Detroit Friends And Championship Culture

SPEAKER_03 0:13

What in the world was in the water in those suburbs of Detroit? Because the year that you won the Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos, with Peyton Manning spinning the thing to you, and you had some great plays that season. I mean, big time players make big-time plays, big-time games. And so you had some big time plays that season. You win the Super Bowl. But in that same year, right, you had Draymond Green win uh the NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors. And then the year before that, Jonas Gray, so my dear friend, wins the Super Bowl. And you guys all grew up together. Like, what was it? Because I know the burn is important, but like tell me about the water in those suburbs of Detroit.

Accountability As Real Friendship

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Man, that was incredible. That was an incredible just that run of championship. So Jonas wins, then Draymond wins, then I win. Draymond goes back to the finals. He's been winning forever. But it was just incredible the fact that this group of people who played AAU basketball together grew up and had fun in Bloomfield Hills, where I went to high school, and Jonas and I went to high school with Draymond would come down from Saginaw. That was incredible, but it shows that when you surround yourself with the right people, success is going to come. And Tony Robbins, I think he talks about success leaves clues. And we were all hanging around each other at the same time, but it was a level of competition. Jonas at Notre Dame, Draymond and I at Michigan State, the best university in the world. We're all there, but we're all competing with each other. And I'll never forget our group chat. It's about 10 guys in there, Division I players and players who played in the pros. It was competitive every single day in terms of who was working out, who was doing the best, who was who was winning in conditioning. I remember Draymond went to he was in the NBA, maybe his second year in the NBA, and I was still at Michigan State. And he came back to East Lansing during summer condition and he would ask the strength coaches on how I how I was doing in terms of conditioning, if I was actually pushing myself, was I winning the springs? Because he knew how talented I was. That's what real friendship is when somebody's holding you accountable, not always patting you on the back. So Jonas did the same thing. Jonas is the reason why I started playing high school football. I wanted to be a basketball player. I'm like, I'm going to the NBA. I want to be like the late, great Kobe Bryant. But Jonas was like, man, you have some talents and abilities that you can definitely use on the football field because I had ran track with Jonas. And him getting me and convincing me to go out there is the reason why I was able to go to Michigan State. And then, you know, that led to the NFL. So shout out to Jonas, who we both know and love.

Undrafted Day And The Chip

SPEAKER_03 2:57

Oh, I mean, his son is my godson, Jonas Jr. And you know, Jonas and I have had so many amazing times in the past. And just it's awesome to see how you guys have inspired each other, which inspires so many, you know, individuals to really understand what it means to chase after your dreams, but then to put in the work on a daily basis to make them happen. So let's go back to the Michigan State days. Had a great run at Michigan State, part of some great teams. All of a sudden, it's NFL draft time. And all the work that I've done in the league, I know the anticipation of that day. And for many players that people don't realize, right? Because they go on to have great careers, spend eight years. You were undrafted. And I know you were there that day waiting for your name to get called, and it didn't. How did that impact your burn, Benny? Because there's a lot of people who in that moment they give up. It's like, well, if I didn't hear my name, this wasn't for me. And then there's other guys like you, and I call it that underdog mentality. So Will Compton was the first player I ever worked with in the league back in 2013, and he was undrafted. Talk to us about that different fire that comes when you don't hear your name called.

