Former professional American football player, Michael Timothy Lodish (born August 11, 1967) is our second guest in this long-running The Mike Hartman Show.
In 1990, Buffalo Bills selected this versatile player in the 10th round of the National Football League (NFL), and he played 11 NFL season from 1990 -2000 for the Bills and Denver Broncos.
During his NFL career, Mike Lodish had a knack of being in the right place at the right time. He is really a hard worker and a fantastic individual.
At that time, he was the only player to play in six Super Bowls, (2 Rings with Denver Broncos) and now only behind Tom Brady, who appeared in his seventh Super Bowl.
After retiring from professional football, Mike Lodish started working as an NFL player agent at Ethos Sports Management From 2004-2009. And from the Year 2009-2011, he serves as a sale representation for Michigan-based Communication Company. He also spent several years as a contract adviser with the National football league players Association.
He wanted to be a hockey player when he grew up and didn’t play football until he was 14 years old.
Though his father was a football player, and later ends up being a surgeon.
While talking about his ideal situation, he discusses Brother Rice High School on the podcast.
When he manages to get to Brother Rice and started playing hockey, he wanted to be like his dad and play football too. As a result, he continued to play hockey and football. At that time, Brother Rice football was a top school for sports in Michigan.
Lodish was a challenging young man, but developed into a true champion with
a lot of character.
In the podcast with Mike Hartman, Lodish shares his memories of being a professional NFL football player and discusses the different consequences of life. Now he is an entrepreneur and a businessman. He will tell us what it requires to develop the mindset of a champion. So let’s get straight into it.
Q: What drives you?
Ans: First and foremost, it's all about motivation, and motivation comes from in your heart and in your mind. We all are lazy right now, it is COVID -19, feeling low, we probably gained some the weight, and we don’t feel-good, so once that door opens, you need to figure out how you are going to get better at that.
So how did I decide that I want to take it to next level?
I have been gifted by God in my life to have personal motivation, future thinking, and foresight. I always look into the future and always think four moves ahead.
It is the philosophy of chess. You need to analyze the situation and how your discipline enough to save yourself. You should have the will to be one of the best, and that comes from the heart.
Q: Who was the biggest influencer in your life?
Ans: I have to say my parents.
My mother and father are the two people that gave me the constant motivation.
They were the reason I am here.
Though there were various other people around, still my parents were the great motivators in my life.
Q: What advice would you give to young players?
Ans: Well, I would also give advice to the coaches because the coaches are the guys that can drive the desire to be there. Coaches need to get their mindset straight and getting coached themselves, and how the game is to be played, how to tackle someone properly these days in short, make sure coaches are focused.
Secondly, for kids, my thing was just the love-love for the game.
You have the love to do something, go and do it, do everything you can to achieve your goals. Always be positive and never be afraid of the game.
Q: How proud are you of yourself, 6-Super Bowls?
Share the skinny version of each one, what it meant to you, and what it has done to you personally?
Ans: I am an extremely fortunate guy.
I was a 10th round, 265th pick in the NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills!
Then when the coach called me, I kind-of had several things to say to him!
What took you so long?
I was mad and I was supposed to go higher in the draft.
That means a better salary.
I was eager and wanted to be there and it was love for the game.
Ultimately it was a blessing in the disguise because going into UCLA and playing in the Arizona game my fifth year and getting beat 42/7, but having the workout mentality that I have kept me playing through the whole game mentally.
So eventually, I got there and got to the training camp. Am I proud of myself? The proudest moment I had was when I lifted the trophy in Denver, and the other best moment for me was calling my mother August, 31st, 1990 that I was drafted in the NFL.
Q: Did you ever feel you don’t belong with these guys?
Ans: Every day, you look at yourself and say, some of these guys are huge, how might I compete against them. I put my pants on just like them, I walk to the field just like them, and they bleed red just right me. At the end of the day, when you cross the line to walk on the field, the switch turns, now you have to deal with me here, you have to deal with me over there. You have to bring some dessert with your lunch because you need some extra calories when you play against me. That’s the mentality of a champion.
The key takeaway from this podcast
Love the game, and play your heart out.
Make sure you are not losing hope at any stage, even when things are not looking good for you!
Never forget there can always be a blessing in disguise waiting for you.
Secondly, if you are committing to anything, then don’t look back. Just train hard, motivate yourself, and think about the possibilities and how you can take your game to the next level.
The biggest motivation comes from your heart and mind!
Whenever you feel you are down lift yourself up with positive thoughts.
You can achieve anything, and you must do everything to achieve your goals.
In the end, Mike Lodish was a great, hardworking player who has always gave his sweat, blood and tears to his team. More importantly, he is a great human being and a highly motivated individual that never took the easy way out!
In this podcast, Mike Hartman enjoyed talking and listening to Mike.
Listen what else Mike Lodish said in a podcast? Check out the full episode here: https://www.hartman.academy/podcast-2/episode/4a8213b5/-episode-2-mike-lodish-super-bowl-champion