For Profit Podcast
Bringing accessible business education to Louisiana youth.
For Profit Podcast
Jordan Arcement on LSU, NIL, and the Decision That Changed Everything
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Jordan's Info: https://lsusports.net/staff/jordan-arcement/
For Profit Website: https://matthewpearce.biz/
In this episode of the For Profit Podcast, Matthew Pierce sits down with Jordan Arcement, an NIL agent representative for collegiate athletes, to talk about the path that took him from Thibodaux, Louisiana, to college football recruiting, LSU, and the evolving world of NIL.
Jordan shares how sports, mentorship, faith, and adversity shaped his life — from losing his father at a young age, to betting on himself with a $25,000 opportunity, to helping athletes navigate life-changing decisions in the new era of college sports.
This conversation goes beyond football. It’s about leadership, discipline, trusting the process, protecting your dreams, and learning how to turn painful experiences into purpose.
If you’re an athlete, entrepreneur, leader, or young person trying to figure out your next step, this episode is packed with lessons on faith, resilience, and what it really means to live “in the profit.”
Drop a comment with your biggest takeaway, and let us know who in Louisiana we should bring on next.
Chapters
00:00 Intro + Why This Podcast Exists
01:00 Meet Jordan Arcement
01:22 Growing Up in Thibodaux and Finding Sports
02:16 From High School Coaching to College Recruiting
04:15 How NIL Changed Jordan’s Career Path
08:00 The Dream of Working at LSU
10:10 The Mentors Who Changed His Life
13:40 Betting on Yourself Before It Makes Sense
17:15 Why Jordan Moved From LSU to Athlete Representation
20:30 How NIL Really Works Today
24:00 Faith, Adversity, Discipline, and Living “In the Profit”
Hey guys, before we get started, I've got a quick favor to ask. I need you to like, subscribe, and share this podcast if you feel you're getting value from it. That's how we're going to get these conversations in front of more people. And just as important, if not more important, is your feedback. The good, the bad, the ugly. I want the critical information on how we can make this podcast better for you and deliver value every time. And if you know somebody in Louisiana who's doing big things in their field, industry, or business, please drop their name in the comments. We'd love to have the opportunity to bring them on the show. At the end of the day, this is all about the youth of Louisiana and putting local leaders in front of them and giving them something real to learn from. Now let's get it. What's up, everybody? It's your host for the For-Profit Podcast, Matthew Pierce. And I've got the pleasure of having my friend Jordan Arcimal, an NIL agent representative for Collegiate Athletes here today on the podcast. What's up, Jordan? What's up, Matt? Appreciate you having me, man. Appreciate you for coming on. I want to talk, I want to talk a little bit about your origin story, where you come from, and we'll get to what you're doing today. So tell us about the beginning. Where where are you from, Jordan?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm from Thibodeau, Louisiana, to buy you, not too far from you, you know. And uh, you know, came up humble beginnings, uh, was raised by my mother um pretty much by herself. My dad died whenever I was 11, and uh, you know, sports was a uh a big contributor to my life and my progression and having strong men in my life, you know. So it stayed stayed in Thibodeau, uh, went to E. D. White, then Nickel State, played football there, had some injuries during college. Shout out to the Southland Conference, huh? Both players in the Southland Conference. Southland, yes, sir. Um, but after injury, um, you know, I didn't know what I wanted to do. You know, football was all I really was passionate about, you know what I mean? And uh naturally I fell into coaching, um, coached high school football in the area for a while, and then that progressed to a collegiate career, and then ultimately now uh on the player side in the agent space.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I know um in talking before this, you had uh a lot of different responsibilities um in the collegiate ranks. Um let's talk a little bit about where you got started uh in college and then where that progressed to being in the NIL space. Let's dive into that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, whenever I was a high school coach, um I got a chance to be a recruiting coordinator and all of the the high school, I mean all the college coaches would come and and they would get a chance to sit with me, right? And I would get to tell them about the players that were on my team and that were on the area and uh or in the area, and that was exciting for me, right? And um I coached a kid named Devontavian Martin who ultimately ended up playing in NFL. Uh he had a pr pretty tough situation, you know, his mother had died. I got a chance to be a part of his whole recruiting process, and uh, you know, once he went off, I guess it kind of inspired me. You know what I mean? I was ready to leave the the high school rank and go into college rank. And I think um, you know, with how you represent yourself and what you learn through sports, ultimately it can lead to opportunity. And it was my receiver coach from college who was then the director of player personnel at the University of Virginia, and he took me from the high school space to the collegiate space, and that was my start. My start started as a film evaluator, as a scout, um, and then kind of progressed from there. But yeah, that was the beginning for me at Virginia, um, then ultimately kind of made a niche in recruiting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So what really put you on at Virginia? I remember you telling me this. You were bringing some Louisiana flavor to the uh to the Cavaliers. What uh you had a little pipeline going, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, man. We were calling it uh LA to VA, you know, and uh I knew the the wave had caught when the fans were spelling G E A U X Who's go who's right. So I was like, oh, it caught, you know what I mean? They they're buying into our Louisiana touch.
