Latest / The Standard / From Grey Cup Champion to Mental Performance — The CRUSH-IT System | Ep. 49 Jaime Elizondo

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From Grey Cup Champion to Mental Performance — The CRUSH-IT System | Ep. 49 Jaime Elizondo · The Standard

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent job.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Good afternoon, team.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Standard Podcast, where we raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and call out the lies or misconceptions that nobody else will.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't motivation, this is a movement.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Thomas Rowe, joined with my host, Aaron Charles, and today we're sitting down with Coach Jamie Elizondo, certified high performance coach, international speaker, and creator of Crush It Mental Performance System.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Jamie brings, I'm going to call him Coach for based on his pedigree, and you'll see why.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: I just can't get that out of my system.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Coach brings 25 plus years of experience in leadership, communication, and building culture.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: As a former professional head football coach, now you know why, Great Cup champion and CFL experience and NFL background, Coach has performed at the highest levels.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now he leverages his leadership, neuroscience, and psychology to elevate individuals and teams from high potential to elite performance through Crush It and Map process and high performance happens.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to get into all of those acronyms and who coach is.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: What makes Coach unique is that he's not just teaching theory, he's lived it.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: From coaching championship teams to now developing championship mindsets, Coach understands that it takes a performer when everything is on the line, high performer when everything's on the line.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: His approach combines the practical realities of high-stakes competition and cutting-edge science to help people unlock their full potential.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: As the best-selling author and international speaker, Coach is transforming how individuals and organizations think about mental performance, leadership, and what it really takes to go from high potential to elite execution.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: We're diving into the truth behind what it really takes to build identity, discipline, and legacy in sports and in life on and off the field.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get into it.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Coach, I'm overwhelmed.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for taking out the time to meet with us and discuss your story.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron, Thomas, thank you so much for having me.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to be here.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited with the mission of what you guys are trying to build.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm really looking forward to this conversation.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for having me.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, so are we.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: So let's get into it.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: You're a certified high performance coach who creates who created Crush It Mental Performance System with 25 plus years of experience elevating individuals and teams from high potential to elite performance.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: What does raising the standard mean to you and the mental performance work you're doing?
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a great question.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's so many of us that have high potential.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: We've all been around players and individuals that have that potential to blossom and grow into the next level.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always interested in what drives elite execution.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: I've been blessed to be around some of the highest performing people, you know, the Tom Brady's, the Drew Breezes, and I've I've seen what elite execution and elite performance looks like.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so for me, I've always operated in that gap.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: How you can take people from high potential to elite levels of performance, what that looks like, what that means, what that embodies on a daily basis.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so raising the standard is really always thinking about what is the next level for me.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then when I reach that next level, what's the next level for me now?
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And and never being satisfied with the level that you're at.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: No question.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know what's interesting is that I think there's a major misconception that Aaron and I have learned, and you've been at this for a long much longer than us.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of athletes that think that Tom Brady and Drew Brees were just born with that, right?
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's you're not.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: You have to build it, you have to cultivate it.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wouldn't you say, wouldn't you agree on that?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's a great question because it it it looks back, Thomas, on how you approach what your mindset is and how you view growth and development.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: See, I believe that 99% of the skills can be developed, whether that's confidence, the ability to handle pressure, to have great intentional focus, those skills can be developed.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Very few people are born with the skills.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, those are two great comparisons.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Drew Brees is 5'11, just barely taller than me.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Tom Brady is 6'5, 6'4, whatever the measurements are.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: You can't you can't develop that, but you can develop the skills that make you elite.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a process for everybody.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, no, there's there's no such thing as being born.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: You're born with certain gifts.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's really how you nourish and cultivate and develop those gifts.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: That being said, what do you think is the biggest lie that the you feel the culture of the sports industry has sold athletes and high performers about mental performance leadership and what it really takes to execute when everything is on the line?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm gonna have to break that question down because it's such a good question.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's there's different levels.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: The the myth that I bought was that you just had to grind and that you had to work ridiculous hours.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: And as a football coach, we worked plenty long hours, sometimes staying in the office till 12, one o'clock in the morning, only to be back there at five.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: The myth, Thomas.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: It was like, you know, you have to be there putting in the work.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, then that that's not true.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, the game has changed a little bit from a coach's perspective, where it's all about efficiency, you know, where it's not just about grinding things out.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think the other part, too, that is a huge lie is the the notion that your all of your identity has to be based on being an athlete or a coach or a player.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: And there's so much more to us as individuals.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Bingo.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: And there's so much more to who we are and what we bring, not just from a physical set of tools, my ability to catch the ball, my ability to break tackles and run.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: But what do I bring to the team and the culture in the person that I am?
