Start With A Win - Leadership Training in the NFL Part 1 with Heath Evans

Episode Date: December 14, 2022

Even as a child, Heath Evans knew what his future was going to look like—he believed in his dreams of becoming an NFL player and eventually being on TV. Having fulfilled those dreams, Heath now uses the experiences from his decade-long career in the NFL, the lessons taught by his parents, and his faith in God to coach men on mastering their manhood from a Biblical perspective.As the son of a marine, Heath learned early on that believing in his dreams would only take him so far. To make them a reality, he had to work hard every day toward his goals. He learned to continually raise the bar on his own definition of excellence. When NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick told him with brutal honesty that he needed to create his own position with the New England Patriots or be dropped from the team, Heath accepted the challenge. Instead of dissolving into a victim mindset, he prioritized the needs of his team over his own. He worked hard to improve his skill set, thus earning his place alongside some of the greatest athletes in the game. Main TopicsHeath’s journey to his career in the NFL (03:06)Battling fear and self doubt (06:30)How Coach Bill Belichick helped shape Heath’s success as a player (09:30)Advice for those who receive tough feedback (13:45)Facing honest reflection with courage (17:20)Enterprise leadership: putting the business first (20:07) Episode Links:https://www.builtready.comConnect with Heath:https://twitter.com/heathevans44https://www.facebook.com/HeathEvans44/https://www.instagram.com/heathevans44/?hl=enConnect with Adam:https://www.startwithawin.com/https://www.facebook.com/AdamContosCEOhttps://twitter.com/AdamContosCEOhttps://www.instagram.com/adamcontosceo/Listen, rate, and subscribe!Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle Podcasts

Welcome to Start With A Win, where we give you the tools and lessons you need to create business and personal success. Are you ready? Let's do this. Coming to you from Brand Viva Media Headquarters here in Denver, Colorado. It's Adam Contos. We'll start with a win. How you doing, Producer Mark? I'm doing so good. Awesome. So I see behind me, over my shoulder, there's a Christmas tree.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful. I love it. But the fire is so delightful. Yeah, we're in the holiday season here. Indeed. Now, are you the Christmas stuff up before Thanksgiving guy or Christmas stuff up after Thanksgiving guy? Day after. Okay, that's how I am too.

Day after and then New Year's Day or day after, everything's down and done. Yes, totally. You don't wait for the stock show to be over for you to pull your Christmas. You know my head works. I'm structured. Exactly. It drives me crazy if I fall out of sync. Totally.

No, we're tracking. We have the same traditions. Awesome. Yeah, that's good. Well, hey, I'm excited for our guest today. We have Heath Evans on the show. He's a former 10-year NFL fullback and former TV analyst for NFL Network. During his career, Heath played for the Miami Dolphins,

New England Patriots, and New Orleans Saints. And New Orleans Saints. Is it New Orleans or New Orleans? New Orleans. New Orleans. New Orleans. It depends where you're from. Adam said it right for about 33.6% of the people.

There you go. And a part of two Super Bowls. Currently, Heath leads online fitness communities, including his most recent venture, Built Ready, an online community dedicated to leading men both physically and spiritually through challenging workouts and biblical resources. Hey, welcome to Start With a Win. Welcome, brother. Hey, thanks for having me. Mark, don't ask me to sing. That voice of yours when you started singing the Christmas carols, I'm a little intimidated.

Well, a little known fact, American Idol. That's right. I had my 15 minutes of faith. I was in a Christian rock band for a while, too. I want to hear it. Offline, you can send me some music. We'll send you some stuff. He's super talented.

I have zero performing talent, by the way. So I stay as close as possible. You're handsome, but you speak good, though. So you listen. You got a couple of bases covered. That's right. Thanks, my brother. Hey, let's get into this a little bit because, I mean, you are an amazing leader, a great man,

great human being, and you do a lot to help other people find their inner strength, their inner self, their development, both physically, spiritually, emotionally, things like that. So I want to dig into your life a little bit. And I know our listeners can learn a lot from this conversation. I've learned a lot from being friends over the past few years with you. Tell us about your journey into the NFL. How'd you get there, first of all? Because everybody asks that. Everybody wants to know, how'd you get to where you got to, man? Well, I was the chubby little fat white boy from palm beach florida so the odds to make it to the nfl were slim to none

uh by god's grace phenomenal dad phenomenal mom um i don't know how i started dreaming but i was always just a big dreamer by the time i was literally eight years old adam i'm telling people at church at school, yeah, I'm playing the NFL and I'm gonna play about 10 years and then I'm going to reevaluate and then I'll probably go into TV. Well, it's exactly how it worked out. Now I'm not one to like speak your destiny and all that crap. You better work for your destiny or your destiny is not going to happen.