SPEAKER_01So you uh so you spent time at Virginia, and then you ultimately were led back to Louisiana, but you had taken some time away from football in between that, those two opportunities, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so at Virginia, you know, I was there for three seasons. I started as an evaluator, kind of made an inch in there recruiting, like I said, and then uh I was progressing there and then COVID hit, right? And as COVID was going on, Tay, uh who I spoke on, right, Sharp for Devontavian, he was at Washington State. Um, they were trying to cancel their season during COVID, right? And I was still really involved in his situation. I helped him transfer to Oklahoma State during that time. Um, and he was preparing for the NFL. And as he was preparing for the NFL, I started to learn a lot about the off-the-field business because I was helping him vet representation along the way. And NIL was coming down the pipeline. So as NIL was coming down the pipeline, it's COVID, we didn't have a lot going on. I'm just taking calls and I'm realizing it's kind of the same game that I was learning because I was vetting people for him. And I'm like, yo, like the college landscape's about to change, you know. And when I realized that I saw opportunity, you know, and then he was going into his last season, NIL got past. I I didn't really trust someone else to have their hands on him. And at this point, it was just marketing, it wasn't what it became today. But I I left um UVA and I spent a year as an entrepreneur. I started a business around the NIL space. I was doing his marketing, I was doing some other guys' marketing. We launched a seven-on-seven circuit for Shock Doctor. I even sold some life insurance on the side as a hustle just to just to you know get by in the midst of that. Um, but ultimately I lived in Louisiana, moved to Houston. I was able to be a part of his last year in college at Oklahoma State where he led the Big 12 in receiving, and then he went on to play in the NFL. And when he made that step, LSU called and wanted me to come back to football. Okay. And, you know, I thought it was gonna be a great opportunity, so I said, which regime, which regime was that under?
SPEAKER_01Was that on the tail end of Augeron or or Kelly?
SPEAKER_00It was right at the beginning of Kelly. So um John Randall Belton, who's actually the assistant GM right now at LSU, uh, he made it through the O regime, Kelly regime, and and now the Kiffin regime. But I met him whenever I was at Virginia. He was he was at Louisiana Tech, and like me, he had some knee injury. So at the end of his playing career, he was still on scholarship, but he was working as like an interim director. And Joe Sloan, who was just previously the OC at LSU, now at Kentucky, but I knew Joe from Recruit and Tay, right? And right when I got in the collegiate space, Joe calls me and says, You need to come interview at tech for this director position, you know what I mean? And it was a better title than what I had at the because I'm like, you know, I'll go interview at tech. And JR, um, I could tell he had a really bright future. You know, he picked me up and he was bringing me around Rustin and showing me around, and we were kind of going back and forth, and he was this young buck who was trying to interview me, you know what I mean? I'm like, who is this guy? You know what I'm saying? But but we hit it off, right? And um and in time, um, I ultimately didn't take that job. And then when he graduated, I brought him to Virginia.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_00So we've been together.
