Mick Unplugged
David Pollack | Standards Over Feelings: David Pollack's Path to Personal and Professional Growth
Thu, 07 Nov 2024
Welcome to another inspiring episode of Mick Unplugged! Today, we're thrilled to bring you a deep and empowering conversation with the remarkable David Pollack. David is not only known for his incredible achievements in the world of sports, but also for his profound personal growth and unwavering faith. In this episode, David shares insights into the two major influences that shaped his life, leading to significant personal development. He passionately discusses the principle of achieving 90% success through consistent effort and presence, while leaving 10% as a challenge to tackle with perseverance. We dive into the essence of leadership with David and Mick, exploring how care and influence play key roles in guiding others. David opens up about his journey to faith, which began with a simple church invitation and was deepened through mentorship. He also shares invaluable lessons from personal failures, emphasizing growth and resilience. Mick and David also delve into the transformative "50, 40, 10" principle, a unique formula for success and excellence in both personal and professional realms. David's reflections on his football career, his transition through various positions, and his leadership evolution provide rich, actionable insights. Join us as we uncover David Pollack's journey of faith, leadership, and the relentless pursuit of greatness. Whether you're looking to elevate your leadership skills, embrace resilience, or find motivation in your daily life, this episode is packed with wisdom and inspiration. Stay tuned and get ready to be uplifted on Mick Unplugged! Takeaways: · David's journey to faith began with an invitation. · The 50-40-10 philosophy emphasizes hard work and preparation. · Standards should take precedence over feelings in leadership. · Life is filled with challenges that require resilience. · The importance of being still and listening to God. Questions & Answers: 1. Question:Mick Hunt: David, you mentioned two major influences in your life that led to your personal growth. Can you share more about how they shaped your outlook on life and your career? David Pollack: Absolutely, Mick. The first major influence was my mentor, Mark Watson, who guided me spiritually and helped me through my faith journey. His mentorship provided a strong moral foundation. The second was my experience transitioning through various football positions at the University of Georgia. This taught me adaptability and resilience, key traits that have been vital throughout my career and personal life. 2. Question: Mick Hunt: Let's dive into the "50, 40, 10" principle. How do you think this approach can be applied beyond sports to enhance performance and success? David Pollack: The "50, 40, 10" principle focuses on outworking and outthinking the majority, then dedicating oneself to the final 10% that requires exceptional commitment. This method is universally applicable, whether in business, academia, or personal goals, because it emphasizes consistent effort, strategic planning, and a relentless drive to push beyond the top performers, ensuring continuous improvement and excellence. 3. Question: Mick Hunt: You’ve faced numerous challenges, including a career-ending injury. How has maintaining a positive mindset and faith helped you overcome these adversities? David Pollack: My faith has been a cornerstone through all my challenges. It provided a sense of purpose and resilience during tough times. My injury, while devastating, became a pivotal moment for personal growth. It taught me to see adversities as opportunities for learning and becoming a better father, husband, and individual. This positive mindset is crucial for overcoming life's challenges and leads to personal and professional betterment. Sound Bites · "You can outwork 50% of the people." · "Standards over feelings." · "You have to understand who you are leading." · "Life is hard, it's hot, and it hurts." Connect and Discover Instagram: Instagram.com/davidpollack47 Facebook: facebook.com/PollackFF Website: davidpollack.com Podcast: David Pollack College Football YouTube: @DavidPollackCFB X: x.com/davidpollack47 Book: The Won't Quit Kid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: What were the key influences on David Pollack's life?
Don't worry about how you feel every day because your feelings change every day and what people say change and the task changes, but that doesn't change who you are and what you bring to the table every single time. Will you succeed all the time? No.
Chapter 2: How can the '50, 40, 10' principle enhance success?
I tell people leadership is a four letter word. C-A-R-E.
Chapter 3: What role does faith play in overcoming challenges?
Yeah. I think, first of all, if you have influence over one person, you're a leader. So everybody got that crazy person in your family that likes you for no reason. So everybody's a leader. Dude, I've failed all along the way. I mean, I have failed so much more than I have succeeded. And I like to share those because those are real. The three H's is hard, it's hot, and it hurts.
Welcome to Mick Unplugged, where we ignite potential and fuel purpose. Get ready for raw insights, bold moves, and game-changing conversations. Buckle up, here's Mick.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And today we're about to get personal with a really good friend of mine. We're talking about a ton of accolades. SEC Player of the Year, two times. We're not talking about one side of the ball. We're talking about Player of the Year, two times. Defensive Player of the Year, one time. All-American, two times. Three times.
