WEBVTT - Sam Acho: Let The World See You 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:08.000 Welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast, an NFL podcast for 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:13.399 the players, by the players. Here's your host, four team 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:23.640 year NFL veteran and Hall of Famer Enius Williams. Hello, Well, 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:26.640 welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast. I am a Nius 0:00:26.720 --> 0:00:31.640 Williams the day. We're joined by NFL linebacker Sam Acho, 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:35.400 a man who has made a tremendous impact on and 0:00:35.479 --> 0:00:39.440 off the field, and who's written a new book, let 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:44.440 The World See You, which hits the bookshelves October thirteen 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:50.440 in the middle of a pandemic. Welcome Sam, and he 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:52.120 is man, I'm so glad to be here. It's so 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.000 glad to be doing this with you. Obviously, we go 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:57.120 back a little bit with the Arizona Cardinals connection, right, 0:00:57.160 --> 0:00:59.360 You're an Arizona Cardinals legend and I got a chance 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:01.720 to play there for four years, and uh, just knowing 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:03.560 the man you are and what you stand for and 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:06.280 what you're all about, I couldn't be more excited to 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:09.000 be here with you. Well, let's start out with the 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:13.160 elephant in the room. You're a free agent and were 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:19.280 recorded this before Week five season. Where's your head in 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:25.200 terms of playing are becoming a legend. That's a great question. 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:27.800 That's a great question. Yeah, we're recording this. It's week 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:32.040 it's getting up to week five and the NFL season season. 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.880 And funny enough, before I get to the answer of 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:37.000 the question, last year, I was in a similar period 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:38.960 last year around this time, I was a free agent 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:41.440 and I was when I said I was stressed out. 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:43.679 Stressed out is an understatement because I was the first 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.360 time of me being a free agent. I was always Also, 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:47.760 I was on my last year. I was going on 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:49.520 year eight, and I always been on a team, and 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:52.360 I was things were fined, and for whatever reason, God 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:54.240 had me on the sidelines for a little bit. And 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:57.240 it got to a point last season when I said, 0:01:57.320 --> 0:01:59.480 you know what, I'm ready to be done, ready to 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:01.040 be done playing. I want to move on. I want 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.360 to do something different. And so I had a conversation 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:04.880 with my wife. I was with the Bills for training 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:06.720 camp and I got released from the Bills and we 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:08.680 happened to stay up in Buffalo while we were kind 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:11.280 of getting calls from teams and training at a compa 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:12.959 with my wife, I said, hey, let's just go, let's 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:16.280 just move on. Let's do something different, and she was like, well, no, 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:19.280 my God is still opened the door for us. I'm like, well, 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:22.800 how do you know? Because I and so we have 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:26.040 that conversation on a Friday, right before we Kate. We 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:29.320 were still in Buffalo. We leave Buffalo, drive from Buffalo 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:31.520 to Chicago, where we had a place at a house 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:34.040 in Chicago, and ready to go to Minnesota because one 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.400 of my buddies was starting a company in Minnesota. And 0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:38.560 that weekend, right it was We're gonna leave on Monday 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:42.120 to Minnesota. And that same Monday, I got a call 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:44.359 from Tampa Bay to go sign with the Buccaneers. And 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:47.480 so I signed with Tampa last year literally the day 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:49.799 signed with Tampa, finish the season in Tampa last year 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:52.480 and was completely thinking I was gonna go back to 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:55.240 Tampa this year, but for whatever reason, I haven't. I'm 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:58.560 currently a free agent. And so you asked where my 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:00.600 head's at the elephant in the room and reality or 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:04.000 my head and my heart is at. I mean, it's tough, man, 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:05.959 in a lot of ways. I'm ready to transition into 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:08.160 something new. Right the book, I couldn't be more excited 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:10.160 about let the world see You, how to Be Real 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:12.240 and a world full of fakes. I love that. I 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:15.520 love speaking encouraging people. Um so I know God's given 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:18.079 me a gift. But even as we speak, something in 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:22.679 my heart is not ready to say no. So what 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:28.560 is doing typical weekend routine now? As you prepare either way? Absolutely, yeah. 