The School of Greatness - Nicole Lynn On Breaking Down Industry Barriers & Accomplishing Your Goals EP 1142

Episode Date: July 28, 2021

Today's guest is Nicole Lynn, who In 2019, became the first Black woman to represent a Top 3 NFL draft pick (and only the second woman in history to solo represent a NFL first rounder). The following year, Nicole made history representing back-to-back Top 10 NFL draft picks. Outside of the sports world, she represents multiple clients in the entertainment industry. Most recently, Lynn joined Klutch Sports Group as senior agent and president of football operations.In this episode Lewis and Nicole discuss the goal setting strategy you can use to achieve success, how to find and pursue your purpose, how to build self-confidence when you don’t have any, the greatest lessons Nicole has learned in her career, and so much more!For more go to: www.lewishowes.com/1142Check out her website: www.agentnicolelynn.comCheck out her book: Agent You: Show Up, Do the Work, and Succeed On Your Own TermsThe Wim Hof Experience: Mindset Training, Power Breathing, and Brotherhood: https://link.chtbl.com/910-podA Scientific Guide to Living Longer, Feeling Happier & Eating Healthier with Dr. Rhonda Patrick: https://link.chtbl.com/967-podThe Science of Sleep for Ultimate Success with Shawn Stevenson: https://link.chtbl.com/896-pod  

This is episode number 1142 with NFL sports agent, Nicole Lynn. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Oprah said, the more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. And Alice Walker said, the most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.

My guest today is Nicole Lynn, who in 2019 became the first black woman to represent a top three NFL draft pick and only the second woman in history to solo represent an NFL first rounder. The following year, Nicole made history representing back-to-back top 10 NFL draft picks. And outside of the sports world, she represents multiple clients in the entertainment industry as well. Most recently, Lynn joined Clutch Sports Group as Senior Agent and President of Football Operations. And she's written a new book called Agent You. Show up, do the work, and succeed on your own terms. And Nicole's story is incredibly fascinating and inspiring. And I'm so excited for you to hear this one. And in this episode, we discuss the goal-setting strategy that you can use to achieve success, how to find and pursue your own

purpose, how to build self-confidence when you don't have any, the greatest lesson Nicole has learned in her career, and so much more. And we also go through a session where I challenge Nicole to see how she can upgrade the different parts of her life and becoming even greater at what she does in every area of her life. And I think you'll find that part fascinating as well. If you're inspired by this, make sure to share this with someone that you think would be inspired to hear this as well. And a quick reminder,

if this is your first time here, make sure to follow the School of Greatness. You can subscribe over on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere that you are listening to podcasts. And I'm gonna be shouting out some more of you who are leaving reviews over on Apple Podcasts as well. So please leave a review over there of the part during this interview

that is most inspiring from you. And this was a recent review from Danny, who said, the podcast has helped me so much throughout the years. I love hearing Lewis's take on the world and the light he brings every week. So many good lessons and insights each time. Keep it up.

This one is from Gisele May, who said, I can't speak highly enough about this podcast and I've been listening to Lewis for over two years. It's become part of my morning routine to walk the dog this podcast, and I've been listening to Lewis for over two years. It's become part of my morning routine to walk the dog and listen. I've changed so many things in my life that weren't fueling me because of this show. Lewis has helped me take a leap of faith in my career and aspirations, and I'm always looking to learn and grow personally. And this show has given me the courage to go get what I want in life.

And the last one of the week is from Lou, who says, I subscribed to the School of Greatness years ago and had never listened to it until recently while cleaning out my podcast subscriptions. Needless to say, I went down a rabbit hole listening to countless episodes. And this is a great reminder

that behind everyone famous or expert or PhD, there is a story, a special gifting, a soul like you and I. And it ties in with Louis's kind message at the end of each episode. To everyone listening, you are loved. I hope you enjoy this. And again, make sure to leave a review at any point during this episode over on Apple Podcasts. And I'll be doing some more shout outs in the coming episodes.

And again, in just a moment, the one and only Nicole Lynn. Welcome back everyone in the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We've got Nicole Lynn in the house. Good to see you, Nicole. Good to see you. Very excited about this. You've broken so many barriers and molds to being one of the, you know, first female agents to really have top draft picks in the NFL. You've got 19 NFL clients, I think you said. You've got multiple influencers, rappers, comedians, pro softball players. You're just taking over in the athlete world. And I'm excited that you're here. Also have your law degree. You were in the financial services for many years and you came from poverty, which I think is fascinating. I'm curious, growing up without having an abundance of money and coming from this place

of scarcity and poverty, how did you train your mindset to think more of abundance mindset financially around money? How did you change the conversation or the ideas in your mind? How did you learn about money differently? You know, it's funny because I don't know that it ever really changed. You know, I always say I still don't know that it ever really changed. You know, I always say I still kind of have a poor kid mentality. Really? No matter how successful I've been or how much money I've made, I still have this weird fear of going back. Gosh. So my

mindset, it hasn't, it's something I struggle with. It's something I'm really working on. You know, I talk a lot in interviews about, you know, balancing these two jobs I had. I worked as a sports agent and a lawyer, two separate jobs, not at one company. One was at the number three law firm in the world, and one was at a top sports agency. And I did that because of money. And my husband would be like, we're good.

You can leave that job. But it was this weird fear. So I would say. You mean you worked double jobs because of money? Because you wanted to make sure you had enough. Yeah, because being a sports agent cost a lot of money. People don't know that. You're traveling, you've got expenses, you have to wait to contracts to come in, do you get your commission? Then you've got to train the players and each

player could cost you 25 grand to 100 grand and it comes out of your own pocket. Getting ready for the draft. Getting ready for the draft, exactly. And so in order to front that money, I had to have another job. And so even when I got to the position where I had multiple first-round picks and I was doing fine, I still wouldn't leave the job. I wouldn't leave the law job because my mindset about money never changed. It was always in my mind like it was something that was scarce and also something I felt like I had to hoard. So it even took me a very long time to get to the point of,

okay, now I need to invest my money. Even though I have a background in finance. I know you shouldn't hoard your money, but when you grow up poor. I know. I felt this for like a decade. It's just, it's different. And people would say, you know better. Wow.

Right? I've got my Series 7, my Series 63. I could trade on the stock market. I know better. But you just kept it in savings now. And it was like, it's like hiding it under your mattress. Not doing anything for you. Nothing, nothing. This is dying for you. Yeah. And it was like, it's like hiding it under your mattress. Not doing anything for you. Nothing, nothing.

This is dying for you. Yeah. And it's sad. So when did you start to shift and say, okay, I can't hoard this. I need to shift the mindset and actually like invest in myself or invest in, not that you weren't investing yourself, but investing their money and being willing to spend some of it to really create more of it. I think it was me just saying, hey, I've got to take a leap of faith.

Yeah. When was this? This was to take a leap of faith. Yeah. When was this? This was like six months ago. Wow. Okay. Yeah, I mean, I invested in my 401k and like kind of, but to really say, hey, here's a big bulk of like this, here's the money that's in my savings account

and I'm going to get a financial advisor. You know, I felt like I could handle it all. And so I finally said, I'm going to get a financial advisor. And they were like, this money's been in your account this whole time Wow, and it's embarrassing because I represent athletes and I teach them financial literacy If I had an athlete that had that amount of money in their account, I would lose it I would lose it you weren't doing it for yourself exactly that interesting It's crazy, and I know the financial advisor kept saying I feel like I'm repping one of your athletes right now

He's like, you know better like I'm like, I know. But that when you grow up poor, your mentality, you have this fight or flight all the time, this fear. And so I always wanted to make sure I had resources. Yeah. Available at all times. At all times. I felt this way for so long. After I was talking about this off camera, after playing arena football, I had this surgery and I was on my sister's couch for about six months. And for about a year and a half, I just wasn't making any money. So I was on my sister's couch for about six months recovering. Then I lived in my brother's place playing 250 a month. Just trying to like, where am I going next?

