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During times of challenge, it

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could be very difficult. And there's people

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that are listening, that are going through unimaginable

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circumstances right now. At some point,

0:34

in those circumstances, you have to be thinking

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to yourself, what can I learn through this

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experience? Because ultimately, I'm gonna

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test will become your testimony. The

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universe is showing you something through these

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challenges and the quicker that you can

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gain some perspectives through

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that. The easier it's going to be to transition

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into that next chapter of your life. I'm

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on this journey with me each week. When you

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down our goals. Overcome adversity

1:02

and set you up for better tomorrow.

1:05

I'm ready for my content. Hi,

1:08

and welcome back. I'm so excited excited for

1:10

you to meet my guest today, Eric Wood is

1:12

a former center for the Buffalo Bills

1:14

and nominee for the Walter Peyton

1:16

NFL Man of the Year Award two

1:18

years in a row In fifteen and sixteen,

1:21

Eric played for nine years with the bills

1:23

until a dangerous neck injury forced

1:25

him to withdraw from professional football in

1:27

two thousand eighteen. Eric has since

1:29

approached his post football career transition

1:31

with enthusiasm, bringing his wisdom

1:34

of years of experience on the field to

1:36

broadcast media and public speaking.

1:38

He currently engages with bands as a

1:40

color commentator for Buffalo Bills radio

1:42

network. For an up close and personal

1:45

perspective into his career transition, Eric

1:47

Hoes and Podcasts what's next with

1:49

Eric Wood with a new guest interview

1:51

every episode. Eric's new book,

1:53

tackle what's next, own your story,

1:55

stack your wins, and achieve your goals

1:58

in business and life is out

1:59

now. Eric, thank you so much for being here

2:01

today. Yeah.

2:02

It's an honor to be honest. I'm a big fan of your show,

2:04

so I'm excited about this one. Alright,

2:06

Eric. So digging into your background,

2:09

and I'm always blown away by this, and I

2:11

don't know why. I'm forty eight years old. I should not

2:13

be surprised, but as I see someone as

2:15

successful as you are, you know, the

2:18

top point 001 percent

2:20

of men in the world that can make it to NFL

2:22

at the level that you were playing at

2:24

And I just think you must have been born

2:27

this incredible athlete that

2:29

came out from day one and everyone

2:31

knew you were gonna be this pro choice.

2:34

But when I dug into your background,

2:36

it seemed like at least in high school,

2:39

it didn't appear like you were gonna be the all

2:41

star that you ended up

2:42

being. Was that the case? You're spot

2:44

on there. And there are some people like that.

2:46

I've had plenty of buddies that were the star

2:48

all the way through. They were the five star recruit and offered

2:50

by everyone in the country. Me on the other hand.

2:53

I didn't even start on my high school football

2:55

team. I wasn't a first drinker until my

2:57

senior year. I played basketball as well,

2:59

and for me, football was likely

3:01

gonna be the future if I had a shot. I'm

3:03

six foot four. Why you can't jump super

3:05

high? And so I went all in on

3:07

football, put on a bunch of weight and was able to get

3:09

one scholarship offer to the University

3:11

of Louisville. That's still where me and my wife lived

3:13

to this day. Not I played for the Buffalo Bills,

3:16

not many people stick around there in the op season. We

3:18

always kept a home in Louisville. So that was an

3:20

easy transition when I was done playing. But

3:22

it's remarkable, Heather, how many guys

3:24

when you look around an NFL locker room don't

3:27

come from an Ohio State, an Alabama,

3:29

a Texas. It's Eastern Washington,

3:32

it's Louisville, it's North Carolina, it's from

3:34

around the country, and guys

3:37

mature at different stages of life

3:39

and they peak, and then there's a certain level

3:42

of grit that it takes to make it to the

3:44

NFL. And then when you're there,

3:46

it's how much commitment can you apply.