Choosing Denver To Learn Fast

SPEAKER_00 4:17

Yeah, that that fire depends on who you are and what the purpose is. Now, the purpose in when you talk about the burn, I didn't necessarily know what my burn was at that time. You know, I was just trying to figure myself out, but I knew my ultimate goal in terms of who I was becoming. I wanted to be a professional athlete. That was my goal as a little kid. I wanted to be a professional athlete. So, yes, I did not get drafted. I thought I was gonna get drafted. Like I said, like you were saying, coming out of Michigan State, 13 and 1, we win the Rose Bowl, we win the Big Ten Championship. Only team in Big Ten history to win every game by 10 or more points. I mean, we we've dominated the season. So everybody, you know, myself, Max Bulla, we all think we're gonna get drafted. And yeah, name doesn't get called. But what's the ultimate goal? The ultimate goal is to become a pro. So why would I not focus on the 20 teams that were calling for me to be a preferred free agent, a high priority free agent? So that's what I had to do in real time. Okay, yes, I could sulk and be upset that I didn't hear my name called, or I can see that the opportunity is already here in terms of the 20 teams that are on that are calling me right now. And that's what I had to do in real time. I had my my dad there, my brother was there, and you know, my mom was on the phone with me, and we were just making sure, like, hey, like what's going on right now? Can we should we pay attention to the name not being called, or should we pay attention to who's calling? And that's what I did right there. But that kept a chip on my shoulder, and that made me choose Denver. Detroit, the Detroit Lions offered me the most money, but I was like, if I can go play with Peyton Manning right there, my man, my man T Money, if I can go play with him, I can play in the NFL. And I needed to go learn. There was something, there was a gap there that I needed to learn, and I needed to pick it up quick. And that's the reason why I chose Denver.

Sponsor Message Q Logics

The Prize Is In The Journey

SPEAKER_03 6:11

This episode of The Burn is brought to you by our dear friends and partners at ULogics. Now, you know I don't co-sign things I don't believe in. And I believe in John Chiarando and the team at Q Logics. He's built multiple nine-figure businesses, real integrity, real character, the kind of guy you want in your corner. But here's what happened all that expertise, all that knowledge, it was just his. Locked in his head, his decisions, his team, you couldn't access it. So John created Q Logics. He basically said, How do I make everything I've built available to people who actually need it? Here's what that looks like. Q Logic helps you see the blind spots in your business, the gaps you don't even know you have. You don't know what you don't know. They're your tour guide through that. Q-Logics helps you build systems that make your business work better or they ask better questions so you're approaching it in the most effective way. And Q Logic has access to a network of businesses and resources, real connections, real synergies that can accelerate what you're building. If any of that resonates, go to Q-Logics, L-O-G-I-X.com forward slash Ben. Fill out a form, their team will research your situation personally, then they'll tell you straight, can they actually help? Thank you to our friends and partners at Q Logics. Make sure you find out more about Q Logics and your opportunity to win more with them today. So over your left shoulder, you got a jersey tied by the great Peyt Manning. Over your right shoulder, you got something else that uh a lot of people dream of that never have the opportunity to hold. Uh for for those y'all better know what we're talking about. But uh that that Lombardi trophy. So, you know, number one, I would just say I hope everybody's paying attention to Benny's answer. You know, we don't always get exactly what we want, but we do get to choose how we respond. So you responded with great intentionality to say, what's the best place for me? Where can I learn? Where can I go be a champion? And so not only did you become a pro, you became a champion. What's the advice that you give to that person who's just waiting on the sidelines and they just haven't taken that step to put in the work and to get in the game?