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:31.640 So during the week, I'm training and doing some book stuff. 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:35.440 Obviously throughout the week, and then weekends I'm actually, this 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:36.960 is the first time I've done this. It is probably 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:39.040 gonna be a shock to a lot of people. My 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:42.160 Sundays are spent only watching football. And I say this 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:44.800 is a shock because in the past I would never 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:47.160 do that. Last year, I couldn't watch games because I 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:48.840 was sitting there like I should be on the field. 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:50.920 I need to be out there. I'm better than these guys, 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:52.680 you know. And then when I was and then when 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:55.000 I was playing, obviously we would play on Sundays, and 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:58.040 if I was gonna watch games, i'd watch our opponent 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:01.040 or i'd watch something specific to what it helps make 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.000 me better as a player. But now I find myself 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:06.840 almost like a fan. I'm watching all the different games 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:09.240 at the NFL, like ticket the whole deal. And so 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:11.400 I think there's a little bit of a transition going 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:13.200 on in my heart. But that's my weekend routine. It's 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:16.520 Saturdays with the family kids. Sunday morning we'll hit up church. 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:19.200 My dad is a pastor, so we go to his church. Uh, 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:21.840 socially distanced and all that stuff. And then from there 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:25.240 we're watching all the games. All right, you don't have 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:28.599 a strength conditioning coach, so how you stand mentally and 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:31.680 physically fit and ready to play? Absolutely? So. I've been 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:33.880 training at a place called XOS up in Dallas, and 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.919 so it's a facility of performer facility with about there 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:39.720 probably seven to seven to ten other guys who are 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:41.720 training with me are the free agents. A couple of 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:44.039 Baseball one baseball players training with us as well. So 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:47.640 we're all training together. We've got a meal plan set ups, 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:50.360 so we're eating right. We're training together. We'll do drills afterwards, 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:53.560 whether it's one on one drills um or or well, 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:55.000 not a lot of one on ones because if you know, 0:04:55.640 --> 0:04:58.240 masks and stuff, but we'll do you know, linebacker drills 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:00.719 and stuff like that, just to stay ready just in 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:02.040 case we do get that call. And a lot of 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:03.920 the guys I've trained with have gotten calls, right there's 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:06.200 been probably three or four guys who have gotten calls 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.279 and now they're on teams. Other guys have gotten workouts, 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:12.360 and so physically mentally, um, I'm staying ready. And it's 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:16.080 the emotional and the spiritual part that are a little 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:21.279 bit more difficult. And the Trust provide the xos as well. 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:24.039 What do you know about that? Absolutely, So that's all 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.120 through the trust, right, all through the NFL Trust and 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:29.760 our NFL p A trust and so yeah, a matter 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.000 of fact, I was wearing my Trust shirt yesterday right 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:34.120 as I was working out, and so it's it's provided 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:36.400 being provided free of charge, and the meals are provided 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:38.720 free of charge. And I'm from Dallas and so I'm 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:40.760 actually it's been cool because of COVID. I've been just 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:42.680 last few weeks. I've been staying with family. Before I 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:45.880 was in Chicago training and Arizona training, and then I said, man, 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.159 I want to see my family. And so my parents 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:50.560 and little cousins and nieces and nephews and sisters are 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:51.880 up here and so I've got a chance to see 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:54.960 them a lot more often. All Right, here's a big question. 0:05:55.480 --> 0:06:00.360 If the full rings team calls, are there certain balls 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:03.680 you will accept that you will go. Are there are 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:07.400 certain teams you may not want to go play. Yeah, 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:12.080 that's that's the That's a great question, and he is. Um, 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:14.760 I don't know. I don't know what's funny. In the past, 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:17.400 if anybody would have called out of said yes in 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:21.680 a heartbeat, absolutely, Whereas this year, obviously, I'd love to 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:25.000 go back to Tampa Bay because I played there, and 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:26.840 you know Bruce Arians I know well he was my 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:29.440 coach when I was in Arizona for two years Todd Bowls. 