But you know, I had this work ethic, dad, a Marine mom, just my mom's the one in the stands on Friday night. Get up. If you're not hurt, I'm like, I'm on the ground for about six seconds. And she's yelling at me, you know, I'm embarrassing my mom for staying on the ground too long. But mom and dad taught me how to work and I kind of set goals and dad says, Hey, if, if, if we're not planning, we're planning to fail until we were

just always pressing towards, Hey, if these dreams are real dreams, you're going to work for them. And mom and dad taught me how to dream, taught me how to work. And then they really kind of pushed me along the way, but God's grace, 10 years in the NFL made it all happen. Wow. So you played high school football, obviously little, little league or Peewee or whatever, high school

football. Where'd you go to college? Auburn University. Good old SEC. We're not very good right now. It's sad days on the plane. But you, I mean, you continued this pursuit because you see a lot of people that start and stop things in life, and you clearly did not start and stop things. It was dedication and focus. Is that what I'm hearing? Well, a lot of failures along the way too. And a lot of times where I was actually performing well, but you know, people say, oh, coaches are against you, all those things. And just somewhere along the way, I just kind of never took no for an answer.

I mean, I had coaches say, hey, you're the, you're the wrong skin color to play this position. Hey, you're, you're too big. You're too this. And you know, even my, my freshman year at Auburn ended up being kind of all everything. Well, our coach gets fired, new coach comes in and he doesn't want my type of player. Well, I ended up, you know, playing exceptionally well my freshman year and then riding the bench for the first eight games of my sophomore year, people were like, oh, are you going to transfer? Quitting was never really an option. I just always believed that cream would rise to the top. I always believed that if I was talented enough, I'd eventually find a way.

And that work ethic, listen, when you're raised with a Marine and you're raised with a tough mom, work ethic was a staple of everything that we do. And laziness wasn't tolerated around our home. Excuses weren't tolerated around our home. We just kind of pushed and pressed. And then that's how I was raised. Wow. Sounds like some very dedicated parenting there.

So kudos to your parents. Very much so. When you look at those failures that you went through, you mentioned those challenges. Obviously, an athlete has a lot of challenges, be it an injury, be it just something that pulls you off the field. Maybe that's not the type of plays that the coach is running, or they're trying to develop somebody else, or who knows what it is. But you sit there, and you see so many people beat themselves up when stuff like that is going on. How can you sit there on the bench for six, eight games, whatever it is,

and at some point you've got to be like, am I ever going to get back out there in that self-doubt? How did you get past that self-doubt that probably rose in your head and your heart, wondering, are you going to get back out there? Well, I think some of the stair steps, like even before that, really helped me accomplish that. So in high school, my mom and dad would not let me leave our small Christian school. They're like, we're not going to sacrifice your education for sports. If you're good enough, they'll find you. My junior year, guys, I was playing varsity football with 17 guys. You normally have about 35 to 40 guys. And so I never came off the field.

There was hardships getting overlooked in the recruiting process. And then I get to Auburn, I play great my freshman year. I break my ankle. And after three games of my freshman year, I have surgery, I played Nate's crews on my ankle, get back in six weeks, play Georgia and Alabama. And then kind of, you're at the top of the mountain after your freshman year, coach gets fired. And then I'm sitting there. Not only did I have to ride the bench, they had moved me to the defensive side of the

ball, but, but not linebacker running back. Some linebackers about the same size, right? Physically, you know, height, weight. No, they moved me to defensive line in the SEC. So I'm 245 going up against guys that are 325 getting ragdolled in practice, humiliated physically, emotionally. There was just, obviously we mentioned great mom and dad. I wish I could take credit for the mental dispositions.

There was just a no quit attitude that had been instilled in me that, hey, listen, you push, you press, you work. Adam, you're a military man. You know kind of the all-for-one, one-for-all mentality. There was something that my mom and dad so ingrained in me that even though I wasn't playing, even though I had these hopes and dreams, I wasn't making it about me. There was still, okay, hey, is this what's best for the team? Then, hey, what's best for the team?

