The Jacksonville Jaguars were the first team I ever spoke to. It wasn’t a high school or college team. It was an NFL team!
The Energy Bus had just come out in 2007 and I spoke to a group of about 20 local realtors in Jacksonville. One of them was the realtor for Mike Smith, the defensive coordinator for the Jaguars. She told Mike that he should have Jon Gordon speak to the team.
Mike asked “Who’s Jon Gordon?”
She said, “He’s a speaker.”
Mike asked, “How is a real estate speaker going to help my team?”
She said, “No he’s a motivating type of speaker and he will help you win.”
So, the next day Mike asked the Jaguars athletic trainer Mike Ryan if he had heard of this Jon Gordon guy and Mike Ryan said, “Yes. He’s a friend of mine and here’s his new book.”
Mike Smith reads The Energy Bus and gives it to Jack Del Rio, the head coach, who reads it and calls me up and invites me to meet with him at the facility.
It was a surreal moment. Here I am a new author with a new book and I’m now sitting across from the legendary Jack Del Rio who is large imposing figure. We have a great conversation about overcoming negativity and energy vampires and he invited me to speak to the team.
I don’t know why I said this, but I said, “If you give a copy of The Energy Bus to the players I’ll come speak” and he said, “I’ll do better than that. I’ll give a copy to everyone in the organization because I want everyone in the organization who interacts with the players to share positive energy with them.”
They had an amazing season (see the paper below from that season) and it changed the direction and trajectory of my life. Mike Smith became the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons the next year and brought me and The Energy Bus to them as well. While leaving the facility the idea for my book Training Camp popped into my head and I wrote it shortly after which led to me working with countless pro and college teams over the years.
All because I spoke to a small group of realtors and one of them told Mike Smith about me. It’s moments like these where you can look back and see God’s hand on your life and know that your life would be completely different if not for these miracle moments.
The key is to also do your part. Have the courage to do what you are born to do. Put your work and message out there. Give your all regardless of whether it’s 20 people or 20,000. Never minimize small beginnings. Focus on loving, serving and caring. Do your best. Let God do the rest!
Have a great week. Lead Positive!
Jon