You name it, he is that guy. number one or first round draft pick. But what's more important to me, he's a man of God, he's an amazing father, and he's an amazing husband. And to me, that solidifies the man of who he is. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor to bring my friend, Mr. David Pollack on to Mick Unplugged. David, how you doing, brother? Mick, way to sell me, dog.
Golly, I'm not worth a million bucks, but I feel like it right now. Hey, you know, that $5 you sent me, it goes a long way, bro. $5 still goes a long way in my world. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. Man, I'm honored to have you here. You know, I've got a connection to Georgia.
One of my uncles played football at Georgia in the early to mid 80s was the running back like right after Herschel. So shout out to my uncle Tron because I'm a Bulldog first. Right. So growing up, Tar Heel second. Absolutely. All I knew was Georgia. Right. So me and my family were talking to my Uncle Wayne and my Uncle Randy, my cousins, Torrance.
I got to give everybody their shout out now because they'll kill me if I have David Pollack on and I don't talk about Torrance and Randy Jr. and Dexter. So I did my job. Now, David, it's about you.
Covered.
Covered. Now I guess I'll do mine now. Yeah. Yes, sir. But David, man, like we can go so many places. You have an amazing journey, an amazing story. But for me, it all starts with you being that man of God first. And I would love for you to just talk about not necessarily your spiritual journey, but that moment that you knew God's my everything.
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Chapter 4: Why is the concept of 'standards over feelings' crucial in leadership?
Who's going to eat your heart with a spoon? Like who's going to stab until, who's going to give in? Who's going to keep fighting? Like it's going to suck. You're going to lose a lot of battles, but you better get your butt back up and you better get ready to roll because there's another one coming and another one coming. So that's how I define 50-40-10.
Man, so you can't see it, but just like when I was at your house, I have chills, bro. Like the leader in me connects with that so well on a business level and an entrepreneur level, because that is it. You're going to outwork 50% of the people, right? You can outthink, you can out prepare, you can out organize 40% of the people.
It's that last 10 to me that separates who really is committed to it. Who can I depend on and who can I count on? But more importantly, how can I deliver when no one else does? And bro, so the business side of me, that night when I got home, Man, if you could see my wall, it is nothing but I have 50, 40, 10 everywhere and I circle 10. And when I wake up, this is no lie.
When I wake up, I circle the 10 and I say, what's the dog going to do today? What's the dog going to do that no one else has committed? I can influence the great Nick. I mean, that's great. Thank you, brother. Bro, I love that, man. And I know that there is a big story behind that. There is a big message behind that. And I don't want to tease the world with that yet today.
But when David starts going in on that, you're going to feel just like I feel. I'm sure there are listeners and viewers right now that just got cold chills, too, because that is literally the most powerful concept ever. I think that I've heard. And if you haven't started it yet, there's a book about 50-40-10, brother.
Well, in the works, it's definitely something that's swirling and we're working on. But, you know, it's amazing. Like we all have different gifts and blessings. And man, I am ADD and you can tell probably like I'm high energy all over the place. And one thing that's been a struggle for me is like, can you get still enough? And can you sit down and can you do the things that need to get done?
I'm really learning that challenge. Like that's a challenge for me that I've done more of embracing, more reading. Like that's something that doesn't come natural. Like I'd rather work and be physical and go do something and be interactive.
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Chapter 5: How does personal growth relate to professional success?
And, you know, just with my kids, like circling them up and making intentional time to pray and intentional time to read and intentional time to talk about things and stuff. So like that's something for me that's always a work in progress, an area in my life that I got to continue to grow and get better at.
I love it, man. I love it. And I know you're going to do it because of who you are. I want to tackle, no pun intended, one of the things that you said, standards over feelings. I'm a big believer in standards, right? Like I personally am not into goals as much as I am standards because to me, you can't set a goal until you have a standard, right?
You know, Mike Tomlin, I said this in a previous podcast. One of the things I love most about him, I'm not a Steelers fan, but he said the tradition in Pittsburgh is the standard is the standard. And I immediately connected with that. And I know you being the person that you are truly connect and not only connect, but embody that.
So I love to talk a little bit about to you why standards are important. And if you have a story around that, that'll be awesome, too.
Mike Tomlin, by the way, there are a few guys in professional sports that when they talk, I listen and he's one of them. I mean, just he is liquid gold. I mean, that dude is just in the way he says things. I'm just like, yeah, like I'll run through a wall for that. I can't imagine being a player every day and being called out and being held to that standard.
But, you know, I saw so much of it making in my life. And I just I see so many people and I started to like see, OK, well, this is a person that want to work. And then I would see other people that would come in and I'd be like, all right, they complain all the time, but they work. And then I saw people that came in and they always worked and they didn't talk and they didn't complain.