SPEAKER_01You were interviewing him, huh?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I got it, got him on, and then I ended up leaving though. I I recruited him up there, and I'm like, JR, bro, look, COVID's here. Things have changed, bro. Like, look, it's a good place to be, but I gotta go. And he's like, What? Well, I just got here, you know. So he was able to progress there, and then ultimately he got hired by Coach O. And then when Coach Kelly was hired, um, Coach Kelly retained JR, and when he's, you know, he shined his light, and usually when he does that, people see the value in him. You know what I mean? He's got a really bright future, and um, he was able to then have some hiring power and and have some say-so and who should come on to staff, and he was a you gotta you gotta come back, you know what I mean. And I also knew some other guys, you know, there was a it was a familiar staff for me, so um some familiar faces, which some of them still are on that this particular staff that had relationships with for a long time.
SPEAKER_01And you were uh player development at LSU.
SPEAKER_00It kind of evolved there as well, man. So like coming into LSU, you know, I had made the niche in recruiting at Virginia, and then when I got to LSU the first year was just strictly recruiting. I mean, I was just recruiting my tail off, just trying to prove that I belonged, and I was just so passionate about being in Louisiana and doing it for LSU. I mean, that was a drink, you know what I mean? Like you said, we played in the Southland Conference, but I really wanted to run out of Tiger Stadium, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01So what little boy from Louisiana doesn't want to play football at LSU?
SPEAKER_00Everybody does. You know, my my first time, I tell people my first time running out of uh, you know, of a tunnel, it was actually in the Superdome, it was the first game. Uh they actually let me coach. It was the wildest thing, bro. I coached the first game at LSU as as on it was just wild. Somebody, you know, was was sick or something. They needed out.
SPEAKER_01You're getting them on the special teams, yes, bro.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so it was it was something else, but I I ran out of the tunnel, and I mean I felt like I was on a roller coaster. You know what I mean? I just couldn't believe the feeling, right? So it was awesome. And uh, but yeah, it started off in recruiting, and then um Coach Kelly saw the niche that I had in NIL, and I was the first person to do NIL for LSU football, and that evolved. My title was director of player development, but really because when NIL first began, it was such a gray space that you know now we have general managers who are you know openly negotiating contracts and getting sent on signing day. At that particular point, nothing was in writing. You had to just kind of discuss it and shake hands.
SPEAKER_01There was a lot of stuff that happened with athletes going to schools, promises that weren't delivered, and like, hey, what the heck? Where's the bag? Where's the where's this and that?
SPEAKER_00So at that time, I would just have a tell, like, look, you got the leverage, you could transfer, you know what I mean, but you gotta trust me, you know what I mean. But I was kind of I was the I was the bridge the gap to what is now this. And uh so my title stayed director of player development, then ultimately it was I think like director recruiting communication and community outreach, something, you know what I mean? Something they ended up um progressing it to, which I was thankful for, and um, but I think became pretty broad, you know what I mean? Because I had kind of spent some time in a few different departments through my time, which I'm thankful for because ultimately now I feel like it sharpened my skill set for what I currently do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Obviously, relationships are very critical to what you do. Um, I want to think back to your upbringing, um, maybe in high school, maybe your long your stops in college. Uh, who were some mentors that you looked to um that really helped to shape and mold you?
