And so I was miserable. I I I need to

give you that backstory because

>> you have to know my state of mind. I was

miserable. And I got on a plane because

Tuesday is day off in the NFL. So Monday

night I got on a plane, went to Salt

Lake City to see my brother cuz he was

in University Utah Med School. I was

like, "Man, maybe he can I don't know,

help me get out of this funk. I mean,

this is just terrible. Not sleeping

well. It's just miserable." And I walk

around the town with him. He's like,

"Steve, I got two kids and broke in

medical school. Like your life looks

sweet to me." So He didn't help very

much, you know. And I was like, I don't

I told him I didn't know how I was going

to get to Christmas. So, I get on the

plane to come back, sit down, and Steve

CVY sitting there, and he says, "Hello."

And I'm like, "Oh my gosh, it's been,

you know, I've always wanted to meet

you." And and he goes, he he asks a

simple question. How you doing? And I'm

in a state of mind where I was pretty uh

vulnerable. I just told him, kind of

recitated everything that I just said to

you and how kind of miserable I was.

And uh I got done with it, you know, 25

30 minutes later and he goes, "Huh, wow,

man. I I can feel that." Like, I can

feel all of that. The expectations, the

how tough it is to not get the help that

you think that you need and things that

are working against you. And

man, can I ask you a couple questions? I

go, "Yeah." He goes, "Your owner, Eddie

Debardalo, tell me about him." "Oh my

gosh, he's the only owner in football

that ever saw players as partners. I

mean, he's amazing." And I went on about

that. And then he said, "What about your

coach, Bill Walls?" He's like, "Yeah,

he's like a guy that talks about

hydration and nutrition and sleep and

mental health and you talk about

partnership. No one's doing what he's

doing. His West Coast offense, that guy

is amazing." He goes, "Yeah, I'd heard

that. I'd love to meet them both, you

know, because let me ask one last

question. is Joe Montana on the team?

I'm like, yeah, he's hurt. And that's

kind of the problem. And he's like,

well, if you had to ask him for

mentorship, go ask him questions to help

your game. Could you do it? I'm like,

yeah, I could. And he goes, all right.

Well, I want you to know what I do. I

travel the world looking for platforms,

companies, organizations that create

the ability for the humans on the

platform to see how good they can get

and iterate and find out because that's

that's what life should be about. As I

travel the world, I'm always looking for

it. And I I'd love to talk to those guys

about their platform. But I got to step

back, Steve, and tell you that from my

perspective,

the platform that you're on, the the

place that you are, I think might be the

greatest

one that I've ever seen.

And I was like,

wait, did you didn't you hear me? Like,

bro, this is miserable.

>> Things are terrible.

>> Things are terrible. But it stung me. It

like went through my heart. It was like,

oh my gosh.

My first thought was, I think I might

have screwed this whole thing up. Like,

oh. Cuz to have him say that truth to

me. He goes, "Let me ask you quite one

last question cuz it's scary." He goes,

"I always wonder if people are willing

to take the chance to find out how good

they are,

>> you know?" And I'm like reflexive about

it. Yeah, of course. I I want I'm

absolutely up for that. And then he took

a minute and he's like he he looked kind

of like he was little and bald and like

long fing I was like a little Yodaish,

you know what I mean?

>> I remember the about the author photo.

>> Yeah. And so he took his finger and he

kind of looked at me and said, "Then be

about it."

And I was like,

"Oh my gosh." I realized right there

that the hole I was in that I thought so

many people had dug

that I had dug it. I had no idea that I

dug the hole.

>> Mhm.

>> And I had thought that everyone pushed

me in

and I didn't realize that I had jumped

in.

>> And so it was that, you know, we talk

about victimization for a long time cuz

it's such an important thing to far it

out in your own life over and over again

like never stop. It was the realization

that I had played the victim

and had jumped in a hole, dug it and

jumped in and I am the author of it.

Like that's what the shock was. Like I

authored this and and I remember getting

off the plane as if I was transformed. I

don't want to say it lightly. It was as

if I now knew if I was going to do

anything, I was going to be about this.

And I remember not sleeping well that

night, but for a different reason. I

thought, "Oh my gosh, I think I've

screwed this up enough that on Wednesday

mornings when you get fired in the NFL."

And I'm like, I'd heard rumors about

maybe getting benched. And I'm like, "Oh

crap, don't tell me that I have screwed

this up so bad that I don't get a chance

to go fix it."

>> And I screamed down at practice the next

day as energized as ever like, "I've got

just please don't please give me

another." and I didn't get benched and I

did play and and I was about it and it

was fun because it it's like something

that's true like truly true like

universally true when it's that way it

doesn't waver it doesn't you don't have

iterations of it like it's like it's

just true I don't have to worry about

like it is and he said it's not going to

be like people are really afraid

>> like it's hard to find out how good you

are cuz you might find out

>> you're not very nearly as good as you

thought you were. Mhm.

>> You got to make that okay. And that now

I'm going to reiterate and find out how

good I can get.

>> So, it's really about fear

>> and if you can lose that fear and that's

basically what you're dealing with is a

fear-based

>> you've been fear-based. And I was like,

"Oh my gosh."

>> And you just wanted to exercise it. Now,

it doesn't happen overnight.

>> Mhm.

>> But I remember soon after that's that

season ended and the whole offseason and

and so the next year we're playing the

Cowboys. are the best team in the

league, right? And I think to myself,

this is where you find out, right? And I

remember running up to Troyman and we're

warming up and he's a friend and he's a

quarterback for the Cowboys. And I'm

like, Troy, it's so great that you're

here, man, because I'm on this quest to

see how good I can get and I can only

find out against the best and so I'm so

glad that you're here. And I remember

Troy looking at me like, freaking

weirdo. What's What's wrong with you?

>> But that's what I was about.

>> Yeah. And to finish the story, I think I

have to finish it kind of honestly and

authentically. I was MVP of the NFL that

year.

>> And you think back to being in the

bottom of a hole running to my brother

to see if like I could get out of this

depression. And it's just amazing to me

the perspective,

a truthful, universally

authentic fact can make that kind of

difference in somebody's life. I owe him

the greatest debt. Right? Because you

think about angels in your life or

people that show up.

>> It was almost like it's a wonderful life

moment. Like you know what I mean? Like

>> you almost think was he really there or

was I imagining like this guy that's

sitting next to me. So that's the Steven

CVY story.

>> What a wild

sliding doors moment, right? Just the

happen stance of that interaction and

how it changed things.