Show Notes

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Rennie Curran transformed from NFL linebacker to leadership coach, teaching executives that natural leadership is a myth. He reveals how serving others, building consistent habits, and "operating at the level of your vision" creates breakthrough moments in business and life.

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🌟 Highlights

• Challenges leadership perfectionism with servant mindset
• Operates at vision level before opportunity
• Builds rapport through active listening first
• Feeds the master, not the dog
• Treats drips of influence like compound interest

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⏱️ Timestamps / Chapters

00:00 — Intro & setup
00:23 — Redefining leadership beyond perfection
09:32 — Influence compounds like water erosion
14:41 — Film study translates to business
17:49 — The drip effect of consistent action
24:19 — Building buy-in through active listening
30:58 — Operating at the level of your vision
41:35 — Childhood lessons shaping entrepreneurial success
46:43 — Morning routine: devotion, prayer, journaling
49:29 — Book recommendations for leaders
54:50 — Advice to 9-year-old self
56:17 — CTA & wrap-up

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Eric: Rennie, welcome to Growth Under Pressure. I'm super excited to have you here.

[00:00:03] Rennie: Appreciate you having me, man. Glad to be on.

[00:00:05] Eric: Yeah, this is long overdue. So let's start with leadership. You've worked with corporations, kids, communities, executives, NFL players.

Some people don't think they have what it takes to be a natural leader and think it's genetics. What is your perspective on it?

[00:00:23] Rennie: Yeah, that's a, a very, very interesting question. You said it, A lot of us don't feel like we have what it takes to be a leader or even see ourselves as leaders, and it starts very young, like the programming around leadership, the messaging around leadership, what it looks like when you say the word leadership, you immediately picture a, a certain image in your mind, and that image usually looks like perfection.

And so for somebody like myself, when I was growing up, I was the youngest of three, only boy. I was the knucklehead of the family. When somebody told me leadership for the first time at 10 years old or 11 years old, when I was trying to figure out my identity, I didn't think I was a leader because I was the guy who always in the house got in trouble.

Mm-hmm. I was a kid who always, uh, sometimes was talking too much in class, and so leadership and me did not mix. But those around me who were leaders, you know, um, my parents, you know, I saw how they stepped up and did certain things in my church. I had certain leaders, you know, I had different in the sports world, my coach, um, different people who filled, uh, things in terms of a leadership capacity, who spoke life into me, and they challenged me and they held me accountable.

All those things guided me towards eventually. Finding my, my leadership style and my identity and then the challenges that I went through. Those are the things that really strengthened me in terms of my intangible, so my faith, um, my character, um, my level of integrity, you know, all those things that I learned as I went through the different challenges.

That's what eventually made me a leader. So it wasn't like, uh, necessarily genetics of me being born and then like, and you know, those of us who are, uh, the oldest in our families. Naturally you find yourself in a leadership position if you have to always lead and guide your siblings. But overall, it was more so a journey.

And I tell everybody now, leadership is a journey. It's not something where you take a class or you know, you get this distinction or you make a certain amount of money and then now you're a leader. Even though sometimes in society we kind of approach it that way. But I really genuinely believe it's like a, a journey of different experiences that you.

Gain that eventually put you in a leadership position. And the way I see it, man, is, is leadership number one. It's not about you. And that's one of the things that I always share about whenever I'm talking to athletes, I'm talking to corporations, whoever, it's not about you. It's not about you being perfect.

It's not about you saying all the right things. It's not about you, you know? Um, wearing the right suit and, uh, having the best etiquette mm-hmm. And having executive presence and all these little, you know, taglines. It is really about you understanding that it's about you being a servant and being a man of faith.

You know, that's something that I always think about, like how the Bible says the greatest among us are, are the ser the servants. And so the, the number one way to start that leadership journey is to start by the understanding that it's about others. It's about how you show up for others, uh, how you use your experiences, your failures.

You know, your wisdom, everything that you gain to pour into somebody else and help them get to where they want to go. So for me, being on a team, the way that I established myself as a leader was I was the guy who they trusted and knew was always gonna give a hundred percent. Mm. And just by that effort and that level of dependency and consistency that put me in a leadership position.

And so it, it's a lot of, you know, when I think about, uh, leadership and, and just. Whether you're in a company, on a team, you know, that's where it starts being a servant. And then it becomes about that level of consistency, dedication, uh, and just determination in serving others and helping them get to where they want to go.

[00:04:09] Eric: That's great. I can tell you from personal experience that faith has gotten me to where I am today. Yeah, and I'm glad you brought it up because a lot of people are out here trying to be a leader. They're lost. Yeah. But when you have God on your side, I do believe that. It can, he can put you in the right path.

He can guide you to where you belong. Yeah. So do you think it's that everyone has a path or do you think it's more of like, you know, uh, circumstantial?

[00:04:41] Rennie: Yeah, I believe gen generally, everybody has a path. Everybody has a purpose. What that looks like, it expresses itself in different ways. And to your point, man, when you're, when you're not seeing it through the lens of faith or through a lens of principle and it's attached to worldly principles and worldly things, then you start believing, man, oh, I gotta get this title.

I have to work for this company. I have to get this, go to this school. It also, it all of a sudden becomes attached to things that are external, and so you end up having to prove yourself, and then it becomes about performance. And I always, uh, say this, whenever I go to to speak, I share about how there's a difference between a high performer and a high performing leader.

Like there's a difference. And you see that a lot, man, where companies will promote somebody on a team, they'll promote somebody because of their performance. Mm-hmm. Not because of their ability to lead, not because, and, and what happens is that high performer, they do something that I call, uh, toxic ambition.

Like they end up chasing things, chasing titles, chasing new levels of performance, just because they feel like that's what's gonna make them a leader. That's what's gonna make them enough. And it's a black hole like you can never fill. Yeah. But when you are aligned with faith, purpose, meaning, um, a mission that's bigger than yourself, then it becomes about, you know, once again, it's not about you.

You understand that everything that you do is aligned with something. That means something that's, that's, you know, impacting those around you, that's serving God's kingdom. That, and, and now it's not about just performance, it's about, man, how did those around me? How is my family performing? Mm-hmm. How's my wife?

