Blaze Your Own Trail - Episode 11: From Track Star To The NFL & Beyond With JJ Birden

Episode Date: February 25, 2020

In this episode we talk about: Where JJ grew up His early years A pivotal moment His College & NFL success What he's up to now Get in touch with JJ here: Website: https://www.jjbirden.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjbirden/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jjbirdenonline/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjbirden/ Installing strategic sales systems & processes will stop the constant revenue rollercoaster you might be facing which is attainable through our 6 Week Blazing Business Revenue Coaching ProgramBook a discovery call with Jordan now to learn more! Are you an entrepreneur?Join my FREE Group Coaching Community where we have live calls, Q&A and more! Our Trailblazer Ecosystem also enables you to network with other entrepreneurs and creator hub eliminates multiple subscriptions and logins creating a one stop shop to take action!Use code: FOUNDING100 for 12 months access FREE and Founding pricing for life! (While Supplies Last)Join now! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode with JJ Burden, you will learn all about how he got into playing football, a pivotal decision his mom made that really changed the direction of his life and what he's up to now. So I hope you enjoy and we'll talk to you after the episode. Hello and welcome to the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. I'm your host, Jordan Mendoza. And I've got a very special guest with me today. His name is J.J. Burden. and I'm going to let him give you all a little intro about himself.

Hey, well, thanks, Jordan. It's good to be on the show. Looking forward to sharing with your listeners. So, yeah, I am, how do you put it? A former NFL football player, and we're going to jump right there because I played nine years in the NFL and five of those with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Super Bowl champion, Kansas City Chiefs.

So it's been a pretty exciting, a couple of days with that victory. But prior to the NFL, I'm actually from Portland, Oregon, born and raised in Portland, Oregon, went to the University of Oregon on a track scholarship, and I ran track, played football. And then I was drafted in the 1988 NFL draft, and my NFL career took off. But now that the career is over, I'm an entrepreneur. You know, I'm a businessman, I'm a speaker. I've written a book.

I'm a best-selling author. and I just enjoy what I'm doing now because I'm able to share what I've learned kind of through my journey, the journey to the NFL, a lot of lessons there I share with other people, hope to inspire them. But I am married, been married 29 years to my call at sweetheart, Raina, and we have eight children. Actually, they're not all really ours. Three are biologic, and we adopted five nieces and nephew 13 years ago, so that's how we have a big family. but love family and love motivating inspiring others. So there you go. Awesome.

And that is a great intro. And I don't know if you knew this about me, but I actually also grew up in Portland, Oregon. Went to Madison High School. Grew up in Northeast. Wow. And my mom was a graduate of Madison, and I grew up a duck fan.

You know, I know you went to Oregon. My mom was a diehard duck fan. So from when I was a kid, that's what she bought us all the Oregon year. And so I've been a fan ever since I was a kid. And, you know, as I grew up, of course, when you're little, it's like, okay, I'm wearing green and yellow. But, you know, I don't want to wear black and orange, right? Because you're either a duck or you were a beaver when you live in the state of Oregon, you know.

So tell me a little bit about you as a kid growing up in Portland. You know, what area did you grow up in? Where did you go to school? Yeah, so I grew up off of 13th and Killingsworth. And my little brother, Charles Harris, went to Madison too. So he's about three years behind me. But yeah, Ray's right there in the inner cities. And up until sixth grade, I was going to school right there in the Portland area.

But my mom heard about a busing program where they were integrating the schools in Lake Oswego. Lake Oswego is a very affluent area. And they were busloading African Americans to Lake Oswego to give them the experience. and vice versa. So my mom got us involved in the program. So from sixth grade to when I graduated from Lake Ridge, I took a bus to the schools out there. And let me tell you, we're talking, getting up at five in the morning, getting on the bus like six. And, you know, it had its challenges. But I thought it was one of the best decisions my mom made because it really opened my eyes to just, not only just other cultures, but just more opportunities and getting to meet different.

