The Greatest Lesson I Learned From The NFL

With the Super Bowl just around the corner, I can’t help but think about the short time I spent with the Kansas City Chiefs—specifically, my training camp with them.

And let me tell you, training camp was no joke.

Two-a-day practices in 100-degree heat will test you in ways you didn’t even know were possible.

The exhaustion was real. The pressure? Unrelenting. And even though we were living out our childhood dreams, it didn’t feel like a dream.

It felt like survival.

Every day blurred into the next—sweat, sprints, and moments of wondering if my body (or mind) could take much more.

It didn't take long before performance started slipping. Tempers flared. Morale? Hanging by a thread.

But every morning, without fail, Tamba Hali—our defensive captain—would stand in front of us, grinning ear to ear. And as loud as he could, he’d yell:

"Gentlemen, don’t you forget… we GET to do this!"

And just like that, something shifted.

The exhaustion didn’t disappear. The heat didn’t let up. But the energy in the room changed.

Instead of enduring the day, we started living it again. Instead of grinding through drills, we started playing the game we loved.

I like to call Tamba a playmaker.

He was a playmaker not just because he made big plays on the field, but because he inspired others to rediscover the passion and joy buried under the weight of life.

And I think about that a lot these days.

Because whether we realize it or not, we’re all playing a game.

Maybe it’s the game of business. Or leadership. Or parenting. Or just trying to make it through the day without feeling completely drained.

And some days? It feels like training camp.

The pressure. The exhaustion. The never-ending noise of expectations. And over time, the spark starts to fade.

The joy gets buried under responsibilities. You start grinding instead of playing.

But here’s the thing: we get to do this.

It doesn’t mean it’s easy. It doesn’t mean we won’t feel exhausted. But underneath all the stress and struggle, there’s still something worth reconnecting to...

The passion, the joy, and the sense of aliveness we all once knew but have been buried under the demands, duties, and disappointments of life.

And when we do, it changes everything.

That’s what my new keynote, ​Rediscovering Play​, is all about.

Because the spark you’re looking for? It’s not gone. It’s just buried.

We just have to rediscover it.