Raising Standards, Not Chasing Motivation

Transcript

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Good evening. Welcome to the Stephen Weah Podcast episode one of the 2026 New Year season, new Year, new standard, why average is no longer acceptable. I'm your host, Stephen Weah former professional footballer and now a licensed FIFA agent. If you are listening it means you have decided this year will not be average, not comfortable, not wasted. This is a new year, and with a new year comes a new standard. Segment one, the truth about New Year motivation. Every January, people say the same things. This is my year. I'm locked in. I'm ready. If motivation was enough, why do people fall off by February? We see this over and over. People make resolutions. Get stylish equipment, then in February. The problem isn't effort. The problem is standard. As a professional footballer, I learned something in my early age. Your life never rise to your motivation. It always falls to your standard. In segment one, I will be talking about. The standard of a professional footballer. When you are a professional athlete, you train, recover, study the game, respect the time. You train properly, you own your time, you respect that time you go to training. Do extra exercises before training starts. I always wanted to set the standard to be on time, to show young players what it takes. When you set the standard, then that mindset start to building, because I know we hear about the mindset it's about mindset, sometimes you have to set that bar higher then you understand your life is improving gradually. Once you do something regularly, it becomes part of you. At a young age, I was disciplined. I was so stuck in my head that I wanted to become a professional player, at 18 I signed my first contract in Saudi Arabia. Some friends, said, we knew you were going to be somebody because you were always doing extra work always training. You have to respect your time. You have to respect the game. You have to study the game. So what I mean about study the game, when I'm on the bench, I don't just watch as a sub, I study the game. I watched it because I was a centre forward. Because I was good on the ball, I had good distribution skills, my vision were good. So I would sit on the bench and study when the coach calls me I know already. With instruction from the coach and watching the game, I lift the standard straight away. When I get on the pitch, I knew I was going to make the difference. you have to train properly, recover, study the game, and respect the time. Respecting time, I'm talking about something that is built in me already. For example, when I'm going to Liberia and my flight is about 10:00 PM in the night. I will be on the airport by six o'clock. It's just part of my nature because on my way to the airport, I don't know what gonna happen. I could get caught up in traffic. I could get a flat tire. Drop my passport or mistakenly left my passport home, or my ticket. I have to rush back home. The flight is 10 o'clock, so then I know that I have enough time to recover, get everything done. So when I go into the airport, my flight is 10 o'clock and I'm going six o'clock. Most of my friends will say, that's too early. That's respect. You gotta respect the time. Not because someone is watching, but because that's who you are in 2026. I challenge you to stop asking how do I get motivated? No one's going to come and motivate you. You have to motivate yourself. You have to push yourself, do things you don't wanna do. You wake up your body is tired. Your mind is telling you, let's go, but the body say, no, I can't run anymore. Then you push yourself. Then you set that thing challenging yourself because you have this dream, this goal. You want to become a professional footballer. Not trying to be Ronaldo, not messy, but be yourself. Set the standard for yourself with discipline, consistency. It becomes permanent and you achieve your goals. Focus on what you want don't wait for the new year and make a new resolution. Make a new, planning that this year I'm going to lock it in. Move continuously. Stick to what you want to do. When I wanted to become a professional player in 1990, the civil war came to Liberia, I was just a kid. I was about 14, 15 years old. People asked where you going? Who do you know there? I said, I don't have to know anybody I formed my way from Liberia to Sierra Leone. I went to, came room, played for one of the biggest club in Cnnon de yaounde. And then not even six months, someone scouted me the talent was there, but they could see the work ethics talent only get you notice, it will get coaches or scouts to stop, but they will be looking at other aspect of your game. How good are you on the ball? Off the ball? People want to see what you do when not in possession how can you help the team? How can you contribute? Motivation. It's not enough. You have to be disciplined. You have to, you, you have to set that mind that this is what I'm, I'm going to do. Don't wait. When someone is watching you, don't wait for applause. Set that goal. Keep moving. How do you get motivated? Ask yourself, what standard do I refuse to fall below? Once you get to that level as a professional you are getting paid to do the job. It's like any other job. You could be a surgeon. A lawyer. You're getting paid to deliver You have to be motivated, you have to be consistent what standard do I refuse to fall below? Non-negotiable standards. You have to do it. No excuses, keep pushing. Respect the recovery. Respect the training. Set one non-negotiable standard. I don't miss training. I don't show up late. I don't waste my mornings. I don't accept disrespect that's how changes happen. From the first six months. They might not be visible to you, but other people will sit there and say, wow, he's moving, he's training, he's discipline, onto today's first episode, just listen. Understand that whatsoever you put your mind to, you can achieve it, but discipline, hard work, consistency, you have to be determined I had that determination to play professional football. When the war came to Liberia, most of my friends left they asked where am I going? Who do I know? I didn't ask that I asked can I do it? And then I said yes, because you have the discipline, you have the talent, and the work ethics is there. When I go out there, I have no mom, no dad. I didn't stay on refugee camp waiting for the United Nation High Commission of Refugees to bring me money or bring me food. I went, when I went to Sierra Leone, I used to sleep on Shaka Steven Stadium. They had refugee camps there, tent were built. But I said to myself, if I go to the refugee camp, that would distract me from what I want to do. So I choose to go and sleep with the security on the stadium, and that's where I was. And someone picked me up to go and train with Eastern Lions, one of the biggest club at a very young age. I was 13, 14 my life changed dramatically. The first ceasefire I left Sierra Leon and went back to Liberia. Then there was another war coming. Someone told me that there's a second war coming. I said, no, I'm getting outta here. And I left and went to Nigeria, I never returned until after 10 years. When I came back, my dad passed away. I came back from Saudi Arabia. My dad passed away. I still had my mom. I had to look after my brothers and sisters, but then I left because that was not the place for me anymore. It happens because of my determination, motivation, discipline, respect for myself, respect for my body. I didn't go out there at a young age and start going to bars, start going to party, and doing things that didn't align with my goals of what I was looking for in the future, which was to become a professional footballer. Today we are not chasing motivation. We are building discipline. Raising standards, and becoming undeniable. Share with teammates, friends or parents, i'm here to help the community. I'm here to help the youth players, the coaches, the parents later in our program program will go deep into topics about growth, discipline, and how to achieve your goals or your dream of becoming a professional player. We'll talk about recruitment, talent, how scouts pick plays, and the agent space, when I retired, I didn't retire from football. I was switching positions. From a player, I became an agent, and then I studied the business, and then I decided to help other people to improve their life. On football and even life after football. So in this episode we are not chasing motivation. We are building discipline. Raising standards. We are becoming undeniable. Welcome to the New Year. Welcome to the Stephen Weah Podcast Show, thank you, and goodbye for now.