3:48

And it's it's a small field. Yes,

3:50

there's fifty three man rosters, but

3:52

there's so many people trying to get in that

3:54

oftentimes and then you've seen

3:56

this throughout your own career journey, I'm sure,

3:59

those that it might have been easy for

4:01

early in life they might not be willing

4:03

to sacrifice as much later because they're

4:05

not willing or they're not used to sacrifice

4:08

on that level. Oh, it's so

4:10

true. The struggle ends up being

4:12

the gift, although it doesn't seem like that

4:14

in the moment for sure. So tell

4:16

me for you mentally what was it like

4:18

going from high school where you weren't

4:21

this shoe in to now you're playing

4:23

at the collegiate level and how were you able

4:25

to get yourself that next level so

4:27

quickly. Yeah. So I came into the University

4:29

of Louisville with one goal, and that

4:31

was to make it so that the University of

4:33

Louisville had a great return on their invest and I

4:35

only had one scholarship offer, so there was

4:37

no other options. It wasn't, hey,

4:39

can I transfer over here? I wanted

4:41

to make the most of my opportunity. If

4:44

you look over this shoulder, have my

4:46

University of Louisville Hall of Fame plaque behind

4:48

me because that means a lot to me. That's a

4:50

that's a sign to me personally that I

4:52

I gave Louisville return on their investment

4:55

they were looking for. And that meant a

4:57

lot to me. And and, really,

4:59

when I looked back in in writing my that

5:01

you referenced, as I looked back on any

5:03

success that I had in life, there was

5:06

never an overnight success. It was

5:08

constant grind constant

5:10

stacking wins in my life, whatever that may

5:12

look like. In college, it might be a a great

5:14

workout. It might be one good game. It might be

5:16

one good practice. Stacked over

5:18

and over. And then eventually, you hit this

5:20

hockey stick effect in your life where,

5:23

oh, shoot, now I'm an all American, now I become

5:25

a first round draft pick. And

5:27

none of that happens overnight, and there's

5:29

plenty of bumps and bruises

5:31

and and downfalls along the way. But

5:33

ultimately, when you continue to stack winds in

5:35

your life, it's going to show up in

5:37

a big way, some way or another. And

5:40

for me, dream come true of being

5:42

a first round traffic into the

5:43

NFL. Were you that person that was saying

5:45

to yourself years before that happened? I

5:47

know this is gonna happen. I know I'm gonna make

5:49

it, or were you that person that was surprised by it

5:51

happening? I'll say a

5:53

little bit of both. So my freshman year,

5:55

I made the freshman all American team. And I

5:57

used to joke with my high school buddies that, man,

5:59

I got this one scholarship offer. If I can

6:01

come back to my hometown of Cincinnati and make

6:03

their practice squad. I can make ninety

6:06

thousand dollars a year and I can get a job

6:08

in the off season because I didn't know anything

6:10

about pro football. I can get a job in

6:12

the offices and I can make over a hundred thousand

6:14

dollars. And so that's the mindset I went in

6:16

with. But often when you look at

6:18

people's stories, there's someone

6:20

or something that gives them confidence to

6:23

say, hey, now I belong, now I can go to

6:25

new levels. For me, when I made the freshman

6:27

on American team, I got this letter in the mail

6:29

and it congratulated you and then it

6:31

also talked about what percentage of freshman

6:33

all Americans make it to the NFL, which ones become

6:36

draft picks, how much of a percentage become

6:38

first round draft picks in my whole

6:40

mindset shifted my vision of

6:42

what my career could look like completely

6:45

shifted at that point. And then

6:47

all in, everything I focused

6:49

on became, how do I become this

6:51

first round traffic? And I tell the story often

6:53

about all throughout college, I had this

6:56

picture that was cut out of a

6:58

sports illustrated of what a prototypical

7:01

center in the NFL would look like the

7:03

measurables at the combine. And I kept

7:06

it in my locker for three and a half years,

7:08

let's call it. It's amazing at the

7:10

combine. In that picture that I had

7:12

cut out my locker, it said six foot four. Obviously,

7:14

I was six foot four. That worked out. Three hundred

7:16

and ten pounds. I weighed in at exactly three hundred

7:18

and ten pounds at the combine. I ran exactly

7:21

A51 forty which I talked about.

7:23

I had the arm length. It's amazing how

7:26

much of that kind of just infiltrated

7:29

my life by focusing on it constantly.

7:31

And for me being able to put vision

7:33

out there like that, it became

7:35

a lot easier to stack those daily

7:38

commitments and and to go through all the sacrifice

7:40

when I had a clear vision of exactly what I

7:42

wanted.

7:43

So do you call that manifestation? What

7:45

do you call that? Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

7:47

Manifestation. And I believe in the law of attraction

7:50

and and, you know, you get your particular

7:52

activating system going and you start focusing

7:54

on things. And then all of a sudden you see it in your life

7:56

and whether it was already there or not, now you

7:58

are focusing on it. And you're seeing

8:00

those opportunities come your way as opposed

8:02

to just letting them pass by

8:05

when my goals and my

8:07

vision weren't quite the same as they

8:08

were. And what they became?

8:10

So that became one of your strategies

8:12

to continue to create more success was

8:14

to really focus on a visual.

8:16

Yes. Absolutely. And and creating

8:18

a vision and and really having

8:20

goals, creating a vision, whatever you wanna

8:23

call it, having daily reminders of

8:25

where exactly you wanna get to in life,

8:27

I think it's just so important. I I talk

8:29

often about not living your life on autopilot,

8:32

and you never get anywhere great on autopilot.

8:35

Maybe if your habits and everything

8:37

else are aligned perfectly, but that

8:39

that was a very rare case. If you're just

8:41

floating through life without goals, without a vision,

8:44

you're often not going to end up in the place

8:46

that you want to be. And so I

8:48

I tried to be as conscious as I can and did

8:50

it naturally at the time. I wasn't

8:52

into the Heather and the Jordan

8:54

Montgomery's and the Ed My Lets at the time. Like, I

8:56

wasn't into personal development material

8:59

at the time. That kinda happened naturally for me.

9:01

Now that I've studied it

9:02

more, I truly appreciate what that

9:04

can do in your life. That's incredible.

9:06

Alright. Let's go back to when you were a top

9:09

draft pick because I think that that must have been the

9:11

most exciting, incredible time

9:13

for you. When that was happening, a lot

9:15

of women that I've spoken with and myself

9:17

included deal with something called EMBoster

9:19

syndrome, which I'm sure you're familiar with, Did

9:22

you ever have a moment like that when

9:24

you were all this light was shining

9:26

on? You all this incredible opportunity. Were you

9:28

ever second guessing? Am I really

9:30

good enough for this? Yes.

9:32

And I still deal with that to this day. I I

9:34

deal with that on a day to day basis, especially

9:36

transitioning to new worlds with broadcasting

9:39

and speaking and writing. I mean,

9:41

putting a book out there for the first

9:43

time, I mean, this is probably the most impostor

9:45

syndrome I've ever dealt with in my life.

9:48

But when it came to football, it it it

9:50

constantly happened. And that's where having people

9:52

around you that can lift you up in

9:54

those times or or just having the right

9:56

minds that could be so valuable. I remember

9:58

my first ever NFL football game was

10:00

a preseason game, and I had only

10:02

practiced a few times not to bore

10:04

the listeners but I got drafted in two

10:06

thousand nine when the first round draft picks all

10:09

held out of training camp. You're just your contracts

10:11

couldn't get done in time. And so I had

10:13

three practices, let's call it, and I go playing an

10:15

NFL football game. And

10:17

I get beat a few times, which I was so

10:19

unused to. And then I run down to

10:21

chase an intersection. I was on offense. We threw

10:24

an intersection and I get crushed.

