How do you deal with disappointments and rejections? Do you isolate yourself from the people you love and take all the blame for failing?
People who miss the mark drown themselves in desperation, loneliness, and destructive habits like getting drunk and things of that nature. We can imagine the anxiety running through someone's mind as he comes across that dark place any one of us can experience. Assuredly, all who know how to dream are prone to the dreadful phases of disappointments.
Nevertheless, we must never let disappointments stop us from doing the things we love. Remember that there are things in life that are out of our control. Instead, we must work thoroughly with all of our might and concentrate on the things we can amend. Keep in mind the end goal of where we want to be to cultivate clarity. By doing so, we are putting ourselves in the driver's seat of our lives to be in the position we ultimately want to be. And as we walk through our desired path, we will meet people who can provide us strategies and learnings that we can use as our weapon to triumph. However, while receiving assistance from them, we can still serve them in some ways for their advancement.
Taj Dashaun is an athlete, husband, motivational speaker, podcast host, and the Vice President of Self-Publish in 30 days. He authored four excellent books, including Thrive after Sports and Athletes Entrepreneur, which seeks to help readers have a clear direction of where they want to go and work for their dreams with all diligence. Taj is a professional career coach who works with athletes transitioning into life after sports. Not only does he help athletes land jobs and start businesses, but he also helps them find fulfillment in every single area of their lives. His mission and passion are to reach out and help others overcome the fear, frustration, and uncertainty associated with life post-athletics.
In this special episode with Taj Dashaun, we'll learn about the journey of a man who almost lost himself in the sludge after encountering rejections and disappointments in life as an athlete. However, after several years of stumbling around in the emotional darkness of uncertainty, he began to take his eyes off of himself and focus on serving others. Today, he is inspiring our present generation with his journey. He also runs an intensive program for retired athletes struggling to adapt to life after sports.
"You don't have to be Magic Johnson. You don't have to be LeBron James. You can go to a school that many people haven't heard of and not even played on the professional level and still do great things in the world." - Taj Dashaun
Topics Covered:
(00:00:00) Introduction + Episode Snippet
(00:00:10) Introducing our special guest, Mr. Taj Dashaun
(00:00:27) Advertisement: Obtain financial freedom with passive income! TimeOut with the SportsDr. teams up with Dr. Ronnie Shalev of Shalwin Properties to discuss things finance! Join Dr. Shalev's webinar or set up a 1-on-1 call; go to https://www.drderrickthesportsdr.com/sponsors.
(00:02:25) The football career of Taj Dashaun
(00:04:10) Critical mistake Athletes often make: Neglecting life after the game.
(00:04:55) The years of self-searching: Dark times of an athlete
(00:06:28) Self-improvement: Efforts to be productive
(00:07:47) Intertwined disappointment: Why does Taj isolate himself from his family?
(00:08:48) The gradual buildup after cutting bad habits
(00:09:41) Taj's coaching strategy
(00:12:01) Mentorship: Find people who are already doing what you want to do
(00:13:26) You can always add value
(00:14:01) Quick synopsis of Taj's books
(00:15:28) A book with a bunch of diverse, inspiring story
(00:16:03) Everybody comes with their specialties
(00:17:42) Mentor and Mentee relationship: Mentors identify their mentee's blind spots
(00:19:32) Final TimeOut with Mr. Taj Dashaun: The philosophy of helping athletes transition from playing to the workplace.
(00:20:28) Clarity has to be cultivated
(00:21:02) Connect with Taj Dashaun
Key Takeaways:
"I was so focused on the ball, a critical mistake many athletes make, that I wasn't even thinking about life after the game. I think I had a naive mentality that everything would work itself out the way it always had."- Taj Dashaun
"And what I realized in hindsight, what I was doing was trying to numb myself because I felt so low and so lost and almost so hopeless as a young man at that point; I wasn't doing anything productive for quite some time. I was feeling sorry for myself, not knowing how to articulate what I was going through." - Taj Dashaun
"The first thing I did was cut out the vices, started working out again, getting up early, started journaling, started listening to podcasts, started reading again. And being productive about my self-improvement and also opening up and having a dialogue with my family about what I was going through." - Taj Dashaun
"I learned about myself, the world, and what it means to be getting better every single day truly." - Taj Dashaun
"The game is not about getting somewhere, but it is about waking up and playing the game of getting better in some way, shape, or form every single day." - Taj Dashaun
"We all have the same underlying mission. So, find people who are doing what you already want to be doing." - Taj Dashaun
"You can always add value. You might not think so, but sometimes you can bring that one piece your mentor needs to advance their project or platform. So always think about what you can do for this person more than what they can do for you?" - Taj Dashaun
"This is like a book that you can pick up, and by the time you put it down, you have moved through the transition and have a clear direction for where you want to go and be executing it." - Taj Dashaun
"How can I bring a bunch of people together who are doing great things? It's great because whoever picks up the book, they get a bunch of different stories, a bunch of different people doing cool things." - Taj Dashaun
"And that's a great part about a mentor because someone has to choose you as their mentee. And for someone to want to mentor you, that means they see a part of themselves, or they see something in you that you do not see in yourself." - Taj Dashaun
"Focusing on who I want to become instead of who I am, puts the power back into your hands and gives you creative control over your own life."
"The question that we should all be asking ourselves every single day, no matter how successful we are, is who do I want to become" - Taj Dashaun
Connect with Taj Dashaun:
Connect with Dr. Derrick Burgess:
Email: thesportsdoctr@gmail.com
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