people. And so, but yeah, a lot of people don't know that, that, you know, I didn't start even playing sports until 10th grade and the reason why was because there was no way of getting home from Lake Ridge, you know, unless I got the city school bus, the city bus. And so, but anyway, I figured out a way in my 10th grade, I started getting involved in sports. That's awesome. What an awesome story. And, you know, if mom wouldn't have made that move, right? Who knows where, where J.J. Burden would have would have went you know you you never know so that's that's super super cool um and i'm very familiar with with killingsworth i actually i i live for a little while in the decom area yeah i'm sure you're familiar with that off of mlk not not the best area at all and uh i actually went to school

at that point in north portland at george middle school so i had to take two buses and you know the one thing i do like and kudos to the city of portland is the public transportation is amazing right when when you go to other cities, when you go to places like D.C., when you go to places like, I'm in the Atlanta area now, and you look at transportation, it's like, man, there's a lot of things that could be changed, you know, that's one thing about Portland is the transportation has been great. Yeah, it was very easy for me to like, you know, walk down the street from Lake Ridge, take a bus in the downtown Portland, then transfer to bus 15 to take me to my house. There was always a way to get around northeast Portland with the busing system.

And I think one of the things that's interesting, and a lot of people don't realize this unless they've been to Portland, is you start taking the bus at a young age as a kid. Why? Because it's common. And I remember when I met my wife, and I told her that, like, yeah, I've been taking the bus since I was like 10. She was so confused by that.

Right? Because in most places, the bus isn't looked at the same, as a very commuter-friendly city like Portland. Right, yeah. And I couldn't agree more. We were the same thing. My mom would say, if you want to go somewhere, figure out how to take, you know, get on the bus and get there.

And that's what we did to get to the park, get to the Lloyd Center of the Mall, wherever we wanted to go, Clackamas Town Center. We were taking the bus. So let's talk Portland sports. Were you a Trailblazer fan growing up, like living in the city of Portland? Yeah, absolutely. Definitely a Blazer fan. And I can remember when they won the championship,

I was in the sixth grade at River Grove Elementary. And I'll never forget this because Mr. Barker, right after they won the championship, Mr. Barker made up a field trip so that we could go downtown Portland and be there for the parade. And I didn't realize what we were part of until later, but I remember being at the parade and seeing the Blazers come by. And I see Bill Walton, in one of the cars. I remember sticking my little hand out there amongst the crowd and he slapped it. And I was like, oh, Bill Walton came in a high five, you know, so definitely was a Blazer fan. That's awesome.

And I've got a crazy Bill Walton story as well. When they won that championship in 77, my mom, she graduated high school in 76. Her and my cousin were at that game and they actually gave Bill Wrighton, Bill Walton, the ride home to his hotel. Wow. Bill Walton, this probably won't surprise anybody, but he was hitchhiking after title game, but they gave him a ride home. And so I remember my mom telling me that story.

I didn't believe her until our cousin was like, nope, we sure did. Give him a ride home. That's a cool story. Absolutely. You got a high five and they gave him a ride. So what? I wonder, seven feet tall. I wonder if he had any problems getting fitting in the car.

I'm sure he did. He is a big guy. So, all right, awesome. So I'm a massive Trailblazers fan as well. I grew up, of course, in the, born in 81. So I was there when it was Rip City, Rap City, right? That was back in the day with the Dairy Queens had all the blazer glasses. I don't know if you remember those. Buck Williams, Kevin Duckworth, Uncle Cliffy. So that was a super exciting time. And, you know, always the what could have beens in Portland basketball, you know, but I'm still a diehard. fan and I love what, you know, Neil Olshey's been doing with the organization, you know,

bringing in guys like Lillard and McCollum and some of the offseason moves that they've been making. It's pretty exciting to see what's going to happen when Big Nurt gets back, you know, gets back and healthy. So awesome. So let's talk about a little bit about your journey at Oregon. So you went there for track. And then so what was it that made you join the team? Now, did you join, did they look at you and say, hey, you've got that speed. We want to get you on the field or did you go to tryouts? Like, how did that whole thing come to fruition? So basically when I was at Lakeridge, I was an all-state wide receiver. I was the number one wide receiver in the state. But 5-9, 133 pounds,

no division one school felt I could play D-1. So I knew I could get a track scholarship because it was pretty good. So as colleges came to check me out and I had conversations with the track coach, I would ask them, what do you think about me one year trying out for football? Because I had this plan that I was going to prove everybody wrong. And Oregon was the only Division I school who said, if you come run for us, we'll do whatever we can to help you walk on the second year. So that was enough for me because I did really want to stay in state because I did go take a trip to Oregon State.

