Notes on Marcus Allen with the Orlando Raiders who spoke at a seminar I held. I'm always amazed, blessed and humbled by the famous and well known speakers I have at any seminar or workshops.
This was one of the most inspirational thus far.
This was one of the most inspirational thus far.
I was most impressed not with the football stories nor his size nor accomplishments, but more his genteel aura and how calmly he spoke to us. Though I was obviously struck by his wisdom I had to write furiously because the points he made were simply an intrinsic part of his conversation…an integral part of his core being. He did not require notes nor a power point presentation…his talk appeared effortless and not requiring thought- he’s mastered what he has to say so that the things he says are simply part of his subconscious being- like breathing- he just ‘does it’.
I’ve separated the notes into Big Picture themes and then into some sub-categories.
Big Picture:
“People who know, succeed”. People who don’t know, don’t”
This is his belief that people who educate themselves and avail themselves of opportunity and work hard will be successful…and those who don’t, wont- it’s that simple.
“I never looked farther than the dining room table for my role model”
His role model, fortunately, was his father. But my takeaway was to interpret his statement to realize that success is not as far away as people think. People simply need to be more honest about their efforts, and effort more, to succeed.
Marcus Allen on Planning/Dreaming/Visualizing the future:
“I was a visualizer from a very young age- I visualized winning the Heisman and winning the Super Bowl”
“I wrote my Heisman Trophy acceptance speech at age 11”
“It was no accident I became what I wanted to become”
“I was a kid who made a conscious decision which side of the TV I wanted to be on” (Oh man I love this one!)
“You become what you expect to become”
“I touched the end zone before every game- I ran into it and ran around in it to help visualize scoring during the game”
Marcus Allen on avoiding the destructive traps of athletic fame and fortune
“I live my life in a way that honors my mother and father”
“Walk by faith, not by sight”
“I avoided drugs because my father built a briefcase with little shelf compartments in it and each compartment had a different drug in it and he showed us what they looked like, what they did and then he pointed out how they ruined people. I wanted to be an athlete and his briefcase eliminated the curiosity”
“I’ve had maybe 8 drinks in my entire life”
Marcus Allen on “just doing it”:
“If you want something you gotta go get it” (from his dad, actually)
“I may have written my Heisman Trophy acceptance letter at age 11 and again at age 22 but I also put in the work”
“At USC we practiced so hard the games were easy”
“Hurt? I got hurt all the time. I never let it show and I always got right up”
“The Strong may wilt but the Strong always find a way”
Marcus favorite quote:
His favorite quote came from his favorite coach, Ray Willsey, who emphasized doing things like gaining yards instead of focusing on not getting tackled in the backfield.
“Make sure…instead of don’t”…
His point was many coaches said “don’t do this” so often the player was left with nothing to do- everything he was good at he was being told not to do. Ray just tried to make sure you used what you were good at to “make sure the end result was positive- like gaining yards.
Marcus Allen on mastering his profession:
“I was a Quarterback playing running back…I knew every position on the field”
“I became an expert in my position. My mind became so fast I saw things and my instinct took over”
“2342 yards was a result of brains” (alluding to him crushing the all time single-season college rushing record.)
“Vince Lombardi said: “You’ve got to be in top physical condition. Fatigue makes cowards of us all”. “I wanted to be the best conditioned athlete on the field.”
Marcus Allen on mentoring:
“There’s always somebody chasing your opportunity- guys all want playing time. I balanced playing time with the need to give all my knowledge to my teammates- I loved winning so much that if a guy took my position from me I wanted him to have my knowledge because I wanted the team to win”
And here’s a reality check:
“Football is what we do, not who we are”
“I played because I loved the game and the benefits came”
“I played so people 150 years from now would remember my name"
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