How are my children performing? How's my community being impacted by what I do, what I say, how I show up? My energy is a whole different essence. It's a whole different approach. Same level of performance, you know, you're still going hard. It doesn't mean you're, you're right lackadaisical and you're passive and things like that.

It just means you're diverting that energy in a different way. It just means your intentions are set in a different direction. Exactly. And it's more sustainable too. I'll say that. When you have that right approach, man, uh, the right intentions and it's geared towards a certain, uh, living it life in a certain way based off certain principles is more sustainable.

We can think about several. You know, worldly leaders who mm-hmm. They had all the money in the world, they had all the success in the world, many whose names we would know, who were on stages talking about how their company performed in Q1 and Q and now they're gone because they were focused on one area of life, but the other areas of life they, they didn't, uh, prioritize.

So whether that was their health. Uh, you know, and may not be that they're gone, uh, physically, like they may still be with us, but their family life and personal life is in shambles. So they may be great at what they do in their career, but they struggle as husbands. Their kids don't know them, things like that.

And so that, that's what I really think about when it comes to, you know, to leadership and just making sure that you're aligned with the right purpose and understanding of self and like what you're even trying to, uh, do and accomplish. Yeah.

[00:07:56] Eric: And community is obviously a big aspect that we are losing these days and we've lost, and I think the goal is to gain it back, but ultimately, you know, to, to do it by yourself without a team behind you.

A community. Yeah. Serving the kids, serving God, and you're, you know, there's so much that, so much emptiness in missing out that it's sometimes not worth being a leader. At that point, and I, I did hear recently that a lot of times you'll chase certain aspects and you'll leave some behind, but by the time you get to the new ones, you miss the old ones.

Mm-hmm. Like, man, you know what? I wish I had that back. Oh yeah. Hundred percent. So the one aspect that I feel leadership gets taught in the best way is influence. Sure. I, I grew up with a father that he was, he, he didn't practice what he preached, let's just say that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I, my dad's a great guy.

I won't go, I won't go down that path, but mm-hmm. I feel like he could have influenced me more, and that's what I tried to do with my son. Yeah. He, last year he joined Juujitsu and, you know, he needed, he needed that and I could have just said, Hey, you know what, Ollie. Go do it. Go do it and, and kill it.

You'll, you'll do a great job. But I started doing it with him. Yeah. So he could see that I'm also a man of influence. Hundred percent. And I, I practice what I preach. Yeah.

So how, how do you feel that that plays into leadership if it does?

[00:09:32] Rennie: No, you, you're exactly right. Like, when I think about what shaped me as a man, my perspective of self is, is exactly what you're, you just described, is that influence is like.

I think about influence, like, almost like a, you know, a, a big, you have a big body of water that shapes, you know, an environment. Or it may not even be a big body of water, but it may be like a little, uh, water that drips. Mm-hmm. And eventually creates like a little divot, and then eventually that divot becomes bigger and bigger and bigger over time.

Erosion, whatever you wanna call it. Yeah. But that small little drop in in life, it looks like that man that is around you, that moves a certain way that says certain things, that his body language looks a certain way, and it may not be that impactful when you're a child, but as you become 10 and then 15, those little influences matter.

Or that man that is not around, or that person that is around that always has something negative to say about you. Like, and over time, that little drop of negativity. Or positivity, it becomes your inner voice. So all, all those things. When I think about my life and what shaped me, it goes back to, like you said, community and the people that I had around me.

I was blessed to be in the Brooklyn community. I mean from teachers, janitors, lunch ladies. And that's something that I like when I share about leadership, helping people understand that, hey, I don't care what position you're in, every position matters. Every from the, the janitor that I talk about, Mr. Pool, he was the guy who was always there when I would get to high school, 6:00 AM in the morning to watch film, he would be there to open up the door for me.

And it's like, if he wasn't there, I don't create that edge that allows me to get to Georgia. NFL is is a dream if I don't have a Mr. Pool. So he's a leader. Mm-hmm. Like he was influential in my life. And so like, yeah, just something that small, you know? And many times I think that's where. We lose as men, as a society is 'cause we don't realize how those little actions add up, like how they have ripple effects.

And this can work in a good way and it can work in a bad way. And that's why for me, I'm so big on, um, self-reflection and, uh, self-awareness. You know, as a man, if you're not taking that time every day to like journal, if you're not taking that time to like keep people around you that call you out on your bs yeah, you, there's a blind spot somewhere.

Something that you're doing is influencing people around you or you is holding you back in some a way that you may not know. And it's a scary thing when you think about it. If you're not, it's almost like driving and you're distracted. You don't know what you might hit. Um, so I'm so big on that. Just, just that understanding of, of influence and just, uh, indirect influence as well.

Subliminal influence. Yeah. Uh, it is so, so important. I think if more men, uh, I mean people in general, but men especially because we are supposed to be the leaders of our household. If we were more intentional about our influence, and this is the little things, man. What time you wake up in the morning? If you choose to just tell your child about working hard or do you get in there with the trenches with them and work with them?

Yeah. Uh, you know, me and my daughter a couple weeks ago, I took her to my NFL trainer. I didn't just pay for the workout and all, nah. I got in there and I worked out with her. I saw, I showed her what saw, yeah. What hard work looks like. What more can you say, you know, pass your actions like then to get in there and sweat with them.

I think, you know, when you take that type of approach, man, it is not just words, but it's like. Your, your life speaks for you. That's the greatest influence, you know, you can have. And that, that to me, besides that servanthood, you know, thinking about things in terms of influence in the smallest ways is another like foundational piece of leadership as well.

[00:13:12] Eric: Wow. So are we gonna see a second run of Rennie Curran, or what?

[00:13:16] Rennie: Hey, you never know.

[00:13:17] Eric: What's that 40 looking like these days?

[00:13:19] Rennie: Man, I, I say I probably got a four good four, eight in me.

[00:13:23] Eric: Oh, okay. That's not bad. That's not bad. Well. You touched on a lot of, on a lot of important aspects, I think the influence in your community, the influence that your father gave you.

The, the, I mean, he came from Liberia, right? Yeah. And with not a lot gave you everything that he had and he led you in the, and your family mm-hmm. To success. And it sounds like a lot of what you do, giving back to communities, teaching kids. Yeah. Being a part of charity and. And leading organizations is a part of building the, you know, from the ground up.