SPEAKER_00 8:28

I would say the people who want to get in the game, they they need to understand their purpose. But I would say the reason why I've been able to get in the game is because of the foundation that my parents set. My mom and my dad set the foundation for me to get in the game. And they helped me, they helped me to understand what was important. Yes, getting to the pros is important, but who you're becoming to get to the pros, that's what it's all about. And I wear this bracelet that says the prize is in the journey from the Michael Sadler Foundation. And the prize is in the journey. But my dad laid an incredible foundation in terms of who he was. My dad rose up to the corporate ranks to become the vice president of Ford Motor Company. Before that, he was the COO of Jaguar and Land Rover. That leadership, he's the best leader I've ever been around. He set the example every single day in terms of getting up. I never forget he would always take us on Saturday mornings when he was a plant manager at Ford, he would take us on Saturday mornings and we'd write around the assembly plant to make sure that the operation and everything that he and the standard that he had set was following to what he believed in what should have been the example. So my dad really laid that foundation. The best, the best leader, I would say 1A and 1A, because my mom set an incredible foundation in terms of what she did. My mom practiced and she taught, I don't, I hate to say this, but she taught at the University of Michigan Law School. Um, it pains me every time I have to say it, but she also set a foundation. My parents set an incredible foundation of okay, if this is what you want to do, you're gonna stick to it. So when I told my mom I wanted to go to the pros, I wanted to be a professional athlete, that's when she started waking me up at 6:30 a.m. to run the stairs, weight pants on and start running the stairs. And that's what really set the foundation and pushed me forward and propelled me forward, my brother forward. I have two sisters and my stepmom. But that propelled me forward in terms of like, if you want to do something, there's gonna require work. So to those athletes, those people who are sitting on the sideline, yeah, it might be cool to be a speaker like Ben Newman and be a coach like Ben Newman. But do you know what it takes to work the back office work to go out there and find clients and to actually deliver? That's an actual game day. Yeah, it looks cool on Instagram, and what people see, you see the fun the final product. There's a lot of work that goes into it, a lot of studying, a lot of understanding yourself. Self-awareness is key. It's key.

Motivation From Family Hard Times

SPEAKER_03 11:02

So tell us a little bit about that burn. So when you think back to that's my memory, right? And we just played against each other. Yep. But when you think of your brother, you think of your mom, you think of what made you push to do all the things that you did. Tell us about that and where it came from.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Um, it was really the motivation um to give my my family some joy. Uh, I played basketball because I was just so happened to be good at it. Um I played schoolyard basketball, you know, before I played organized basketball at 12. Um so starting there, I just wanted to make my family proud. I wanted to um you know, we were going through a tough time. I mean, my like you said, my brother was born with transposition of the great vessels, which is a heart defect, right? Which is something that you have no control over. Um so we realized that, and that was a struggle. That was gonna be something that God put on us to fight through, um, you know, stick together, uh, fight together, and figure out how to make it through. Uh so what that did was I wanted to always give my brother some joy, uh, some peace, give my mother something to clap for, uh, someone to be proud of. And I felt that that would ease, you know, the struggles and things that we were going through. By using that sport, you know, I was able to um, you know, I feel like, you know, keep his life going. You know, the the longer I played, the more joy he had, the happier he was, uh, the healthier he was. Um, so I used basketball as a way to say, hey, um, I'm gonna do this for my family and for my brother because I know it makes them happy. Yeah, it it made me happy. I definitely had joy from playing, but my ultimate motivation was to make my brother, you know, feel a little bit of peace uh while I play basketball.

SPEAKER_03 12:41

So this is this is pretty amazing for me because here we are. That's kind of what I saw with my eyes, but now to hear you articulate that is pretty amazing. Yeah. So for you to do what you did at the level that you did it at, I'm gonna ask you a completely different question than I was thinking about. How often did you see guys that just never understood that piece, that never understood that, man, like your heart is where you gotta start?

SPEAKER_01 13:04

Uh it's it's big. It's big. I think it's the ultimate separator. Uh everyone has a story. Um, you know, whether it be a single parent, whether it be a power situation, whether it be a broken household, um, everyone has a story, right? It's it's what you attach yourself to uh that motivates you for greater good. Like, I didn't just want to make it so I could make a bunch of money. That was never my deal. Um I wanted to make it so I could help other people. I wanted to give back, I wanted to be someone that people looked at as a light, you know, of inspiration. You know, that's why I play basketball. So, like you said, like a lot of people don't accept that everyone has a story. Like your story's, my story is no greater than your story, uh, but it's what I put into what my story is that makes it what it is. So um, you know, just standing next to that guy knowing that he has a story and how you're able to capitalize on that story.