Hustling. Hustling for a year and a half, making nothing. Finally, at the end of the year and a half, making like maybe a couple thousand dollars a month. But it wasn't enough to like really survive and live off of and thrive. I started to make more over the next few years to where I was like, okay, I have money in the bank. I'm good for a couple years, but I would still take Greyhound buses and Southwest middle seat, back of the plane, multiple connections. I would never get a hotel room. Never until maybe like four or five years ago.

That's too far. I don't do that. I get a hotel room. Well, as a guy, I was like, whose couch can I sleep on? I was just like, who do I know in what city? Who can pick me up? Like everything. Yeah.

Who can I get some free food from? But it was like, I had the money. Yeah. It's that your mindset never changed. It's weird. And I feel like I'm the same way. It's like, I'm just now getting to the point where I'm like, okay, I have got to practice what I preach, right? Right. I know I know the how this works. I've got actually put into action

So what do you think is the biggest thing holding it back from going all in on that kind of abundance mindset? Gosh, I mean, I think it's fear. Hmm. I think it's fear. I think it's fear of going back which is not gonna happen It's just it's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. But for some reason, there's just this like, what if? I don't have a plan B. I don't have anything to lean on. I didn't grow up with a trust fund or parents with money. So it's me or it's nothing. Wow. What do you think was the biggest myth about money that you were taught growing up or you saw in the world?

Gosh, it was so weird to me because I used to think I had this code with my mom when I'd go to a friend's house and I'd say they have six chairs at their dining room table. That was our code like to say they were rich. Really? Yeah. It was like I'm saying that I have a friend's house and maybe she'd never been there. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, they have six chairs, not four, not two. They have six. You know, or I'd see a friend that had a two's house and maybe she'd never been there and I'm like, oh my gosh, they have six chairs. Not four, not two, they have six. Or I'd see a friend that had a two-story house and it's like, oh my gosh, they're millionaires. And so it was just these small things which were very common in society that for me felt like, wow, that's when you know you made it. That's when you know you

have money. But really, you meet millionaires, you meet people that are wealthy and they don't show their wealth. You have no idea. Some of them, some of them don't. Yeah, it depends what type of person they are. It's very true. Is it new money or old money? You got the money quick?

Yeah, maybe. Who knows? That's interesting. So your book's called Agent You, Show Up, Do the Work, and Succeed on Your Own Terms. So how do you need to show up and do the work in your own life right now to get to the next level for yourself? Oh, my God. This is like a therapy session. There's so many ways I need to show up and do the work in your own life right now to get to the next level for yourself? Oh my God, this is like a therapy session. So many ways I need to show up. I mean, I think continuing to make good decisions financially, right?

So knock down the fear. Are you writing that down while you're holding me accountable? I'm taking notes, yeah. I'm not mad at that. Okay. Taking some risk. I'd say taking more risks, specifically financially, but... What's the risk you haven't yet fully taken yet?

I just took the biggest risk six weeks ago, leaving my law firm. So that was huge. You just left. Just left. So you finally went all in on the main thing you want to go on. Six weeks ago. So I just took a huge risk. It was like, I'm going all in on sports, and I'm going to do just one job.

Because that was bringing in, I'm assuming, a nice six or plus figure salary. And it was like the security blanket, right? Yes. Every two weeks, this is what you're getting. In sports, they give a big chunk and then, God forbid, you lose a player and it's gone. So how do you think that was holding you back from not going all in sooner? back from not going all in sooner? Well, I think I wasn't able to give my entire time and my entire, you know, just, I don't know, mentality to this one job. I was split. Like even my anxiety and stress was split. Interesting. And so being able to finally go all in on one, I feel like, I mean,

that's what was holding me back from, I think, greatness. People see me now and say, oh, you're so successful. I'm like, well, imagine if I didn't have another job. But I did with two jobs, yeah. Exactly. So I feel like it really held me back from where I meant to go. How many years have you been doing both jobs? Seven.

Seven years, both. Both. Where do you think you'll be in the next two years by being all in energy, resources, strategy with this one thing? I'll probably get in two years what took me seven as my guess. Seven with both? Seven with both.

You think in two years you'll be able to get? Totally. I mean, I was working 70, 80 hours a week at a law firm. This wasn't a small law firm. It's a huge international law firm. We had billables we had to meet. I was doing securities fraud litigation. Nothing to do with sports.

Really? And so I'm over here preparing motions and going to trial. And then, oh yeah, I'm a sports agent. So that time, if I can focus it all in, yeah, I think I can do what I did in seven and two. How did you learn about goal setting growing up? Because it seems like you don't just accomplish what you accomplished by, I don't know, just accidentally. You had to have some type of framework or model or goal-setting strategy. How did you think and then act to accomplish all these different things at this stage of your life?

I don't, you know, I just, I always had a different level of grit. People talk about grit. I didn't have foundation. Nobody taught me anything. I didn't have role models. It almost felt like it was in my DNA. Really? Because my brother who grew up with me went down a very different path, right? We both, we grew up very poor and a dangerous situation. And he went down what the statistics would say. And so I don't know what made me go this way. And I, you know,

I'm always asked that and I kind of tried to dig deep and I feel like it's just grit, which is something people have and some people don't. Do you have like a framework for when you set and accomplish goals? Are you like, I'm going to be a lawyer and this day. And I'm going to be a sport. I'm going to be my first big athlete by this time. And then how do you either reverse engineer or strategize those goals to accomplish them? Yeah.

So I definitely, I do big picture first. Like what's the big goal? I think a lot of people work on smaller goals first. You know, first I'm gonna do this small goal and go up the steps. I'm like, I wanna know what's at the very top of the steps and then go backwards. So if it's, I'm gonna get a first rounder,

well what is that gonna take? Is that gonna take five seventh rounders? Is that gonna take getting a job at a top sports agency? Is that gonna take making sure I'm certified in these certain states? I go big and then you go backwards. And that's what you do with everything in terms of law? Yeah, yeah.

When did you know you wanted to do law in the first place and then financial services? How were those? It was all to kind of reach the same purpose of working with athletes. So you knew you wanted to work with athletes? I always knew. From the beginning? Yeah, since I was probably a teenager. Really? Yeah. And you knew law was part of the path?

Not originally. I mean, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, and then I thought, okay, maybe I want to be a financial advisor for athletes, and that's why I went to Wall Street. Wow. And then when I got there, I interviewed some financial advisors, and I realized it's really the agent that's kind of the day-to-day person. And so the minute I determined I was on the right path, the wrong path, I deviated and went to law school. Really? Like three months later, I was taking the LSAT. And for me, it was all about walking in my purpose. That was critical. It didn't matter what I had to do to get there. If I had to leave a six-figure job after growing up poor, I was going

to do it. Really? Yeah. How do you teach people about discovering their purpose? They have no clue. They feel like they're stuck or in a rut. Man. Well, first it's making sure you realize how important it is. Your purpose. Yeah. And finding it. Finding your purpose needs to be the most important mission of your life. I always say, if you're not walking in your purpose, you're just working and living to die. And I hope it shakes people to the core when they hear that. If you're not walking in your purpose, you're just working and living to die. And so you've got to figure out what that purpose and calling is. And purpose should not be hard, right? There's all these conversations about finding your purpose and podcasts and blogs, and it's this hard, really

tough thing to figure out. It shouldn't be. Your purpose is your superpower. I talk about it in my book. I equate it to your superpower. What is the thing that you're naturally great at? The Hulk is strong, right? Superman can fly. When people think about you, what do they say? What is your superpower? And so in my book, I kind of go down several factors of how to get to your purpose, but it shouldn't be, it's not hidden. Everybody has one. You just got to figure it out. If someone is thinking, well, I don't know what that is still, like I haven't been able to figure it out. I have, or maybe well, I don't know what that is still. I haven't been able to figure it out. Or maybe I've got so many passions, I'm not sure which one to choose. I want to do it all. Or I'm not sure what I'm good at. Do you suggest they ask their friends or family?