10:26

My helmet goes to line. I had already lost my

10:28

shoe on the play. And so I walk into the

10:30

sideline with my helmet in one hand, my

10:32

shoe and the other thinking, what have I just

10:34

got myself into? But

10:36

I'll say this, you know, the

10:38

the I guess the opposite of impostor syndrome

10:40

would be having ultimate self confidence in

10:42

any situation, and ultimate self confidence

10:45

comes from preparation. It comes from proving

10:47

to yourself over and over that you belong.

10:50

So instead of in that moment saying,

10:52

man, III don't think I I'm cut out

10:54

for this league. It became okay. I gotta

10:56

get back to the drawing board. What affected

10:58

me in that game? What what allowed me to get beat

11:01

on these plays? What can I do in the future? Do I

11:03

not allow myself to get beat in those

11:05

situations? And how many days of

11:08

of great practices, workouts nutrition,

11:10

sleep, can I stack to ultimately

11:12

become a pro bowl

11:13

player?

11:13

Let me tell you it's comforting to know that I'm not

11:16

alone to hear from someone like you that you felt

11:18

that way too. But I have to address something

11:20

that you just brought up, which is surprising to me.

11:22

So one of the things that I discovered in researching

11:24

you is how well you did academic

11:27

specifically in college, which is

11:29

not all these all athletes' stories.

11:31

Right? So to hear that you have

11:33

impostor syndrome, around

11:36

writing a book when you were a really strong

11:38

student, that surprises

11:40

me. Yeah. For me, it's one thing

11:42

to get good grades and prepare for a test, to put

11:45

a book of your story out in universe

11:47

and whether your writing's gonna be critique

11:49

or this isn't the on the

11:51

same level or what what if someone looks at

11:53

the book sales and they're not that great compared

11:56

to others? I also played with so many guys

11:58

throughout my career. That I

12:00

feel would be so much better equipped to write

12:02

a book and they haven't. And so for me,

12:04

it's like, man, I I just feel like he would be more

12:07

equipped than this. But you can play that comparison

12:09

game all day long. We live with

12:11

a cellphone in our hands to constantly be

12:13

able to play the comparison game. And so

12:15

for me personally, getting over

12:18

the impostor syndrome. I've worked with an executive

12:20

coach over the last few years. He's given me those

12:22

nudges. You've earned this. know, this

12:24

is your platform. But but I'll be honest.

12:27

There is times when I was writing the

12:29

book where would constantly defer the

12:31

previous podcast guest that I've had,

12:33

hey, Jason Self, this performance

12:35

coach. He talks about stacking wins

12:38

and that creates confidence in your life.

12:40

I had an ed my lead on the show, and he talked

12:42

about this. And I would constantly defer.

12:44

And as I was working on the book, people would say,

12:47

hey, we wanna hear what you have to say.

12:49

We don't necessarily want to hear what

12:51

somebody else said on your podcast. And, yes,

12:53

this book is a compilation of

12:55

podcast guests and things I've learned through my

12:57

transition out of the NFL and lessons

12:59

I learned

12:59

during. But yes, that's that's something

13:02

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So now you're

16:38

playing it in the NFL. You've made

16:41

it. Now you're playing well

16:43

and you start getting injured. Take

16:45

us through what an unbelievable

16:48

hard time that must I cannot

16:51

imagine something so out of your

16:53

control, how difficult that must be to deal

16:55

with. The end was unfamiliar 265. I

16:57

had played every single game in college started

16:59

for my freshman year on and never missed the

17:01

game. Forty nine consecutive starts. I go

17:03

into the NFL and I start my very first game

17:05

in the NFL, and we're eleven games

17:08

in, and I get hurt for the first time in my life.

17:10

And don't just get nicked up. I do

17:12

the Joe Theisman leg breaks. So

17:14

for those out there that are even

17:16

casual football fans may remember the Joe

17:18

Theisman leg break because it was on Sunday night football

17:21

and Lawrence Taylor dove through the side of

17:23

his leg and did the compound Tib

17:25

fib fracture, and so I go straight from

17:27

the field to an ambulance into

17:29

emergency surgery for my first ever

17:31

injury. And I battle my way back

17:33

from that. I get hurt my second year and do a high

17:35

angle spring. My third year, I tear my ACL,

17:38

my MCL, my lateral meniscus,

17:40

And then my fourth year, I tear my other

17:43

MCO. And I'm thinking,

17:45

god, what are you trying to teach

17:47

me in this moment? And and I say

17:49

that now. In the in the moment I'm

17:51

thinking, I'm cursed. Something's up.

17:53

You know, I have to change something and

17:55

and really God was trying to teach me a lot

17:58

through those moments. And so luckily,

18:00

the bills had confidence in me. They rewarded

18:03

me with a very nice contract that was

18:05

heavily incentive based based upon playing

18:07

time. Understandably so and I agreed with them.

18:09

Well, then I go on to start fifty two straight

18:12

games and then I break my other leg

18:14

on Monday night football. And so

18:16

that was twenty sixteen, and then I battle

18:18

back from that one and end up playing every

18:20

single snap of the twenty seventeen season,

18:22

which would be my last season. But you

18:25

know, you learn a lot through tough times.

18:27

You learn the most in tough times

18:29

and had my career went on

18:31

cruise control to use that terminology again,

18:33

Had I just floated by and everything

18:35

went perfectly, maybe I make

18:38

more money and maybe I make more pro bowl teams,

18:40

but I would not have learned nearly as much

18:42

about myself and being able to push through

18:44

tough times and to be able to constantly prove

18:46

myself that I could get up back up off the mat.

18:48

There were countless games that I that I was

18:50

playing in that I never felt like myself

18:52

again after some of those injuries. But

18:54

to go out and prove it to myself means

18:57

a lot now, and and I discuss a lot

18:59

of that perspective in the book because

19:02

During times of challenge,

19:04

it could be very difficult. And there's

19:06

people that are listening that are going through

19:08

unimaginable circumstances right now.

19:11

At some point in those circumstances, you

19:13

have to be thinking to yourself, what can I

19:15

learn through this experience? Because ultimately,

19:18

I'm gonna come out of this stronger your

19:20

ultimate test will become your testimony.