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's one of the myths that happens a lot with individuals, and especially on teams.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: No question.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: And as a formal professional head football coach, Great Cup champion, and CFL in the CFL and NFL experience, what did you what about coaching background that has shaped your understanding of what separates high potential from elite performance?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: One of the most important things, and a lot of coaches talk about habits, but it has very little to do with habits.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think the most elite performers, whether they're athletes, whether they perform in a in a corporate setting, whether they're running their own businesses, it's not about just changing your habits, it's about changing how you think.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Got it.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the work that we spend a lot of time on changing what your thought process is like, what your belief system is, what your identity.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And any good performance coach talks about mindset.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: But the really good ones, mindset isn't enough.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's you've got to address the identity, the beliefs, and the mindset, and they all work together.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: But I think the it's really changing how people and athletes think and individuals think and how they see themselves.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we we kind of mapped out your resume.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: So now I'm gonna turn it back over to Erin, and she's gonna get into the segment of identity and legacy.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna just find out who is coach beyond coaching.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Erin, take it away.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_02: I'm super excited to be joining you both here.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_02: So, Jamie, tell us.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I know Thomas read off all your accolades, which is amazing, but for our audience, who is Jamie beyond all of those, beyond those, all those titles, all those things, who is Jamie?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: First and foremost, I'm a father to a beautiful seven-year-old daughter.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that is one of the things I cherish the most.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a husband, I'm a Christian.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: And really, at the end of the day, I try not to overcomplicate it.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just trying to be the best version of myself that I can possibly be, whether that's in serving my clients, whether that's in serving my friends.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really, you know, we compare ourselves to a lot of different things, Aaron.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is am I better than I was yesterday?
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: But first and foremost, you know, and I share this with you, with you, and and and some of the listeners may not want to hear this, but I sing to my daughter every morning to wake her up.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I truly am blessed to be able to do that.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of the reasons I stepped away from football.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's because we were blessed with one, and I knew that I wanted to be there for those moments.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: So my identity is grounded in just trying to become and find out how great I can be.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Pete Carroll talked about a life philosophy, that each one of us needs to have a life philosophy.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Mine has always been I want to find out how great I can be.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to empower those that that I'm entrusted with, whether it's in coaching relationships, in in the circle of influence, to help them just discover how great they can be.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think that's really what one of the things that we're put on this planet for.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I focus so much on elite levels of performance and execution.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: I think I wholeheartedly agree with you on that, that God put us here to actualize at our highest potential.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so doing that, you just said it is am I better than I was even five minutes ago?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_02: Am I better than I was yesterday?
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: And really the comparison game is your own elevation and it's no one else.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think that's I love that.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: And I love that concept of kind of having a life plan, you know, that's beyond just what's in it right now in this moment.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so you leverage leadership, neuroscience, and psychology to help people perform at elite levels.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_02: What does legacy beyond championships and achievements mean to you, especially as someone helping others unlock their full potential?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, see, one of the things from a neuroscience perspective that we all have to understand is if how our self-image and how our behaviors usually have to be in line with each other.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so one of the things that I spend a lot of work on, and the legacy I hope to leave, is to help people have a higher self-image of what of who they are and what they can accomplish.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because, see, this is one of the principles that's really hard to understand.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: If my self-image is here, then my behaviors, my thoughts, my action, even the language I use will rise to meet that self-image.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, Aaron, it works the other way too.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: When our self-image is down here, our thoughts, our behaviors, our language drop.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, it's what many of us call self-sabotage.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we've all done it.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so whether that's on the basketball court when the the game is on the line and how you see yourself, or whether that's in a boardroom when you're stepping in and trying to lead an entire company, my I hope that my legacy is in helping people increase how they see themselves, their self-image, because that's really what drives all of us.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_02: That it is really what drives us.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: That's so critical.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, everybody, you got to go work with Jamie.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_02: So I want you to tell our audience you're crush it and map processes combine practical coaching experience with cutting-edge science.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: So maybe, maybe take the audience through what those represent and mean.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: And then if you need me to ask this question again, just let me know.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: What separates individuals and teams who consistently perform at least elite levels from those who stay at high, from those who maybe don't make it or don't have that breakthrough?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, great, great question.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: And there's I'll break it down in a couple, a couple ways.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: In football, like in athletics, we're often measured by the outcome.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody looks up at the scoreboard at the end of the day and says, you know, you had 27, the other team had, you know, 31, you lost.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I started to develop this idea, and and it came from Bill Walsh, who I was taught through Mark Trussman, who you know worked under Bill Walsh for years, that there has to be a standard of performance and that you need to be more focused with the process than with the outcome.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, I started to say, okay, how can I define wins outside of a regular loss or you know, or victory?