SPEAKER_00And yeah, whenever you know, my father died, I was, you know, I was going through it, man. Like I, you know, number one, I mean, my mom, you know, just a praying mother who I think was ultimately so important. I mean, I I, you know, I was in the eighth grade. I remember I I had a 1.3 GPA. If you'd asked me what I was gonna do, I wasn't going to college. I didn't forget this job stuff. Like I was just at this real crossroad where I could have taken a real left. You know, I mean, I remember that vividly, you know what I mean? And it was sports, and that's kind of what I touched on earlier, where finally in the ninth grade, I was like, you know what, I'm pretty good at this. If I want to pursue something or if I want to do right, I should take this right turn and not this this left turn. And and I did, and you know, it was some coaches, you know, my high school head coach Kyle Lusang was great to me. Um a man who really mentored me coming up, uh, who's actually my physical therapist when I had a lot of these surgeries, but his son was in my class. Mr. John Degg is his name. And ultimately, you know, truth is I gotta give him a lot of credit for where I am. Um when I was a high school coach and I was ready to evolve to the collegian space. Mr. John had a friend in the NFL and he was going to the senior bowl, the all-star game that just happened, right? Um and honestly, he was he was just rehabbing me. This was one of my last surgeries, and I said, Man, that seems like a cool job. That's all that's just what I said that I didn't say anything else. And when he got back from the senior bowl, he's he's working me out, and he he was like, I think I got you a shot, man. I think I got you in the door. And I'm like, what door? And he's like, the NFL. I'm like, what? And he's like, Yeah, man, the dude said, Look, I like I'm gonna connect you, yada yada. I get connected with the Cardinals. They put me in this scout school. I I remember I'm driving on 311 in Homa, and I'm like, I just felt like my life was gonna change. The guy was like, What do you want to do? You wanna be a coach? You wanna be in person that what do you want to do? And I'm like, I I feel like I know who the players are that are good and I know where they should go. I always had that gift, and he's like, perfect, take the course. And I'm like, all right. So I took the course, you know. I'm going from, you know, I'm at Ellender Memorial on the east side of Homa, man. I'm not even the head coach. And I'm telling people, yeah, I'm about to go interview with the Cardinals. You know, I'm taking the sky, and people looking at me like you like you're like great going to the league from Ellender. You know, you're not even the, you know, and I'm like, that's what it sounds like, man. You know, God got a plan, I'm gonna trust it. And I ultimately ended up going interview. I didn't get the job, which I just didn't make any sense to me. I was like, I was devastated, bro. I just felt like that was my chance, you know what I mean? And and you know, God works in mysterious ways. And just when I was, you know, on the back in the east side of Homa, where we had this football field with no lights in the grass too long, you know, I put my coach on my resume, uh, Justin Anderson, who was the one I spoke about as director player personnel, and he called me, like, yo, you got an interview with the Cardinals? And I was like, Yeah, coach, I did. And he's like, Is this what you want to do? I'm like, Yes, sir, this is what I want to do. He's like, Well, look, my department's growing, you know, this thing's evolving. Why don't you come up here with me? And I'm like, here I come. And and, you know, I took, you know, not that I was making much money at all. I mean, you know, a good living at in my early 20s as a teacher with benefits, and but I took, I mean, I I got paid $25,000 and I slept on an air mattress, you know what I mean, at first to ultimately flip it. And, you know, but I knew I had to flip it quick, and I did, but I went with a different sort of hustle. But I bet on the opportunity because I believe that it could turn into more, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01I know we talked about that leap of faith and how many people that may be listening in our audience uh may think they have to do a certain thing based on their upbringing or that or their environment, small communities that they come from. Uh, you know, we're really looking to inspire the youth, uh, especially here locally, that not to be afraid to step out of that mold to take that leap of faith, you know.
SPEAKER_00No doubt, no doubt. And I think when we're kids, everybody has something inside that they want to be. You know, just the other day, Matt, you actually were helping us move into this house with an athlete of mine, and uh, it was a beautiful thing, you know. He got his family up uh a house in the midst of this NIL era, but on the way to uh Gonzales from New Orleans, I was talking to his little sister, um, and I was just asking, you know, what she wanted to be when she grew up, you know, and she said a singer, you know, and she's like a singer, and I want to do hair, and singing makes me happy, and you know, she and I was like, uh, do you practice singing? She's like, Yeah, and people ask me, Why am I always singing? And you know, and I just encouraged her to follow that and trust that and not let anybody put you down because I feel like along the route, right, people speak uh their fears on you as if they've never tried to see it for themselves, they can't see it for you.
SPEAKER_01Yes. And uh the audience needs to be very wary of that and to you know protect your goals and your dreams, share them with your innermost circle, but definitely be you know, loose lip sink ships, as I like to say.