19:23

I wouldn't be on this podcast right now

19:25

if my career had ended after

19:27

the twenty seventeen season. I wouldn't be here.

19:29

I wouldn't have these opportunities. Now

19:31

I may be playing on the number one team in the NFL

19:34

with the bills right now as good as they look.

19:36

But I wouldn't have these opportunities. There

19:38

is something that God is showing

19:40

you, the higher power, whatever you believe

19:42

in, the universe is showing you

19:44

something through these challenges and the

19:46

quicker that you can gain some perspective through

19:49

that, the easier it's going to be to transition

19:51

into that next chapter of your life.

19:53

Did you have someone to

19:56

model yourself against or like that

19:58

was leading you through these hardships? Because

20:00

for me listening to this, I can't

20:02

believe you didn't get depressed. I can't believe

20:04

you didn't become a victim, and and maybe you did

20:06

for a minute or two. don't know, but I

20:09

wonder how were you able to

20:12

know how to be that resilient to reframe

20:14

and see it so differently especially because you're in

20:16

physical pain too. Right? Everybody

20:19

listening has dealt with challenges and

20:21

I've dealt with mine. But to deal with

20:23

physical pain, plus the actual

20:25

pain of not being able to play, not knowing is

20:27

my career over, not knowing what

20:29

lies ahead of

20:30

you, that's massively hard.

20:32

Yeah. You're right. And appreciate

20:35

you saying that. And there was there was so many

20:37

times in those first four years where

20:40

I was down in the dumps and, you know, I'd

20:42

be dehydrated laying in my bed and have to go

20:44

back into the hospital. I rode in an ambulance for

20:47

the second time of my life right after that leg

20:49

break again because that I had got

20:51

severe dehydration, and I just thought everybody

20:53

should be in a certain amount of pain if you break your leg

20:55

in half while I had let it go on so long

20:57

that my body went into shock. And yes,

20:59

there was some really tough times

21:01

through all of that. But when you're

21:04

going through those really tough times, whether it's

21:06

physical or emotional pain, when your

21:08

y is bigger, and I wish I could

21:10

tell you my y was bigger than, man, I wanna

21:12

go be the best center in the NFL again.

21:14

I wanna lead the bills out of this

21:16

long playoff draw we're in. That

21:19

was what was getting me up and off the bat

21:21

each and every day to go in and do countless

21:23

hours a rehab. And when you hit that NFL off

21:26

season, and now it's time for everybody to

21:28

travel little bit. Take some time off. I'm still

21:30

in that same rehab room. Every

21:32

single day and truly went four

21:34

seasons without a single off season. That

21:36

being said, I wanted to get back out on the field so

21:38

bad that that drove me every single

21:41

day and I'm not Monahan discount that,

21:43

one, my faith in God. I truly

21:45

believe that God had a bigger plan for me and

21:47

that these injuries I could overcome.

21:50

And then I've I've been so blessed

21:52

with just tremendous support from

21:54

loving parents and and my wife

21:56

now who is my girlfriend at the time and countless,

21:59

friends, and coaches, and trainers. It's

22:01

never a one man or one woman journey

22:04

to

22:04

success, and and I know you can attest to that.

22:06

What do you say to the people listening that

22:09

say, yeah, it was easy for Eric to

22:11

find a why. He played on an NFL

22:13

team. I mean, that's an easy why. How

22:15

do you advise people to find their why if

22:17

they haven't been able to identify what they

22:19

get? That's a great question, and that's something

22:21

that everyone's Monahan to do a

22:23

deep internal drive for. So

22:25

many people are motivated by different things. Some

22:27

it's by faith. Some it's loved ones.

22:30

It's to provide a better life for your children.

22:32

It's to honor your wife. There's

22:34

so many different whys out there, but discovering

22:37

that is what's going to lead

22:39

you each and every day because motivation

22:42

on a day to day basis is going to

22:44

come and go. There's going to be some days you don't

22:46

sleep as well. There's going to be days where

22:48

everything goes awry. And if you don't

22:50

have a bigger y in your life,

22:53

it's gonna be really tough to push through

22:55

those times. And you know, I think about

22:57

now. My my goal now isn't

23:00

to be the best center in the NFL. I I

23:02

physically cannot play in the NFL again.

23:04

I'll never pass physical So that being

23:06

said, what does my wife become now?

23:08

Well, I wanna honor God for giving

23:10

me the gifts he has given me. I wanna honor

23:12

my family. I wanna give them a great life. I wanna

23:15

I wanna model for my children

23:17

what a hardworking Christian provider

23:20

of a family looks like.

23:22

That's a very important why, and

23:24

I appreciate you sharing that. I I know my

23:26

road to why since I've

23:28

been fired, has been it didn't

23:31

happen overnight. It definitely was a journey

23:33

of discovery of, you know, am I going

23:35

down the right path? And maybe I am, maybe

23:37

I'm not, and then seeing a sign, and then maybe getting

23:40

feedback. So for anyone listening right now

23:42

that feels discouraged, just keep going, keep

23:44

testing, keep trying and stay open to it

23:46

and ask those questions, you will

23:48

get answers inevitably. Okay. You

23:50

have brought up God in faith a number of

23:52

times so far on this podcast. Take

23:54

me into when did you find your babe?

23:57

What role has that played in this entire

23:59

journey for

24:00

you? Yeah. So I grew up Catholic but

24:02

didn't really have any type of relationship

24:04

with God and you talk about modeling,

24:07

people modeling the way for me. For me,

24:09

it was so much easier for me to buy into

24:12

Christianity. When I got to college

24:14

and I got to observe our FCA director,

24:16

Chris Morgan, I got to observe him on a day to

24:18

day basis and watch how he treated his

24:20

wife and treated us and served our team,

24:22

and then I get to the NFL. And

24:24

there are certain guys in the team just act a little

24:26

bit different, but These are the stars

24:29

of our team. These are the rock star

24:31

husbands and dads. And they're the people

24:33

that are getting the contract extensions. And

24:35

maybe for not the most pure reasons,

24:37

I was thinking, what do all these people have?