I wanted to stay in state. And so I ran track the first year. And in the second year, I started secretly watching the football practices during the spring. Just to kind of see how big these guys really were. And if I could play at this level. And three days of that, the fourth day, I wouldn't stand on the field the next day by the goal polls because you're not supposed to be on the field. But I wanted to get their attention. I said, well, somebody's going to kick me off the field.

But they're going to know why I'm here. And sure enough, at the end of the practice, Rich Brooks, the head coach, walks all the way to be. on the field. He comes up to me and he's like, bird it. You're the track kid. I know who you were. I've seen you up here. What are you doing out here? And I told him, I said, I want to play. I want to, I want to try it. I want to play. And he was very hesitant, but he said, okay, let's talk about it tomorrow. Come to my office. So I go to his office. We have a 30-minute conversation. And it's really just me convincing him. I can do it. I can do it. I could do it. Tract team of coaches, Bill Dillinger and John Gillespie had already approved it. So it was up to Brooks. And Brooks says,

I tell you what, I'm going to let you walk on this fall. We'll give you a shot and see what happens. And that's all I wanted was an opportunity. But it didn't take me long. Day one, I was number 14th on the death chart. Two weeks later, I was number two, backing up two seniors. So that was really the goal, Jordan. It wasn't the play in the NFL.

It was just to prove everybody wrong. So I ended up doing both sports for the remainder of my years in Oregon. Wow, and I love that. And I mean, let's talk about the quarterback you played for, right? Bill Musgrave. How was that experience? Well, see, let's go before that. So first it was Chris Miller.

And Chris Miller was an amazing athlete, played nine years in the NFL. So I had Chris Miller and then he graduates and then I get Bill. And I remember when Bill joined us. I was like, who's this freshman from Colorado? And I think it was by week one or week two, he was starting. and I was so impressed with his ability to lead us at a very young age. And, you know, he was a leader automatically on the field, off the field, and his preparation, everything.

And that year we were six and five. But I could tell, I said, okay, these guys are about to start something special because we started getting some really good players like Derek LaVelle and Terry Obey and Chris Oldham and, you know, Tony Hargain, some really good. athletes. And so it didn't surprise me that Oregon kind of started a run after that. But I always say, Jordan, we were the foundation years. We were the beginning because we were five and six, five and six and five and five and five. And then I went to the NFL and the rest of his history. That's awesome. And so how was that experience going to the league? You know, because I don't know

where you were drafted. I don't know anything about that. And I on purpose didn't want to research that information because I really want to hear the story from you. And these other stories have just been amazing seeing you putting yourself in the position, right? Because life is about putting yourself in a position for opportunities. Because you could have easily stayed outside and looked through the fence, but you inched your way onto the field. So let's hear about this draft story and then a little bit about your experience in the league. Yeah. And you know, you make a good point. I want to add this because I share this with people because when they see my career and the highlights and what I just share with you, people don't know. But one of the things I stress that people is that

sometimes in life you have to create opportunities where it appears none exists. Because if I hadn't done that, like you said, go look at the practices and talk to Rich Brooks. I'm not in the NFL, you know, so it's about creating those opportunities. So my senior year, I was having a really good track season. I was packed 10 long jump champion. I was going to the nationals. I qualified from the 1988 Olympic trials, and that was really my focus. It wasn't NFL. It was tracks. See if I could have a successful year and make the Olympic team. So I get drafted. And the eighth round, I was a late pick, eighth round, eightth round, 216 picked by the Cleveland Browns. And if you know the draft, there's no eight rounds anymore. I mean, you're a long shot.

God. So I was curious and I thought, let me just go to the rookie camp. The rookie camp is next week. I'll come back, finish school, get ready for pack 10s and just kind of see what happens this summer. So I go to the Cleveland Brown's rookie camp the following week. Third practice, I tear up my ACL ligament and my left knee. My first serious injury ever. So you can imagine track is over. That dream is no more. And as you're around me and you probably see my content, I'm a very positive person. Positive people see the bright side of everything. And right away I flipped the switch and I said, hello NFL. I got to figure out this out and I got a year to get healthy.