Hundred percent. Hundred percent. Um, so, you know, I, I think that's super important and, and for me, I started a company by myself. I don't have any partners. So I recently got a, a marketing guy who's been kind of my coach, and I can't tell you how important it is to have someone. To watch film with. Mm-hmm.

Like, that's one thing we started doing is we're recording my, you know, my sales calls and we're going back over them. Yeah. And I'm, I'm doing what we learned in football. Yep. And I know you do the same thing a hundred percent where you, you know, you practice. Yep. You watch film and then it's game time.

Yeah. That's it. And it's rinse and repeat.

[00:14:41] Rennie: Right. Exactly. Iterations, man. And, and that's it. That's. To me, that's like leadership in a nutshell too. It's like you have an experience, you go back, you reflect, you watch it, or you hear feedback from those around you. You don't just, like you, you sat with your coach.

You don't get offended. You accept that coach and you set that criticism, you set that feedback, and then you might take notes, whatever it is, but you see how you can get just a little bit better. And every time you do that, you're just getting closer and closer and closer to that eventual success and, and where you want to be.

I. And I, I think, um, one thing I was gonna say as you were sharing is one of the biggest mistakes we make is not understanding how everything we do matters. We devalue our actions or it's like we, we place certain things on a pedestal, not realizing like those other little minuscule things matter just as much.

And one of the things, like you talked about my dad, he did so many great things. But a lot of it stemmed from the fact that like he was in a position of success. He, he had a business that was doing well, right? Mm-hmm. So he placed a higher premium and a higher value on what he could do for others because of where he was.

But he lost his business. And with that, he lost his identity. Basically. He lost that feeling of like self-respect and feeling like he was making a difference. And so therefore his behavior started to look different. He stopped doing certain things that he used to do, um, before. Because he felt like it didn't matter as much.

And I, I think that's one of the biggest mistakes we make even in this society. We think that, oh, if I post this, it's not really gonna have the, that much impact. Like people aren't really gonna care about my podcast or about whatever because I'm not getting the a hundred million likes. But it's like, nah, that's just as important.

Somebody, it's the drip. Yeah, it's that drip man over time. And, and somebody, it may be one person that watches this, you know what we're saying right now, and all of a sudden they have a shift in perspective. And that person ends up impacting hundreds of thousands of people. So is it about this getting a hundred thousand likes or is it about that one person who ends up having an impact on a, on a hundred thousand people?

It's like a whole, you know, perspective shift, man. But it's, it is a powerful thing when you look at things that way. And I'm working on that myself because we, we do live in such an age of, you know. Just, uh, vaness, you know? Mm-hmm. Where everything is about numbers, everything is about likes, everything is about social validation and things like that.

And, you know, I really think that that's one of the biggest things that's so important is breaking out of that.

[00:17:15] Eric: Yeah. It's less about looking good, it's more about the substance behind it. A hundred percent. But the, um, that trickle effect is kind of like the compound effect. Exactly. In finance, it's, it's big.

Right, right. You can use that penny example. You turn one penny to two and two to four, and next thing you know you got a million. Exactly. Exactly. So. You know that that compounding in, just that one just affecting one life is so important. So yeah. You've obviously affected a lot of lives and it started with one.

Mm-hmm. What are you doing these days? What does 2025 look like for you?

[00:17:49] Rennie: Yeah. And you know, in order for me to talk about what I'm doing these days, I gotta start from the beginning, man. Just like what I, yeah. What led me here and exactly what you said. Those little drops, man, I. Like, people always ask me, you know, how are you getting all these speaking engagements and how are you working with all these big companies?

And, and some people, I know what they, I already know what they say. They say, oh, Rennie only got this because he played at Georgia and because, you know, he, everybody knows his name type of thing. They don't realize, 10 years ago I was driving to Columbus, Georgia for nothing and I was going to Waycross and I was going to taco.

Because they bought 10 of my books, you know, like they didn't see any of that. Me driving through cotton fields and me going to one street, like towns, they didn't see those times. Man. I've been, I've been to the,

[00:18:34] Eric: what was it was a Rotary Rotary Club meeting.

Mm-hmm.

[00:18:38] Eric: And you had a box of books?

[00:18:39] Rennie: Yeah, I remember.

I mean, I've been on that. I would go to Barnes and Nobles, I would go wherever, um, do one, and I still do these things, you know, I just don't post about it. They see, you know, me on the big stages and, and things like that. But, um. Yeah. It, it is been a journey, man. It like the, that concept of the drip is, is real.

Making the phone calls, the sales calls over and over and over, hearing no, sending the emails, doing the newsletters, testing different things out. Like that's what ultimately has led me to where I'm at now. And I'm, I'm still on that grind. I'm, I tell everybody I'm still playing football, just wearing a different jersey.

Still him every single day.

[00:19:15] Eric: But you didn't get to UGA right? By just taking pics on Instagram. Oh yeah. Like you can talk about three a days. Yeah. Heck, two a days sweating,

[00:19:25] Rennie: you know? Oh yeah, that's it. And people say like, oh, he just played at UGA. Like it is, like, it just happens. I just, it's like, nah, uh, you know, barely five 11 or whatever it was definitely three days.

It was. A lot of humbling myself, man, like most of the time the trainers that I work with that helped me get there, I didn't have the money to pay them. I had to literally go there, humble myself, man. And when I couldn't afford it, like, just show up, man. Like, yeah, hey, I'm here. Like, you gonna tell me to leave?

Or like it, it was, it was very, uh, it was a very humbling process. It was like that, just that rocky. Type story, man. You know, and I had a lot of, of, you know, I, I always talk about his trainer, Mickey, the, the old guy who just believed in him. I had a lot of Mickey's in my life that just believed in me, man, and still do to this day, and just looked out, man.

And that's why I do what I do. A big reason why. So what today looks like is every day I wake up, man, I'm, I'm refining my business. I'm trying to improve the systems doing, uh, customized keynote presentations for a company. So I'm doing leadership retreats. I'm doing conferences, I'm doing, um, you know, district, um, meetings where they're bringing together the entire staff.