24:39

You know, I come from a divorced household and

24:42

these guys have successful marriages and

24:44

they're they're they have such healthy families

24:46

and success in their careers. What's the common

24:48

denominator here? I'm like, okay. These guys are all

24:50

Christians. Let me Let me give this a

24:52

look. And so over time, it

24:55

was no there was no big moment.

24:57

I would love to tell you I'd broke my leg in

24:59

Jacksonville, Florida. I got in the ambulance

25:01

and God said, Eric, I've humbled

25:03

you now, convinced your life to me and

25:06

and I will bring you peace and success.

25:08

That that never happened. It was a gradual shift

25:10

over time. And when I was

25:12

first asked to speak at an FCA group, I

25:15

asked my wife, I said, what's different

25:17

in me now than even before to

25:19

where this testimony even makes any sense.

25:21

And she said, well, you better patience

25:24

and you know, you you treat others better

25:26

and and, you know, on a day to

25:28

day basis, you seem to live with more consentment.

25:31

And so for me, there was no

25:33

huge moment. There was no road to Damascus

25:36

call moment where my whole life

25:38

converted. But over time, in being

25:40

able to observe people, allowed me to

25:42

go all in to where now I've

25:44

I've been baptized

25:46

ten years ago. I love that

25:48

you shared maybe for the most pure

25:50

reasons. I was looking at these people wondering

25:52

what it was they were doing so right and that you

25:54

found that common thread was

25:57

their faith. I think that's that's really important

25:59

for everybody listening and and for those listening

26:02

who grew up like Eric and I

26:04

in the Catholic church and did not have

26:06

a strong relationship with God. It is

26:08

never too late to explore how that

26:10

relationship can be different today. And like you

26:12

mentioned earlier too, for those who are opposed

26:14

to having this idea that they they don't wanna

26:16

have a relationship with that right now, being open

26:19

to that there is something much larger, more

26:21

powerful than all of us out there whatever you

26:23

wanna call it. I know Eric, you said universal for

26:25

whatever word you wanna use, but it is

26:27

never too late to take a second

26:29

look at the power that

26:31

is out there. I call it God,

26:34

but for whoever wants to call it universe

26:36

or or anything else, definitely ask

26:39

your questions to something in someone so

26:41

much more powerfully and you will find answers

26:43

so much more

26:44

quickly. Okay.

26:45

Now I wanna get to what that

26:47

being a moment in your life was, like,

26:49

when you had that neck injury and found

26:51

out you weren't gonna be able to play in the NFL

26:54

again in a weird way and this is not fair

26:56

to you, It's like the day that I got fired

26:58

when you all of sudden wake up from something that you

27:00

think is your whole life and you feel

27:02

like it's taken away and that hit

27:04

mentally and for you physically

27:06

too. What was that light? Yeah.

27:08

I've heard your story as well, and it it resonated

27:10

perfectly with me. And so for me,

27:13

before the twenty seventeen season, the

27:15

Buffalo Bills are now in the longest

27:17

playoff drought in all of professional sports

27:20

And I'm the dummy that signs the

27:22

contract extension before the season. I said

27:24

there's no way I can leave here and then the bills

27:26

make the playoffs. I have to be here when we make

27:28

the playoffs. And so twenty seventeen,

27:30

I mentioned earlier, I'm the only player on the team

27:32

to play every single snap that season. One of

27:34

the only players in the NFL because You can

27:37

get taken out of the game in the NFL for a number

27:39

of reasons. You get hurt. Your shoe could come

27:41

off. You could be beating a team too bad. You could be

27:43

losing too bad. Well, I played every single

27:45

snap that year. We make the playoffs, which

27:47

was absolutely incredible. I'll never

27:49

win a Super Bowl as a player, but

27:52

making the playoffs and ending that playoff

27:55

drought in Buffalo was incredibly special.

27:57

And so we lose our first round playoff

27:59

game to the Jaguars. Terrible

28:01

memories down there in that stadium, but because

28:03

that's the same place I've rubbed my leg. But I

28:05

come back to Buffalo. Everyone's gotta get an exit

28:08

physical and then you're free to go for

28:10

the off season. I went to the exit physical.

28:12

I said, look, I'm the only player that played every single

28:14

snap this year. Clear me for the

28:16

pro bowl, I'm gonna go back to Louisville. My son's about

28:18

to be born. We had already had a daughter at the time, and

28:21

my wife and daughter were back in Louisville, and that's where

28:23

she was gonna give birth to Garrett. And so

28:26

they said, hey, you had some stingers this year, get

28:28

an MRI on your neck, and then you can

28:30

go back to Louisville. Said stingers, my

28:32

high school buddy. He's got stingers playing football.

28:34

It's nervey sensation that

28:36

goes down your arm. You lose some feeling. You

28:38

can be a little bit painful, but

28:40

it it's common in football. It's common in

28:42

sports that have head collisions. And

28:44

so again, I'm around my neck. Don't think

28:46

anything of it. Drive back to Louisville. In

28:48

fifty minutes before my son is born,

28:51

while we're sitting in the delivery room, I

28:53

get the call that my career is over.

28:55

No matter what, even with surgery,

28:58

I can never return to the football field.

29:00

And so that set us on

29:02

a whirlwind of emotion. In the moment

29:04

as you can imagine. And so my

29:06

wife starts crying and nurse comes in

29:08

and she says, all honey, it's not gonna hurt

29:11

that bad. My wife's like, it's not about the baby.

29:13

Come on. And so we laugh about

29:15

that now. But in the time, it wasn't

29:18

quite as funny, but that put me on a path

29:20

to figure out what's next for me. And

29:22

look, it was not all Sunshine and Rainbow's

29:24

when I've committed everything

29:27

career wise to one thing to be the best

29:29

center in the NFL, and I feel like I'm there.