SPEAKER_03 13:58

Yeah, and see, so we never knew that we had a connection of stories, right? And my mom passed away 11 days before my eighth birthday. Divorced parents never knew my parents together, divorced when they were six months old. My mom had a rare muscle disease, came to the dinner table with an IV stand, 24-hour nursing care in the house. And there's so many times in my life where the mentors and coaches had to pick me up off that mat of life and fueled by my mom from above, and all those things. But there's so many times I reflect back to I'm going through a tough period of time, and I'm like, man, like this isn't tougher than seeing your mom ask you how your day was at school with an IV stand attached to it at the dinner table. So when you were breaking down game film, I like to talk about the unrequired, right? The stuff that people don't see, they can't even think about, that you're willing to do to get to your level. So, how often did you think back to Justin, your mom, when you're going through that? Man, it's time to break down game film. I want to go to sleep, I gotta get these extra shots up. I want to go to sleep. Like, how did you shift perspective?

SPEAKER_01 14:56

Uh, it's ultimate motivation, and I think it was uh just ingrained in me, you know, just my upbringing, my mom, and what she stood for and how she carried herself. I know that, you know, she's never gonna have necessarily a bad day because she has us. So that's kind of how I looked at it. Like, I'm not gonna have a bad day because I have them. So anytime that I got into any sort of you know, complicated situation or struggle or you know, the last of those ten and ones that you, you know, you you gotta make, like, it doesn't get any tougher than that. Like, you can put, I can do a minute. Like, I can do a minute easy, right? So that's how I look at it. It's like this is only a minute, and we're talking about things that you know affect you for an entire lifetime. So I use that as like, I mean, it's nothing. I mean, that's how I look at it.

SPEAKER_03 15:46

So now bring us forward to where we're sitting, right? There's plenty of stories of athletes who make their money, and uh not even it's not even guys who make poor financial decisions, but they make their money and then they really don't go on to do anything. And foundation work, given back you don't have to do any of this. Right. We all know that.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Right.

Giving Back Through A Youth Academy

SPEAKER_03 16:09

So, how has that burn just continued today? Being a father, right? Four four children, children playing college basketball, children excelling in their lives, and then here, yeah. Like, how does that burn continue to impact you today and the decisions you make?

