If you couldn’t breathe, what one thing would you fight for?

Quite simply, you’d be only focused on getting air, re-catching your breath. Based on a famous quote by Eric Thomas, when you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.

Above is an excellent video featuring Giavanni Ruffin, former ECU runnbing back and current NFL free agent. Ruffin has had to overcome some obstacles, including an arrest in 2010, but is empowered to be a success.

At WinForever, we are often pushing people to compete for life in everything they do.

Everybody–and I mean it when I say it–everybody has the potential to be successful. You all make your choices … Read More

The next time Yogi Roth presents a thorough analysis of the Pistol offense on a Pac-12 Networks broadcast, it may be because of what he discovered exploring the shady streets of Rio de Janeiro.

Don’t see the connection? That’s OK. Although Roth hopes each and every one of you will reach similar levels of enlightenment someday.

Roth is not your typical college football analyst. He’s not your typical human being, for that matter. Inspired by open-minded and globally-centered parents, Roth has spent a hefty chunk of his young life exploring … Read More

All is left is the No. 1 overall seed Louisville Cardinals and the No. 4 seed from the South region Michigan Wolverines. While the Cardinals have been a favorite to win the title all season, Michigan’s journey to the title game is a reminder to us all that champions aren’t always the most talented or the always the best team–they’re the best team at the right moment.

Look at Michigan. In their Sweet 16 game against No. 1 seed Kansas, Trey Burke had … Read More

We can say with great confidence that We Day Seattle (and the 15,000+ supporters) this past Wednesday was a raving success; the first of its kind in the United States.

If you aren’t familiar, We Day is an annual youth empowerment event organized by Free the Children. We Day motivates youth to take action on local and global issues.

Joined by Free the Children co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger on stage Wednesday included speakers such as Demi Lovato, Kid President  Magic Johnson, Martin Sheen, Gary Payton, Coach Pete Carroll and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer; and performers including Jennifer Hudson and Nelly Furtado.

But, one of the greatest surprise of all was the guest appearance of Seattle’s own Macklemore and Ryan … Read More

Brian Banks, a former USC football recruit, is on a mission to return to football. While in high school, over ten years ago, Banks was unjustly accused of raping and kidnapping a fellow woman classmate. Although he was not guility, he was advised to plead “no contest” and go to jail for a period between 18 months and five years, instead of a possible 41 if he ultimately went to trial.

He received the maximium punishiment, and then was forced to wear an electronic monitoring system for five years after his stint in prison. Last year, the case was dropped and Brian Banks was finally free. Less than two weeks after that exciting moment, Banks had his opportunity.

Coach Pete … Read More

This was written by Clare Farnsworth of Seahawks.com. The original article can be found here.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Pete Carroll has a vision. He would like to change the vision for those youths growing up in neighborhoods where dying or going to jail seem to be the only alternatives.

The Seahawks’ coach took his message to the Washington state legislature on Wednesday, looking to generate additional financial support for A Better Seattle – which funds youth outreach activities in the greater Seattle area and is patterned after the A Better L.A. program he started while coaching at the University of Southern California.

“There’s a vision that we found in dealing with A Better L.A. that I know is … Read More

If you haven’t heard of Team Gleason, it’s time you know now.

Steve Gleason was born on March 19, 1977 in Spokane, Washington and was a special teams player in the National Football League. After playing college ball at Washington State, he played eight seasons in the NFL–the majority of which with the New Orleans Saints. As eight seasons, Steve retired from the NFL in 2008.

From Team Gleason’s website: “Steve Gleason will always be remembered for his blocked punt on the night the New Orleans Superdome reopened for the first time after Hurricane Katrina. In 2011, Steve was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), considered a terminal neuro-muscular disease. Steve is determined to inspire others by continuing to … Read More

What if a coach could earn the authority to lead from his coaching staff and players with hardly any effort?  What if a coach’s authority comes from a mindfully-designed talent development process which leaves players feeling supremely confident on game day and equipped to express their full athletic potential over their careers?

Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll refers to a quote by Aristotle quite often: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, … Read More

We have another powerful video to share with you this week. This one coming from SoulPancake and Kid President. It’s a pep talk to get every one of you fired up for living–because, of course, there’s no reason not to.

It’s another reminder to live a life with your utmost potential and experience this world. I have pulled out the greatest quotes and lines from his pep talk and posted them below. You’re welcome.

But, I still encourage you to watch the video yourself.

“The world needs to stop being boring. Boring is easy—everybody can be boring.”

“If life is a game, aren’t we on the same team?”

“We have air coming through our nose. We have a heartbeat—that means … Read More

One of Pete Carroll’s greatest mentors of leadership is John Wooden, with whom he learned a lot from in the summer of 2000—the year between head coaching jobs. In this video above–a TED Conference in February 2000 in Monterey, California—Wooden explained how he coined his definition of success, among other things.

In the 1930s, Wooden noticed students in school were only deemed ‘successful,’ if they received A’s or B’s, while students who received C’s were deemed less than satisfactory. Wooden realized that’s a poor way to judge success. Instead, he thought, a better measure would be to determine if they tried their best. “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did … Read More