I want to find a way to contribute. I'll find a way to make this happen. And then the way it kind of came about was the alumni at Auburn were basically the ones that got me on the field. The coaches really tried to put me in a position where I would fail. Well, they ended up failing because I ended up getting an opportunity late in the game one day, made the most of the opportunities. I was ready when my number was called and then ended up starting the rest of

the year running back and a year later was drafted in the NFL. Awesome. So let's dig into that. You eventually played for four years under Belichick. I mean, talk about somebody who you talk about framework, specifics, intensity, you know, that there are no excuses, stuff like that. Tell us about your relationship with that man and how, how he coaches and why has he done so well? I mean, tell us about that. Brutal honesty. I remember walking off the field the off season before the 2006 season. I had made the Patriots roster the year before because of injuries. And they no longer were going to be carrying my position on that team. Well, we're walking off the field the last day of spring practice.

Bill pulls me aside and says, hey, listen, just want to be honest with you. We don't carry a fullback. You made the team last year because of injuries. You stepped in. You did a great job. We're really grateful. But you need to create your own position. So over these next six weeks before you come back

for two days and training camp, I just wanted to let you know that right now we don't have a spot for you on our team. Well, most people would say that that's brutal and it's almost even unkind to put me in such a place where you're telling me in advance, you don't have a spot for me. Well, Bill knew me. Bill knew that I would go home. I would find a way to work. I would find a way to do something to create value on that team. He knew I was the son of a Marine. He knew I was kind of like this multifaceted, multi-talented guy. And what felt to most people like that was unkind, unloving, set me up for failure. To me, I was like, he was honest. I want to know I've got a family to provide for. I need to know that I don't have a spot on this team. I need to know that I have must create a roster spot for

myself. I needed to know that I must prepare myself to do something abnormal to create a place for me on that team. And so I tell that story often because most leaders are scared to give that hard truth. They're hard to go to. It's hard to go to that employee or that person and say, Hey, right here, right now, you don't have what it takes, but the people that want to be a part of something special, they'll find a way to be that missing link. They'll find a way to improve their skillset, to be a part of something special, they'll find a way to be that missing link. They'll find a way to improve their skill set to be a part of something great. I knew how great Bill was.

I knew how great our team was. But his brutal honesty in film session, killing Tom Braden, killing the veteran-laden roster, holding those guys to a level of expectation that was far greater than even, you know, me, the 35th, 40th guy on the roster, that accountability marker that Brady was held to and that all the superstars, there was no, there was no favorites, right? And so his just tenacity and truth is really what sets him apart in so many different ways. I want to, I want to keep digging a little deeper in this because what you're talking about from a leadership perspective is different than what you're talking about from the recipient's perspective. So you've got your perspective of, all right, and quite frankly, a great deal of society would take this as, oh, I've just been shot down. I've been torpedoed. I'm not, my career is done here,

things like that. Bill was looking to provide you clarity of here are the expectations to fill. And if you fill these expectations, you have an opportunity. If you don't, we both knew. You know, so it's interesting. One of the key aspects of a great leader is clarity. And him having the kindness, I guess, maybe it wasn't kind, maybe it was just blunt, but he gave it to you. And you said, all right, now I know where the bar's set. There are so many people walking into meetings this week, next week, the following week for annual performance reviews in their place of business. And some people are going to hear this same thing that you just said that you heard while you're walking off the field before six weeks of,

am I going to sit there and sulk or am I going to work my rear end off to make that team? What advice do you have to people that get punched in the gut with, you don't quite have what it takes to start next year, but you could. What advice do you have for them? Well, for me, it's always make it about the team. Bill had one job. He was hired by Robert Kraft to put the team first. We had these very simplistic coaching orders when we came to work every single day. Do your job, put the team first, work hard, ignore the noise. These statements that meant the world to us as players, because we had

been trained in this Belichick way of thinking that it's not about you. So I had already had a year of understanding that Bill was only trying to do the job he was hired to do. It wasn't personal. He wasn't attacking me like I was some deficient, less talented player. He just said, Hey, for what's best for this team, I need you to do something different than what you've currently done. And so I said, again, I got the dad Marine, the hardworking mom. My mindset wasn't, oh, woe is me. It was like, all right, these people have already won three rings. This is the best coach in all of football.

He knows a lot that I don't. He's forgotten more football than I'll probably ever know. Let me humble myself. What are the things that I can control? Right. And so there was a lot of things that I could control in that six weeks to prepare my mind, most specifically to go in there and go to war to win a roster spot with one of the best teams in football. And so, listen, did the physical training change?