So I went to the Cleveland Browns rookie camp was on IR the whole year. And then the next year I went through camp. I'm about 80%. I get cut by them. I go out to see the chiefs. the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers all within four consecutive days. I flunk all their physicals. I am swelling in my knee.

So it was not an auspicious start. But as you and I were talking about early on, that was that breakthrough moment. That was that turning point where I had a choice. I said, either this moment is going to take me down and out or it's going to take me to bigger and better things. And I decided bigger and better things. And I went to work. And I tell you, I work so hard that.

But when the cheese called me three months later, Jordan, I was known for my speed. I went into the NFL running a 4-3-9. After my knee injury, I went into the Chiefs Camp run a 4-33. I got faster. And that was really the beginning of my NFL career. So not the most auspicious start, but I didn't quit. I didn't give up. I just kept working, and I knew the opportunity to present itself.

And that's awesome. and what determination, right? Because, and I'm sure you probably have friends or you know people that just hung it up. They're like, you know what? I injured that. There's no way that I can come back from this. And I love what you said about being positive because that's how I live my life. I am one of those people that is just uncanny when it comes to optimism.

And I always see the glass is like 98% full, you know, and it actually works. When you look at life through that lens, even when things do happen, because let's face it, we all go through things. But it's all about how we react to them. And the one thing that we have control of in life, right, we can't control traffic. We can't control the weather. We can't control if our kids are getting on our nerves. But we can't control our attitude, right? And attitude equals 100%.

You can have hard work and knowledge all day long, but if your attitude sucks, you're not going to go, really, that much further than you would if you had a great attitude. Yeah, it's a valid point. And I appreciate your content. I see your content and it's very positive. It's very motivating. And I think that's what a lot of people need today. They need to hear that kind of positive continent and influence because, like you said, life is going to throw your curve balls every single day. The positive people, you wake up, it's a new day. You are ready to go. You just have that positive output on life. And I know that a positive mindset really separates the best from the rest. No matter what's thrown your way, you always feel you can win.

And even when I was dealing with rejection, not one moment, Jordan, did I think of quitting, not even once. But like you said, I saw players with ACL injuries, I'm done. I saw players get cut, rejected, I'm done, I'm done. And a lot of those players regret that decision, but I wasn't ready to give it up. I just knew that I needed to get healthy. That was the key. And then I needed to get in the right situation because there were several teams that wanted to sign me.

I thought, you know what? This is my third year. I haven't really played yet. I got to pick the right team. And the Chiefs were lacking speed. And I said, I got a lot of that. So I knew that was the right choice. And it worked out well.

That's awesome. So who was your quarterback once you got on the field faster than when you first joined the league, a couple of years earlier. Who was your quarterback? My first quarterback was Steve DeBerg. And I had a blast that first year because they were just throwing me bombs. Steve was throwing me bombs. I had like a 90-yard touchdown. I had a 62-yard touchdown. I had a 72-yard one. I had a couple of 50s. I mean, I was the deep threat. And Steve could launch it. You know, so that first year was so cool because nobody knew who I was. And so they put the fourth DB on. on me and I would just run by you know but yeah that first year was pretty exciting awesome all right so

after steve who is your quarterback next next quarterback was dave crag so then Dave craig so then Dave Craig was signed the following the second or the third year and uh we had a good year with Dave we made it to the playoffs we lost to Miami but it was the quarterback after Dave that's really the highlight and that was Joe Montana. And when Joe Montana signed with the Chiefs, that was something special because it was like the Joe Montana effect, because we were already good team. But when Joe came, we became a really good team

because we went right to the AFC championship game and almost made the Super Bowl. But Joe made a really very positive impact on all of us. Just his example was leadership and just his overall professionalism. Yeah, and recently you shared a piece of content that I had watched, and it was some lessons that you learned from Joe Montana being your quarterback. And you also said a couple things that I thought were interesting, is everybody wanted to see how he was going to show up, right? How was he going to walk into the locker room?