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: How can we create a system where it's not just about the profit margin that you or the revenue that we made?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so Crush It was formed on that concept.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: So what it is, it's really an acronym for if you're doing these things, you're truly crushing in life.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll take you through a couple of the first couple.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: The CD Crush it stands for courage, the R stands for resilience, and those two are only your ticket in to the arena.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: They all they do is guarantee that you're on the floor.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: But what is what is having courage look like, especially for young athletes nowadays who face so much more pressure than we did when we were growing up with the social media?
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: What does courage look like?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: And how do we build resilience?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, in purposefully and intentionally develop resilience as a training program.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know I thought I was resilient, and there are circumstances, and the book talks more about this, and you realize that you you don't really train resilience, it just happens until the the need comes for you to rely on it.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, the Navy SEALs have a great expression.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: We don't fall to the, you know, we don't rise to the occasion, we fall to the level of our training.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: So we spend a lot of time on resilience training.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so the acronym is built out.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was a model with a you standing for something different and all the words standing for something different, but it was really a guide for how you, if you're doing these things and you truly are crushing it in life, and that's what the framework is based around.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then I change it for what is a crushing it, what is crushing it as a team look like or as a leader?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: The map framework is a little a little simpler and a little easier, and all it stands for is mindset, action, and progress.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a really simple tool for what mindset do you need to bring, what action do you need to take, and how are you going to measure your progress and protect your confidence?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: But the real system that that I've been developing over the last two years has been this mental edge operating system.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the one I'm really excited about because it covers the nine pillars of what elite performance looks like.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: So going back to what Thomas asked about, okay, how do you measure the ones that that execute in an elite level and the ones that just have get stuck or have high potential?
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, Aaron, you just asked that.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it comes down to nine pillars how we handle pressure, how we navigate confidence, our ability to focus.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so the mental edge operating system is a true system that will guide athletes and athletic-minded people through the nine foundations of how you develop mental performance, elite levels of mental performance.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: And we dive into some hard things, you know, because here's one of the things that people don't always understand.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: We all think we rise to the occasion under pressure, but we really don't.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Even the elite athletes, the Tom Brady's, the Michael Jordans, they always performed at a level below their baseline when the pressure was at the highest.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we spend a lot of time with people on how to navigate those pressure situations, how to build confidence authentically, because it's not just belief and getting the reps.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's a way that we protect and cultivate and nourish confidence and how we deposit confidence into a daily bank account.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: So those are the three areas that I focus on.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I love each one of them because it allows me to touch people in a different way.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like hanging on every word.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, I need to learn more.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: But I think part of it too is like that ability to kind of look at yourself in the mirror, too.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: Like I think growing your mental edge is how honest can you be with yourself to really evaluate where you're you're sitting to go, okay, what do I really need to prove in order to elevate myself?
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: And and and I'll rephrase it a little differently.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: What do I need to believe about myself?
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we one of the tools that we use is a very simple one.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I bring this in because I shared this with I think with you guys before, and the ABCs of resilience.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I taught it to my seven-year-old.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: So if she can learn it, we can all learn it.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really simple.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: We can't control the adversity that happens in life.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: The adversity is gonna come.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: But the B, so that's the A stands for adversity, the B stands for belief, and the C stands for consequence.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we can't change the adversity, but we can change the belief.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And if we change the belief, our consequences will be different.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so I remember one day my my wife came running down the stairs, and she's just like, Your daughter.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: And Aaron, anytime and Tom Kino, anytime your wife comes down and says, Your daughter, you're in trouble.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I've been there, or it's like, your dad.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yep.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I asked my wife, what happened?
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: And she says, Your daughter said I had to change my bees.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I absolutely loved it in that moment.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, Yes, we're making progress.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'm noticing in mom that her beliefs need to change about this.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: I will say I think I have two kids and they are my greatest teacher.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I learn more from them than I sometimes think I offer them, but it's such a beautiful journey.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_02: So with that, I I love that.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_02: I love that story.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_02: What's one truth you wish young athletes knew, like that you're working on that maybe they haven't heard yet that they need to hear, or maybe even their parents?
