where life's going. So uh that was that was difficult for me. You know, there I still feel like there's um some times where I'm like, yeah, what am I doing? Or what you know, what do I want to do here long term? Um but uh you know, it's finding, you know, for me it was finding a um a regimen, you know, finding a way to work out every day as many days as I can, or however I wanted to structure that and making that a priority, you know, being around my family, having dinner with my kids, um, you know, finding out you think about what's important to you, and then making sure you implement those things into your daily life, um, just to give you some structure, right? Um, that was that was uh yeah, took me a while to figure that out, I think. But um I do believe that's super important.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

Absolutely. So what do you think helped you the most in your transition?

Three Rules: Goals, Sacrifice, Consistency

SPEAKER_00 24:17

Um honestly, I think my wife really just helped like prompt me to start thinking about those things uh and being proactive about making sure you, you know, you take care of those things that are important to you. Um to feel purposeful, right? You want to feel purposeful again, whether you're you were in the military or you know, in a career in sports, um, to feel like you have a sense of purpose again and and also community, you know, being around other people. Like you have a you know, a locker room of guys um you're running around with and you you you build these relationships and then you kind of leave and you're not around them anymore. Um, and so you kind of miss those things and you want to reconnect, but you know, hey, you know, for you maybe some guys are still in the military, or for me, some guys are still playing football. And so it's kind of hard to stay in con, you know, consistent contact with some of those people. Um, and everybody lives around the country, so you don't get to see them on the day-to-day anymore. So um, you know, what in building a new community wherever it is that you stay, um, or existing communities you have people in the city you're in already. So um, yeah, I think that that's really important to to help kind of get you uh back in terms of having a sense of purpose.

Injuries, Activity, And Longevity

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Yeah, I think you're right on with the purpose because you have to have a sense of purpose. Otherwise, you're just floating around in the world on autopilot and not really doing anything. When you have a direction and a purpose, and you also added community, which I think is very powerful because you had your NFL community. I had my military community. And then when you leave these communities, you know, you don't want to be by yourself and alone. That's stagnant, not good. You need to find a new community. So if anybody's out there going through a transition, you know, listen to what Andy's saying and find a new community. Find people that are like-minded, find a purpose again. I know for you, being a healthy dad is very important. I follow you and see what you're doing and all the different things and whether it be saunas or all the stuff. Can you share some of your routine on what you do to maintain yourself post-NFL?

Closing Wisdom And Listener Support

SPEAKER_00 26:31

Yeah. Um, I've kind of committed to trying to better my health being retired and having some more flexibility with time is is trying to just um, I guess you want to call it optimize my health here and and just kind of getting all the a aches and pains from from football and trying to lessen the impact that that will have on my life here, you know, as I age and and get older. Uh I wanted to make sure that I was able to spend time with my kids and play with them. So um, yeah, I spend a lot of time. I I don't lift as heavy as I used to when I was playing, but I I try to work out um and stay active. I need to get back into running, honestly. So I think this will be a good now that I said this on air, it'll get me uh spark of fire. Accountability. Yeah, I need to be accountable to myself to start running again. Um but yeah, so I'd I'll do that. I'll do the cold plunge, sauna, you know, I'll do some occasional blood work just to make sure things are in the right place or find out where I need to, you know, where I can do better, you know, with vitamins and such. So um that's kind of you know, I I'd say I try and get four to five days in um a week and about you know, about an hour of of lifting weights, and then I'll try and walk about 30 minutes a day at least. Um and then yeah, and then spending time with my my kids and my family and taking care of some business. So um it it keeps me pretty busy.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Yeah, I know I see a lot of the things. And you're a big traveler, you're all over the place sometimes. I'm like, where's Andy now? What?

SPEAKER_00 28:05

He's in your yeah, that's gonna slow down a little bit. But yeah, the last the last couple years we've been kind of off the rails with traveling so yeah, it's a cool something um I really enjoy getting to share with my kids and see some really cool stuff um, you know, that they may not get to see. And you know, a lot of people don't get a chance to see that thing or those types of things. So I'm really fortunate to be able to offer those experiences to my kids.