29:31

I feel like I'm so close and

29:33

the bills are so close and they're so much positive

29:35

momentum. We're getting ready to draft Josh

29:38

Allen and to draft who's an absolute superstar

29:40

now. All these things are going so

29:42

right and now it's stripped completely from

29:44

me. And and I just felt like

29:47

of all the guys, I feel like I've committed

29:49

as much as anybody to this. I've sacrificed.

29:52

I haven't cheated the game once. Why

29:54

me? And that was my initial

29:56

perspective. From the council of

29:59

many just important mentors in my life people

30:01

that have come on the podcast, so many people that I've

30:03

learned from. I truly believe that

30:05

no matter what the circumstances are in your

30:07

life, you can make the next chapter

30:09

in your life the best yet.

30:11

And I talk about it all the time on that podcast.

30:13

How do you how do you make your what's next

30:15

the best yet? And so that's a lot of

30:17

what the book entails. And it's my story

30:20

of transitioning out of the NFL. And,

30:22

yes, I understand that I may

30:24

not make as much as I did in the NFL

30:26

in this career journey I'm on now.

30:28

I may. That's fine. That's not necessarily

30:31

the goal. Your best yet can be a life

30:33

of fulfillment, a life of joy,

30:35

and just having incredible

30:38

experiences

30:39

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30:41

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today. I

33:41

completely agree with you that

33:43

while it's certain times in your life and certain

33:45

career moments, the financial impact

33:48

is definitely the focus and focal point

33:50

and means so much And I don't think there's anything

33:52

wrong with that. I don't judge anyone for that. I've definitely

33:54

had moments like that in my life. However,

33:56

when I got fired and then started

33:59

over, I found my calling,

34:01

my purpose, to be a human on

34:03

this earth more than just, you know, a parent to

34:05

a child. And for me,

34:07

that has change my perspective on

34:09

how I see the world, on legacy,

34:11

on so many massively important

34:13

things. I know for you, this transition

34:16

has been that powerful for you too.

34:18

What steps specifically did you

34:20

take? Because I know people listening who

34:22

are saying, okay, one thing's ending my life.

34:24

Maybe it's a relationship. Maybe it's career,

34:27

maybe it's a health issue. What

34:29

steps did you take to get yourself

34:31

back up to reframe this into

34:34

that this best is yet to come?

34:36

Yeah. So for me, I had to start out with

34:38

forming a routine. And so for

34:40

so long, my routine was structured

34:42

for me. I went straight from high school

34:45

every hour your days pretty much

34:47

accounted for to college, same way

34:49

to the NFL, same way. I had to

34:51

create a new routine and one that was gonna set

34:53

me up for success. I talk about it all the time

34:55

with former athletes that are on my podcast. We

34:57

all get in this who gives a crap mode because it's in

34:59

the first time of our life. You're not trying

35:02

to be the best at your position in the NFL or

35:04

whatever that may be, you now

35:06

got to find a reason to get in a

35:08

route teen, you gotta find a reason to

35:10

go work out for so long was working

35:12

out was to be better at football. Well,

35:14

why is working out important now? Why is eating

35:16

healthy? Otherwise, you'll see these guys let

35:18

themselves go and they catch these terrible

35:20

ruts. And so you gotta find a routine

35:23

for yourself that sets you up for success.

35:25

You gotta create a new vision because

35:28

your vision is not going to be the same

35:30

as it wants. And so finding a

35:32

new vision that you can strive for And

35:34

there was a lot of days where my vision for

35:36

the day was walking around

35:38

my house with some joy as a dad

35:40

and husband because career

35:42

wise, I'm not fulfilled in this moment, but

35:44

but I gotta create this vision. And how am I

35:46

gonna show up this day? That has

35:49

shifted since, but creating a vision

35:51

focusing on your health to where you can

35:53

show up as your best self and as your meeting

35:56

people, you're you're a presentable

35:58

because, you know, as you're transitioning out

36:01

of the NFL, it could be a rough

36:03

ride as people have transitioned from

36:05

a job loss maker COVID or

36:07

a loss of loved one. There's so many enormous

36:09

transition in life that are much

36:11

more significant than football. But

36:14

in those moments, you gotta you gotta focus

36:16

on your health. What's your morning routines

36:18

specifically? Like, are you stacking wins

36:20

each and every day that are gonna pay off down

36:23

the road, and we can go through a number of

36:25

these things. But for me, it's it's being

36:27

coachable again. So easy

36:29

to be coachable in the NFL.

36:31

You're surrounded by maybe the best coaches

36:33

in the world. Okay. Well, now how can you

36:35

be coachable where

36:38

it's not necessarily a sport. It's this

36:40

it's this game of life. It's it's your

36:42

career that this new career that you're now

36:44

stepping into.

36:46

So you mentioned that you hired an executive

36:48

coach. How did you decide to make that investment

36:50

in yourself and take that leap?

36:52

This was one of the luckier things that's

36:55

happened to be in my life. And so

36:57

prior to my last season in the NFL,

36:59

a teammate of mine had

37:01

to get an executive coach. He actually

37:03

needed a therapist, but they hired an executive

37:06

coach for him, and he needed accountability buddy.

37:08

An accountability partner that could

37:11

report back to this executive coach that was

37:13

on the West Coast. And so I became

37:15

that person And eventually,

37:17

I asked him his name's James with Parley, and I said,

37:19

Mac, if we were to work together, where would

37:21

we start? And he said, well, you talk about your

37:23

daughter a lot. I'd start this way.