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:32.839 The defensive coordinator was my coach as well, the linebacker coach. 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:34.839 I got a really good relationship with all those guys, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.560 the coaches, the strength coat everybody. So I love to 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:38.960 go back to Tampa Bay. So if they call it, 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:41.920 I definitely would feel that call Chicago as well. I 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:43.800 had a really great time in Chicago, so if they 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:47.200 called it, I'd love to go back to Chicago as well. Um, 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.159 those are probably top on my list, But I don't know. 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:53.240 I think every day is different, and you're right if 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:57.840 if if I wouldn't necessarily say outright saying out right 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:00.720 no to anybody, but I definitely no matter who it was, 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:02.800 even if it was TAMPLA, Chicago. I definitely would would 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:04.560 pray about it and consider, Okay, guy, what do you 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:06.279 want me to do at this moment, at this time. 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:11.480 It's interesting your book focuses on a lot on identity 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:14.640 and how much we hide ourselves. But when you say, 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:18.520 out of all the sports, football players will be more 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.520 prone to hide ourselves because we're the ones hiding behind 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:24.480 that helmet, right if I would use that as a metaphor, 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:28.480 what is a good example of an NFL player hiding 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:35.040 his true self? Sam? Now we're talking. So my book 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:37.120 is called Let the World See You, How to Be 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.760 Real in a World full of Fakes, and it's it 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:43.360 really talks about what it means to be authentic and 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:48.680 to be vulnerable. And I know for me, I don't 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:50.640 know how it was for you or even anyone listening. 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:55.800 It's hard nowadays being you, like being who God made 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:58.360 you to be. It's so easy to pretend or to 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:00.280 fit in or to try and act like someone you're not. 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.520 You ask, when what's an example of someone in an 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:05.840 NFL locker room hiding? Well, me specifically, I know, like 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:09.040 for me as a as a linebacker in the NFL, 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:12.400 but also a Christian that I'm I'm a follower of Jesus, 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:14.400 people woul look at me and say, if I ever 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:16.360 got mad at practice, they'd say, well, Sam, you're not 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:18.440 supposed to get mad. You're a Christian. You're not supposed 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:19.480 to get angry with it, you know what I mean. 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:21.720 And so, and as a young player, I didn't know 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:23.720 how to deal with that because I knew I love Jesus, 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:26.920 but also but I didn't really know what these guys 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:28.800 are gonna think of me. And so for me, my 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:32.560 hiding showed up in me trying really hard not to 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:36.880 get angry. Mm hmm. I'll try really hard not to 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:39.640 get angry, so be at practice and I'd be so upset, 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:42.840 but I would try to hide it. I don't want 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.200 people to see me get angry, because when you're a Christian, 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:47.000 you're not supposed to be angry, supposed to be forgiving. 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:49.280 And yadi yadi. If you actually like read the Bible, 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:51.959 Jesus was slipping over table, Jesus was calling people out. 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:54.720 Jesus was lying as well as a lamb. And so 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.360 for me, that was an example of hiding. But there's 0:08:57.400 --> 0:08:59.839 another example of hiding as well, and personally as well 0:08:59.880 --> 0:09:02.760 I I could and academ me. I love learning personally, 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:06.640 I love learning, love school, I love As a matter 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:08.280 of fact, I got my m b A from the 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:12.000 number one international NBA program in the world while I 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:15.560 was playing. And but here's the thing, and I didn't 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:19.400 tell anybody. I hid. I hid. I did not tell 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:21.439 any of my teammates. And you can probably guess why. 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:23.520 I didn't want them to think that I was this 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:26.400 guy who didn't care about ball or that was something nerd. 0:09:26.520 --> 0:09:30.280 And also my coaches, to coaches or general managers or 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:32.280 I didn't want them to say, well, this guy is 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:35.160 not committed. And so think about hiding. And that's just 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:37.559 in football. Imagine if whether it's in a marriage or 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:41.480 as a parent, or as a spouse or anything at work, 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:44.120 we tend to hide. And I'm really the purpose of 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:45.720 this book. Anybody picks up this book and you can 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:48.199 get it at sam i cho book dot com. It's 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:49.960 my first book, so I'd love for everybody to go 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.280 and check it out at sam i cho book dot com. 