SPEAKER_01 28:33

And you're aware of it. That's so important. You know, you know that's that's important. Those are life memories, it's shaping, it's something that will never go away. I know recently I saw this thing that kids don't remember like Christmas gifts or birthday gifts, but they remember their vacations. Like if you say, hey, what'd you, you know, get for your 10th birthday? Well, I don't know, but what'd you do when you were 10 years old? What vacation did we go on? Those things stick. So experiences for children and the parent relationship and are so powerful. And I love that you do that. And I'm sure you see a lot of positivity come from that. So, what's it been like to provide that to your kids?

SPEAKER_00 29:18

It's been great. Um, I mean, it just from like a storytelling, and I I agree wholeheartedly with what you're saying about like the memories that stick with my children. Um, you know, I feel like there's a we start correlating some of our experiences now to some of these trips that we went on. I mean, I know my kids will never forget we had lemon sorbet in Italy, and it was like the best thing they've ever eaten. So anytime we see lemon sorbet somewhere at an ice cream store or something, you know, like that comes up, they're like, oh, I remember that was so good. And yeah, it's just been great. Um, yeah, again, I just I really enjoy creating these experiences with my kids, and um, you know, it just gives us some great stories to tell, and it helps them, you know, tell stories to us, or we can share stories down the road as we relive similar experiences. Um, so yeah, we're uh we're gonna take our kids to to Yellowstone and um the Tetons this summer, so that'll be another cool experience for for them.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

Wonderful. What lessons in life do you think they get from traveling?

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Um, you know, I think they can see different cultures and just how there's there's different um different like how how different things are and how and also how um they can be appreciative of how good of a life that they have. You know, they're you you can go to countries that are not doing so well and you know, like a third world type country, and uh it really puts things into perspective that here in America, I mean, we have got it pretty darn good. So um in that instance, you know, and also being charitable and and helping other people out, I feel like that's another way to help our kids realize um what a nice life that we've been able to provide for them. Um, but also put into perspective that there are people there that you know may need some help and and to to be humble and not um you know try and brag on on having this opportunity that you have. And um, yeah, so I think it if we we try and keep things into perspective to them that like, although they're you get to do a lot of fun stuff, you know, there's still um people that need help and and um just know that like you you have a really good life here. Yeah, gratitude. How important is gratitude? It's good, you know. We our family is kind of we've kind of fallen off a little bit. But we used to have we used to talk about um what we were grateful for every day before our dinners. It's another thing I gotta add back to the the uh daily dinner uh menu there. But um it is important and um you know if for children I think it's uh especially important because it's easy to kind of get carried away, uh, especially in in today's world. There's just so many material things. Um but just being grateful for like the you know the small things and then and the relationships that we have. Um it's it's a great skill for our children to have. Um so I do think that is something that um we can continue, and we we can all continue to to grow in that in that space there. Yeah, how do you think gratitude can help fight negativity? I think in you know, gratitude would help you feel more uh positive. You know, if you have negative thoughts, you're kind of looking at more of the positive side of things and um you changing your mindset, kind of, right? Like you're not thinking about negative things, you're just you're trying to find ways to think of the positive. And if you can continually attach yourself to the positive things, I think eventually you can change the way that you think. Um, and I know there's been a lot of science and studies on that about you know, having daily gratitude or or meditation or mindfulness. Uh, you can really shift your mindset in terms of the way that you think, especially if you're coming from having a negative mindset and and wanting to be positive. So, what do you do to work on your mindset? Um, you know, I actually one of my New Year's resolutions was to be more, you know, take a little bit more mindfulness. Um, just trying to take a step back from the day-to-day grind and just um think about and be appreciative of finding, you know, something small that you may not think about on the day-to-day and just say, like, you know what, I'm really appreciative that, you know, I have this, or that so-and-so did that, or um maybe doing something, you know. Um volun I just decided that was gonna help my wife's. Um, my wife's part of a nonprofit cancer charity. And um, and so I just offered to, you know, help um volunteer to deliver some meals. They they deliver meals to uh cancer patients and their their caretakers for 12 weeks while they're going through treatment. So um, you know, I I volunteered some of my time to go help them out. So um, you know, finding ways to to give back to the community or or even you know be appreci being appreciative to the things that I have um in my day-to-day life that just kind of go unnoticed unless I'm conscious about them.