How was he going to show up in meetings? And can you share with the audience just a couple of those highlights that you actually post? it in your video because I think these things are super important to learn and you know there's certain people that can be very influential for the right reasons or the wrong reasons and it sounds like Joe was up to something so I'd love to hear a little bit of that yeah and I think it's a really good experience not just for me for everyone that's why I love to share that because here's Joe Montana he's 36 years old he he joins a cheese he's already won four Super Bowls he's received all these accolades. So I'm thinking like, okay, success leaves clues. What can I learn from

this guy? But I'm thinking like, but is he going to come in just kind of cool Joe and take his time and just rest on his morals and kick back? Or he's going to come and really lead us. And I just say, I like to say, Joe came in and he studied like a rookie. He prepared like a veteran and he led like a pro. He was the consummate leader and professional and just, watching him how he prepared and how he led and just the work he put in inspired me and inspired everyone else. And I believe that's why we were so successful. But it's a good teaching point for people because sometimes when people experience success, a good day, a good week, a good month, a good quarter, a good career or whatever, they get complacent. They get comfortable and

they stop doing the things that helped them reset level success, not Joe. And that's what I learned from him. He wasn't too cool. He wasn't too successful. He wasn't too experienced to still do the basics, to still put in the work. So I believe there's a great lesson there for all. Oh, absolutely. And what an amazing example, right? Because again, like you said, he could have showed up and been too cool for school, you know, came and I have four rings. So let me, you know, my coffee, I like it like this. Right. I mean, you know what I'm saying? Like there's some people. that are actually like that. So I didn't know that about him until I saw that in the video.

So I really appreciate you sharing those insights. So football. And he was just any other thing too, Jordan, he was very down to earth. You know, I mean, I was around some athletes who were successful and you know, they weren't very nice people. But Joe was really cool.

He was a very cool, cool comp collective and very approachable, just one of the guys, you know, and I really respected that. because he didn't think he was better than anyone else because of his success. Awesome. So I got one more thing related to sports, and then I want to talk about life after sports. And this question will be whether high school, college, or NFL, who was your favorite coach, and what's one leadership lesson that you can share with us that they taught you?

Let's see. I had a lot of really good coaches. Some good coaches in high school, college. I'm probably going to go with my chief coach, Marty Chattanoimra. I had Marty for five years, actually six, because Marty drafted me in Cleveland. And Marty was just such a great teacher and a great motivator. He played the game and he really understood it. But he just, the way he taught and the way he inspired us.

But there was something he said that has really stuck with me today, and I use it sometime in my keynotes. He talked about the importance of one snap and clear. And what he was saying is that when we're in a game and, you know, a play is going, they snap the ball, that's one play. When the play is over and the whistle blows, he says, one snap and clear. You got to forget about what happened in that play, whether it was good or whether it was bad. Because if you're dwelling on that play, then it's going to affect your ability to be successful on the next play. So I've taken that approach in life in general.

Just anything that I do that I've done today, when there's a new day, I'm focusing on the new day and creating, you know, those new opportunities because sometimes we can focus so much on, oh, man, I can't believe I did this. I made this mistake. And then it affects us so much that we can't move forward. Or maybe we've had so much success again, and that gets to our head too. So one snap and clear, I've already had a lot of good ones, you know. but one snap and clear is one of my favorites. Oh, and I love that, one snap and clear. And it's so funny you brought that up because, like I said,

my son's a freshman in high school, 15 years old, first year played, he played safety. And his biggest thing was taking the last play with him, right? Like he would get beat on a play. They might score. They might get 10, 20 yards. And you could read it all over his face that that play was affecting him. And I tried to tell him, I'm like, listen, this isn't just affecting you.

This is affecting your teammates, your coaches, me in the stands, because we can see it and smell it. It's all over you that that play is with you. And that's one of the hardest things for me to get through to him on is have amnesia, right? Have amnesia. You know, we are as human beings, I fundamentally believe we're the sum total of all our failures if we learn from them. Right. Right. If we actually learn from them. So take it. You know what? You miss it. It's okay. The game's a long game. But if you give up in the first quarter, there's no way you're going to make it to the fourth. Yeah. That's some good coaching you're giving your sign. One of my favorite sayings is those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it. You know, and they can be taken multiple ways. But what I, how I perceive is that, like you said, we learn from the mistakes of the past. whether they came from us or whether they came from someone else.