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a it's such a powerful question.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: The what I would say is that validation needs to come only from you.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: And we spend so much time.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: I know I did, being fully transparent, as a kid, and I played professional tennis as a football coach.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, my football career ended early.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: I always sought validation from others.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: And when we are constantly seeking validation from others, whether it's our parents, our coaches, our our opponents, we spend so much time seeking that validation in so many different ways.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: And nowadays it's social media, it's what your friends think.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: When we spend so much energy and so much time seeking that validation from others, it really diminishes our ability to have the right mental space, the right clarity, and really the right focus of why we're doing this.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: Validation has to come from within you.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: You're the one that has to see yourself as saying, I'm putting everything I got into it.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: I am leaving it all on the table.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that's one of the most important truths that I think young athletes have to have to really grab onto and and feel good about that.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: That is like a golden nugget.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, Thomas, you get to take it back over.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: Great coach, you mentioned somebody earlier.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned Bill Walsh, and obviously a coaching legend.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: So growing up, I grew up with Don Coriel, John Madden, Bill Walsh, Chuck Knoll, Shula, Tom Landry, the list goes on.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: Somewhere along the line, you were a coach, you were a head coach, somewhere along the line.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: I guess my question is when did it become when a team wins, the players get the credit?
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: When a team loses, the coach gets fired.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: When did that happen?
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: And do you think that now that today's coaches are just in it for the love of the game, or has the NIL and everything changed?
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: This is kind of a complex, multi-level comp question.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's become increasingly difficult to coach in college.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: I was blessed.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: I coached at Maryland, I coached at Syracuse, other colleges, and I've been around some some really great coaches.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been blessed in my journey to be around some of the really elite level coaches.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think coaching in the college game is so hard nowadays because of the changes.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to build a culture when there's turnover every year, right?
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to coach players hard to the level that you have to coach them to truly develop them, to truly challenge them for fear that they might leave.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is a much deeper conversation in some of the changes that that need to be made, but probably will not because once a certain process has been opened, it's it's hard to pull it back.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: But to answer your original question, I think it's the job of a coach, and this is just my personal opinion.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Some people will see this differently.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: The team gets all the credit, and I get all the blame.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: That comes with the job, right?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: My job is to protect our players.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: I know when I was a head coach, that was my number one job to protect them and to put them in a position where they were going to be successful, but when they weren't, to protect them from the media backlash.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because here's one thing that I think I think is really important most of us don't understand.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Those of us that sit on the couch and eat potato chips and watch athletes perform it, they don't know the agony, the struggles, the doubt, the impact on mental health that a lot of athletes go through.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: And we justify it by saying, oh, well, they get paid millions.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that doesn't that doesn't justify that when we don't know what's happening behind the scenes to an athlete, to a team, to coaches, there's a whole lot more.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I say, and I use those words, sacrifice and agony and pain, because those are real.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's the job of a coach to focus on protecting them now, whether they get fired or they get blamed.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's that just comes with the territory.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, I've been on both sides.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: I've been on staffs where I was the only one retained.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: Two different staffs.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: I knew you were the perfect, perfect guy to talk to about this and ask that question.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: So that being said, if you could sit down with a younger self or the younger coach GME, just starting out, before you understood the mental performance principles you know now, I guess is if you knew then what you know now, what advice would you give the version, the younger version of yourself?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Learn how to handle pressure.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because all it is is a distraction.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not that there's a misconception that the Tom Brady's and the elite performers that they don't feel the pressure.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's not that it's not there.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: We all feel the pressure.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: They just choose not to let it become a distraction.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, there's such a simple tool that instead of what if, utilize so what, now what.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is such a powerful little shift.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: But I would, I think if you want to rise to the level that you need to, how you internalize pressure, and I mean this, Thomas, in all sorts, because there's so much more pressure and stress on our kids nowadays.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's number one.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then number two, truly tap into how to build and protect and nourish your confidence because it is.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever met somebody that says, I wish I, you know, I have enough confidence?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: We all wish we were a little bit more confident.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: I would, I would have done those two things.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I know if I had known the things I know now about those two areas of focus, right?
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: My career track would have been completely different.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_01: No doubt.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: No doubt.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: And you work with individuals and teams through your high performance habits and map process.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: What advice would you give coaches and leaders about building a culture and a mental performance system that creates sustained excellence?