Parenting Youth Sports Without Overcoaching

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Well, I know that everyone has a story. Uh, I know that you know just that little bit of uh connection can take kids, adults a long way. Uh so I want to be that light, I want to be that inspiration, I want to uh have kids and have parents uh understand that that I'm here for them, right? I've we built out a facility. Um, my name's on it, my face is everywhere, but it's for them. Um and you too can have this opportunity if you use what's available to you. Um so it's never been about me. Um I've I've always repped St. Louis is where I'm from. Uh the different cities that I played in. It was all about shining the light on St. Louis. Like I wanted to go out, be the best that I can be, and then they like, okay, that kid's from St. Louis. So let's go back to St. Louis, see if there's other kids there that can do what this kid is doing, and then hey, I did my part. I was able to go out, grab the attention, and bring it back. So what I'm doing with the academy is I'm talking about skill development and character development. For those players that can make high-level basketball, can play at the NBA level, professional level, be paid to play basketball. This is a venue for you, right? We we lay out our skills, we do a great job of organizing how we teach the game and the process of the game. But for those that are not going off to be paid to play basketball, we talk about life skills and the character development that it's going to take for these young people to be successful. Whether they're general managers, whether they're scouts, whether they're coaches, whether they're uh trainers, um, you know, there's a gamut of things that they can do involving, you know, sports in the game of basketball that they're not necessarily athletically inclined to be professionals and paid to play. So, with that, I want to cover all those bases for these kids and allow them a chance to grow. And that's you know, that's why I'm here is to make sure that the community has something that they could they can use. It's something that's um very meaningful. And this new term that I'm using now is efficient. Like there's only 24 hours in the day, right? I don't want to spend 24 hours of my day working. So I want to be efficient with my time, right? So I look at how I can be efficient, you know, with the academy, how can I be efficient with the kids, uh, and that's something that's burning in me today, is to be more efficient with everything I do, whether it's family life, whether it's business life, whether it's basketball, just be more efficient and have the opportunity to impact more lives. I think there's there's no right or wrong reason, right or wrong way to motivate your child or to you know to have them or to allow them to have success within the sport. There's no right or wrong way because sports have been around for years and years, especially I'll just talk specific basketball, it's been around for years and years. So there's there's a lot of ways that kids have gotten better, a lot of ways that these kids have trained, a lot of ways that these kids have been coached, and a lot of ways that these kids have been parented, right? But for the most part, I feel like parents, um, as parents, we must allow our kids to grow and understand what they're doing and be themselves. And I don't think a lot of parents do that because what they do is they transplant this adult brain into this little child, you know, say a 10-year-old child, they put this adult brain into this 10-year-old child and wonder why they're not making this move or they're not making this play or they're not making that play. Well, you have to keep in perspective of what that kid is going through. What is your child going through? If they're playing basketball, it's him, and then there's nine other people on the court. There's one basketball, there's two coaches, maybe sometimes four if they have an assistant. So God knows how many people are actually yelling at this kid, you know, during that environment. Right. So for you, you're their safe haven. They look to you for confidence that you're doing things right, even if they may be doing things a little bit wrong. And I think parents, we jump into that boat of the other nine kids that are on the court, the other coaching, you know, staff that's that's there helping the kids out. We jump into that mode of now we're coaching, now we're instructing, now we're yelling, shoot the ball, pass the ball, and it's a lot. So I take, I want parents to take a step back and allow those kids to grow and have more conversation before and after those events take place. Because if you give them something to think about before that happened, before that event takes place, you can see if they are executing or trying to execute what you had conversation about. And then if you talk to them afterwards, you're able to assess what happened during that game, if they listened to you before that event took place, and then you can have a meaningful conversation about how to get better the next time because it's a process. Um, but the biggest thing I think, and and my message to parents is don't put your brain and your years and years and years of now understanding the basketball game into your child and think that they're supposed to react as an adult who's seen different experiences and been in different situations. Uh we must take a step back and allow our kids to be kids and to grow in you know at the proper speed.

SPEAKER_03 21:33

Where did the passion for hard work come from? Not even hockey. Where did the passion, the burn to work come from?

SPEAKER_02 21:43

That's a great question. I don't know if anybody's ever asked me that. Um I think it's just been ingrained in me. Uh, you know, seeing my parents work hard, uh, you know, trying to keep up with the older kids. My brother's two years older, so you know, as a young kid playing. Hockey, playing sports, you know, life in general, being competitive. You're always trying to keep up. And as a youngster, you need to put in more effort and more work than they do typically. And, you know, watching my grandparents work, my parents work, you know, really just taking the cue from them and having that inner drive to want to be the best, you got to put in the work. And I learned early on to keep up with those older kids. I needed to put the time and effort in into learning how to skate if we were playing hockey or shooting the puck, uh, whether I was playing baseball, pitching, or hitting, um, golfing, you know, practice, as we all know. Practice makes perfect in golf or quasi-perfect. Um, so it really just just putting in the putting in the reps, putting in the workload, uh, and trying to improve your craft, whatever that is.

SPEAKER_03 22:57

And then when did the the passion specifically for hockey, when did you really realize there was a fire in passion for the game of hockey?

SPEAKER_02 23:04

I always loved playing the game. I didn't really know if it was going to take me anywhere. You know, I'm from a small town in the middle of nowhere, Canada. At that point, there was no internet, no nothing, so you really didn't know what anybody was doing. Or, you know, I was reading the hockey digest once a week and got a quasi view of maybe the world of hockey, but that's about it. Uh, until I went away and played on a few uh travel teams and went down into the Greater Toronto area and and got to play against some of Canada's so-called best to really kind of see where you fit in and how your skills compare. Uh, once I did that, I was like, okay, these guys aren't that good. You know, they're always held to this standard of, oh, well, they're from Toronto, they must be good. And when you're from a small town, you're thinking, wow, there's nobody around here is gonna be good enough to play down there.

