Turn Weakness Into Strength For Success - S2E2

This episode challenges conventional views on weakness by presenting it as a pathway to strength and growth. Coach Mikki discusses how recognizing and can embracing weaknesses can foster resilience and success, using his experiences with coaching linemen as key examples.

• Embracing weakness as a vital component to strength 
• The central role of linemen in teamwork and success 
• The importance of rigorous training and collective effort 
• Self-reflection as a tool for personal and professional growth 
• Celebrating small victories during the journey to improvement 
• Individualized approaches to personal development and achievement 
• Facing challenges as opportunities for empowerment

Start Strong - Finish Strong! - Let's Go! 
@4thand1Mindset

4th and 1 Mindset with Coach Mikki 

Chapters

• 0:16 Strength Through Recognizing Weaknesses
• 7:54 Embracing Small Victories for Strength

Transcript

Coach Mikki: 0:16

Hey, come on, bring it in, bring it in, listen up, listen up, everybody, listen up. Hey, I'm Coach Mickey, you're here on 431 Mindset. Seeing your weakness is really the path to true strength. And what do I mean by that? Let's see. So how many times maybe have you said to yourself I can't do this, I'm not qualified to do this. Hey, I screwed it up last time. Maybe this is something I'm just not prepared and ready for. And that's okay to understand and have these elements. But when you acknowledge that weakness, you're not admitting defeat. It really is the first step to turning the minute.

Coach Mikki: 1:00

All your strengths, you know, just like in football, we watch film and after every game, you know, we can pick apart each and every play and each and every player and show them where. Maybe they missed a block, or there was the footwork was wrong, or maybe they ran the wrong route, whatever, maybe the snap count was out. Why did we pull a flag, you know? Because we were off sides and everything is not just to point out all of the bad things and identify you as a screw-up. It's to show you where your weaknesses are and what needs to be worked on. When we recognize our weaknesses, it really gives us the upper hand to become better. You know, the strength is really built within the gaps. And what do I mean by that? If we did everything perfect all the time and everything was going really well, there's one or two things happening. One, you're not growing anymore and you've stifled yourself to limitations, because you're only focusing on what can work compared to what's not working. And two, you're afraid to step out of that comfort zone because you know that if you do, you're going to have to relearn, change and maybe re-evaluate some of the things that you've been doing to be able to move you forward to that next step, of the things that you've been doing to be able to move you forward to that next step.

Coach Mikki: 2:27

And I'll give you an example. I've come into a lot of teams, or I've gotten teams where they've been coached through the years and you know, every coach has got their own coaching style, nothing about that. But I've also learned that there are some elements that some players just can't do compared to what the coach's expectations are. Now, when I come in and I coach, I don't coach people based on my expectations. I make them understand what their expectations should be.

Coach Mikki: 2:53

So now my favorite are the linemen, love linemen. To me, in my humble opinion, linemen are the heart of the team. Nothing happens without the linemen, nothing happens without the center, nothing happens without the guards, nothing happens without the tackles, because if you don't have a strong line, I don't care how good your quarterback is, he's not going to get any pass off or handoff or anything else if you do not have a strong line. Now, with that being said, the linemen, their job is to give me 110% for six seconds and maybe five yards, and they have to do it in unison. They have to know their job. They have to know exactly what to do and do it with full strength, over and over and over again, while they're giving time to a quarterback back in the pocket who's got maybe two to three seconds to figure out how to get that ball off and out of his hands.

Coach Mikki: 3:52

But what I did notice is that a lot of times when we do our practices, a lot of times the lin alignment always struggle. They're not able to run as fast as the skill guys, their agility, their endurance. It's a lot different. And so I've pulled them all aside and I said okay, look, this is what we're going to do, what I need from you guys is I need a commitment of strength, speed and endurance for six seconds every single play, and I need you to be able to do that with everything you've got. So the last thing I really need for you to do is know that you can run up and down this field at 100 yards six times. Skill guys yeah, I need that. I need that speed, I need that agility.

Coach Mikki: 4:40

So I always like to train and have the guys push the sled and I want them not to see their size as a weakness. I want them to see their size as a strength, and I'm not talking about the fact that they're 230, 250, 260. I want them to see that what they have and who they are is one of the strongest assets to this team. And when we push that sled, you know usually there's four. On a small sled there's probably four. You know there's five slots on the sled to be able to push on a larger sled.