I'm doing sales meetings, uh, kickoff meetings, things like that. But I'm also doing more strategic things. So if a company is having a, uh, strategic meeting, planning out the year, I'm sitting in, I'm at meeting and I'm giving them pointers from an outside perspective. Mm-hmm. That's one of the cool thing about sports is.

There's so many transferables, so many, uh, analogies and many of the, the leaders of many corporations, they're former athletes, so they understand what it takes to succeed at a high level and to build or be a part of a high performing team. But they want their employees to understand that too, and they can only do so much.

It's just like when you're talking to your children, they get used to hearing you. And whatnot. So sometimes you need to bring in Uncle Rennie or to bring that, that other voice. And it's, um, a lot of time I'm echoing what they're already saying, but I'm, uh, bringing that other perspective or I'm not as attached to them.

So I'm able to say some of the things that are tougher to say. Yeah, I'm able to talk about leadership and teamwork and culture and talk about, you know, things that will increase their productivity and, um, and lower, uh, or improve their retention. Um, so those are a lot of things that, that I do when I go into organizations.

I'll first start out, just like you would working with your clients, I get an understanding of where they are, what are their greatest challenges, what are their objectives that they wanna accomplish? What's the theme for their event? Um, what are the key behaviors? I always ask them this question, if you have A-A-M-V-P employee, what does that look like in terms of the behaviors?

Um, you know, what are your current systems? And, and I really just deep dive into them. From there, I do interviews on their different employees. Um, I approach it just like football, just like I'm playing linebacker. I'm trying to prepare to, to take on this offense. I wanna know every single thing about them.

I wanna know their body language, how they move, their tendencies, their patterns. I take all of that and then I create a presentation around that, or a workshop that has activities that, and I'm big on, just like not just delivering the something for a moment, an experience. But something that's really gonna help them move and move the needle.

Something that when they're done, they have, uh, their customized worksheet that they can actually, uh, take back with them and they can con continue building on that moment. And con, because that's what it's all about. They're not taking action. Yeah. After I leave, it's almost like a, a waste of time. You know, I just made them feel good for a little, for an hour.

I really want to change lives. And so if I'm going out, uh, you know, working with a team. A company association. That's what I, I really aim to do is to, you know, drive those, uh, presentations, workshops that really make a difference. And then beyond that, I also do one-on-one coaching as well. So I do executive coaching.

Um, so a lot of times we're having conversations about communication challenges. We're talking about time management and efficiency. Sometimes we're talking about their personal brand, so how do they leverage the skills and experience they have now? To propel them into a leadership position in the future, or if they wanna become an entrepreneur, what does that look like in terms of leveraging their skills and their experiences, their relationships, uh, and everything.

Um, outside of, you know, the speaking and the coaching, I also host events as well, networking events where I bring together athletes and business leaders have a sports startup that I'm working on. So yeah, got, got my hands in a few different places, man. But it's all, it all goes back to leadership. And, uh, personal development the way I see it.

[00:23:58] Eric: I'm excited to hear more about that app, uh, in the second run.

Yeah, for sure. We run this back. Let's talk a little bit about buy-in, because when you're coaching these folks Yeah. Resistance. Your words is, I'm sure will be met with resistance, but how important is it to have buy-in when you're doing coaching?

[00:24:19] Rennie: Yeah, it's,

[00:24:20] Eric: it's

[00:24:20] Rennie: everything. And when it comes to buy-in this, whether you're a coach, whether you're a leader of an organization, the first thing you really have to do is build rapport. You know, if you don't take that time to build relationship, build rapport, get to know them, get to know where they are, get to know their goals, then.

You're, you're never gonna have buy-in. If I just go in with my agenda and just start, uh, not coaching, but consulting, telling them what they need to do, telling them what they need to change. Yeah. Then it's always gonna be met with resistance. But when I first start with, Hey, tell me about you, like, tell me about what got you to where you are.

Get them to open up, uh, and everything. That almost always creates that buy-in because they know I'm there for them and not for my own agenda and not for my ego and everything. And so once I get an understanding of, of where they are, I. What, what's holding them back? What's their pain points? And I'm just listening and that's one of the greatest things you could do as a leader.

Just listen. Active listening. Oh, you, you said you heard, I heard you say this. Tell me a little bit more about this. Like how does that make you feel? What would you like to be like? What does it actually look like for you to solve X, Y, Z? You said you were having communication challenges here, so what does it look like for you to actually have a great communication with your boss, for you guys to have a great relationship?

And then I'll let them tell me everything. Yeah. Once they tell me and it's like, okay, just like if we, we were on a team and a coach said, okay guys, you guys said you wanna win a championship, right? You, you guys said you guys wanna be the best team to ever come through here. You said you want to go D one.

So now let's start peeling back the layers. What do you need to be doing on a day to day basis? And then now what's one thing out of this list of things you just told me that it's gonna take for you to go, go D one or win a championship or whatever, what's one thing you can commit to this week?

Immediately that will start to make that shift and start to make that change. So that's how I approach coaching man. And it really helps, man. And it's the coolest thing is just seeing people's light bulb go off. Like, oh man, I never thought about that. Like mm-hmm. You know, this is valuable, man. Thank you for sharing.

Like, just helping them move forward just a little bit in their life. 'cause I, I've seen what coaching has done in my life and how just sitting with somebody, like you said before, you think you're having a great game, you think you're having a, a great whatever, and then that coach is like. You see that little movement you just made right there, that's whole.

And you make that small change and it changes everything. Um, and I feel like that's the same in, in life.

[00:26:44] Eric: People don't realize the amount of studying film and everything that goes into, whether it's playing sports or, or business itself. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I saw, I saw a video of. I think it was Cam Newton coaching some kids, and he was like, this kid over here.

Mm-hmm. If he had your abilities, he would be the, he would be the best. I don't know if you saw that same video. I saw it. Yeah. I saw it. And, and the other kid who has the abilities doesn't have the heart. Mm. And you can't teach willpower. You ha Willpower has to just come naturally.

[00:27:18] Rennie: Oh yeah. And, and the funny thing about that video, which you just shared about the difference between like heart and then the technical skill.

It's the same in every scenario. Yeah. You go to any company, I break it down in three categories. You got your bench warmers, you got your role players, and then you got your game changers in every company. And there's statistics around that and that they just call it something different. They say actively engaged, you know, disengage and you know, those, those categories, the, the levels of engagement in terms of employee engagement, but it's the same exact thing.