SPEAKER_00And just, you know, I I tell people find somebody who's doing what you want to do or living how you want to live, and listen to them. You know what I'm saying? It's hard to listen to somebody who's not in the position you want to be in because their advice would probably lead you right where they are, you know what I mean? And absolutely it was somebody I grew up with, uh, and it was cool because we, you know, we we got to speak not too long ago in in this capacity, and like a working is Travon Reed. Um, he's the cornerback coach at USC. And uh, you know, we came up playing parkball together, you know, Trevon and I would be in the backseat of the coach's car. You know, we'd both just need a ride to the game because uh of our situation, and you know, he's at USC now and he wanted a player that I had. But when we were young, I remember somebody saying to him, you know, somebody was better than him. And it and it wasn't that he was being arrogant, but what he said was, no, he's not, and I'm not gonna put myself down for nobody. You know what I mean? And and we he didn't even know this, but when I I would listen to him say that and I and it stuck with me, and it's and it's not an arrogance, but it's just a self-belief, you know what I mean? Because you gotta have it, you know what I mean? And I'm not gonna put myself down for nobody either, you know what I mean, because I believe that I can, you know what I mean. I think ultimately that's what it takes, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I you know, going back to that family and helping with the NIL, being able to bless people around you. I know you're very passionate about relationships and people, taking care of people and guiding people. Um how do you take that into this NIL era?
SPEAKER_00I mean, I see you doing it, but explain to the audience, like Yeah, well, you know, truly, man, I feel like it's where passion met purpose. You know what I'm saying? And when I was on the team side, you know, when I got to LSU, right, the first person that I got to sign to LSU was Kyron Lacey. I mean, the day I got to LSU, I got to offer him a scholarship. He's from my hometown. You know, I watched him come off the basketball court to the football field. He chose LSU, you know what I mean? And and, you know, through my time at LSU, this game had evolved so much, and there was so much business that I was getting involved in. And I felt like, you know, I came up as a player, I came up as a coach, I had a seven-on-seven team. It was always about pouring into the young man, and not that I wasn't able to pour into the young men because I was around them, but I felt like it just became, you know, again, nothing wrong with the business side, but it just became where I felt like I was having to conduct business, but spend less time with the boys, you know, and and tragically he took his life. And, you know, I said my dad passed whenever I was 11. He took his own life as well. So that one really, really hit home for me. And uh, you know, whenever that happened, I felt like I just really went back to alignment in the sense of like what's really involved with the players versus the yes, yes. And and again, on the team side, you can find a role where you can. Just for me, I felt like it wasn't as involved as I wanted to be. And you know, when I had this opportunity with athletes first, and my job literally is, you know, pouring into them and helping them progress.
SPEAKER_01It's you're you're now on the side of guiding versus attracting, right? Right. Because when you're when you're working for the entity for the LSU, you're recruiting, you're pulling in. You you want to influence them and and help them to make the right decisions, but when you're their representation now, you're more of a guide.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And whereas on the team side with attracting them in, right? We had a staff that was so large. I mean, every team does, you know what I mean? So like it's not that you you pass them into good hands, but a lot of times it's like you're recruiting, then you you you're getting them in, and then there's a group of people who take them, and you know what I mean. The coaches are coaching them, the teachers are teaching them, you you know, study hall, weight room, uh, you know, people who deal with them in every regard, but then I'm right back to recruiting, or then it turned into where I'm right back in the community, I'm fundraising, you know, just different things that were important for the program, but not necessarily what I felt in my heart, what was what I was supposed to be doing. You know what I mean? So when I had that opportunity and I felt like it would bring me back to where it started, you know what I mean? I wanted to do that this time. It just was at a much different level. You know what I mean? I used to pack up a van and drive kids to camps and talk to the coaches about getting them and off. I didn't know what I was preparing for. I was just doing that because I was trying to give them an opportunity. It was fun to me. I'm like, oh, this is cool, you know, Alabama or LSU or Georgia, whoever wherever