But we also learned from their successes or the successful moments you had, and we try our best to duplicate those. So I think you're giving your son some good coaching. Tell them one snap and clear too. Maybe that'll help him too. No, I'll definitely tell him that. I'll make sure he listens to this episode for sure, for sure. So let's talk life after sports, right?

So you got out, had an awesome career in the league. and so did you already know what you wanted to do? I already knew I was going to transition into the business world because that was really my dream is that football was kind of, it was my job, is how I took care of my family, but it created some opportunities, you know, meaning that I made a lot of my connections and, you know, I networked and I met some doctors. I got really good friends with. I would do speaking engagements in the offseason because I didn't like to speak. in front of people, but I thought, you know, if I could get comfortable speaking, that's

a skill I could use. And so when my career ended, I was ready to end it. I played nine years. I didn't think I was going to be there. The average football player now in the NFL plays less than two years. I beat that. I was like, okay, I think you've accomplished something. But I moved on and I became owner of a couple of companies, small companies in Kansas City,

a durable medical equipment company, and a rehab center because of my connection with doctors. And then I, I, um, I own part of a fitness equipment company in Atlanta called ProSpot Fitness and I was a West Coast sales manager. So I did that for about 10 years. And then I was kind of going back and forth and do I want to coach, do I want to coach? And I coached the high school football for a little bit. I did some camps. I coached some track. But I was kind of torn because I wanted to coach, but I didn't want to be in those environments because I noticed that the coaches were very protective when I went to help another kid who went to another school who asked me for help. And I didn't like that, you know,

and at the same time, my businesses, which I love working with people, but I just didn't like some of the politics involved in how difficult it was in those industries. So I eventually left those companies, sold them. I eventually gave up coaching. And then I got involved in direct cells, which is something I do now, work with the company called Isogenics, because I really love to help people get healthy and all that. But then I move to, I added to speaking. And that's what I love, because sometimes in life, it takes time to find your passion. And I really wish I had done this right away. But speaking and now being an author, too, it gives me the platform to share what I've learned, the teaching lessons, the failures, the wins. And there's so many people out there

hungering for help. And so now I have a platform where I can do that. Because, you know, we're a rare breed when you think about it. The NFL is 100 years old. 20,000 men have played in the NFL in 100 years. The average player plays two and a half years. Now, if you played nine years, you might have something to share, not to mention being 5, 10, 157 pounds, one of the lightest and smallest to ever play. So I feel I know what it's like to be an underdog and know what it's like to deal with obstacles and challenges. And I believe everybody goes through that. And that's what I love to speak about helping people overcome those moments in life. That's so awesome. And you know, I'm a believer that our stories aren't for us there to share with others in hopes that they

do something different, right? That they maybe wake up a little bit in a certain area. And that's what I love about storytelling. And, you know, I do training and development full time. So I, you know, teach adults and it's topics from sales to leadership to customer service. And then I do consulting on the side. And I host a podcast. So I mean, one of those people that I love to stay busy. I actually enjoy chaos. I have to have multiple things going on. I think we're kind of similar in that, in that regard. And, you know, one day I want to be doing consulting full time because that's, that's where I'm passionate about. I love seeing people's light bulbs go off, those aha moments of, you know, when they looked at something this way and I've been able to change someone's perspective

for the better. And when you can see people grow, that's what it's all about. Yeah, I agree with you 100% because I can see it as a speaker, even when I'm on stage. I can see the aha moments that attending might have. And then afterwards, I love the feedback. And the irony, is that I just met with a gentleman today who is trying to get me to do consulting. Because I've had, I love to hear you say that because I've had a lot of, you know, people after my engagement asked me if I do any consulting and coaching. So I'm actually exploring the idea as some point I would do that because I feel you, being able to really coach, instruct, advise, and help someone elevate themselves or change

are a lot and like the team the goals that are important to them. That is really a beautiful satisfied and you can serve and help other people. Absolutely. I have the pleasure of teaching a six-month leadership program every single year. And it launches in April. It ends in September. And what's so amazing about this program, and I'll kind of see if you're familiar with these types of assessments, but we take everybody through a Myers-Briggs type indicator assessment. right this lets them know their four-letter personality type and it's so it's so amazing when you take this introspective look at yourself right and you you learn how you're wired it's amazing what what you see through the new lens that you now have right where you can kind of see if someone's more extroverted