A lot of them have the same motivations or. Uh, same things that drive them, that keep them from reaching their highest level, right? The, the guy who is the role player or the bench warmer, typically he's not in the position that he wants to be. Uh, he doesn't feel like he has this, the, uh, right credentials or whatever it is, something mental there where he doesn't, the, the meaning and the purpose behind the work isn't there.

Mm-hmm. Right, and, and they're looking at some external in order to help them to drive and improve that performance. So you can give 'em a raise, you can give 'em better benefits, and they'll be up here for a little bit. But eventually, once they are where they feel like they should be, that that performance will subside.

It will decline. But that person who's a game changer, they're driven from something different, just like a player on a team. They're driven from something different. It has nothing to do with that. Accolade has nothing to do with. Social validation or, or getting, you know, recognition from the outside. It's like it's interwoven into who they are.

It's part of their value system. And you can't, like you said, you can't coach that. Yeah. Just like in the company, you can't, that person either align with your values and your culture or they're just not, and it's, it's a very, very tough thing. And I think companies are really trying to figure that out.

Yep. But the ones who are really strong and clear on their values, their mission, their purpose. They don't waste time with those people. And, and a lot of times what you see is companies that are very clear and strong in those areas, they don't even have to do anything because many times those people weed themselves out.

And even in the process of trying to apply for companies like that, and you can, I'm sure you can think of several companies like this, Chick-fil-A is one I always talk about where even in the, the, uh, application and recruiting process. If you don't fit their culture, you won't even, it's like there's certain things where you don't even take the time to, to go through that, and you know, your character will reveal itself in the process.

[00:29:44] Eric: Yeah. And I, and I manage people every day I hire, and that's a part of the hiring process is mm-hmm. Knowing, hey, where do you want to be in five to 10 years? Right. And the thing is, it's okay if you want to just be a bench warmer. Right. If you're okay with that. Yeah. Then. There is a need on the team for someone, for a backup.

Yeah. But there are times you're gonna have to step in. Yeah. And, and are you gonna be ready, are you willing to do the work when you know when deadlines are coming up? When someone else is out? Mm-hmm. Are you willing? And that's, that's the people you need on a team. Yeah. So, um. You've had a, a ton of huge wins, right.

You talked about Chick-fil-A speaking at Chick-fil-A and thousands of people. You've, you were drafted third overall by the Tennessee Titans, but, and, and, and also being a dad, which may be the, the best part of all of that. The biggest win. Yeah. But I know times can get tough and there can be dark moments.

Mm-hmm. Can you think of one story or that growth under pressure moment? Where you weren't sure if you were gonna make it out.

[00:30:58] Rennie: Oh man. There's, there's so many moments like that, uh, you know, and there, there are rarely like moments where I wasn't sure I was gonna make it out, but it was more so like, dang, is this, does this even matter?

Does what I'm doing matter? Like, is this leading me anywhere? Like, am I just putting this work in vain and like, you know, do I matter? Like. Uh, like, am I gonna be able to move forward from this? That, that was something that's been a recurring theme in my life as an athlete, as an entrepreneur. And it's always when you're at that, uh, the moment where you're gonna have the greatest breakthrough, it's like always before that.

And it's weeks and weeks and weeks before that moment happens. And it makes me think about that book Atomic Habits. Yeah. Where he talks about, you know, I, is it. You know, the, the moment that happens, is that where everything comes together or is it all the things that lead up to it that creates that change?

And, you know, as an athlete, I can think about every, and I share this all the time when I speak man, every single step of my career, high school, college pros. It was always the weeks and weeks and weeks before the mentality that I decided to have in the midst of being a bench warmer. Yeah. You know, not being acknowledged by the coach being laughed at by teammates.

It was, it was what I decided who I decided to be at that time that created those moments of breakthrough. Because what I always say is like, if you wait, 'cause the opportunity's gonna come. So it then becomes about what mentality have you been building? What habits have you been uh, focusing on? What narratives have you been telling yourself when you arrive at that opportunity?

Because yeah, if you have not, if you've been getting reps of being a bench warmer, your, your mentality and your perception of self have all been negative. When you get to that moment of breakthrough, it's just gonna drive, I feel like it drives you down even deeper into, uh, into that place that you don't want to be.

So if you are at level, uh, you know, three and you're trying to get to level one. When you get to the opportunity to get to level one and you miss that because you were so negative at level three, now you gonna go down and you gonna be at level five because you've had, you've got an exposure at level one and people are now like, oh no, we definitely can't.

Yeah, like you, you can't even, you at level three. You can't even, like, so yeah, we, we can't even consider you. And that, that's the most devastating part about it that I, I don't think people realize. Is when you do get that opportunity, you're not ready, man. It, it's not like you just go back down to a couple of, you go down deep, because now it's just reinforced people in their mind that they can't trust you and you're not dependable.

So what I always tried to do is make sure that at level three, at at, you know, second string, bench warmer, I'm already telling myself I'm gonna be a starter. It's just a matter of time. And then what happened? Somebody got hurt, somebody messed up on a play. And I was already operating as, and I call it now, I coined the phrase, operate at the level of your vision.

So I was already operating at that level. So all it took was for me to just get there. And now it's like, boom. It wasn't really an adjustment. Yes, I still had to learn. Yes, I had, I still had to have my, my failures and my setbacks at that level, but the, the resilience level was a lot. My bounce back was a lot faster because I, I was already operating.

At that level with the mannerisms and habits and, and just belief and perception that it was already coming. And the same thing as an entrepreneur. Every level is, it doesn't get any easier, like every level is hard. So as an entrepreneur, it looked like, like I mentioned, me making those long drives, even though I wasn't being paid for making 20 calls a day, posting on social media, even though the likes weren't coming in.

Uh, you know, creating the website, creating the marketing material, even before I got the call to do that actual program or to deliver that resource or that offer. Still creating it as if that thing could be, like, I, I might get that call from Chick-fil-A tomorrow, so that, that's what it looked like to operate at the level of my vision, and I'm still doing these things now.