37:25

Okay? She's two years old. Fifteen years

37:27

from now, she introduces you to

37:30

her high school student body, and you're gonna give a

37:32

talk in front of everybody. How does she

37:34

introduce you? And I

37:36

was like, well, I I don't know exactly

37:38

in this moment. He goes, well, we would just I

37:40

would just help you kind of figure that out. Figure

37:42

out where exactly you wanna get to over these

37:45

next five, ten, fifteen years and

37:47

we can kind of reverse that, reverse

37:49

engineer and work backward from there. But we

37:51

need to create some steps and routines in your life,

37:53

some habits that gets you to the point where

37:56

she may say, this is my dad, Eric Wood,

37:58

he played in the NFL, he's a

38:00

great businessman. He'll teach you how to be successful

38:03

in life, or this is my dad,

38:05

Eric Wood. And he played the NFL, but

38:07

he's the best in the world. He's never missed a recital.

38:09

He's never missed a game. He takes me

38:11

on dates and launches all the time.

38:14

Those are two great things. But like

38:16

we talked about earlier, don't

38:18

arrive at one by accident living your life on

38:20

autopilot and wish you or the other.

38:22

Don't build this life of six success that's

38:24

based on striving for money when you

38:26

wish you had those intentional moments with your

38:28

kids. And so in that moment, I hired

38:30

Mac and I started working with them

38:33

six months to my career ending, not knowing

38:35

that he would coach me through this transition.

38:38

And and I give Mac a ton of credit in

38:40

the book in in speaking

38:41

gigs, but there's been so many individuals

38:44

that have coached me through this new chapter

38:46

of life.

38:47

That was brilliant. I love that

38:49

question that he asked you and that's a great question

38:51

for everyone listening right now to ask yourself,

38:54

fast forward fifteen, twenty years

38:56

from now and how do you want to be introduced by

38:58

your child that is really, really

39:00

powerful. And I see why you hired him and thank

39:02

goodness you did. So take us through

39:04

what that looked like because I know for

39:07

me, I didn't even know there was a speaking business

39:09

five years ago. I had no idea. Right? When you

39:11

live you were living in this NFL bubble.

39:13

I was living in the media bubble. I only

39:15

knew that the business sector in

39:17

context that I had. So

39:19

stepping into that unknown is

39:22

incredibly scary because you don't know

39:24

what's ahead of you. And then you find out there

39:26

is a speaking business, but why am I qualified,

39:28

you know, more so than someone else? And can I

39:30

compete with these other people? And what does

39:33

pricing look like? And what does availability look

39:35

like? And for you getting off the field and

39:37

then starting to call the plays and that's

39:40

such a huge

39:41

shift. What did that look like and what

39:43

did that feel like for you when you took that on?

39:45

It was definitely foreign. And so

39:47

immediately, I got into broad casting and

39:49

started doing sports media work because

39:52

that was natural and as an offensive

39:54

lineman playing his whole career in Western New York for

39:56

a team that rarely won If I didn't

39:58

get right into the media field, they probably would

40:00

forgot about me really quick. And so still

40:02

call games for the Buffalo Bills, but

40:04

I've called games for Fox and CBS

40:06

and ESPN and ACC Network. And I

40:08

really enjoy being around football

40:11

because I always say it's good for my because

40:13

I wasn't ready to be done with it. So

40:15

I hopped into there, which is a very foreign

40:17

field, and a lot of people don't realize

40:19

the amount of sacrifice that goes into that. And

40:21

I tell people all the time that are transitioning

40:24

there or in the business, you

40:26

have to approach it just like you approach

40:28

day to day business in the NFL because

40:31

there are so many people whose livelihoods

40:33

rely on this. Think back to that practice

40:35

squad guy who's fighting every

40:37

day to take your job as a starter. Well,

40:40

that's what you're you're essentially that

40:42

practice while guys fighting your way

40:44

in now. You have to take that

40:46

undrafted mentality each

40:48

and every day. And so That being the case,

40:51

I went all in on broadcasting. I started

40:53

a podcast called What's Next with Eric Wood,

40:55

which I still release an episode

40:57

weekly, which I interview individuals just

41:00

like yourself where I'm just trying to learn. I'm trying

41:02

to be constant learner. And then when

41:04

it comes to speaking, Anytime I was

41:06

ever asked to speak prior to leaving

41:08

the NFL, it would be AAQ

41:10

and A. It's all interviews. And so

41:12

learning how to be on the other side of the

41:14

microphone and be able to ask questions

41:17

has been so valuable through the podcast, through

41:19

speaking gigs because that shows

41:22

tremendous fruit in the broadcasting. It's all encompassing

41:25

often think back to when I was in the NFL.

41:27

And when you play for the Buffalo

41:29

Bills, let's say, and you're you go to a dinner.

41:32

It's just constant peppering of questions

41:34

about the team and how do you like the city

41:36

and you really don't

41:38

nurture your skills of being able to ask questions

41:40

and carry on a conversation. And so I had to

41:42

learn all those things and it's been a fun journey

41:45

not all sunshine and rainbows. Like I said earlier,

41:47

it never is. But it's been a fun

41:49

journey. And for me,

41:52

finding something that gives you

41:54

butterflies that you get excited about, but

41:56

also makes you little bit nervous. Like, that's

41:58

what makes life fun. And, yes,

42:01

stepping up on a stage, you may get that impostor

42:04

syndrome. But just to put yourself

42:06

in that situation to get those butterflies again,

42:08

yes, it may not be running out of an NFL tunnel,

42:10

but I also don't feel like crap the next day

42:13

after a speaking gig like I did the day after a

42:15

football game.

42:16

Oh, my gosh. It's funny, but thank

42:18

you for explaining that because I can totally see how

42:20

when you were in the NFL, everything's

42:22

coming at you and you're just responding your

42:25

own truth. You know, that's That's not

42:27

that hard. However, when you

42:29

look conversely at preparing

42:31

a speech, rehearsing a speech, and

42:33

then getting on a stage where no one's

42:35

asking you any questions, you are

42:38

carrying everything. That is incredibly

42:41

different and a tremendous amount

42:43

of pressure. So kudos to you to the electric

42:45

transition.