Do you suggest they get feedback from someone and say, well, what do you see in front of me? Yeah, absolutely. I always say, ask your friends and family. Ask the people closest to you. What am I great at? And what's the first thing you think of when you think of me? Right? And if you have, you want me to do a favor for you, right? When you have a favor you need, you have different friends, you call for different things. What's the perfect favor for me? Right? Am I the person that you're calling in the moment when you need help budgeting or am I someone that comes through in the clutch because I'm just, I'm always there. You know, purpose doesn't have to be your day job. You know, your purpose could be providing support to a spouse, you know, it could be a hobby, it could be a number of things.

Yeah. What about biggest myths on finding your dream job? And does that line up with figuring out what your purpose is, or is that different in your mind? Biggest myths. I think people see the dream job, people get the dream job, and they think of an overnight success. Especially, like even with me, they're like, oh, one day she was no one, and now she's got these top players, and she works for this top sports agency.

It took years. Yeah, they don't see what happened in private to get there. You know, they see this overnight success. And you have to take sometimes a lot of jobs you hate to get to your dream job. To figure out what you don't want. Yeah. To figure out what you do want. Exactly.

Exactly. So there's a lot of grueling work and kind of saying, hey, I hate this. I hate this. You know, crossing off the list until you sometimes get to that dream job. I knew what I always wanted to do, but I think I'm the exception. That's not the rule. Most people do not know. I know. So you have to try stuff that you don't like for a while. Exactly. And then just don't stay there. Exactly. Keep course correcting. What about the biggest adversity you've ever faced? What was that in your life? Oh, my gosh. And how did you mentally and emotionally overcome it? Oh my gosh. I mean, my childhood just generally is a lifetime movie.

So I have a list of adversities. You know, I think even at seven, eight years old, my biggest challenge was figuring out what I was going to eat for dinner, you know, and trying to be creative and taking home food from the school, right. You know, okay, which milk won't spoil that I can keep for a day or two and navigating that for myself and my younger brother you know i think yeah the biggest adversities for

me were staying alive as a kid and figuring that figuring that out and you know it's just it's so weird because i just i felt like i was a parent so early i grew up so quickly and so the adversities were there but you know i treated it as if this is just a day job it's like okay we've got a fair we're going to eat let's keep it pushing as an eight-year-old yeah yeah it's crazy it's crazy saying it now out loud wow it's my husband's always like you know those stories you tell they're not normal yeah you need to go to therapy what were your where were your parents at during this time but or what was that experience like? Not there.

You know, dealing with mental health and others, you know, they're just not around, not there. We really raised ourselves. Really? Were they in the home, or were you staying with other people? Yeah, we lived with my dad, but he was never around, and so we kind of were just there all day raising ourselves. We didn't come home to people checking our homework,

which is odd because we did well in school, so it's like where did that motivation come from? I don't know. I think just something that I feel like I always say it's like DNA. Did you have teachers that were supportive or coaches or mentors at school that were kind of like looking after you? I had a librarian, one librarian I remember that would like sneak stuff to me to take home because she was aware. So she'd say like, oh, this is my granddaughter's sweatshirt. You know, why don't you have it? That's nice.

And so, but besides her, no, I actually feel like the school system dropped the ball. Yeah. Who was the most influential person in your life growing up? You know, I didn't have anybody. I hate that question because I get asked that or like, who was your role model? And I wish I, I almost thought about lying and picking someone, but there was just no one. Like growing up, I didn't see people that were lawyers and doctors. I mean, based on where I grew up and, you know, it just, that wasn't there.

We weren't exposed to that. So there was no teacher, there was no family friend, there was no, no one that was really an inspiration for you? Maybe when I got to high school, early on, you know, elementary and junior high. No, I got to high school. I mean, I think the teachers there, I went to a magnet school and it was inspiring to see kind of how many students were able to make it out. It had similar circumstances. What was the biggest lesson you learned growing up then, before you got into college and after high school, the biggest lesson in your teen and early years?

I mean, oh, gosh, all the lessons I learned were boring stuff, like how to raise your credit, how to finance a car. the years? I mean, oh gosh, all the lessons I learned were boring stuff like, you know, how to raise your credit, how to finance a car. I mean, those are the things I was doing pretty young to survive. Really? Yeah. How to make a forged driver's license, how to make a fake tag for your car so you can drive it because you can't afford tags. A forged driver's license? It's a whole other story. So why did you have to forge this? Because I was 14 and I had to get to my magnet school, which was across the city. So you were driving at 14? I was.

No way. Yeah, because I got into the magnet school, the number one school in the state, which is on the other side of town. And so I took city buses to get there. Oh my gosh. And finally, I ended up getting a job at Chick-fil-A, which is the only place that hires 14-year-olds. Wow. Saved every check.

Bought a Dodge Neon for $2,500. At 14? 14. That's crazy and then you made that much money at 14 and saved your money and bought a car so you drive so I can go to the best school in the state that is nuts no one's willing to drive you there was no like we didn't have it I didn't have anybody holy cow I didn't have anybody so and then learned how to you know get your car insurance. Oh, my gosh. Wait, how did you not get, can you buy a car at 14? Like, how does that even work?

Yeah. You just got to have connections. Hustling. Oh, my gosh. Hustling. So, how did you even learn to drive? Yeah, I mean. That's got to be, I was scared at 17 when I got my license. Like, on the highway?

I would start on the, I mean, I remember starting on the streets and just like going places to get, you know, my brother, he went to school around the corner. So learning to take him. Did you take classes in five years? Or was it just, you just jumped in? Not at 14. You can't take classes at 14, but I didn't have a choice. No one taught you like, okay, this is how you do it?

No. Oh my gosh. That's crazy. No, no. But they didn't teach me that. That's not, that is the least shocking of the things I was not taught Yeah, oh

My gosh, that's crazy. Yeah, I didn't know that about you. What is What's the thing you're most proud of that? Most people don't know about you that you've overcome or done What am I most proud of? Hmm. That's a really tough question. You you know I'm proud of where I've gotten to in the sports industry I'm proud of that um I worked on a as an attorney I worked on a bunch of pro bono cases and so one of the cases uh we worked on someone that was on death row and he actually ended up getting out that's cool so really proud to have worked on that team. I was a very small piece of the team, but giving back. That's great.

Giving back. That's great. Yeah. And where's your brother now? So my brother is of two brothers. One I talk about in the book who actually was killed, gang violence. And so that happened when I was in law school. Okay.

And then my other brother who was going down the same kind of track I moved him to Moved him in with me when I was in law school to kind of change his life after I lost one brother Wow, and so now he's in like an aviation mechanics school. I've been putting him through Trying to really get turn his life around so He's on his way, but it took a while for him to get there You know we grew up in the same circumstances And like I said, he went down the way that statistically you'd think he would and i went

this way without any parental guidance we just both went our separate ways and so i easily could have been him so i give him a lot of grace yeah he could have been him yeah one or two wrong decisions yeah yeah what's your thoughts on risk-taking? Because it sounds like you've taken a lot of risk from an early age and done things that maybe weren't the norm from where you're from. And it sounds like now you're taking even more risks, leaving this other career going on in this mission and purpose of yours. What's your viewpoint on assessing risk, taking risk? How much risk should we take as humans? Yeah, I think risk are really important.