And so you're like, what are the keys? Like, how do we bring this together and understand this? And so we started talking with our football team, man. Like, nothing that happened today, nothing that happened yesterday changes where you are right now. And where you are right now is at football. And if you're at football, I need to be my best. If I'm in school, I need to be my best.
And I am going to adhere to this standard that whatever I do, I'm going to run the race and I'm going to be consistent and I'm going to do it in a manner in which to get the prize, right? Like I'm not just here to participate. I'm not here just to show up. There's such a big difference in life and showing up.
into something like showing up and being there, like showing up and being present, just like with the football players, being able to tell them when they started their first day this year, when you walk in, You go to your teacher. I'm here to be a leader. I'm going to sit in the front row. I'm going to pay attention to the whole class. Like, I'm setting a standard. Like, this is who I am.
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Chapter 6: What lessons did David Pollack learn from his football career?
And I played defensive tackle in high school and running back. So I played both. So coach was like, hey, man, we need some defensive tackles. And so they throw me a defensive tackle. And I started playing defensive tackle. And it was awesome. It was great. It was a new challenge. It was hard. There was a lot coming at you fast.
And so I started at fullback, moved to defensive tackling camp, and then had a pretty decent freshman year. And then, Mick, before my sophomore year, like, I moved to defensive aim. So – You talk about three positions in less than a year on campus. And so it was a lot that came at you. But Coach Van Gorder saw me and kind of my attitude. And he was like, I think I think we can work with that.
He was like he always said, like, you're more of a defensive player, like your mindset and your mentality. You need to be over here with us.
What he was saying was you're a little crazy, right? Yeah, that's true. You tried to be politically correct there. He was saying you're a little crazy, you're a little off.
You can be a little crazy to play football. Like, you can be a little crazy to, like, beating people up and banging your head against other people and enjoy it. Like, yeah, 100%.
Yeah, an amazing career, George. All the accolades that I mentioned aren't even a tenth of all the things that you accomplished at Georgia. And being a leader, and that's, again, one of the many things I love about you is that you are a leader as well, too. And not only that, but you take pride. In being a leader, you take pride in, hey, the buck stops with me or everyone's counting on me. Right.
Can you talk about how that shaped your career professionally outside of sport in your family as well? Because I think that's something that a lot of people don't spend enough time embodying is. You're a leader and there are people that count on you. And there are moments where it's you and you've got to rise to the occasion. Again, I'm not just talking sports there.
Can you talk a little bit about that?
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Chapter 7: How can we apply resilience in our daily lives?
Yeah, I think first of all, if you have influence over one person, you're a leader. So everybody got that crazy person in your family that likes you for no reason. So you're everybody's a leader. OK, and everybody has influence and opportunity to use it. And I would say this. When I was younger, I did it by example, 100%. And I didn't know how to communicate with people.
It wasn't a strength of mine. And my definition of how I led was a direct reflection of how I like to be led and how I responded to how I was led. So I was fire and brimstone and I was get your butt to the ball. I didn't use those language because I wasn't a believer when I was younger a lot of times. And so I used a lot worse, but it was by challenging. It was by insults.
You know, that was what I thought was leadership. That's what I saw from my coaches. And so that's what I kind of emulated. As I've gotten older, I've really learned the value of understanding who you are leading because not everybody's going to respond the same way. And it took me to having kids, Mick, to figure that out. I had a son who was totally different than me.
He's my wife's personality to a T. Nothing bothers Nicholas, nothing. And he's just chill and everything's fine and it's gonna be okay. And I'm like, what is this alien? sweet baby Jesus, what am I doing? Like, God, what did you give me?
And so really like coaching kids and six-year-old kids with football and seven-year-old kids and starting to see the different personalities and really what makes people tick and then pouring to them individually. And then you realize, oh man, you can get to know. And now I think more than ever, like understanding they've got to know you care about them. They have to know you care about them.
When they know you care about them, you really have a position of authority with people and you can speak to them. And then nowadays, I think with kids, especially just, they got to know the why. Back in the day, Mick, back in our day, back in your day, daddy said, dig a hole. You freaking dug a hole. Like you dug a hole. Yeah.
Now, like if I said that to my 16 year old son, he'd be like, why, why am I digging a hole? I'm like, Man, I said, you know, I mean, so I think teaching them, first of all, showing up, being an example, understanding who you're leading. Leading with humility, leading with character and leading with standards over feelings.
Like knowing that I got a guy that like when that dude checks in, man, he's the same. If everything's raised to a 10 right now, he's still the same. If it's at a one, he's the same. So those are things that I've learned along the way. I wish I had learned them when I was younger and I think I'd have been a lot more effective.
But I think God's still teaching me things in my journey of learning how to lead kids to middle schoolers, to high school kids, to grownups. Thank you.
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