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:56.160 You can like, once you read that book, you'll have 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:58.360 a better idea to be able to know why you 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:02.240 hide and what are the benefits of showing people the 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:08.120 real you. When you talk about genuine authenticity, how can 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:11.559 a legend or current player, what do you suggest how 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:15.760 they can live out genuine authenticity. I think it's actually 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.840 really difficult in a lot of ways. The reason is 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:23.360 that you have to be extremely intentional. The waves of 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:29.640 the world or of culture will naturally draw you towards 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:33.120 like conglomeration, towards just coming together and being the same 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:39.040 as everyone else naturally, So if you don't actively um 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:41.920 Like for me, I do a lot of a lot 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:45.200 of prayer, a lot of just like quiet time with myself, 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:47.840 just like trying to say, man, who am I really right? 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:50.160 As I'm praying going through scripture? Right? That's one piece 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:51.880 another piece of saying, man, what do you actually like? 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:53.719 What are the things that I like as opposed to 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:55.840 what does everyone else like? And I feel like I 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:57.200 need to fit it? What do I like to do 0:10:58.080 --> 0:10:59.400 and what do I like? What do I love to 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:01.559 learn about her? To read about her? To not read 0:11:01.600 --> 0:11:04.319 about what I mean, and so being really intentional about 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:08.040 the things that you enjoy and then practicing those things, 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:11.120 not being ashamed of those things. A lot of us 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.400 really know who we are, but you talked about the 0:11:13.400 --> 0:11:16.079 insecurity we're afraid of showing the world who we are. 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:19.760 In your book, you talk about the affirmation you got 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:24.000 from making a great play as a trap. How do 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:28.079 we avoid traps like these? Absolutely so, just for a 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:29.679 little bit of context with those who haven't read the 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:37.520 book yet. UM football specifically is an interesting place to 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.840 be in the locker room on a team because when 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:43.120 you play well, all of a sudden, you start hearing 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:45.320 the rounds of applause. You're the best in the world, 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:47.720 and you hear it right. And if you play poorly, 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:50.480 all of a sudden, you start hearing less. Either either 0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:52.880 you won't people won't talk to you, or they'll tell 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:55.240 you how bad you are. And so for me, I 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:57.760 got caught up in the trap of people pleasing Oh man, 0:11:58.120 --> 0:11:59.760 I made a good play. My coach thinks it's good. 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:01.880 Let me will do another one for my coach, or 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:03.320 my teammates think I'm gonn let me go do it 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:05.880 for my teammates, as opposed to doing it because I 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:08.000 wanted to do it. I wanted to be great, right, yes, 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:09.839 inside of me, deep down I wanted to be great. 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:12.280 But there's a little icing on the cake of Oh wow, 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:14.880 my coach really thinks highly of me. Maybe now I'll 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:17.199 get more playing time, Now I'll be have more favor 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:19.520 in his eyes. Bibbles are clear, the heart of the 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:21.240 kings in the hand of the Lord, right, like that's 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:23.120 God's decision in a lot of ways. And obviously we 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.360 work and all these things, but I got caught up 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:29.560 in trying to please my coaches and do the things, 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.079 do it the way that they wanted me to do it, 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:34.880 as opposed to having a conversation and saying, hey, coach, 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:36.520 I see where you're coming from, but hey, this is 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.040 my skill set. What do you think about this? And 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:42.720 then going that way. I was afraid. It's interesting that 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:47.199 one of the unique characteristics about what's caused UH coach 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:50.920 Bill Belichick to be successful is he finds out the 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:55.240 unique authenticity and I'm using that word paraphrasing it about 0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:59.719 each player and he only asked that player to do 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:02.320 that which he knows that player does well. So it's 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:06.760 interesting some of the behind the mask of their success. 