You know, I actually talk about this in my book, the Hail Mary, you know what a Hail Mary is. You know, obviously it's a forward pass that is gut-wrenching. I think everybody has professional and personal Hail Marys in their life that they have to take. Like really big moments

that they have to just jump out on a limb. Like for me, it was leaving Wall Street, right? That was my Hail Mary. I think it's important that we do that, but that it's timed correctly. So when I took that Hail Mary or when I left my law job, which is another big Hail Mary, I was saving and paying down debt and making sure that the risk was calculated. It wasn't just like, I'm broke and I'm going to go do this. Exactly.

Exactly. It was very much I planned in advance for it. What do you feel like is your superpower? Oh man, I think I have more than one superpower actually. What are your multiple superpowers? I'm invisible, I'm just kidding. You're invisible? I'm just kidding. Let's see, I can see through people, no.

Yeah. You know, I think my superpower is that I'm able to, I have a weird ability to get people to kind of go to their full potential. Really? Right? I can talk to you and figure out, okay, what is your purpose?

And somehow motivate you to move towards that, to take that first step. How do you motivate people to do that? Finding a way to make sure that they believe in themselves. How how can I believe in them so that they believe in themselves? And I think, again, we talked about purpose. Everybody has a purpose. Everybody has a calling. And I don't think a lot of people realize that. They think, oh, I'm just here for no reason. So once I can convince you, yes, you have a purpose and you should be working towards it and it is achievable, I can get you to move. Wow. Yeah. Have you always believed in yourself or did you doubt yourself a

lot? No, I've always believed in myself. Really? Yeah. I just, even in the circumstances I grew up in, I knew I would, I just always would say, no, I'm going to be rich one day or I'm going to be successful one day. I didn't know exactly what that looked like, but it was almost like I was a fed up kid. I'm like, I'm not doing this. You're not living this life. I'm't know exactly what that looked like, but it was almost like I was a fed up kid. I'm like, I'm not doing this. You're not living this life. I'm not living this ghetto life. Really? Yeah. So I've always, I've always kind of known. And I think my confidence has helped me a lot. How does someone build self-belief when they've doubted themselves their whole life? Yeah. I mean, it sounds like the imposter syndrome, right? Like especially women deal

with the imposter syndrome all the time. Although I'm confident in myself, it doesn't mean in isolated moments I don't feel like an imposter. So for me, building belief is sometimes faking it until you make it, right? It's like I may not be comfortable in the room, but I'm going to be the most prepared person in the room. And I'm going to fake it until I get to that point. So, I mean, I remember in football, before I learned the game, like texting my husband, I mean, years ago, at the time, he was like my boyfriend, like, tell me what to say. You know, literally putting, you know, faking it, and I was confident, and then at night, I'm watching film like crazy, and I'm learning the CBA, and so, yeah, part of combating

the imposter syndrome is just being over-prepared. Right. You know? The more prepared you are, the more confident you become. Exactly. And it takes time. So you weren't big into football growing up? No, not at all.

So why did you say, like, football is going to be my mechanism for delivering my purpose? Why that sport mainly? Because the athletes in football, 75% or so are black, many of which had a very similar upbringing as me. And I wanted to reach people with my upbringing, people that have an opportunity to make a lot of money, that I saw also sometimes go back. Like, how could I fix that?

And I felt like I could reach more people with that kind of upbringing and story if I was in football. So it was very strategic. I didn't grow up watching football. I'm not some huge football fan. I don't watch football in my free time. It was always about the athlete. And I represent some rappers.

I mean, it's the same. It's the same human over and over and over. They came from a certain place that you can relate to. That I can mentor. You want to make sure that they don't mismanage their money. What's the stat with NFL players? Three out of four. Within two years. Go bankrupt within two years or something. I can mentor and you know. You wanna make sure that they don't mismanage their money. What's the stat with NFL players? Three out of four within two years.

Go bankrupt within two years or something. Yeah, within two years they'll have some type of financial hardship. Isn't that crazy? Yeah, it's ridiculous. And so in my mind, when I used to hear that, I'm like. How is that possible? It didn't make sense.

And I used to think, oh it's the agent's fault. It's definitely the agent's fault. When I get in there, that's never gonna happen. But that's not true. There's only so much you can do, know this is that human's money yeah they're gonna spend it the way they want to do it whether you give them advice or not yeah they say okay and then there's a lot of people you can influence and it's not just athletes but entertainers or whatnot there's a lot that listen and you'll have the one or two that there's nothing you can do

why do you think it's so hard for people that maybe grew up in a certain mentality it's hard for them to listen to that kind of sound advice or not take those impulsive decisions on around money and finances and kind of spending it extravagantly why do you think that's the case i don't think there's a lot of sound advice to listen to i mean i think a lot of times that the people in their corner or their team are yes people yes yes men, yes women. And so I don't think there's the sound advice that you think there is. It's when financial literacy has never been taught to you, you're just doing what you think makes sense.

You've never had money, so you're spending it in case it's gone one day. It's like this frantic, like, well, I'm going to spend it. What wisdom do you give to your athletes when you know they're going to get a big sum of money? Like what do I tell them? What advice do you tell them? Well, first of all, to have a financial advisor. Yeah. Right, which I had to tell myself that.

A fiduciary, a financial advisor, yeah. Yeah, have someone that is certified and can help you in managing. You know, I think it's fine to treat yourself once, right? I don't want to come in and say you shouldn't be able to spend your money. You've worked extremely hard. People have things that they like, maybe it's cars or shoes or whatever. It's when you overindulge is the problem. You can have a nice car,

right? You can have nice clothes, but you don't need 10 nice cars. Yeah. So that's where it's, that's where it becomes an issue. And so kind of finding that balance. Okay. When you have an athlete, you don't have to name names or anything anything but when you have an athlete who maybe is not taking your advice and you see them you see them oh they shouldn't have done this or i wanted to advise them to do this but they kept doing it over and over do you decide to i'm going to stick with this person even if they're going to blow everything financially or do you say listen we've got to start making some adjustments for us to keep working together because i want you to be successful long term. And if you go bankrupt in two years, it's going to make me look bad too.

Do you have those scenarios? I never want to leave an athlete hanging for sure. And so that's something, I mean, I wouldn't walk from a player, but you have to have really tough conversations. And as an agent, it can get scary. A lot of agents are afraid because they don't want to get fired. There's a fine line between, hey, I'm your agent. And then, Hey, I'm bossing you around trying to run your life. And some players are not, you know, open to that as they should not be. So for me, it's, you know, I like to have those hard conversations early. And if it continues on

a trail that I'm like, Oh gosh, this is an avalanche that we can't stop intervention. I mean, I'll do anything I can, I'll do anything I can. I'll do anything I can. But sometimes there's only so much you can do. Right, and what's your greatest personal fear? My greatest personal fear, actual fear, a lot of my, I have bad anxiety, so a lot of my fears are irrational.

Like what, what would they be? I mean, basic fears, like i fly 100 flights a year and every day i hold my every time i'm in a plane i hold my breath because i'm like oh gosh we're going down you know it's it's the safest form of transportation but i panic every time or if my husband doesn't answer the phone he's clearly in a ditch somewhere yeah for sure so it's it's it's really those kind of things that keep me up at night, the things that aren't likely to happen, but I still think about them. Not negotiating a multimillion dollar contract.

It's not those things. Funny enough, it's not that. I can do that. It's more like the flying. What are you doing to support overcoming those anxieties or fears? Yeah, I mean, it's tough. It's tough. I can't say that I'm doing anything actively every single day.