No, I always come in in shape. Did the strength training change? No, I always come in in shape. Did the strength training change? No, I always come in strong. But it was this mindset of, okay, hey, I'm not giving anything. I need to go earn it. I think there was a process of Bill that he knew there was a rise in me that he knew he could still get out of me. If he just kind of leveled these expectations of me up a little bit. And really I'd blossomed into a far superior player in 2006 than I was in 2005 because

he set this mindset of me, you must be better. You must bring something to the table that you're currently not bringing. And so he taught me, he provided everything that I needed to know, just fulfill his expectations. It was just up for me to go home and prepare my mind to go in and make it happen. So the woe is me stuff. I can't, I just can't stand, especially out of men. Everyone's got excuses, right? You know, everyone's got some story.

I was overlooked. I was this, who cares? We've all been wounded. We've all been wronged. We've all been overlooked. What are you going to do about it? So I was obviously in a great place where Bill provided everything for me to be who he was expecting me to be. What's sad is, and you see this a lot in leadership, sometimes leaders expect things out of players that they're not training them to even be able to give back with their demanding. That wasn't the case in New England.

We were trained well. We were taught well. We were provided everything we needed to do to put the team first, to work hard, et cetera. So you went home to do, you were doing this physical training. You were training hard. You still train hard to this day. I mean, it's just kind of the fabric of your being is be the best physical and emotional and spiritual and mental human being that you can. You had to go home and train your brain a and you just turned up the intensity or got out? I mean, is there doubt?

Was there any doubt when you sat down at dinner and you're like, or you lay down in bed and you're like, am I going to have a job in six weeks? I mean, how did you get over that? Well, it's funny. So how I got to New England was you mentioned I played with Miami Dolphins very briefly. So in 2005, I started the season with the Miami Dolphins. We get grade sheets every week. In seven games, my lowest grade was an 86, which is a high B. You think you're playing well. Well, we literally had a hurricane coming to South Florida. Nick Saban cuts me. I think I'm their starting fullback. I'm playing pretty well based on my grade sheet for my coaches, and yet they cut me

out of nowhere. And so doubt for the first time in my life really set in. I've got a wife. I've got one child. I've got to provide for this family, yada, yada, yada. Well, the Patriots picked me up literally two weeks later, and then I go up and finish that 2005 season, honestly flourishing in numerous ways. Well, it was flourishing at the true

running back position because of injuries. Well, Bill needed a fullback and they hadn't carried a fullback in years in New England. And so I said nothing really changed other than the mental perspective, but was there doubt? Yes. Was there fear? Yes. I remember being in that training camp being like, did I do enough today to make this roster? Am I going to get cut this week? Okay. Hey, final cuts are coming up. I remember Josh McDaniels, who's now the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, literally calling me, um, you know, before the final cuts, Hey brother, congratulations. We're so proud of the hard work you put in. You're going to be an integral part of this offense this year. Thanks for coming in prepared to do what we needed you to do for this team.

And so it was so much more of a, Hey, is this Heath going to, you know, want to play just running back and kind of want to get all the carries that he got the year before, or is he going to really fight to be who this team needs him to be? And so doubts, fears, insecurities, listen, anyone that says they don't have those things, they're lying. And those are the real cowards. The real men are the ones that can say, Hey, listen, what am I going to do about these insecurities. Listen, anyone that says they don't have those things, they're lying. And those are the real cowards. The real men are the ones that can say, hey, listen, what am I going to do about these insecurities? What am I going to do about this pit that I'm in? What am I going to do about this situation that this head coach just thrusted me in? Let me go to work. And I've always been a

guy, how many times have I called you? Hey, what do I do with this charity work? And what do I do with this? If we ask, right? If we will just humble ourselves and ask. So I ask a whole bunch of those players on the team from the Mike Rabels to the Teddy Brewskis, you name it, the late great junior say out, how do I do this? Right. Humble yourself. That's where I started. Awesome. If you're a leader out there and you're listening to this, there's something I want you to think about. And it's a concept called enterprise leadership. And what we're seeing here is he talk about enterprise leadership, not doing what's best for you or what's best for your silo, your vertical, your unit in the business, because a football team is a business. It's a business.

And what Bill and Heath and really everybody else on the Patriots talks about is what's best for the business, even at my own sacrifice. Or if it's at my sacrifice, maybe I better up my game in order to do what's best for the business. So this is called enterprise leadership. It's a key concept, one of those key soft skills of leadership that we really aren't even trained in. Even in business school, you don't hear about it, but it's out there and it fits everywhere in life because it's not about being about yourself. It's being about the organization that you're with because if everybody lifts up the organization, everybody gets lifted up. All right, we're going to pause the conversation right there. This has just been amazing.

It's been gold, but we've reached the end of our episode. So make sure that you subscribe. So you get notified next week when part two comes out. We'll see you next time.