school we were at. But ultimately, I was trying to put them in position. That's what I was doing. And but and that was just out of the strength, I guess, because I wish somebody would have taken me and did that. You know, I went to Nichols because it was in my hometown and I didn't go to a single camp. I didn't do anything in the offseason. I just played sports, and then ultimately it was like, yo, you come and play at Nichols, yeah, I'll come play. But now what the process has turned into and what I've seen it turn into is like, oh no, no, no, I could put you in position, you know what I mean, and and help you propel, you know what I mean, and ultimately could be in position to really change your family's life, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So uh maybe some of our audience don't quite understand how NIL works nowadays. I know you're helping to negotiate compensation and things like that. Um explain how that goes when you're talking to a university, when you've got a player that you believe in that you're trying to help make good decisions and vet those people, like I said, being a guide.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um well, NIL is is evolved tremendously since the beginning. You know, it started off as just marketing. Sometimes it's still framed as marketing, but now you know, we're in this revenue share era where the university is actually able to pay the kids directly. So on sign in day, you get a scholarship. Like three legs you had mentioned to me one time, or three three buckets. Yeah, yeah. So so you know, you still get your scholarship, right? And a check that's cost of attendance. Um then you get a revenue share contract, which is directly from the university, right? Those terms will be worked out and negotiated, language, cash flow, amount, etc. Yeah you know, uh, and then now it's about how to beat the cap. So there's like a third-party bucket usually, and then that contract has language, cash flow, et cetera, et cetera. And then collectively that is your total deal. But, you know, I go out, I recruit, I sign, similar that I would if I was a college and I look at it almost like I would be a position coach, right? Like I'm recruiting, and now this is like my position. You know what I mean? This is my gang, and then we attack whether it's you know them coming into college initially, whether it's their renegotiation, whether it's the transfer portal, and then you know, I aspire to be certified and um follow them into the NFL and ultimately represent them through their career. You know, that's an aspiration of mine.
SPEAKER_01So, yeah, aspirations to get to the NFL and be a players association agent. Um let's talk about some of the habits, uh, your routines that have kept you consistent and and led to your success, some of the things you fall back on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, man. You know, that's the beauty of sports, right? I think sometimes uh whenever I see kids who are rough around the edges, I I I push them at a young age to get into a collegiate program because I know how much that can change your life because of the structure, the discipline, the routine, the time management, et cetera, et cetera. Discipline with you have to eat, weight room, but it teaches you so much for life, and I feel like it taught me a lot, you know, and I kept that same concept. And I think, you know, with me pouring into young men and ultimately wanting to be an example, I try to be disciplined as if I was a pro athlete, right? So just with how I take care of my body, what I put in my body, and you know, the structure of my day, you know what I mean? But what I always have on my pen and paper when I'm listing out the night before what I'm gonna do tomorrow is pray, rethink, right? So I try to, you know, wake up and pray, which I feel like it just ultimately keeps me in a good spot, you know what I mean. Read a book that something that's gonna do something for me mentally and then think, you know what I mean, but spend that time on coming up with a plan, you know what I mean? Because it takes having a plan, you know what I mean, and then execute, you know what I mean. But um I think books have been so important, you know. I call it like, you know, it's the mentor you never had, or like it's the information that you can find, right? When some people are like, I don't I just don't know anybody in my circle, I don't have somebody to tell me it's like broken.
SPEAKER_01Somebody's written a book about it.
SPEAKER_00Read it, you know what I mean, and it can take you to a whole nother level. So um I think you know, that's just you know, on a small scale. And then, you know, I think consistent consistency with exercise is a big piece for me, and and that keeps me feeling good, it keeps me in a good mental space. And I, you know, I'd say just to anybody out there, man, just protect your mental, you know what I mean? And and what are the what are the things that you need to do that help you replenish or what are the things that pour back into you to have a full cup to then pour into somebody else, you know what I mean? But finding those things.
