Vernon Davis on Creativity and Discipline
b'Vernon Davis is a ridiculously accomplished player on the football field. He\\u2019s a 2-time pro-bowler who played 14 seasons in the National Football League. He was also a 2nd Team All-Pro in 2013, led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 2009, he was an All-American in college, and he won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos. However, this conversation is about everything else that Vernon is involved with. He\\u2019s an entrepreneur, he\\u2019s an artist, he was on Dancing with the Stars, he\\u2019s a real estate investor, and he\\u2019s a dad. Whatever he does, he wants to be great at that thing. At his core, he believes he\\u2019s an artist. Interestingly enough, he blends artistry and creativity with discipline, helping him to be successful both on and off the football field.\\n\\xa0\\nVernon had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:\\n\\u201cWithout your health, you have nothing\\u201d (5:00).\\n\\u201cLife is all about how we react to certain things\\u201d (6:40).\\n\\u201cI started seeing a therapist from the moment I got drafted\\u201d (7:35).\\n\\u201cWhatever it is that\\u2019s on your heart, your mind, you need to be able to talk about it and get it off your chest. It\\u2019ll take you much further than you think\\u201d (8:20).\\n\\u201cWe\\u2019re all human beings and we all have something we need to get better at each and every day\\u201d (9:00).\\n\\u201cThere\\u2019s nothing like having a vision board. If you\\u2019re waking up and seeing this vision board every single day, you\\u2019re going to go after those things you want\\u201d (9:50).\\n\\u201cI\\u2019ll take at least 5 minutes every day to focus on the things I really want in my life\\u201d (10:10).\\n\\u201cI\\u2019m an artist\\u201d (12:50).\\n\\u201cI did the same thing every day for 14 years\\u2026 I painted this picture in my mind because I\\u2019m an artist\\u201d (16:25).\\n\\u201cI know exactly what I\\u2019m going to do before I do it\\u201d (16:45).\\n\\u201cI was never a football player. I was an artist, a creative individual, who happened to be good at football\\u201d (17:40).\\n\\u201cThe only person that believes in you is you\\u201d (21:10).\\n\\u201cIf you\\u2019re putting in the work, it\\u2019s going to pay off, it\\u2019s going to show up\\u201d (25:05).\\n\\u201cWhen preparation meets opportunity, it\\u2019s going to show up\\u201d (25:35).\\n\\u201cI wanted to change the dynamic of the world I was born into\\u201d (27:15).\\n\\u201cHope for the best and prepare for the worst, but always hope and live for the moment\\u201d (27:35).\\n\\u201cThe same thing that draws me to acting is what drew me to football\\u201d (27:50).\\n\\u201cI\\u2019m not going to stop working for anything. I know what it is that I\\u2019m after and I know exactly how it\\u2019s going to play out because I\\u2019ve dreamed about it and visualized it\\u201d (28:15).\\n\\u201cYou control the narrative. It\\u2019s all on you\\u201d (29:05).\\n\\u201cEveryone has been through moments where they fail, and they\\u2019ve gotten back up and succeeded\\u201d (29:45).\\n\\u201cThere\\u2019s a risk in everything that we do\\u201d (42:00).\\n\\u201cI\\u2019m never going to say to my son you can\\u2019t do that\\u201d (42:10).\\n\\u201cYou can take the things that other people look at as a [challenge]\\u2026 and instead feel grateful for them because it made me an extraordinary man\\u201d (44:15)\\n\\u201cGive your kids what they need, not what they want\\u201d (46:15).\\n\\u201cI knew for a fact I would get things done because I\\u2019ve always been the type of person who gets things done\\u201d (50:45).\\n\\u201cI knew I had to change the direction of my path\\u201d (53:10).\\n\\xa0\\nAdditionally, make sure to check out JaxJox, a great, interactive workout platform, as well as to follow Vernon on social media @VernonDavis85!\\nThank you so much to Vernon for coming on the podcast!\\nI wrote a book called \\u201cShift Your Mind\\u201d that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter:\\xa0@brianlevenson\\xa0or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.\\nThanks for listening.'