This week’s conversation is with Jim Zorn, a former NFL quarterback and coach who currently serves as head coach and general manager of the Seattle Dragons of the second incarnation of the XFL.

Jim was the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks during their first eight seasons as a franchise and is a Seattle legend.

He’s known as one of the more prolific scrambling quarterbacks of his day and was the second Seahawk ever inducted into the team’s “Ring of Honor” in 1991.

Jim also coached in the NFL from 1997 to 2012.

In this conversation we discuss what led Jim to football, what he learned about the mental side of the game, and how to move past caring what others think of you.

In Jim’s words: “I had to be willing to be embarrassed if I was going to try to get better.”

That’s a really cool thought and Jim has so much wisdom and insight to share in this conversation.

“To develop physical and mental toughness, you have to be able to deny yourself pleasures that others are indulging in, that you could indulge in, other than the simple fact that you decided that you’re going to work at this time.”

In This Episode:

  • Didn’t start playing football until high school
  • Parents didn’t have enough money to get him started in organized sports at a young age
  • Not getting what he wanted for Christmas one year… why was it so disappointing?
  • How he dealt with being underprivileged as a child
  • His first experience playing football in high school… the reason why he loved playing the quarterback position
  • Didn’t have great grades in high school, didn’t understand why he needed to go to school
  • What he loved about football: the variety, no two days are the same
  • His affinity for risk-taking
  • The moment his relationship with money changed
  • How to move past caring what others think of you
  • Why feelings are not facts
  • How to develop mental toughness
  • Acting “medium” in games… never getting too high or too low
  • Ruminating on mistakes in his early pro career and working to let those mistakes go faster
  • The struggle that comes with not being appreciated or recognized by the public after your career is over
  • What his spiritual framework looks like
  • How he thinks about mastery

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