I wish I could say I was. Kind of living through them. I think having a little bit of fear is okay. It's okay to be afraid. It's when the fear stops you from doing something. So for me, it's like I still get on the plane. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm still there.

I'm holding my breath. I can't breathe. I'm panicking. I'm literally having an anxiety attack, but i'm there on the plane yeah it's not that you're living in fear and then staying at home exactly the action you want to do yeah the fear is not crippling me that's good so and what's the big dream what's the big mission for you i mean for me the big mission is inspiring future generations especially women you know i really want women and, you know, young people to walk in their purpose and to figure out what their life calling is and to do that every single day.

I don't want them to get caught up in, I found a job that pays good money and I can have this type of lifestyle when it's really not what you're supposed to be doing. So the dream is to inspire and then to work with athletes and be able to mentor them where they can be successful on and off the field 20 years plus yeah when should someone know it's time to walk away from a situation like if you're trying these different jobs you're like okay maybe it's a year or three years but when do you know it's time to walk away oh it's tough you know i felt like i knew i needed to leave my law firm three years ago really yeah but it's again like we talked about fear and my circumstances growing up and having this poor kid mentality I stuck around longer than I

needed to I think we usually know it's about when do we actually act on it it's not a question of do you know you know you just don't make the move what do you think you'd be if you would have left three years ago? Man, I think everything happens for a reason. So I don't know that, I think I'm in the exact right spot I'm supposed to be. I don't think I'd be any more successful had I left three years ago. I got a lot of experience as an attorney that is great

and I wouldn't trade for the world. So yeah, I don't know where I'd be if I had left three years ago. I think I would be healthier as a human. I don't know if my six, yeah. Really, because you were just working so much. Yeah, so much stress, just not protecting my mental health, physical health.

Really? Yeah, so I'd be healthier. I'd be maybe a little happier because I wouldn't be so anxious all the time. I mean, the two jobs really took a toll on me. And so I'm still trying to kind of recover that back. Like recovering from that little btsd almost from just

like for sure the stress of the yeah and always being on right like when you have two jobs you're always on like i'd be when i leave here i would normally okay i've got to in the uber i've got to work on emotion or i've got to and so kind of retraining my mind that it's okay to have personal time it's okay to not always be working. Yeah. And so I'm not there yet. You're honest. You're honest about it. That's good. Yeah. Yeah. How would you coach yourself around agent you with where you're at right now? So an agent, you, one of the chapters is about self-care and it sounds like you didn't do much of that in the last seven years. I'm the worst at self-care. You know, for me, self-care was always looked at as a reward right i felt like it was a reward and so

i had to train myself and i'm still training myself to look at it as a priority and not a reward like when you work out right you work out really hard and you take a shower shower feels amazing but the shower is not a reward it's necessary It's a necessary task after a hard task. Same thing as self-care. And so trying to change my mindset to say, this is a necessary task, not a reward, even if it feels great. What would 30 days of uncomfortable self-care look like for you?

Where you did things that you know would give you more energy, more fulfillment, more joy, more love, more peace, less stress. If you did all these things, what would that look like? What would they be? What would that look like on a daily, weekly basis? If it was like, I can't believe I'm actually going to do this much self-care. But in the back of my head, I know it's going to benefit me so much.

Man. I mean, all I envision for myself is panicking the whole time that I'm wasting time. Really? To be honest. Yeah. But you just said it's necessary to take the shower. Yeah, but I envision for myself is panicking the whole time that I'm wasting time, to be honest. Yeah. But you just said it's necessary to take the shower. Yeah, but I'm still working on it. I'm still working on it.

Yeah. In the book, I talk about this concept of existing and learning to be comfortable with just being alive. Like self-care is saying, I'm okay. It doesn't have to be a massage or getting my nails done. It can be, I'm okay with doing nothing. Right. Existing. Not having to be busy.

Yeah. I think Brene Brown calls it like white space or something. And so I try to teach myself, okay, it's okay. Take three minutes and just exist. Just be right here. You're not meditating. You're not spending time with God. You're literally just existing.

That's really hard to do. Just sitting, doing nothing. Just being present and saying, I'm okay with this moment. For me, that's the hardest thing I do in the day. It's like, okay, don't check your phone, don't think about anything. It's like, you're losing your mind right now. So for me, I feel like 30 days of just self-care

would be panicky for me, but I also think it would be necessary and amazing. Life-changing, probably. Life-changing. I think so, I mean, I think the self-care. What would that be on a daily basis, if you were to give yourself a plan? If you were coaching someone else at this moment.

I would work out every day, because I don't have time to work out much because i travel a lot i would work out for 30 days every day okay it doesn't have to be hardcore something could be yoga it could be i would work out every day okay i would read some type of like either self-help book even even if it's like 10, 15 minutes, the Bible, or for leisure. Uh-huh, what else? Kind of switch it up. What else would change your life?

What would change, oh my gosh, what would change my life? Eating healthy. Like literally making sure that everything I put in my body is for fuel. Like eating to live, not living to eat, which is my problem. Interesting, interesting. Okay, what else?

Man, doing something that you enjoy. What are the things you enjoy? Man, that's hard. You just live to work, to save money, to make money, to help people. I know, I know, it's terrible. What are things, when you think about the things that bring you the most joy that's not work related, what are those things?

Giving. What about for you? For me, okay, for me. An activity, a hobby, a sport. I know. Watching something. I struggle with this. I love watching Grey's Anatomy.

Okay. This Is Us. Those are two shows that are amazing. Best shows on the planet, clearly. So I'd watch those. Okay. Man, what else would I do? This is ridiculous.

I'd get my car cleaned out once a week at least. Okay. No, but you'll feel like clean space. You'll feel like, oh, energy. Yeah. Clean space is critical. What else? I'd organize a part of my room like my closet like reorganize

things so that everything's visible and really easy to access what else what else would i do i'd get a massage at least once a week yeah i might take a dance class i like hip-hop dance oh okay i I do that. I probably sit outside and drink coffee in the morning while I read. If it's not too hot in Houston. Houston is hot. Yeah, that's probably what I would do. It sounds like an amazing list.

Yeah. What would it look like for you to integrate this for 30 days? Man. man and where what type of agents partner friend leader would you become after giving to yourself fully the things that will make you feel more loved and energized after 30 days wow what type of results would you create in the world the impact with your purpose it'd probably be off the charts if i you know if i'm really showing up as my best self. If I'm not taking care of myself, I know I'm not showing up as my best self. I'm showing up as 80%. I feel like that gets you to 100.

Interesting. What could you create from that space? Man, I mean, I think even just being around me would be better. Not even as an agent, but as a friend, as a wife, you know, less triggered. You know, you're less anxious. You're, you know, just nicer generally. I feel like when you take care of yourself, you just have an aura about you. You can kind of tell the people that take care of themselves and do yoga and drink smoothies

and the people that don't, which are me. But yeah, no, I mean, I think I could, I don't know what that looks like. Because I've never even done two of those things consistently, but I'm sure it'd be amazing. I would love to see you take on this challenge for yourself for 30 days. That whole list.

The whole list and see at the end of it what this experiment, do anything for 30 days. I'm not saying it's going to be easy. It's true. People always say that you can do anything for 10 years. I'm like, what? You did a lot of stuff for decades. It's fair, 30 days. You can do 30 days to take care of you. I wonder, I wonder the magic you'd create in the world by implementing this for 30 days.