SPEAKER_03 23:54

Uh so did that light a fire for you almost like it's like it does. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

You have a chip on your shoulder. I got cut from a team uh early on. I didn't put in the necessary work. I didn't uh there was some politics involved, but I didn't put in the work. Uh and I think I was 15 at the time, and that was uh eye-opening on a number of fronts, and and it was really more okay, well, don't give them that opportunity next. Make sure you're in the best shape possible, make sure you're as prepared as possible. And as we know with failure, once once you feel that once, you don't want to feel it again, and you want to feel success, and you want to feel uh the euphoria of of competition and winning. And so, you know, once I had that one blemish on my record, I didn't want to feel that again. So I uh I put the hammer down as far as training and preparing and things of that nature.

SPEAKER_03 24:47

All right, so now we're getting to the real verb. So it was people telling you from this tiny little town and then getting cut. Yeah. So I always like to talk about there's so many people in the world today, and we see it in so many different forms. Everybody wants to tell you how great they want to be, but then the action really tells the story. So, did it really become one of those things where you flipped a switch after getting cut where you said, I'm not going back there. I'm I will never let that happen again.

Training Changes That Unlocked MVP Level

SPEAKER_02 25:15

Yeah, I think it was a process of understanding and learning and maturing and realizing what it was gonna take to get to that level and and be the best that you can possibly be, and and you're hopeful that you can be the best player possibly ever. I mean, that's ultimately the goal. And so you gotta put in the time and effort. And and really for me in my NHL career, that's that happened my second year here in in St. Louis, my fourth year pro. I hurt my shoulder, I had a sore knee, and I went went and met with Charles Polliquin, who became my trainer, and I walked in and I literally took four steps and he looked at me and he's like, You got a bad right knee? I'm like, Yeah. It's like you got a bad left shoulder? I go, Yeah. All by walking me, watching me walk four steps. And I changed my diet, I changed how I trained, I changed everything. And as you know, with training, it's a process. By the second or third training camp, after working with him, I was a beast. And that's around the time when I won the MVP. Um and and my career kind of really started to take off, and and the potential and and the you know, what can this kid possibly be started to come to fruition, and I started to become the player that Mike Keenan saw when he traded for me here in St. Louis, and then ultimately what I wanted, you know, you have to take ownership and you have to want to put the work in and enjoy putting the work in, and and then use that as fuel to the fire to to, you know, on days when you don't feel good, you're going to work. On days when you feel great, you're putting in more work. And and really just kind of push yourself to try to achieve excellence.

Legacy And No Seduction Of Success

SPEAKER_03 27:03

So that's I I I love hearing this from you. No, no surprise to the level that you took your life in terms of sports and what you do outside of the game. I always talk about no seduction of success. There's so many athletes, you win an MVP as a defenseman, which I mean that does not happen, right? Not very often. So I mean, you're one of the best, one of the best to ever play your position. So many guys, they just get satisfied. Yet what you just said is so remarkable that I hope everybody captured it. You said on the tough days you did what you had to do, and then on the good days you gave even more. So, how did you keep yourself from being seduced by success? Because at this point, winning MVPs, Stanley, I mean, gold medals, I mean, you're you're competing at the highest level. What kept you going?