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think Yogi Berra said this best.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: 90% of the game is half mental.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, and I think it's it's we neglect that spot.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I here's what I would frame it in a different way for all of us as we think about this.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: So many coaches, and I'll talk to the mental side first, and then I'll build the bring in the culture piece.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: So many coaches focus on the physical tools that a player needs, how to hit a curveball, right?
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: What your stance needs to be as a receiver.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: We work on the physical traits.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: We put them in the weight room.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: They get bigger, they get faster, they get stronger.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: But we never really give them a place for them to go have a mental workout.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Where you can truly teach the skills of envisioning and how you truly develop an identity-based approach to this is who I am, and this is this is tapping into my why and my purpose and and my burn, something that's a little deeper inside of us all.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so I would spend, you know, I would invest in in my athletes' development on the mental side of the game because it affects performance.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's that simple.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: When the game's on the line, all these thoughts and all this junk that's in our head, that's when it shows up the most.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Those voices that really talk to us.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now, from a culture perspective, man, this is what I love doing in companies now because culture is something that's experienced and it's our collective behaviors.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're not, as a coach, if you're not working on culture every single day, then you're missing the boat.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because culture is one of those things that you've seen the teams that have it.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: Indiana was a great example in the national championship game this past year.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Yukon just finished this this season.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: They were not supposed to be anywhere near the final two teams.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, how much do you time you spend building culture and the behaviors of how we're going to interact, how we're going to support each other, how we're going to love each other, I think those things are so important.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I would, that's really the bulk of what a head coach should be focusing on.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: Got it.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: So this next question is relevant to athletes as well as entrepreneurs, leadership, coaching.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, one of sometimes Aaron and I, you know, when I'm able to work with an athlete and they say, Hey coach, can I talk to you privately for a minute?
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, Yeah, of course.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: What's up?
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: Imposter syndrome.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: And some of these athletes or some of these executives don't think they belong in the room.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought this would be a perfect question for coach because you've seen it at all levels.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: What is your answer to imposter syndrome and how to deal with it?
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great question.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think it starts with how you see yourself.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: See, and what I mean by that, Thomas, is that imposter syndrome happens for almost everybody.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: But it comes from our first the identity that's given to us as a kid.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: And what I mean by that is there's really two identities.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: The first one is given to us from our parents, from our coaches, from our, you know, sit straight.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Kids are supposed to be seen, not heard, right?
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: That all that programming, sometimes not maliciously, right, develops that first identity.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that's directly tied to you seeing yourself as worthy of being in the room, of worthy of stepping into a head coaching role.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm gonna share this with you because I think it's real.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: When I took the head coach, the head coaching job of the Edmonton at the time they were going through a name change, but they were the Eskimos going to the Elks.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: I stepped into one of only 41 jobs in the world.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: But my identity was still tied to fitting in.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I remember walking around on the football field with a general manager, and and he says to me, How's it feel to be the head coach?
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: And we knew each other, and I said, Well, it's no different.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still, I'm just one of the guys.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: I just have more decision making and more responsibility.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: That was that looking back on it was a mistake.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because my identity didn't step into that role.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't embrace what that meant being in charge of an entire organization.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, number one is the belief that you belong in the room.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: It it requires you building the identity.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: And part of that, and a huge part of this comes from envisioning and seeing yourself in that in that capacity, in that role.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then the other thing is, and I'll bring this in.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you asked, how do how do we overcome that?
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there's four voices that are always speaking to us, and it just depends which ones we listen to.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: You guys have them, I have them, we all have them.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, the judger, the one that's constantly judging us.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: You're not good enough, you don't belong.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, the overanalyzer, right?
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: What if this happens, what if that happens?
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: The deceiver, which is the one that says, uh, you know, it's not your fault, it's somebody else's fault.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then the coach that's the fourth voice.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, how we change our thinking so that we're listening to the coach, and and I'll give you guys a simple tool.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: This will help everybody.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself two questions.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: Is this thought true?
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: You don't belong in this room.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: Is that true?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, no, not necessarily.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: And is this thought helping me?
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: So when we start talking through it and start listening to the coach voice more, and then intentionally shifting to say, Well, what's a more constructive thought that I can have here in this moment?
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's when we start saying, Okay, the imposter, I belong in this room.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a combination of envisioning, it's a combination of breaking that old identity, and then it's a combination of really talking back to your thoughts, sure, which athletes don't necessarily know how to do.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: Those were pearls.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: Those were pearls.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: I wrote them down right here, and I'm definitely gonna apply them because that is important.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, everybody at some point deals with the imposter syndrome.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna send it back over to Aaron for segment four, which is the rapid fire round.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron, take it away.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: Boy, I'm I'm scared, Aaron.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: What does this mean?