All these things, as you were listening to them, I was like, I could sense like, it sounds like a relief and anxious. You're like, if I sat and read and had coffee, but what if someone's calling me in this? I what if I was getting massage I'll be thinking about my clients to-do list working out daily I'd be on my phone checking it's like you'd have to create a structure in your day where the phone wasn't there and you focused on the workout you had a trainer train you so they kept you in check you had someone help you with them like you gotta have support in this the accountability would be critical absolutely you gotta have the

accountability for me I hire trainers I've got to have the accountability. For me, I hire trainers. I have food delivered to me that's healthy. I set myself up in order to that. That's why I think investing in yourself in this way could be the greatest thing to do. As you transition from one career

into all that on this, this would be incredible. I would love to see you do this. Yeah. Okay. I don't know if you're down for the challenge. No. I'm all for it. I would love to see you do this. Yeah, okay. I don't know if you're down for the challenge. No, I'm all for it. I'd love to challenge you. I'm always down for a challenge. I would love to challenge you for 30 days to do each one of these things.

I'm going to send you this list. Okay, I'm down. 30 days. I'm down. You're the one who said that it'd be like exponential results. Yeah, I feel like it would be. Because I'm always, you know, I'm like, even when you don't take care of yourself, you're sluggish and tired. And, you know, I pour into so many people. You can't pour from an empty cup. What is agent you? What is the definition of agent

you? What does that mean? It's being your own agent. It's advocating for yourself. It's knowing how to get a seat at the table. It's unapologetically living in your purpose. I'm a sports agent. I represent players. I negotiate their deals. I'm in rooms that they're not in. If a regular human had an agent, imagine how successful they could be in their normal life. Now imagine if that agent was you. You are your own agent.

Your own agent. Downloading that inner agent in you. This book is not about how to be a sports agent. It's how to be your own agent, your own advocate, your own best self. How to do your 30-day self-care plan. Right? Yeah.

Because what would your agent say? Do you feel like this is the biggest challenge for you in your life? 150%. Taking care of you 100% as opposed to taking care of everyone else. Oh, yeah.

That is definitely number one. And you've never really done any of this. Not consistently. There's no way. Why is there no way? Why is there no way? Why is there no way you haven't been able to do that? Time was number one.

Now I've got more time. So time was the excuse. Fair. Yeah. Because it's like, man, I travel so much and I'm trying to work out. I'm in hotels. I'm on planes. I have to eat fast food.

When do I have time to watch TV? I don't have a lot of time to do that. I have so eat fast food. I, you know, when do I have time to watch TV? Like, I don't have a lot of time to do that. I have so much to do. What if you scheduled this first on your calendar every day for 30 days as this is a non-negotiable. Yeah. For however long this takes,

maybe it's two, two and a half hours a day. Maybe it's three hours. That's scary to me. That's non-negotiable. Yeah, three hours a day on myself. That's crazy. Then you're focused on the otherable I have three hours a day on myself that's crazy then you're focused

on the other things laser focused from a full place yeah not maybe like a 80% place I'm up for the challenge I've never done it

I think it'd be crazy to see what you create at the end of it yeah I'm up for the challenge I'm gonna send this to you afterwards please do

because as I'm as I'm please do interacting with you I need it as I'm interacting with you. I need it. As I'm interacting with you, this is our first time meeting, seeing the book,

it's about showing up, doing the work, and succeeding on your own terms. It sounds like you've been in this process your entire life and you continue to take the steps in the process.

And it also seems like there's other stuff that's available for you. Not missing, but that's available for you to even go to another level for yourself personally, for your clients, for your mission, for your purpose and everything.

And I think personally, this is my personal, one human being's opinion, when we discount our needs and our self-care and our love for ourself, when we abandon those things, we abandon our creator. We abandon our greater purpose. We abandon the people around us because we we abandon our greater purpose we abandon the

people around us because we're we're we're not fully giving what we need for ourselves and we're coming from a place of 80 or 60 or 50 and that's an abandonment of our gifts it's my one human being's opinion this is a sermon i may be wrong i may be wrong but i know that i need to hear that i know that in the last couple, I've been fully going in on a lot of these things you've been talking about. I went back into, I'm a big salsa dancer. I went back and started taking private lessons again. I started boxing classes one-on-one. I got hired a trainer to come work with me. Again, I started getting better foods. But what was the moment? Like, why? Why did you say, okay, now I'm going to go get the trainer again? I went through a relationship transition that freed up some time and had me think a little

clearly about what I needed to start doing for myself more as opposed to abandoning certain aspects to give to other people. So it's like a big life event. Yeah. I mean, it was a moment where I was like, okay, why? And it wasn't like I was never doing these things. I was pretty good, but I think I was just abandoning certain things. And since I've been doing it the last couple months, I just feel like, wow.

I'm feeling more of myself. I'm feeling more clear and focused. I'm eliminating distractions in my life that I don't need to do. I'm saying, wow, why am I spending so much time on these activities that aren't actually supporting me or my mission? I was doing them because I felt like I needed to or because I wanted to be busy. But now that I'm scheduling the things that fill me up first and making those, I've got private Spanish lessons I'm doing. I just did a class a couple hours ago.

Now, I had an interview in the morning. I did a Spanish class and I was like, yesterday, and I'm trying to improve my brain health. So I did it yesterday. I did a Spanish lesson in a hyperbaric chamber so it's so it's like how can I improve my self-care and learn something that's important to me and then I went right to a workout after and I had an interview in the morning and I'm working on emails afterwards and I'm connecting with friends but it's scheduling it in and making all these things a priority throughout the week. It's like how are you going to schedule it in?

How are you going to find the time? And not negotiating with a circumstance or an excuse of, well, we've got a travel day. Well, how are you going to schedule it in? Really? How are you going to schedule it in when you travel? What does that look like? Is that a hotel workout today? Is that someone Skype calling with you that's like coaching you?

Is that in the airport? Is that 10,000 steps a day? I don't know what it is. Wow. But it's pre-planning for yourself for the week and having it scheduled in. And that's the non-negotiable. I think if we all started living from that place, I'm not saying there's going to be challenging days that are hard to do them all. Yeah. But when you say this is a non-negotiable for 30 days, I fully believe your life's going to transform. I'm going to do it.

And your business, everything is going to be exploding. I'm going to do it. And your heart is going to be so full. Full. Because you've never experienced this. I've never. Yeah. I'm going to do it.

And I like what you said about really outsourcing. Like if you have the resources, use the resources. Use the resources. And this is where it goes back into an abundance mindset. I know. It's hard when you're like, I don't want to spend that money on this. Yeah. Use the resources. And this is where it goes back into an abundance mindset. I know. It's hard when you're like, I don't want to spend that money on this. Yeah, but it's worth it.

It fills your back up and it creates more from you. Yeah. You down for the challenge? I'm totally down. Because I'm going to text you. I believe you. And I'm going to stay on you and say where you're at. I'm going to get a weekly check-in. I want to be this person

because i am the person that's telling everyone work hard get your goals be successful in your career you know never stop working i want to be the person that has the balance that's not worried about overworking just hard work they're not the same right right overworking not hard work they're different yeah what's the difference i mean working hard is something that you you need to do to be successful but overworking is pushing your body in your mind in places. It was not supposed to go and I have always done that. I want to be the human that works hard, but has the balance, you know Balance but balances so it's so tough. I'm so black or white It's like I'm either on a diet killing killing it, working out every day, or I'm binge eating.