or introverted and you now you know how to approach that person and that they're not just the quiet person but maybe they just get their energy internally versus us who we're both extroverts, we get our energy from the outer world, right? And so we take people on this journey from finding out about their personality to now, let's jump into emotional intelligence, which is a topic that isn't talked about often enough, but I feel it's more important than IQ. And then we get into strength-based leadership and coaching and how to develop a high-performing team. And when I tell you, this is the most rewarding thing that I do. I couldn't say that more proud because I get to take people from not knowing really anything about who they are,

how they're wired, into now at the end of it, they've learned a lot about themselves. They've cried. They've laughed. They've gone on this journey with 14 other peers. And now they're presenting in front of senior leadership about a business case that they put together with their peers. I mean, it's an amazing journey. And I love, I love, like you said earlier, just seeing that lightball go off and and watching people, people grow. So what has been the most rewarding part about being a speaker? I think the most rewarding part has been able to,

being able to review your life, review the moments in your life. Because you don't realize, like the mentor, I hired a mentor when I launched my speaking career about five years ago, I named Dr. Will Moreland. And he told me to just start recording every aspect of your life.

Think about all the memories, all the stories. And as I started doing it, I didn't realize how much content I had and how many lessons and trials and tribulations and victories. And I continue to this day. I'm like, oh, I remember this. But the rewarding aspect has just being able to pick that story or that moment in my life that was very impactful and then choose it for this audience.

And then maybe take this one and choose it because this is what the audience needs. And it's just being able to have real life experience. experiences that you can help solve problems that other people may have. Because everybody's looking for a solution. And I believe that I've traveled an interesting road that I have, you know, a problem solver, just like you are too. And I just think that, you know, keeping my content generic, as you see, my content is very generic. I try to make it for everyone, not just male, female, young, old athlete, not at all. No, it's for everyone. And so, I think that's really the most rewarding thing is just like, okay, what can I share today?

Who can I help? And so very fulfilling. That's awesome. And that's definitely an awesome way to look at it is, you know, who can I help today? Who can I inspire today to do something differently than they did when they walked into this room or to this conference center, right? And it's so cool that you're able to do that. So what's the largest crowd? And I'm sure crowds don't bug you.

I don't matter for me if I'm talking to 10 or or 200 or 300, but what's the largest crowd that you've had to speak in front of? And what was the moment leading up to the speech? Do you get nervous? Do you get those butterflies in your stomach? How's JJ, JJ the speaker right before going on stage? JJ, the speaker, is just like JJ, the wide receiver, about to be introduced, you know, to start for the Kansas City Chiefs.

It is the exact same feeling. I remember being in the tunnel, and I was an ex-receiver, so I was always the first one they introduced, and you're in the tunnel, and you got the butterflies, you've got this nervous excitement because you know you're well-prepared, you know your assignments, that you're just ready to get out there. That's how I feel as a speaker, the same thing. And so I had a privilege of speaking at Isogenic's Convention about five years ago, and it's really what kind of got me seriously thinking about becoming a professional's.

speaker and I was speaking in front of 15,000 people. And Jordan, I was sharing some lessons I learned from playing with Joe Monta and all that. But after the event, they sent me the CD and I was watching myself and I thought, man, I'm not really that nervous. And man, that looked, I didn't do too bad. But that was the seed that was playing. It was like, change. You remember you used to like speak early on in your career as an NFL player.

You know, here's a way you can. could really get your message out. And that's when I got serious about speaking. And it was all because of, you know, a direct selling company put me on stage and I was speaking of 15,000 people. And like you just said, planning in the Chiefs, when I was with the Chiefs, 80,000 people versus 15,000 people, to me, there's no difference. Because if you're prepared and you're ready, you're going to get out there and do your job regardless. And so, yeah, it's a pretty, pretty exciting feeling. But the day I'm not nervous, that's when I'm going to worry. because I would be a little bit too overconfident.