Coach Mikki: 5:19

But one of the things I've told these guys when we're doing this is I want you to push it. I'll make them push it like 10 yards and they'll go, and I have them give them everything they've got, whether they're using their feet, keeping their head up, using their hands, using everything they've got. You know whether they're using their feet keeping their head up. You know, using their hands, using everything they've got to push that sled and the time frame that they're pushing it. We'll do it in increments and I'll have them go down, push it for 10 yards, go down, push it for 10 yards, we'll go maybe 50 yards, flip it around, come back. Now. That in itself is pretty well a difficult practice, but they do it.

Coach Mikki: 5:57

And then, when we're done, I always say to them okay, guys, so think about the person that's in front of you. How much do you think they're going to weigh? I mean, when you start looking at defense, depending on what they're going to run whether it's a 3-4 or 4-3, whatever they've got in front of you, whatever the guy is in front of you, how much do they weigh? And like, oh you know, they're probably about their size and I'm saying maybe the D tackles, dns, are going to be a lot faster and smaller, so you've got to really get in front of them. However, how much do they weigh? Like, maybe, you know, who knows, maybe $1.90. Some might be in their $200s. If you're looking at the defensive tackles. How much does this slay weigh? 1,500 pounds. So you're going to tell me that five of you if you count the center, you got the five of you guys that are up on the front you're pushing 1,500 pounds, maybe a little bit more. So how easy is it going to be when you come off the line and you just push the guy in front of you, but you do it together, and if you're double teaming, man, these people shouldn't even get through.

Coach Mikki: 7:03

So how does this really apply to our everyday life? You know, proof of strength is your struggle. It really is, because there's going to be things that you're going to do that maybe you're not good at in the beginning. However, the more you work on it and the more you focus on it, the better you're going to get at it, and that takes a lot to be able to say, okay, let me reflect on what my past challenges have been and how do I overcome them. How do I get through this? You know how do I strengthen that muscle? And you have to be able to have the courage to say, okay, I'm really not good at this now. However, if I keep focusing on it, I can get better in the long run, and it's not about failure or what you're up for or what you know what these challenges are. It's about.

Coach Mikki: 7:54

What do you take away from it that you can actually create these small victories? You know it's getting up every single time and doing something that's uncomfortable. It's getting up every single time and doing something that's uncomfortable. It's going and facing these things that maybe give you a hard time. Maybe it's facing the people that give you a hard time. Can't tell you how many times I've dealt with that, but I've learned not to allow what they've got to say and what they think affect who I am and what I really, truly believe.

Coach Mikki: 8:22

My capability is. Compared to what everybody else thinks, my capability is, you're the only one that's going to be able to look at your life each and every day and go did I really step up and give it all? If you know for a fact that you don't need to run 100 yards three times, six times, all you need to do is give it your all for six seconds, give it your all for five yards, then do that and every single time you have these little small victories you know, reward yourself. Show that. It's evidence of your strength, it's your growth, it's who you are.

Coach Mikki: 8:59

Just because what works for somebody else doesn't necessarily mean that is the cookie cutter way that's always going to work for you. Each and every player on my field is an individual and I've learned over the years that what might have worked for some is not going to work for all. And it's the same thing with what we do. Everybody's got an opinion, everybody's got an idea, everybody's got a goal and a structure or a strategy that might work for them. But you have to look and see what's working for you, and not only what's working for you, but what are the little things that you can do that is going to help lift you up, to make you this incredible, unstoppable person.

Coach Mikki: 9:44

So you want to celebrate the small wins. Remember, your toughest days are going to be your strongest moments. They really are, and that's going to be the ability for you to be able to shine and lift yourself up and move forward and empower who you are. So don't worry about what your weaknesses are, because those weaknesses are really your biggest strength. You know you've survived every bad day. You might as well take that strength and celebrate it and use it to your advantage and use it to who you are. You know you are going to be amazing and you've got to be able to take the little things that are your hardest things and make them your biggest strengths. Bring it in, bring it in, go on out there, let's go. Let's go start strong and finish strong and dominate everything in between. I'm coach mickey Go get them.