Haven't seen a gym in a year. The gray, like every year, my, my new year's resolution is be gray. What is gray? You know, don't be black and white, be gray. It's okay to have, give yourself some grays, but make sure you're consistent. But yeah. How do you do that when you're so type a type, it's like you're one way or the other. Yeah. So I would love to be able to do that. And I'm not saying you'll be able to do this for a whole year,

but I think kickstart it with 30 days and then, okay, can I do this 80% of the time? And then it's going to be sometimes I travel and whatever. It's going to be some gray. Agreed. But I think if you could create this,

it's going to set you up for an incredible next couple of years, personally. Yeah. Help me live longer, you know, work out. I mean, taking care of yourself. What is the, what's the greatest lesson you learned in the last year of working these two jobs as you transition out of this job what was the greatest lesson of overworking what it sounds like you were doing um that success does not equal happiness i remember when i think it was three years ago i had signed my highest draft pick ever i had won like woman of the year and you know had a number one overall pick in softball all

these amazing things happening made more money than I've ever made. And I remember looking back, I had made a birthday post actually, like, oh, here's all the great things I did this year. I remember being like, man, this is the least happy I've ever been. And so I think I learned really quickly that success and happiness,

I mean, people try to conflate those terms, they're very different. You can be successful and not be happy. And so for me, the milestones don't make make me happy I'm very much a journey girl right the journey it's all about I want to get there I want to get there when I finally hit the goal it's real anti-climatic for me it's almost depressing it's like okay I did it now what so it was really a wake-up call and what I'm trying to do is learn how to be present in the moment when I hit the

goal be okay with like okay I hit the goal let's celebrate it like instead of it going kind of being like well what's next like taking a moment to really take it in celebrating the success and the accomplishment of the years of hard work is so important it is but for me it's always okay well what's the next goal what's the next step and that's unhealthy right you know you need to be able to be okay with celebrating what you've done and taking a moment to live in that moment before going to the next. Yeah, I think success doesn't equal happiness, but I think also you can still be happy and successful at the same time.

You can, exactly. But it's different, and people think once I hit success, then I will be happy. You've got to find happiness separately. Before you become successful, be happy, and success will add to it as more fun. Exactly. It's really joy, right? Happiness is about what's happening. Joy is eternal. How much joy do you feel on a daily basis? It's something I'm working on.

It's something I'm working on. I feel it, but my mom, I watch her. She doesn't have much. She never had much. But she's always just so joyful. She doesn't have two pennies to rub together, but there's no one I've met who just is happier to be alive than her. And so I look at her,

and I'm like, she doesn't have anything, and I have everything in her mind. Interesting. And our outlooks on life are just so different. And so, yeah, I mean, it's something I'm working on. It's not like I'm not happy all day. Right. What's the greatest lesson your mom's taught you? I mean, it's something I'm working on. It's not like I'm not happy all day. Right. What's the greatest lesson your mom's taught you?

I mean, she instilled in me my faith. I'm really blessed to have learned about Jesus from my mom. She gave me nothing else except how to worship Jesus and how to be a giver. Those are the two things, but I feel like they were the most important gifts of my life. That's cool. Yeah. What about the greatest lesson from your dad? That's a tough one.

He's an immigrant. He came over here with nothing and had to hustle. He definitely taught me you have to survive. No matter what the circumstances are, he kind of taught me to survive. I knew how to survive as a kid. I think now that I'm older, I'm trying to go from surviving to thriving. Stop living in a survival mode because I can do that. I can do that well. Learned how to do that. It's like, okay, now how about thriving? And like you said, living in abundance and being okay with spending your money and enjoying the moment versus

just surviving, getting to the next point right yeah it seems like you've done an amazing job of building your personal brand and how what's your thoughts on and your strategies on building personal brand because you weren't like an influencer or a content creator you were like working at a law firm and you know like representing other personal brands, essentially, other athletes and influencers. So how did you learn to build your own personal brand

and why is it important for every individual to build their personal brand, whether in a corporation or not? Actually, I have a whole chapter on this in my book about building a brand. I believe every professional is a brand,

lawyers, doctors, et cetera. I think we always look at entrepreneurs and influencers as the people that have brands. Once I learned that we're all brands, it really changed my career. I decided to build a brand because I wanted to get athletes to come to me. I didn't have time to recruit like other agents because I had another job. And so I had to get creative, and I thought, okay, if I have a brand where I'm a household name, where when somebody thinks of a sports agent, I'm the first name or one of the first names that comes to mind, then I've done it right. How'd you do that?

Man, it starts with picking out your pillars of your brand, right? I think every brand has a few pillars and everything you do falls under those pillars. Like for me, it's sports and it's women empowerment and mentorship. And so when I'm posting on my social media or on my website, anything that is on that page is under one of my pillars. And so finding what that brand kind of parameters are and then being consistent with it. Your followers and your fans, they sign up for something, giving them what they signed up for.

When did you start really going all in on kind of content and building a brand online? I would say it's been about three or four years when I first started. You know, it was a slow start, but I just, I remember making a decision like, I'm going to be the first agent everyone thinks of. I'm going to make a decision. Like, it was very intentional. I'm about to build a brand as a sports agent, and it has not been done. And I think most people probably know of Jerry Maguire, the fictitious agent, maybe one or two agents, but you can't name a sports agent just naturally.

And so I made the decision. I said, you know what? When people think of that, they're going to think of me. That's cool. But everyone should feel that way. If you're a baker, you want people to think of you first if they need a cake. And do you think of like, okay, there's, I don't know, 20,000 sports agents. I'm just making up.

How many are there? 900 NFL agents. Oh, 900 NFL agents. Yeah. Okay, I don't know, 20,000 sports agents. I'm just making up. How many are there? I don't know. 900 NFL agents. Oh, 900 NFL agents. Yeah. Okay, I'm way off. But there's 1,000, let's say, agents. How do you, do you think of like, I'm going to lean into my uniqueness?

Yeah. Like, use the differences or the uniqueness and the talents that I have and not try to be like the other agents, but just go all in obnoxiously on who I am? Is that what you think of? 100%. So you stand out. Yeah. Living in my authentic self every single day. Yeah. try to be like the other agents, but just go all in obnoxiously on who I am? Is that what you think of? A hundred percent. So you stand out, yeah. Living in my authentic self every single day. Yeah.

I decided to show up exactly who I am every day. You know, and I think I wouldn't be on this podcast. I wouldn't have a book if I didn't make that decision day one that I was going to be me. Right. You know, I got a lot of advice early on to blend in, and I was like, you know what? I'm not taking that advice. I'm going to be who I am.

Yeah. There's a quote from a woman named Sally Hogshead who says, different is better than better. And being different is better than better because you're going to be unique, you're going to be standout, you're going to be a one-of-a-kind, and you may not be better

than the best sports agent at this moment, but you're different to be stand out you're going to be a one of a kind and you may not be better yeah than the best sports agent at this moment but you're different and that's better for you yeah than being better i agree and i think if if people can approach that and say what makes me unique and how can i lean into that more and more like for me i'm a big salsa dancer and i wasn't posting yeah salsa stuff until recently and it's getting the most engagement and comments and people are like, post more of this. Yeah. Playing guitar with my brother who's an amazing jazz violinist, and they're like, post more of this.

These are unique things for me that I haven't always shared, and I'm trying to lean into it more and more and I think that's good advice. You're the secret sauce. Exactly. No one else can do the talents that you have, the experience you have, the life you grew up from, the lessons, whatever. Even if you give them the recipe. If I give you my spaghetti recipe, the exact instructions, your sauce is still going to taste different.

Different. I'm the secret sauce. You're the secret sauce. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. People are going to be attracted to you. I love this.

What's a question you wish more people would ask you that they don't ask? Oh Man, that's a good question. What I wish they asked me but that they don't ask. Um How are you how are you feeling how are you feeling I'm feeling pretty good. Okay. I'm a little tired I Get a lot of questions about how to get in the business and like when I meet people, how to be a sports agent. And I think people forget like, hey, I'm a human. And, you know, more of the like checking in, like, how are you doing? Like, you know, how's your mental health? How's your physical health?