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:13.120 Identity is often difficult for NFL players and legends because 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:17.520 we're often deemed just a football player, and after a 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:22.400 while that's all we see. How do we discover the 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:27.439 many facets of our identity and make a true impact 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.480 on our world. Sam, It's either going to be the 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:33.920 easy way or the hard way. Right, Like the easy way, 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:38.760 and is anybody listening. The easy way is to slow down, right, 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:40.520 we're all on this rat race, Okay, let me slow 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:46.360 down and let me actually tap into the things that 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:49.440 I enjoy, or the things that will bring a benefit 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:51.839 to my family, or the things that I feel like 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.400 I have a calling to do, even if it's against 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:57.320 the grain. That's the easy way. The hard way, which 0:13:57.320 --> 0:13:59.320 is what I experience, is essentially it's going to be 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:01.040 done for you. And here's what I mean by that. 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:05.199 I didn't I wrote this book last a little a 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:06.720 couple few months ago. As I was working on it 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:12.319 last year. Um, I did not know I was a writer. 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:21.040 It wasn't until I almost lost my marriage, almost I 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:24.520 lost my starting spot, I tore my pack, I was 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:28.720 out for the season, I lost a mentor, my house flooded. Uh, 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:31.360 my wife's wallet got still, I mean so much. Her 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:33.480 green coach she was won't even US citizen. Her green 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:34.920 car got so we were suppos to take a trip 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:37.280 overseas for a five year university. I mean, I was 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.400 like I was doing all the things. I wasn't even 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:41.920 paying attention to things around me, right. I wasn't being 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:43.840 a loving father to my kids. I wasn't being a 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.360 loving husband to my wife. I wasn't being a good friend. 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.480 I was just so focused on the goal, the goal, 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:50.400 the goal, the goal of the goal. And so you 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:52.520 talked about the easy way or the hard way. The 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:54.520 the easy way we talked about is saying, Okay, am 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:56.600 I going down the right path? Am I not getting 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:58.440 people around you you can speak life into you. The 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:00.480 hard way is saying, you know what, I'm just gonna 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.360 I'm just gonna do it and we'll be fine. And 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:05.640 you're you're not gonna be fine. Your body, your body 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:08.240 is gonna catch up to you. Your body keeps the score. 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:10.280 And so for me, the hard way of going through 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:13.480 all that, and in all reality, what came out of 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:15.400 that hard time in a lot of ways was this book. 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.040 And I say that to say I found that I'm 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:19.840 a writer. So we all have all these gifts that 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:22.560 we don't know about. And either you're gonna use the 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:25.120 gifts God gave you, or you're gonna find out the 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:27.080 hard way, that you keep on running yourself into a 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:31.360 brick wall and you're not getting anywhere. Marriage, relationship with 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:34.440 kids are failing, all these things. How did you get 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:41.120 what was your epiphany? Absolutely? Absolutely so? It was. So 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.360 I just signed a multi year, multimillion dollar contract with 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:46.440 the Chicago Bears, my first ever. Right, I was one 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:48.480 on your eight. Everything had else have been minimums, rocky 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:51.600 minimum or one year veteran minimum contracts that had been 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.280 my whole career. And by God's grace, I signed this 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:55.840 big deal and so I was going into I was 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:57.400 gonna be the guy. I was a star, I was 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:01.440 a starter. And it was a week before training camp 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:06.240 season and as I mentioned, like I felt like my 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:10.360 our relationship with my wife wasn't going well, my relationship 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:12.840 with my kids wasn't good even inter personally, like within myself, 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.760 like who am I? And I was sitting down with 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:19.320 a friend and I looked at him and I was like, dude, 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:21.560 I'm struggling man like I And I told him, I said, 