42:46

And I'll often craft a talk

42:48

almost like an interview. Like, why am I here

42:50

to talk to you? What can this former NFL

42:53

player bring to your business. And

42:55

I may not say it out loud, but that's how

42:57

I'm starting. And then I'm almost

43:00

as I'm preparing, I'm almost treating

43:02

it as, okay, what would they ask

43:04

me where I can do it? And I do

43:06

a lot of q and a afterwards. And you know what we

43:08

go right back to? Who's the hardest player

43:10

to block at the NFL? Who talks to those scores?

43:12

Who is somebody that is just, you know, when

43:15

you play the most popular sport in the

43:16

world, People are fans and and they wanna

43:18

know kind of the behind the scenes access.

43:21

This episode

43:23

is brought to you by the Chevy Silverado. According

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43:45

award. Well, what's funny is most

43:47

speakers this is every speaker agent I work

43:49

with tells you is have the hardest time

43:51

with the live q and a. So that's something

43:54

that you have a gift and a lot of

43:56

prior years doing it. So good for you.

43:58

That definitely separates you from from most speakers.

44:00

Alright. Let's talk about your new

44:02

book, which just came out, tackle what's

44:04

next, own your

44:05

story, stack wins, and achieve your goals in

44:07

business and life. Why did you write this book?

44:10

I wrote this book because as I was

44:12

analyzing everything that was going

44:14

on in my life through COVID, through the

44:16

pandemic, through others'

44:19

lives that I was getting access

44:21

265, I just felt that my transition,

44:23

although you may not be going from a transition

44:26

from pro sports out, it

44:28

could apply to so many different people

44:30

and help some. And if it helps

44:32

one person, then it was worth the time.

44:34

If it changes one person's life to allow

44:36

them to make their what's next and like their

44:38

best yet, then it was well worth the

44:40

journey of writing a book. It was another tremendous

44:43

learning experience. Something completely

44:45

foreign to what we did in

44:47

the NFL, working with a publishing

44:50

company, working with a PR company. It's been

44:52

eye opening along this journey, but

44:54

I truly feel like my

44:56

journey out as I've talked to people that are former

44:59

military, former CFOs, former

45:01

athletes, former businessmen and women,

45:03

whoever it may be, should the transition no

45:06

matter what, there's so many commonalities And

45:08

like I mentioned earlier, a lot of these ideas

45:10

aren't my own. These are things that I picked

45:13

up along the way of my journey. I honor

45:15

many of them throughout the book. I felt like I

45:17

was fortunate enough to learn so

45:19

many lessons that I was

45:21

more than excited to pass

45:23

along. You know, and Eric, one thing

45:25

that I've learned having written two books

45:27

now is that the feedback that you get

45:29

from people, when you hear that you change someone's

45:31

life by a story that you shared or attack that

45:34

you, you know, shared with with the reader,

45:36

that feeling of, oh my gosh, if

45:38

you impact one person, it was

45:41

also worth it. You're obviously impacting

45:43

so many more than just one person. So I'm

45:45

so proud of you for taking this leap yet

45:47

again into the definitely taking

45:49

on some butterflies like you said

45:51

with putting a book out there, which is so

45:53

different than these other things that you've

45:55

done, but continuing to

45:58

grow and model for others, what's

46:00

possible even though it might

46:02

be scary at times. So just wanted to say

46:04

congratulations on that leap. Congratulations

46:08

on the book. And where can people find you

46:10

and where can they get the book? Yeah. On social

46:12

media, I'm at e wood seventy. I'm most

46:14

active on Instagram, and that's the easiest

46:16

way to shoot me a message and and

46:18

I try and respond all in

46:21

some timely fashion that respond

46:23

on there. My website is ericwoodmedia dot

46:25

com. It's been a fun journey. I appreciate

46:27

anybody out there that does

46:29

go out and get this book that follows along.

46:32

I have my podcast what's next with Eric.

46:34

What I try and make myself is is available

46:36

as possible nowadays, and it it's

46:38

been fun to get out there a little bit.

46:40

This is a guy that when I playing in the NFL,

46:42

my Instagram was private. I I treated

46:44

it like, you know, I wanna keep up with my

46:46

friends, kids, and I'm gonna post

46:48

pictures of my family. And and then

46:50

I came to a point early on in my

46:52

meeting where I realized, one, I should probably open

46:54

up all my social media. That'll be the best thing

46:56

to do. And then two, if

46:59

I can model for someone yes.

47:01

Yes. I'm not super comfortable always posting pictures

47:03

of my family. But if I can show them

47:05

that I'm taking them to Disneyland last week

47:07

before the bill play the Rams. And I

47:09

can show them that we're going to

47:11

church together. I'm taking my daughter on dates.

47:13

If I can model what being a good

47:16

dad looks like, then I'm kind of robbing

47:18

my audience or I'm kind of robbing the followers

47:20

if I don't give them access to that. So

47:22

I've completely changed my style on

47:24

that now. I probably have a lot more followers if

47:26

it was open when I was still playing for the

47:28

bills, but that's alright. Live

47:31

and learn. We can only connect the dots when

47:33

we are looking back. Eric, thank you so much

47:35

for being here today. Thank you all the amazing

47:37

work you're doing. And I will link

47:39

everything that Eric just shared with you the

47:41

book, his site, his Instagram, everything's

47:43

in the show notes, Eric, best of luck to you.

47:45

Yeah. Thank you very much. Thanks for having

47:47

me. You do an incredible job. I'd

47:49

love to hear you on so many different

47:51

platforms, including your own, so keep up the great

47:53

work. Thank

47:54

you so much.

47:55

And guys, we'll see you next week until then. Keep

47:57

creating your confidence. I

48:00

decided to that mind him and

48:02

who I feel well, I couldn't

48:04

be more excited for what you're gonna

48:06

hear, start learning and growing

48:08

inevitably some people happen. No

48:11

one. You

48:13

don't stop and look around once in a while.

48:16

You can miss it. I'm on this journey

48:18

with me.