How's Nicole Lynn doing? Not agent Nicole Lynn. How's Nicole Lynn doing? Personal Nicole Lynn, yeah. Yeah. So I think people kind of forget about that. That's what I'm going to do over the next 30 days. Every day. How are you? Once a week. No, once a week. That's what I'm going to do over the next 30 days. Every day. How are you?

Once a week. No, once a week. Once a week, I'm going to check in with you. We're going to create a list. Oh, my gosh. Send it to you. August 1st. August 1st.

Yeah, we'll give it to August 1st, the start of the month. Got to have the August one. You can't start it yet. Yeah, exactly. And we'll do that August 1st. I'm going to text you. I can do it. I'm going to have you text me on the weekends when you've completed the week.

Okay. And I'm going to check in on you for four weeks. I'm going to be like at NFL training camp. I'm going to be working out in the hotel, I guess. Work out with the guys. It's just like I'll jump in there. Exactly. Kill them.

I love this. You've got this book we've been talking about called Agent You. Show up, do the work work and succeed in your own terms people can get it online they can go to bookstores where's a place they can connect with you

personally and where's the website for more about you agentnicollyn.com or agentnicollyn on Twitter Instagram where do you hang out more

Twitter Instagram or both I'd say both you know Twitter it's heavy heavy sports so if you like sports Instagram you'll get mostly sports but you know mentorship I like heavy heavy sports so if you like sports instagram you'll get mostly sports

but you know mentorship i like to post kind of this the blueprint of how i am a sports agent that's cool you know if you ever want to get into sports i i put all the tips on my page that's cool yeah it's fun and i see my guy emmanuel and sarah both on the back praising for you both both friends of mine so it's inspiring to see. Gabrielle Union wrote the forward. That's awesome. Yeah, she's amazing. Where's her name on here? I know, she's a good...

You gotta put her name on the front, you know what I'm saying? Forward by Gabrielle Union. Yeah. You gotta leverage that. That's good. Good marketing. This is a question I ask everyone

at the end of our interviews called the three truths question. So I'd like you to imagine a hypothetical scenario. Okay. It's your last day on earth many years away from now. It's really sad. It's the most depressing day of my life.

You live as long as you want to live. 200 years. Perfect. You live to 200 and then it's your last day. Eventually you've got to call it quits on this life. And you've accomplished all your dreams. You've lived the life that you want to live. You do self-care every day.

You're helping athletes. You're doing all these, whatever your dream life is, you actually create it. Okay. From here until whenever you pass. But for whatever reason, you've got to take all of your materials with you

or it's got to go somewhere else. So your book, your content, the things you've said, no one has access to this anymore. It goes to the next place, somewhere else. But you get a piece of paper and a pen and you get to write down three things you know said, no one has access to this anymore. It goes to the next place, somewhere else. But you get a piece of paper and a pen,

and you get to write down three things you know to be true, three lessons. And this is all we would have to be reminded of you from all of your work and all of your material, are these three lessons that you would share with the world. Wow. That they would have to use in whatever they wanted to use. What would you say are those three truths for you? God is real.

The second truth is that finding your purpose is the most important mission of your life. And the third, marry the right person. Marry the right person. Man, why does that seem to be so hard for so many people? It's tough. People are always like, how are you so successful? What's the number one thing you can tell me to do?

Marry the right person. I couldn't do what I do if I had married someone else. It would be draining. Yeah, it's a support system. You're a team. It's a partnership. And that partnership is critical to your success. That's a whole other book.

Right, right. How long have you been married for? Nine years. How did you know that it was the right person? Man, I just knew. Isn't that crazy? I just knew. I was one of those, I mean, we dated for like 10 months and then we're married.

Wow. I'm one of those stories. It's like we dated and like six weeks in, it's like, I guess you're probably my husband. I think you are. You know, and just here we are. People thought we were nuts. We're going now on our 10th year. Wow.

So I was like, I think it worked out. What's been the key to knowing it's a great fit or it's aligned? And then the key to also sustaining it and making sure it stays that way. Yeah. After 10 years. The sustaining is that love is not enough. I've been saying that so much lately. Love is not enough. It's not at all.

And you have to make a decision every day to stay married. Wow. Marriage is very hard. People don't talk about that. People like to make it look like it's all roses. And it's hard. You show up every day. It's like going to work every single day and choosing to love someone.

Wow. You know, it's an action. action but yeah love is not enough you know companion compatibility chemistry I mean there's so many different factors here that that are important and I wish I could say it's just all about love and it's not it's BS you guys had all those stuff though yeah you know some of it grew over time right we're very different some of it grew over time some of. We're very different. Some of it grew over time. Some of it was we're very different in these things, and we've got to learn how to live with these differences because no one's changing.

Right. You've got to accept each other. Yeah. If you don't accept each other, it's going to be miserable. You accept it or leave, right? Yeah. And so we made the choice, okay, we're going to stay. So as we make that choice every day, what does that look like?

What does it mean when you wake up every day to make the choice to fight for your marriage? You're fighting for your marriage even when the marriage is great. every day you wake up you're fighting for your marriage the love's not enough it was not enough i've been saying that that's it's a good sign um i want to acknowledge you nicole for for a moment for your your gifts for everything you've done to overcome from thank you I mean getting food at eight and nine

that's helped you and your brother to forging a driver's license to just doing whatever it takes yeah to survive and to thrive

and to be an example for other people I acknowledge you for making the the big risk taking the risk to leave something

that you've been comfortable with for a long time, which is probably not hard to leave, and to go all in on something that you're really passionate about. I acknowledge you, even though maybe you wanted to do it sooner, you did it at the right time for you. And I acknowledge you for not beating yourself up. I think a lot of us beat ourselves up for things we didn't do and we should have done.

And you're just like, you know, it's the right timing. It needed to happen this way i acknowledge you for allowing me to uh try to bring out of you the things that might be uh lacking that could support you that could take you to the next level because that's part of my mission is to help serve people get to their next level so i acknowledge you for saying you're committed to this and i'm going to check in on you. Please do. And yeah, everything you're up to, I'm really excited about it. Thank you. It's been great to meet you, yes.

I'm so happy to be here. Yeah. Thank you for having me on your show. Of course, of course. My final question is, what's your definition of greatness? Oh, man. Definition of greatness.

Man, wow. I could just write an essay on what does it mean to be great? You know, I think about greatness. I think about not whether you have what it takes. I believe almost everybody has what it takes. I think people don't think that. I think everybody has what it takes, but it's will you do what it takes? And that's the difference. A lot of people listening, you have what it takes, but will you do what it takes to be great? Greatness is doing whatever it takes to get there.

Yeah. Wow. Cool. Thank you so much. Appreciate it very much. Thank you for having me. Of course. It's amazing.

Thank you. Good stuff. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you did enjoy this, please share this with a friend. Spread the message of greatness. Text a few people. Post it on social media make sure to follow nicole lynn as well and message her over on instagram if you enjoyed this and please subscribe to the school of greatness on apple podcast or spotify leave us a review as i'll be sharing more of these reviews in the coming

weeks as well so share with me your thoughts over on the review section on apple podcast and i want to leave you with this quote from Roy T. Bennett, who said, No one has ever achieved greatness without dreams. That's right. What are your dreams? Are they activated? Do you have them in your mind on a daily basis?

Or do you not have any dreams right now? What are you cultivating to create those dreams on a daily basis? For me, dreams are a big part of my life. It's something that leads me. It's something that pulls me towards a greater direction than what I'm currently at. And it helps me develop new skills. It helps me overcome challenges. It helps me overcome insecurities or fears. Because in order for me to achieve those dreams, I must become something I've never been to create those. So what are your dreams? Are you thinking about them consistently? Let me know. And I want to

remind you, if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter, and you know what time it is, it's time to go out there and do something great.