I got, I got conferences and I got books and all these things that haven't even been out yet. That I haven't shared with anybody, but I'm already like, okay, if I get this call tomorrow, I'm gonna be ready to go. So yeah, that, that's what it honestly takes, I believe.

[00:35:35] Eric: That's amazing. So it's the work the day in the work that nobody sees.

Yeah. Right. It's, it's your integrity. It's like the things that you do without other people seeing. Yeah. And essence. Essence. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, um, behind the scenes with God on your side. Mm-hmm. And it is, and it sounds like just the, the growth under pressure moment is you're able to grow under pressure because you're ready to go.

[00:36:06] Rennie: Yeah.

[00:36:07] Eric: Because you have, what is it called? The operation?

[00:36:10] Rennie: Yeah. Operating at a level of your vision,

[00:36:11] Eric: operating at a level of your vision.

[00:36:13] Rennie: Yeah. And, and when I think about, like going back to what you said about, uh, God and. Uh, him being by your side. Right. God honors that.

[00:36:25] Eric: Yeah.

[00:36:25] Rennie: I truly believe, like when you're operating at a level, it's, it's almost, you know, my daughter's 16 now, right?

So if my daughter, I'm watching her, I get her a gift, and it may be a toy, it may be a, a resource. Whatever it is. I gave her something because I love her. Right? She takes that thing and she takes care of that thing. Like, I mean, it's the best thing. She is appreciative. Mm-hmm. She doesn't come back to me and she's like, man, dad, I want more.

I want more. She is just utilizing this thing to the best of her ability. Guess what? If I see that she's utilizing that and she's passionate about it, guess what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna be like, well, dang, let me give, let me see what she can do with a little bit more. Yeah. Versus if I give her this thing and she just.

Throws it on the ground. I try, you know, doesn't pay attention to it. I look two weeks later, a month later, it's damaged. That's the last time you're giving it up. Yeah. I'm just like, all right, you don't really, you don't really care. And I feel like so many of us do that in our life. Like we have so many gifts and talents and resources, and I'm speaking for myself.

It's like you not even using what's in your hand, but you over here looking at, I want more. I, I'm ready to get to the next level. It's like, what about what you already have? What, what about, what's sitting. Right in within reach, and this is the relationships that we have. This is, you know, the knowledge that we have, like we're sitting on so much we're sitting on, I say we're sitting on gold.

Yeah,

[00:37:52] Rennie: yeah, you are. And we're expecting more. So that, that's something that, you know, I really use to motivate myself to not get complacent, you know, and I'm appreciative for the, the gains I make, but then in the back of my mind, I'm just like, okay, what do I have that I'm sitting on that I'm not utilizing?

That if I were to utilize that deck, and it, it doesn't mean that if I'm utilizing it, that I'm gonna get the recognition from the world, right? It doesn't mean that, uh, I'm gonna get a million likes or, or whatever it is. It just means that I'm just honoring what God has given me, knowing that at any moment, that thing, and it is on God's time, I gotta be okay with that too.

Yep. And you see so many stories like that where it is the person that has that small business and they're just, man, they're just honoring that business. They're just faithful for years. And then all of a sudden, boom, that thing blows up. And now everybody knows about it. But it's like this man been doing this for years.

Yeah. They've been, yeah, they've been faithful for years. And I think about the story of David like that. Like when he came, when he was, uh uh, when when, I think it was SA came to look for. The next king. He looked, he evaluated all his brothers, you know, all them were front and center waiting to be crowned as King.

David was out in the fields like he was nowhere. He was on his grind. He was just working, he was being faithful with where he was. He was fighting lions and tigers and bears, but those, those fights with the lions and tigers and bears, he was faithful with that and that's what was positioning him to be king.

And I think about that, that all the time, like where you are, maybe it seem like it don't matter. It may seem insignificant, but that that job that you have that is not paying you much, you're not being acknowledged, that's actually positioning you to be like literally a king, a CEO, a leader.

[00:39:41] Eric: And I think that's, especially nowadays, we see those people on Instagram.

We're like, those are the guys exactly. That I wanna be like. But really it's the ones behind the scenes Yes. That are building up. And it's the seed. So like if you're just every day planting a seed, you got thousands of seeds out there. Yeah. And then one day, boom. Mm-hmm. You got a whole forest.

[00:40:03] Rennie: Oh yeah. I'm glad you, I'm glad you brought that up, man.

'cause you're exactly right. So many of the brands that we see, personal brands that we see, we, we naturally compare ourselves to them. Like we look at their, uh, pictures and they got a million likes. Yeah. And it's just like, man. And so you naturally, if they're 50, you're comparing, you're 35. Right? And you're comparing yourself to them when realistically when they were 35 years old, they weren't even on social media.

Some of them had nothing. Exactly. They had nothing or they weren't, weren't even in that career that they're getting all the likes for now. Yeah. And then another thing, another layer to that is when they were 35, the market looked a lot different. You know, the opportunity looked a lot different there.

Certain technologies that weren't even around, but they were at the perfect time to be able to capitalize on it. So all these different things, like when we're comparing ourselves to somebody, we forget all those other factors that allow them to be where they are today. And it's, it's a dangerous game to play, man.

And I think it holds a lot of us back from really moving forward when we, you know, get caught up in that level of comparison. Completely

[00:41:10] Eric: agree. I wanna ask you one more question. You spoke a little bit about your family and your dad. I love hearing about how successful people were raised or you know, those little things, those little habits that they did when they were kids that brought them to this today.

What was it for you that made you successful now that you know back when you were, when you were growing up?

[00:41:35] Rennie: Yeah, man. Wow. That's a great, great question. I just got like a rush of just, uh, memories coming back. But, so we grew up off Beaufort Highway, um, North Drew Hills area. Uh, and my earliest experiences, man, was just like my parents, how one from day one, they knew it wasn't just about them.

They were both the oldest in their families. And so there was a civil war happening in Liberia in their home country. And so just seeing how they worked and then they split everything in half and they sent it back home. They helped cousins, uncles, aunties, come here to America, start a whole new life. Our home was always open.

Just that level of being selfless was like at the root and that's at the root of who I am. Like my heart is for others, like I wanna see other people succeed. Like that is day one example for my parents. Two was just work ethic. It. Both of them, man, they came here with nothing and like they made something out of it.

