Today was Episode #300 of the Washedup Walkons, a podcast put on by three former Iowa football players who walked on to the program and ended up each making an impact on the program in their own way. They’ve got quite the following because they produce quality content about the Hawkeyes that people can relate to as fans of the program.

Today’s guest on Episode 300 was Ricky Stanzi, one of the G.O.A.T.s of Iowa football. Dude is legend both as a player and just a great guy, as the epsoide quickly point out. He was the quarterback on some freaking amazing Iowa teams and had a wealth of stories to share on the podcast.The reason I’m writing about it is for the last 10 minutes. He really goes into detail about the coaching staff and the impact that they had on both him and other players, how they learned more from their informal meeting with coaches about life more than any other time on campus. “This is real world shit,” was one of the quotes that I wrote down. Just how to be men, how to be mentally tough, and just deal with the stuff that life will throw at you. They talked about how the staff care, period. How they want you to do well on the field, but also as a person maturing as a college student, but also as a man, maturing from high school to real life.

They talked about growth mindset, how you are always trying to get better in the Iowa program. If you weren’t in the mind side, “life would be a living hell”.

The one quote that stood out to me: “You need to be the leader that look in the mirror and doesn’t look out the window”.

#damn

Stanzi described this as when “shit hits the fan”, look in the mirror because it’s on you to fix things whether that’s personally or professionally. But when things are going well, look out the window, “go put praise on somebody else.” So many instances in life this quote has been so pointedly true. Find that time where life wasn’t going well, you have that look in the mirror to find the way though. How do I get better? How do I fix or change my own mindset to make it better? I love to look out my window and give other people credit. That walk-on mentality of just doing things better and taking care of business is huge.

How does it relate to the rest of us? Get your shit together and make it happen. If things aren’t going well, what do you need to change to make it better? To, dare I say (for those people who know) make it happen?? 🙂 And it is never a bad thing to share praise. Right now, everyone, even those of us who will claim otherwise (because I suck at taking a compliment), need that little bit of recognition. Nothing much, just a little “thank you” for what you are doing or a piece of chocolate in the workroom mailbox or something that just says, you are noticed and appreciated.

So, if you are Hawkeye fan, WTF man, check this episode out. There are a couple dealing with mental health that I have saved, some great stories I can draw from, but most of all, it’s just the heart and passion with which these guys talk about the Iowa program and the coaching staff in general. That’s what keeps me coming back, episode after episode!

Plus, it’s hard not to be fired up and ready to go after listening in. I needed it today, that’s for sure!

As always, that’s for reading. I do appreciated it! 🙂