SPEAKER_01 34:42

Yeah, no, that's great. Yeah, getting involved in any philanthropic organization or nonprofit and doing things like that, people don't understand how much you get from it. You know, you get a lot of feel-good vibes, you know, it's almost in a selfish way helping people helps yourself, you know. It's it's very powerful, but it it helps keep you grounded too and makes you appreciate things. When you see people like you mentioned going to third world countries or traveling, seeing people that are struggling or people that are struggling with health issues and they're sick and they need help. Like we all struggle sometimes. And to be able to be in a position to help, like you do, is incredible. And I know you you stepped up and you know, I was working with the Green Beret Foundation. You helped with Rock the Green Beret in the past and super grateful for that. You've always been giving. And I think that really helps you find peace, doesn't it, when you're able to help other people?

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Yeah, I just um I'm very blessed to be in the situation that I am in. And so I feel like if I can give back to the community, um, you know, my wife and I have had many conversations about that. Like, how can we, how can we do more and give back, you know, um, be supportive to those who help our community be great. Um, people like, you know, the Green Berets, the Rock the Green Beret. Um, yeah. So I feel like we try and find, you know, I don't know if we're like a hundred percent attached to like one specific charitable place, but we like to find, we like to find places that align with our values and and what we're passionate about and and get back in that in that space.

SPEAKER_01 36:20

That's that's such a good thing to do, that is such a mature thing to do, and I'm proud of you, man, because some people never figure that out. You know, you're a great example for others in so many ways. I mean, from young kids to wanting to be a football player to people that want to get into real estate or be, you know, successful in life, a good dad, and you know, I see the way you interact with your kids and how important they are to you, how you're taking your health serious. That is so important. All these things, like you said, stack up. You know, you're doing the hard work and it's creating a good life. So if someone was down and out and wanted to create a good life or was struggling, what would you tell them to do first? That's a good question.

SPEAKER_00 37:10

Um, I I I would say to have some support, you know. Um you know, if you have uh a loved one or somebody that you um you know, who like maybe who the first person you would call if you found out, I don't know, that there was uh, you know, if there was something really important in your life, who's the per first person that you would think of to call? And that's probably the person to lean on um to get some support and and um to really start talking through what it is you want to do um or or what your goals or aspirations are, you know, start brainstorming those things. But I feel like having somebody, you know, if if you're kind of just sitting there by yourself, um, it definitely makes it difficult. Um you you know, it's easy to feel defeated and like you're not going anywhere. So having a a a different mind that can help you kind of maybe get you out of a hole that you're in. And you know, if they can whittle you loose, and then you can, you know, start start making some progress in that regard. Um, you know, but I I think we kind of touched on it um earlier, but yeah, like having that community there to to lean on and and really uh yeah, don't I don't feel bad asking for help. You know, I think that's the hard the hard thing, or people feel like they're they're being um draining to other people to ask for support. And I think um, you know, as human beings, I think we need that. So um I think that's really important for us to to talk to other people, to to start formulating ideas, um, and and let you know share your share your concerns or whatever it is, and and then let them kind of help you guide you in the right direction until you can get on your feet.

SPEAKER_01 39:00

No, great advice. Yeah, reach out. You got to reach out to people. If you're battling something, whatever it is, depression, anxiety, different things as far as mental and you're thinking about not being here anymore. Well, that's not good. You need to reach out. Don't be afraid. We all struggle, we all have bad days. There's, you know, so many things that we all struggle with. You're not alone. And you'd be surprised when you reach out to somebody else. They're gonna be like, you know, I've been there, or I get what you're saying. So find somebody that's close to you that loves you and reach out to them. And if you're in that small percentage that you don't have somebody right there that you feel comfortable, there's plenty of organizations. Walk into a local church, pick up the phone, call certain hotlines. There's all kinds of people out there that have love in their heart that want to help people. And you just take that step and reach out. Andy's 100% right. There's so much love in the community. I know we get pounded all the time with all the bad negative stuff on the news or what you're seeing or people talking. Yeah, there's a lot of evil in the world, but there's a lot of good too. And understand that. And when you reach out to good people, good things are gonna happen. So, Andy, I'm so grateful that you're doing what you're doing. You're doing so many things that impact people in different ways. Can you share something that maybe people don't know about you that you could share with the audience that might be a surprise? It might be a surprise. Hmm. How about something as far as business-wise or real estate? Would people be surprised by what you do and what your business or life is now?