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_02: No, get ready.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_02: This is the you're in the well, no, Thomas has the hot seat for you, so I'll make this easy.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna start a fit the sentence, and you're just gonna finish it for me.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, awesome.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_02: Discipline equals.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: Freedom.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_02: Leadership equals.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: Influence.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_02: Faith equals belief in something bigger.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_02: Legacy equals who you are.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_02: And what's one thing you would never compromise on?
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: My faith in Christ.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_02: And if you could put a message on a billboarder for high performers, young athletes about mental performance, what would it be?
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: It is the most important aspect now.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: See, I have to think about that one.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so it is.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's the most important aspect that you develop.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Thomas, it's back to you.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome coach.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna close this out.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: And before we wrap up, is there something we didn't touch on today that you feel like athletes, leaders, or high performers need to hear about mental performance and going from potential to elite execution?
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: Belief in yourself will always be the most important thing.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: But the true power comes from putting in an entire system, an entire framework.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Don't neglect that part of the game.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: Don't neglect that that aspect of your development because the elite ones, they've honed in their body language, their self-talk, their thought process.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: They they know how to deposit daily into their confidence bank account.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: They they've learned how to handle pressure.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so don't neglect that part of your game because it's really the separator.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now the hot seat.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: You've been around sports your entire life, art imitating life.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: I love asking this question to our guests.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: What are your top three sports movies, according to coach?
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_01: Any genre.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: Number one of the ones that has to be up there is Moneyball.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love the fact that somebody did it differently.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that you took a and what I loved about that movie from a coaching perspective is that you took a team that wasn't physically as talented, and and you know, Brad Brad Pitt and Billy Bean in the real movie made them believe.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just love that the aspect of it, and doing more with less.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many good movies.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: The second, you know, I grew up in Texas.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I loved Friday Night Lights.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's just at the heart of what football was the toughness, the physicalness.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: And even and what I loved about it was the social commentary of the racial divide, but how in the locker room we were one.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that's I loved that message.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I love how far we've come since that movie came out, I think, in 1988.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the second one.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna have to get back to you on the third one because there's there's way too many that come to mind.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the hockey movie, miracle, yeah, miracle.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, how can you not love yeah, love that?
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: And there's there's just so many more.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: I did get my daughter to watch Little Giants, and she's a fan, so we're making progress.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I for whatever reason, I've never played hockey, but that's my number one movie.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: I just like the coaching, I like the the team aspect of, you know, we're gonna win as a team, we're not gonna win as an individual.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: And if you play in team sports, that's exactly how it works.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: So uh Miracle is my number one, Rocky is number two, who's yours is number three, and everything else is an honorable mention because there's so many great ones.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: I I might have to agree with you on the Hoosier's bit, and uh that that that might have to replace one of those.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, great movies.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_01: So good, so good.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: Coach, where can people connect with you?
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's a website, social media, or your email, where do you feel most comfortable and where should people reach out and connect with you?
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, connect it.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to my website, Jamie, Jamie, or jamieelasondo.com, J-A-I-M-E, and then Elizondo, I'm sure, will include it in the link.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you can find me on LinkedIn, you can find me on Instagram.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: I tend to be more on LinkedIn than anything else, or or you can feel free to email me at Jamie at jamieallizondo.com, whatever's easiest for everybody.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: But uh feel free to include that information, and I'm happy to help in any way I can.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: Super coach, thank you for showing us what it means to elevate from high potential to perform to elite performance.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: Team, if this conversation hit you, do two things for us.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_01: One, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, an athlete with potential who needs to break through, a leader building culture, a coach developing mental performance in their team, and two, connect with coach and learn more about the crush it mental performance system.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: If you're ready to go from high potential to elite execution, coach combinate coach, coaches combination of championship coaching, experience, and cutting edge mental performance science could be exactly what you need.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're an elite athlete, parent, or coach ready to raise the standard, check us out at blueprintbluechip.com.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: We help athletes build identity, discipline, and legacy that goes far beyond the game.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_01: This is the standard podcast, and this movement only grows when we raise the standard together.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: Talent fades, but truth endures.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: Let's raise the bar, let's rebuild the culture, let's become the standard.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_01: Coach Aaron, thanks so much for joining us, team.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see you next time.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, guys.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron, Thomas, thanks for having me.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.