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:24.640 I just need the season to start, because said all 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:26.840 this whole offseason, all my teammates are gone, my friendships 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:28.200 are gone. I don't know, I don't know where everyone 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:31.640 else is. I said, I just need this season to start, 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.160 so get back to football. Then I'll be okay. Everything 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:36.720 will be fine once I get back to ball. And 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:38.400 he looked at me and he said, Sam, if that's 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:42.120 how you are right now, I'm afraid of what happens 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:46.760 when when football ends for you, when it's over. And 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:48.520 as I'm kind of sharing with him some of my 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:51.640 struggles and think with you know, trying to be a 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.200 faithful husband and trying to like really like love my kids, 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.000 where is this hatred in my heart coming from? As 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:59.320 I'm sharing with him this all the stuff, I start 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:04.479 to cry. I started to cry. And he looks at 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:09.959 me and he says two things. He says. He says, Hey, Sam, 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:12.840 maybe God is writing a book in your life. Mhm. 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:17.760 And and you may only be on chapter two. Well 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:20.960 he said that. Then he said, and oh, by the way, 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:28.399 it's nice to see you. Huh. It's nice to see you, Sam, 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:32.520 It's nice to see you. And I didn't understand what 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:37.560 he meant. A matter of fact, I think I didn't understand, 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:39.560 but I didn't want to understand what he meant, right 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:44.440 because I was like, I felt like my life was over. 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:48.000 I was crying, broken, breaking down in front of this guy, 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:49.600 one of my friends I've known, like helped me build 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:52.439 business stuff. We did business stuff together and my brand 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:54.040 and all this, and he said, I've never seen the 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:55.640 side of you. I used to always think you were 0:17:56.080 --> 0:18:00.600 this perfect together guy. But it's good to know your human. 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:04.560 You're not perfect. It's nice to see you. And so 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:06.720 we actually recommended I've talked to a counselor. He actually 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:09.959 he actually had just finished meeting with this therapist counselor 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:13.040 guy doing a life plan for his life. And you know, 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:15.040 he's not a football guy, he's a business guy. But 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:17.280 he said, he, I recommend you talk to this guy. 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:20.280 And so I did. And the next opening this counselor 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:23.879 had was the day reported a training camp. And so 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:26.639 as everyone knows, legends of players know, you report that 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:29.080 like it's like seven pm or five pm or whatever 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:31.640 time it is, it's your first meeting. Well, that morning 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:36.280 I was at a counselor's office and I'm sitting in there, like, 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:37.760 you know how it is, let me get in and 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:39.440 get out, check it off the box, right, how long 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:43.040 you know? And I'm like, how long will this be? 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:45.200 He's like, Sam, this is not a one or two 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:49.000 sessions issue. It's going to be a twelve the twenty 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:52.440 four month process. Like what you don't know? You must 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:54.800 not know me. I'm this is I come on, man, 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:57.400 I just fly by it. He said, okay, Sam, we'll 0:18:57.440 --> 0:18:58.840 start here. I got a couple of questions for you, 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.000 so go ahead. He said, what do you do when 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:06.119 you get angry? I said, okay, that's easy. I just 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:12.240 don't get angry. M hm. He said, well that's interesting answer, 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:14.800 but I'll ask you again, what do you do when 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:20.119 you get angry? And I said, I tried not to 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:24.320 get angry mhm. And he looks at me and he says, 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:32.000 he says, Sam, everybody gets angry. And I proceeded to 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:37.280 cry m hm. And he looks at me. He says, 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:39.560 it is it okay if I And I'm like, it 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:44.720 wasn't just like a tear shad. It was like something 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:48.560 was almost releasing from my yeah right the and so 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:50.320 he said, do you mind. I'm I'm gonna put my 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:54.119 hand on your chest right breathe, breathe. I putt my 0:19:54.160 --> 0:19:55.960 hand on your stomach. I need you to breathe. And 0:19:55.960 --> 0:19:59.439 I'm breathing and breathing, and he looks at me, right, 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:00.880 he kind of back up a little bit and he says, 0:20:01.000 --> 0:20:03.440 or put his hand on my shoulder. He says, it's 0:20:03.520 --> 0:20:08.480