SPEAKER_00 40:46

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know how people would perceive me in terms of their real estate, but um yeah, I don't know. I j I guess I've just kind of been building a nice little real estate portfolio here in the in the background since I've been retired from football.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:59

I got my real estate license. I'm licensed in Tennessee and California. Just kind of, yeah. I don't know. I've I've been kind of I I guess I'm not like on the forefront of the real estate world, but just kind of doing my own thing behind the scenes there in that space.

SPEAKER_01 41:16

Yeah, I think that's something a lot of people don't realize, though, is like you were a football player and did very athletic things. You're not doing a football coach or doing the training thing, like you've got into real estate. You can change, you know, what you're doing. That's one chapter of your life was football. Now you're on another chapter, dad doing business. Real estate is tricky business. You had to learn it. You got your license, right? Like, yeah, that must have been an interesting transition, correct?

SPEAKER_00 41:46

Yeah, yeah. I kind of it was it was when the whole world was shut down from COVID. I ended up, you know, sitting at home and I was in California at the time, which was um lockdown. So I was like, you know, what am I gonna do? And so I I just kind of made the best of the situation and I was like, hey, I'm gonna study for my real estate license. And uh ended up getting my real estate license in California, and then uh my wife and I decided to move to Tennessee, and so I said, Hey, well, I guess I'm gonna study to get my license in Tennessee, and so did that and have my license in hand before I actually even moved back to Tennessee. So cool. Yeah, but yeah, no, it's um I guess the real estate game I'm playing is a little more of a slow, a slow grind here. Um, you know, from a day-to-day standpoint, it's not like a nine to five situation, which is you know, it's good for me, gives me the flexibility to to to go still work out, you know, be around for my kids. Um I kind of do a lot of the back end work for uh my properties to you know to still take care of paperwork and all that jazz. So yeah, it it fills my cup, keeps me busy. Um I may volunteer to coach a high school team this year here in Nashville. So we'll see how that goes. That would be very cool.

SPEAKER_01 43:00

I'm I'm sure you'd love it. And I know the kids would get a lot from it. You're a great role model, you got a great heart, giving man, and it's just so cool to have people like you in the world that actually want to make a difference, are making a difference, and lead by example. They're not just all talk, you know, you you you do it, you make it happen. And I think that's one of the things you're you're very humble and you sell yourself short with like, oh, you know, I had this downtime, it's COVID, negative. You could have sat on the couch like how many other people and just watched Netflix and not done anything. You're like, nope, what can I do for my time? You made stuff happen. And making things happen and taking action, that's what leads to progress. You know, don't get stuck, don't be a couch potato. All right, Andy. So I want to ask you a question now, as far as all your experiences in life and NFL and transitioning and doing other things and being a dad, what would you give your younger self for? Like the top three things that you would tell yourself, hey, you need to do this to have a successful life.

SPEAKER_00 44:05

To have a successful life, I would say you need to set some goals. Um you need to be willing to, you know, these goals need to be realistic enough to where you'd be willing to make sacrifices to get to your your goal. Um, and then be consistent on your approach to reach that goal, whatever it whatever that may be. Um, you know, and I think the one that's gonna take, you know, some some people have a clear path as to their goals, others it's a little muddy. So, you know, you may need to spend a little more time in that world if uh if you have some uncertainty. But I think establishing a goal um is step number one to give you some direction as to what you want to work towards. Okay, so goal setting and what else? Well, oh, yeah, so I was saying so goal setting and then um sacrifice. Okay. So being willing to sacrifice you know, you s say there's um, you know, say everybody's going out for, you know, drinks or something, and you're like, you know, hey, I need to be at home studying for this test. You know, being able to, you know, make some sacrifices in your life to to ultimately get to your goal. Um, they don't have to be huge sacrifices, uh, I guess depending on the situation there. Um but be willing to, right? Like ha have know that, you know, making good decisions in terms of like what um what you can sacrifice to to get there, right? And for me, for me, you know, like I was saying in college, I didn't I I wouldn't go out during the week to drink or go out with my buddies because I wanted to focus on the the game. You know, after the game we'd go out and grab a couple of beers, but you know, during during that week, you know, that was kind of off for me, like a a non-negotiable. Um and then and then being consistent was my my other thing. Um you know, I showing up even when it's hard, even when you don't want to do something. Um and I think getting to that, you know, that will help you get to the goal that you want um to achieve.