Resourcefulness, like just, you know, you don't have much, but you got that work ethic. You may not know it all, you may not be the most strategic, but you know how to get up and you know how to work. Like I saw them work, wake up 4:00 AM my mom, she was a nurse, worked at Grady 40 years. Just give people, they don't bother nobody.

They just get up and they just work. And they instilled that in me. A lot of times it's annoying because I gotta wake up, you know, Saturday morning I gotta wash the dishes, I gotta. Clean the bathtub and they're coming back, checking and making sure there's no, I didn't miss a spot. You know, they're picking up the dishes, making sure I did, did that thing right.

But that just established that mindset of like work ethic and attention to detail. Um, the, the next thing I would say that just flexibility, like you get a lot of parents who are just so stringent on who their child has to be, you know what they have to do? They gotta start playing a sport at this age.

Like, nah. My parents were very, very open-minded, especially my mom. She got me actually into music. Mm-hmm. Before it. So it wasn't like, oh, she saw me throw a baseball. Oh, let's get 'em in ba. Like, no. She actually exposed me to so many different things, and I don't even know if she did it intentionally or she was just trying to keep me busy.

I think she was just really trying to keep me busy, but just that example of my experience taught me how as a parent, it's so important to expose your child to different things and let them show you. You know, what they're passionate about. I didn't start playing, you know, football till 10, 11 years old.

And so the greatest blessing I had was the fact that I didn't have my dad in my ear at five, six years old saying, you know, you gotta get out here. You got, you know, start doing drill. It was just like a natural, organic, um, journey in, in turn. 'cause I, so I started playing music, piano, started taking lessons, played the drums.

I was in the Boys and Girls Club, so I was getting exposed. I was playing ping pong pool. Going to karate, just getting exposed to so many different things, man. Um, that, that led me on my journey. Uh, and then the last thing I'll say is faith. Like that, that foundation of faith man was, was everything man.

Just like no matter if we are up, we are down, we are gonna be in church, we're in around a community of other believers. And so no matter how tough things got, I always knew I had God like that that was gonna get me through everything I went through and as an entrepreneur. Um, one thing, last thing I'll say is about that flexibility that freeness, like my parents, they, they just, I mean, I was an adventurous kid, so I would get lawnmower, I would go around the neighborhood knocking on doors.

Mm-hmm. You know, my parents weren't they, I mean, they would gimme money if I really, really needed it, but. Just that resourcefulness that I developed and the, the freedom that I had to just explore, learn myself, um, make mistakes, that was huge. Being able to go and just, and I didn't even know that was sales.

You know, I'm going door to door in my neighborhood with a lawnmower, spending a whole Saturday just trying to make a hundred dollars. And you know, when you, when you 11 years old, that's a lot of money. It's a lot of money. So yeah, those, those different experiences are really what shaped me, man. The, the faith, the resourcefulness, the work ethic, being selfless, uh, all those things were ingredients That man helped me, uh, as an athlete and then eventually as an entrepreneur.

[00:45:49] Eric: It's amazing. I have three kids. And I try to instill those same values. Exactly what you touched on. It's, it's easier said than done as a parent man. What? Yeah. Trying to balance all of those, but, you know, I got, we have our kids in a faith-based school. Yeah. Because if they go out, you know, when, when we're not there anymore, as if they have a foundation behind them, it's so much more important.

Of course, education is, is extremely valuable. But having that foundation of God, they know where to run to. They know that they just can't go down a dark path. Right. 'cause they have God with them. Yep. But the work ethic. Yeah. And being a part of a community, those are really good. I won't say anymore a hundred percent.

So rapid fire questions. I got three for you. All right. Let's start with what is the first hour of your morning look like? What's your, what's your morning routine, if you have one?

[00:46:43] Rennie: Yeah. My, my morning routine, I, and I will say this, I'm not gonna act like I'm some perfect, like guru 4:00 AM four. Yeah.

Sometimes I, I wake up at 4:00 AM and I'll, I'll check emails. Sometimes I'll look at, you know, just what I got coming up and I, I will peek at social media. I ain't gonna lie. Sometimes I do fall for that, and that's something. I feel like a lot of us struggle with man, that we, you know, and I try sometimes I have my good days since I, I have my bad days, but once I get out of bed, it's usually around five, between five and 6:00 AM um, I immediately, uh, get locked in on that morning routine, which is DPJ, I call it devotion, prayer and journaling.

And so it takes me about 15 minutes to knock out, but I have like the Bible app, so I hop on there. Go through my devotion, I pray, you know, pray for, um, myself and where I'm, what I wanna accomplish for the day. Pray for my family, loved ones, all that good stuff. And then I immediately journal just to self-reflect, um, what do I wanna accomplish?

And it's more motivational, journaling. You know, some people just journal about how they feel, which, you know, I, I'll touch on that. But it's more so about, you know, what do I wanna accomplish today? Where am I trying to go? What's the vision? What I feel like God's speaking to me. Uh, and so I just reflect on, on all those things, man.

Then from there, I'll typically do like a 10 minute mindfulness meditation, um, hop on YouTube, just, uh, use calm, one of those, like kind of clips. And that like, just resets my mind, clears my mind for the day. And then I have a, uh, basically like, uh, form that I use to write down, uh, what are my most, my MITs, my most important tasks.

And so my goal is to knock out at least three things that will really move my business forward the most. Um, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, uh, is when I get my, my training sessions in, I'll call it working out I train. Mm-hmm. So, uh, Monday, upper Body Wednesday, lower Body Friday is, uh, full body like a HIIT workout.

Mm-hmm. And so during that time, I'm, I'm doing like sprint interval training. Um, sometimes I do speed ladders. Um, you know, I always do abs. But like I said, it's, it's Monday, upper body Wednesday, lower Body Friday, hit workouts in between those days. You know, I'm doing, uh, just basic things, pushups, air squats, a little bit of yoga, just keep myself loose and whatnot.

But that's pretty much my, my morning routine, man. That's solid. Yeah, it is. Just having, having those systems and within that, I'm always looking for small little ways to improve as well too. So I don't ever just get locked in, even with my workouts, I use. Chat GBT to gimme suggestions on different things I can implement.