So so far that hasn't happened. That is awesome. And so let's talk about the book. So what's the title of the book and where can people find this book? And in addition to that, give us a little bit of context into what people will get out of reading the book. Yeah. So the book is called When Opportunity Knocks, Eight Your Fireways to Take Advantage. I wrote it primarily because through my journey, I've just seen a lot of people miss out on opportunities,

miss out on their goals, their dreams, something they want. And either they missed out on it or they didn't recognize it or for some of those who grabbed and really couldn't maintain it. And so I wanted to kind of write a blueprint of like, here's how you seize your opportunities in life. And that's really what the book is all about, how to seize your opportunities in life. And, you know, I start talking about things that people are real familiar with, but I kind of spend it a little bit like the first chapter is about finding your passion and understanding your

why, because that's your seed of motivation. You know, if you don't know why you're doing what you're doing, when life gets difficult or you have that well-kicking moment, it's easy for you to quit. You know, so we started there. We take them through this journey of, you know, work and finding mentors and, you know, and just that process of continuing to learn. And I share some really good stories. and lessons there, but the book is for everyone. It's a quick read, but it's definitely for everyone, but it all revolves around how you can seize and maximize the opportunities in life. That's awesome.

Oh, my website. Yeah, JJBird.com. That's who you want to get it. I mean, it's on Amazon, but it's go through my website because I sign everyone that comes to my website. That's definitely where I'm going to go to pick mine up. I'm going to go to your website to get that. Thank you so much for sharing.

So is that the best place to find you if someone says, you know what? I love this. I love this episode. You know, they downloaded it. They've shared it with their friends. They've subscribed to the podcast. Please subscribe everybody. Where can they find you?

Is your website the best place? I know you're on social. I know you're active on social media as well. So tell everyone the best places to come find and engage and interact. And that's what I love about you is you're just a regular guy, right? I mean, you're obviously not a regular guy. You had some great experiences in the league. But I mean, as far as a human, you're super down to earth.

I mean, I met you. We connected on LinkedIn. And I just asked you, I was like, hey, would you mind coming on the show? And you're like, absolutely. So where can people connect with you? Yeah, definitely my website, jGburden.com. That's the hub. You can access me through there, obviously, through social media, learn about my speaking.

I have the Burden Report, which is my monthly motivational newsletter. So if you want something inspirational once a month, I usually write something once a month. And the free gift is the top eight takeaways from playing with Joe Montana. So that's my free gift to those who sign up from my newsletter. But like you mentioned, I'm all over social media. I really like social media because I like to engage with people. I like to serve people. I like to connect.

And just because I played the NFL, I don't consider myself better than anybody else. I'm just a normal, everyday guy. I'm a husband. I'm a father. I'm just trying to take care of my family and inspire others. And so where some athletes might have a different perspective, even when I was in the NFL, it's very rare if I ever told no, told someone no when it comes to signing an autograph because I think everybody's special.

You know, we all have different talents and abilities. And I just always want to be approachable and just be normal, you know. And that's why I love to interact the people through social media. And I think you made some amazing points there because like you said, at the end of the day, we all bleed the same color, right? We all get sick. And if you've got kids, one kid gets sick, everyone gets sick. Right? We all stub our toe. I mean, we all go through these things. And the way that you framed it up, and you're just a regular guy. I mean, what a humbling way to be. And to me, that's the right way to be as a person, because that means you're approachable. That means

If someone asked you a question, you'll actually contextually respond. You're not going to have somebody, oh, here, call this person to get to me. So I really, really appreciate that about you. And it's been awesome connecting with you and having conversations. And this time that we spent together was great. I know that the audience is going to definitely find value in it. So I just want to say, thank you so much for your time. And I'm sure we're going to stay connected.

And maybe we'll be collaborating soon on the consulting side. So yeah, I know. You know, I have to have a conversation about that. Absolutely. But I appreciate you, too, Jordan. Thanks for reaching out and, you know, invite me on the show and keep up the good work because I love the content you're sharing. Like I said, people need positive information. They need positive encouragement and direction.

And I love podcasts like this because when people listen, they're going to get value. So keep up the good work. Yeah, I appreciate that. What an amazing episode with JJ. And the guy just has perseverance. You know, he could have easily gave up and really not even started his career in the NFL. So if you want to get in touch with him, I'll put all of his info in the show notes. And if you're not subscribed to the podcast, please make sure you subscribe and tell all your friends about the podcast if it has added value to your life in any way.

I really, really appreciate the support and can't wait to share the next episode with you soon.