SPEAKER_02 27:50

Yeah, I could, you know what, and I hear you talk about all the time legacy. What are you leaving the next person? What are you leaving the fan on a night in, night out basis? What are you leaving your teammates with? What are you leaving your organization with? Uh, I know when we won the cup in in Anaheim in 07, I was working out, you know, I let my body heal, and then I was working out probably a week later. And I had a lot of teammates that were, they didn't do anything. You know, that, you know, I I got in a cab. I was worried about some of them because they were terrible. They were in terrible shape. They weren't, you know, they kind of sat back and enjoyed, which is natural to a certain degree, but one's not good enough. You know, winning once, you feel that euphoria of of achievement and and success and you know, fulfilling a lifelong dream, and then it's like, okay, I gotta do it next year. And I need I want to do it the next year. And some people have that ingrained in them, some people have that DNA, and some people don't, and they're happy with just being a part part of the ride and and just being another person along for the ride, as opposed to, okay, I want to be the guy. You know, I used to tell the young guys, as I learned throughout the beginning of my career, you got to show up every single day. Somebody, you know, I know Michael Jordan talked about in the last dance. Somebody in the building is there to watch you. Somebody paid good money to come watch you perform. You need to be here every single time you show up. And so I tried, you know, some one of the managers or one of the owners or somebody asked me, well, you know, why do you why do you got why do you gotta play so hard early in the season? I'm like, that's just the way I play the game. I don't know any other way. And I took my foot off the gas pedal for one game and I almost got hurt, and this almost happened, like all these bad things almost happen. I'm like, you gotta go 100% all the time, or it's it's just not gonna work out. So I I learned a number of valuable lessons, but number one was go hard all the time, preseason, regular season playoffs, just go.

Mental Toughness And Staying Present

SPEAKER_03 29:57

But you were known as one of the toughest guys to ever get on the ice, right? So physical. So we know you had the physical toughness. How important is mental toughness?

SPEAKER_02 30:07

Uh, huge, especially in a physical sport like hockey is, you know, whether it's the bumps and bruises, the the ups and downs of a long season, the wins, the losses, um, you know, playing through pain, playing through injury, playing through difficult circumstances, whether it be with fans, with what's going on in your personal life, and being able to block that out and just showing up and the three hours you're at the rink, that's your solace, that's your you're you're kind of blocking everything out, and you're just immersed in playing the game and that's it. And I was able to, you know, create those boundaries when I'm at the rink and when I'm playing, everything else that's going on around me, it could be all falling apart, but when I'm at the rink, I'm I'm there focused on that, everything else is blocked out. I'm not thinking about anything else, I'm solely focused on the guy I'm lined up against. Who do I need to shut down? You know what from the video have I noticed that I need to implement right now? What did I just see in previous plays? Always kind of scanning to see what is anything different. Uh are they are they is the other team doing anything different that I need to adjust my focus and adjust the way that I'm gonna play them? And and really just staying in the moment and staying focused on the task at hand and not really worrying about things that are already controlled that can be dealt with three or four hours later, what have you, that you know, health issues, whatever it is. And and uh um you know, I learned I learned that early on in my junior career, and then was able to kind of add that as I went through the early parts of my NHL career and getting booed in Hartford, getting booed in St. Louis, you know, the difficult circumstances that began my career, and to use that as a as a chance to strengthen my uh my moxie, if you will, and and uh apply that to the rest of my career and go going through difficult injuries, you know, difficult inflection points in a season when you've got whether it's injuries, losing situations, and you're trying to figure out where are we, and uh and and just realize it it's 100%, and and try to rally the troops, get everybody on board, and and get the ship going in the right direction again.

SPEAKER_03 32:26

I appreciate you how you show up in life. Thank you. It uh it's awesome. It's such an example of what it means to attack. And I just want to share a couple things that I've pulled because I I hope you were paying attention the way that I was paying attention. You know, I always believe that it's the details where you'll find your edge. And if you pay attention to so many of Chris's answers throughout this burn episode, you'll realize that he had belief in himself at an early age, right? Knew that burn, that competitive spirit. When I fail, I'm gonna get back up and attack things differently. All the way down to how about walking into the doctor's office, the doctor sees him, he adjusts how he eats. He's gonna adjust his nutrition, he's gonna adjust how he trains. Then if you just heard in his answer, he talked about breaking down game film. What I see on film, I then have to make my adjustments on the ice. And then you talk about finding that solace, that three hours when you're on the ice. So just because you may not be in the NHL, just because you may not be competing as a professional athlete, I know that if you connect to your burn and you find your edge in every little detail the way that Chris has, you can attack life and achieve at your highest possible level.