You know, I'm doing not just bench press, but sometimes I'm doing kettlebell, sometimes I'm doing incline. Like I, I really try to switch it up so that my body doesn't, uh, plateau. Um, so

[00:49:29] Eric: yeah. That's funny you mentioned that. My wife is using, she calls it her ch, her ChatGPT, she used it for nutrition. She tells it what she's eating and that's it.

She's like, Hey, but you know what? I think that milk may bloat me. And, and, and they're like, well, yeah, I think that may be true. So it's like, yeah. The more you feed it, the more you know you could, you could have your own personal nutritionist or, or trainer. Yeah, that's it. Right? That's it. What about favorite book that you'd recommend?

It could be business. Could be your own book.

[00:50:00] Rennie: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, my, if, if you guys are listening, you want a good book that just talks about, you know, overcoming adversity, um, having the right perspective, um, what you do when you're in a time of uncertainty or time of transition, how to maximize that time.

My book's called Free Agent and it really just uses the idea and concept of being a free agent, uh, in the sports world and relating it to life, how we all go through that time of uncertainty, the time we're in the wilderness. And just what you do during that time to build yourself and to have the realizations of what really matters in life.

Like when you pull away your job, the money, all the things that give you meaning from a worldly uh, standpoint. When you pull all those things away and you strip yourself to your core, who are you? That's what the book's really about. Uh, and so beyond that, man, there's, I mean, so many good, good books that I've read, one that comes to mind.

Uh, H three Leadership, uh, is a great book. Anything about, um, Malcolm Gladwell Outliers is, is a book that really, for me, it put things into perspective just 'cause we look at, like I mentioned before, so many people were like, oh man, they're so successful. They're so amazing. Not knowing they had a certain, uh, series of events and people in their lives that led them to that path.

So it demystifies success. Uh, you know, then you have, um, uh, Purpose-Driven Life books like that. Um, OG Manino, um, greatest salesman in the world. Um, let's see. Some, some other ones. God, we got right. Power of One. Ed Mallet. I mean it, this some good ones. Yeah. Um, John, uh, Maxwell Laws of Leadership, um, how to Win Friends and Influence People, loss Success.

Uh, atomic Habits. Atomic Habits. Yeah. Atomic Habits. I mean there, there's so many that. I've read and, and I've read it a lot of time, um, when I was in those moments of desperation and darkness and didn't really know what I wanted to do next. Um, and so, yeah, that, those are some of the books that I recommend.

So reading is important to you. It's extremely important. Extremely important. And, you know, if you're not somebody who's a traditional reader, audio books is a great way to go. Like I, I knocked out so many books, just if I got a long drive, I got an hour drive, even during a workout, I'll take 15 minutes and just listen.

To a book as, and then I'll have my note app. So if I hear something that really sticks, man, you know, um, I'll, I'll jot that thing down. 'cause I believe it's not just reading, it's retention like, and mm-hmm. Implementation, like how much of that do you actually retain and how much do you actually implement?

Because I see a lot of people that go to conferences that read the books. But if nothing's changing in your life, if your routine, your daily routine, uh, your mindset, your perspective on self isn't changing, then it's really just like. You're eating good food and none of it's being absorbed, just none of, you're not absorbing any of the nutrients.

It's just you're crapping it out and it's worthless. Yeah, it's worthless. Yeah. Mindless consumption. So yeah, so that, I'm really, really big on that, just trying to implement those things. Another book that I would say, um, that really helped me as a man, um, was the Truth about Men. Truth about men that, and I, I read when I was trying to figure out just on the relational side and I was, you know, doing therapy and all those different things, there were a lot of books that I read just that helped me change my perspective of self as a man and just how I handle relationships, you know, with women, different things like that.

And that was, that was one. And it's always just like one thing that will, uh, I'll come across that will just shift my perspective. And one idea from that book. Was the idea that, uh, and I tell this to every, to every man now, like we have the dog inside of us and we have the master, the dog in us is that lustful side, that side that is instinctual, that side that has no self-control.

The master, our spiritual side, the side of us that has self-control, that has the fruits of the spirit, the side of us that has self-control, the side, uh, of us that thinks clearly. And so whatever side you feed most is a side that's gonna eventually win. And many men, like, I don't care how great they are, politicians, entertainers, no matter what you can tell eventually 'cause one is gonna win and, and one is gonna cost you everything.

In a good way or bad way. And we could think of several, once again, several people who that dog won, they never learned to team the dog. They built the, the money to success, but they never learned to feed the master. And so that dog eventually overtook them, you know? And so, yeah, I think that's super important for every man to get clear on.

[00:54:35] Eric: That's good. I wanna check it out for sure. I'm gonna have to write down all these books you wrote 'cause you've got a lot. Um, I've read a couple. But definitely will get a list of them. Last question, what advice would you give to your 9-year-old self?

[00:54:50] Rennie: Oh man. To my 9-year-old self? Yeah. The big, biggest advice I would tell to my 9-year-old self man is that, Hey, man, it's temporary.

It's temporary. Like the, the things you're experiencing now, the, I know you want mom and dad to be able to get certain things for you and, and, uh, you know, um, and, and you have this dream of, of being, um. Like the movie stars that you watch. Yep. You want to be like James Bond. You want to be like, you know Will Smith.

You wanna be like Zach from Saved By the Bell. Like, I know you, you're looking at all these, all these men and thinking that's what you need to be, to be cool. But reality is you're, you're enough. Like spend some time really just asking yourself who you want to be. Like who do you want to be in the future?

Uh, who do you, how do you wanna show up for your family in the future? Because you can do it. That's, that's what I would literally tell him. And don't, I'll tell him, don't let the, the shoes that you wear or the clothes that you wear, define who you are. Don't worry about that girl that doesn't like you because you can't wear the FUBU shirt or the Jordans.

You're still valuable. That's what I'll tell him. Wow. Mm, this was great. Yeah, man, this was awesome. Really appreciate you coming. Yeah, bro. For sure, for sure. Appreciate you having me, man. Excited. Uh, and if anybody's watching this, if I can support you in any way, connect with you, I'm here. So, yeah. Appreciate you, man.

[00:56:13] Eric: Awesome. Awesome. Thanks, Rennie. Till next time. All right?

[00:56:16] Rennie: Yes sir. Alright.

[00:56:17] Eric: All right. 

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