SPEAKER_01So when difficulty has struck or adversity has hit, uh, we talked about discernment. What what are some of the things that you do? Um, like those guiding principles, you know, to make those decisions or to overcome that difficult time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think early on when adversity hit, for me, I didn't understand why what happened to my dad did. I didn't know why he did that, I didn't know why God would let that happen. And even though I had a strong faith, I questioned like, yo, what why? You know what I'm saying? And ultimately it took a long time. But then whenever Tay became in my life and he had just lost his mother, and ultimately I ended up becoming a guardian of his little brother, and he lived with me. He still does, has a room at my house, he's in college now, but from ninth to right now, you know what I mean? He's been with me, and they had lost a parent, and then, you know, being there for people in the midst of what happened with Kyron and whatever else, right? Like ultimately that happened to me, but I'm able to then help the next person get through a situation that's similar, and that was kind of the full circle. Finally, now it took a while, you know what I mean. A lot of times, whenever adversity hits, and I sometimes you just have to be patient and see the full circle come. But God has a plan, you know what I mean, and you got to prevail, you know what I mean? You gotta prevail and push through. So that, and then I, you know, I had a bunch of surgeries on my left leg that was real adverse for me because I all I knew was sports. So it sat me down, you know what I mean? It humbled me, it taught me a lot. Um, it taught me also perseverance, you know, and again, getting to be there for athletes who, whenever they have an injury, I know how tough it is mentally. So pouring into them, picking them up, giving them that advice. So I saw why that came full circle as I became the athlete advocate because I understood, you know what I mean? So now when an adverse situation comes up, it's easier for me to deal with because I just lean on past experience, right? Like I didn't know how I was gonna get through lots of things, you know what I mean? And I got through. So it's like, nah, it's always gonna, you know, there's light at the end of the tunnel, you know, this storm shall pass. Um, there are better days, and and really leaning on my prayer life in those times.
SPEAKER_01Any favorite scriptures come to mind and know you're a man of faith.
SPEAKER_00Uh all things through Christ who strengthens me, you know what I mean? Um, I know the plans for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope in the future. That's probably my favorite, you know what I mean? And I and I really lean on that one. And it's that just to my point, right? Like I know I'm gonna prosper. This is just gonna teach me something in the midst of the adverse situation. Yeah, you know.
SPEAKER_01You know, as recently I've been um, I just finished up the book of Job. I've been going through the Bible. I was raised Catholic, uh, you know, kindergarten through twelfth grade, very religious upbringing. Um, and then one thing I think Catholics don't do enough is read the Bible. So I've recently been attending a uh a men's Bible study. Shout out my boy Jeff Ray Bon, Ray Bon Construction. He was on the podcast earlier this year, uh top general contractor and remodeler here in the Baton Rouge area. Um it just inspired me to get into the word more, read the Bible more, and I think there's no better testament to faith and like trust in the process, like for not knowing why things are happening than the book of Job. Like he had he starts off, he's got all these great things, and then everything gets taken away from him, but he he never curses God. Now he's he's struggling with why is all of this happening, and then God shows up in the end and is like these things are to teach you to have have you lean on me to not lose faith to build you up. And I I lean on things like that when I'm going through adversity. I try to, okay, what is this trying to teach me? You know, he didn't he didn't intentionally do this to me. There's a a lesson to be learned from this, and it's I think it's that optimistic mindset of knowing that everything is gonna work out in your favor and trying to find, okay, where's the lesson in this? Because I know this is gonna help me to evolve and develop. And that definitely shows up when you're going and striving for more, right? When you get out of that comfort zone, you are gonna experience that disconnect from where you're at to where you're going, and in the middle feels very uncomfortable and very uncertain, and new problems show up.
SPEAKER_00And it takes that trust and belief, you know what I mean. I you know, I think whenever they were marching to the Red Sea, they didn't know it was about to open. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? You just was marching, you know what I mean? And then we get out of Egypt, yeah. Yeah, then ultimately when you got there, it opened and you were able to walk through. To make a path across. But you didn't know that. You just was marching, you know what I mean? And when I last Sunday, um I was on the David and Goliath piece, and that really inspires me because it was like, you know, every sometimes David is painted like he's just this, he was just this little, this little sheep boy, and he was this mild, meek type of dude, but that wasn't necessarily the case. You know, David was watching after the flock, but whenever a bear tried to take the sheep, whenever a lion tried to take the sheep, David went, see about it. You know what I mean? He got he got that lion and he got that bear. So whenever he stepped up when Goliath was was taunting everybody and saying, you know, y'all God's not real. And if he was, step to the plate, you know what I mean? Show me your guys real. And they were like, David, you're not equipped. You know what I mean? But David had been preparing, you know what I mean? So God was preparing them, right? And that's where like I talk about those situations, it's like sometimes those situations just preparing you for the next one, but everybody was counting them out. But he was like, nah, this is not my this is not my first rodeo, and I got God, you know what I mean? So he stepped to the plate, but he really was courageous. Whereas a lot of times he gets he gets painted as meek, but it wasn't. You know, he knew he prepared and he trusted, right? And then when his opportunity arose, he struck, you know what I mean? And and then it became this, you know, this David vs. Goliath piece. But that one, you know, last Sunday, it it just got me going, you know what I mean? The way I was like, you know, and we all we all I guess have our Goliath or like the thing that you look and like, man, like this this this is gonna be a feat, like I'm up against something. But I think just like the preparation.