SPEAKER_01 46:16

No, I like that. Yeah, definitely. Goal setting is very important. You need to know where you want to go in life. And if you don't know, you gotta spend time trying to figure it out. Yeah. You know, and then absolutely sacrifices, no matter what it is you're gonna do and choose in life, you gotta be willing to sacrifice for it, whether it's time, whether, you know, you got banged up, I'm sure, multiple times. Um, you're probably dealing with injuries just like soldiers deal with injuries. Absolutely. Um Do you find a lot of injuries that come back and haunt you, or how do you deal with them? Or is there like obviously linemen, you're banging heads a lot. How's the TBI stuff?

SPEAKER_00 46:55

Or yeah, I have, I mean, I I still got stuff that I deal with. I you know, um, it kind of comes in waves. Um, so you know, when I go to work out, a lot of it is just trying to um, I guess, address, you know, some of the injuries that I had and and try and do like I guess corrective exercises to help kind of offset some of those injuries. So um, you know, I I could use it as an excuse to not work out anymore, but um, I you know, I still want to find a way to be active and healthy and um, you know, honestly, like prolong not not having to be in pain as long as I can. So for me, I feel I feel better, you know, trying to move my body than I do sitting around. So um I you know I try and find things to be active. I started doing jujitsu a little bit. So um just trying to find little ways to see if I can, you know, prolong staying in shape and and being healthy.

SPEAKER_01 47:53

Well, that's so smart. You gotta stay active. Absolutely. If you're if you're not active, then you're stagnant, and when you're stagnant, that's where things like I mean, you can think of it as a car or gears or anything. Like if it's just sitting there, it's gonna rust and corrode and get stuck. You gotta keep moving, you know. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. Absolutely. So that's that's great advice as far as goal setting, sacrifice, consistency, you know, discipline to do the right thing. You're doing the right thing, man. And I just I can't thank you enough for doing all the stuff you do. And I'm proud of you for the things you do as a dad. I'm proud of you for inspiring others to do good things and your sacrifices to help organizations and you know, maybe being a football coach here again or something, getting back involved with football. That's that's interesting. You heard it her first heard it here first on the Asset Mindset podcast. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 48:50

That's right. Yes, I do need to start running and and gratitude. I gotta start doing that again as well. And I got a workbook for you if you want it.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

You can check it out. It's a 30-day challenge like workbook. Okay, do some self-assessment and all that. Go to the website, theassetmindset.com. It's on there. And there's an advanced one too, if you really want to push yourself. Okay. I'm gonna look it up after we get off this call. Oh, thank you. And yeah, give me any feedback. Uh is there anything else you want to leave the audience before we go? Anything you want to say?

SPEAKER_00 49:23

Uh man, I just want to say thank you for um having me on here and allowing me to share my story and and the others that you've had on your podcast um in the past as well. I think this is um great. And I think it's a very useful tool if somebody feels like they're stuck. You know, I think this is uh a great way to kind of change your mindset and and see things from a different perspective. You know, hopefully it can be the the the jolt that you need to get you, you know, get you going. So um I really do appreciate um your work here.

SPEAKER_01 49:54

Well, thank you, thank you. And I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I mean, that one snap and clear, that's so powerful, along with other things you said. It's been amazing. Great show. I love your attitude, your smiles, the laughs, everything. I always have fun talking to you and hanging out. Audience, please give us a like, follow, and share. Definitely. It doesn't cost you anything to subscribe, to like and share. If you're interested in anything Andy's doing, I'll put some of his stuff in the description. You can follow him, give him a follow, and support what he's doing and other causes. And thank you again for being here. God bless and own your power.