SPEAKER_01If you lean back on the preparation, and that's definitely something that college football teaches you golly, the amount that you prepare for game day from lifting weights to film study to practicing to walkthroughs, it to bring that into life. You you fail to the level of your preparation. Um, and in all the past experiences that we have, the adversities that we face, if we can find the the silver lining, the the lesson in those things, they turn into blessings in the future. Um what's something you would tell uh your younger self if you could go back and learn a lesson quicker? What would what would it have been?
SPEAKER_00Listen. Um yeah, no, I think I probably uh, you know, I think trust it more, you know what I mean? Like it took me a long time for everything to come full circle and start to trust to the the level that I do, you know what I mean? So I think as a as a young man, sometimes it's a it's a struggle to trust the process and understand that everything is gonna work out, you know what I mean, in your favor as long as you stay the course, you know. So I think if I could speak to the younger me, it would be to to to keep pushing and probably to do more at a younger age, you know what I mean, where it took me a little while to really it took honestly, probably until college where I really like took to everything, like the process, the hard work, the sacrifice, the dedication, you know what I mean. I probably would have did that more so in like ninth grade, you know what I mean, than a freshman in college, you know. And uh so yeah, I think that's what I would do.
SPEAKER_01Is there any do you have any unpopular what would be considered an unpopular uh belief about business or about leadership?
SPEAKER_00I think I do, you know. It goes back to the books, right? Uh I'm actually rereading a book right now by Dan Sullivan at ten times is easier than two times. And the concept is if you're growing two times in business, which is which is what most people by default do, or most times push to do, you know what I mean, even from maybe your leader where it's just doing the same thing but more of it, and you think you're gonna get this great result, but like you only have so much capacity, you know what I'm saying? So by just doing the same thing and more of it, you'll never be able to scale to the level that you ultimately may want to grow to, right? But it says ten times is easier than two times because to grow ten times, it takes a whole different way of thinking, it takes a whole different process, and it takes uh a system and it also takes the right people around you, which which the next book is called Who Not How, right? So it's finding the right who instead of asking how, it's it's it's who who can do that task and and putting them in place to do it, but ultimately it helps you scale up and then take yourself ten times, you know. Love that, love that.
SPEAKER_01And lastly, uh for our audience, who you know, we podcast is called for profit. Um, it doesn't necessarily have to mean in the business sense of what everybody thinks of profit. What uh when you hear that uh profit or for profit, what what does that mean to you in your life and where you're going?
SPEAKER_00The first thing that comes to mind, and I guess sometimes I refer to it as the gain, right? Like the the gain means I'm viewing things in a in a positive fashion, like no matter really what's going on for me and being able to frame that it is for my gain. So I would say like in life, the profit, right? Like if I'm in the profit, it means that uh, you know, I'm I'm grateful for what I have, um, I'm in surplus, you know what I mean? I'm I'm lending, I'm not having to borrow, um, but I'm I'm just doing well in life, you know what I mean? And that could be in any facet it doesn't matter. You can be more for everyone.
SPEAKER_01You can be more for everyone when we have, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I don't mean necessarily in business, I mean it could be in my relationship, it can be in my mentorship, it could be in my job, but just being in in in the profit where I'm able to I'm able to help. You know what I mean? I'm able to give.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. I love that, man. Well, look, I appreciate you stopping by today. I think it was a fantastic show and uh look forward to having you on in the future, brother. Appreciate you having me. All right, big dog.