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00:00:01
135. Seek to Bless, Not Impress: Dabo Swinney on Letting Your Inner Light Shine
2 Plays2 months ago
In this episode of the Especially for Athletes Podcast, Shad and Dustin explore a powerful message from Clemson Tigers coach, Dabo Swinney: “Let the light inside of you always be brighter than the light shining on you.” This principle aligns perfectly with the core of Especially for Athletes, where we emphasize the importance of athletes using their “sportlight” not just to impress, but to uplift and bless others.
We discuss the significance of embracing your role on the team, no matter where you fall on the depth chart, and how true greatness comes from the character, resilience, and humility that shine from within. The conversation also touches on how athletes can use their visibility to impact others in a positive way, much like the example set by athletes such as Tim Tebow.
Key Takeaways:
• Embrace your role: Be the best teammate you can be, whether you’re playing or supporting from the sidelines.
• Let your inner light shine: Use the attention you receive to help others, rather than basking in the spotlight.
• Do the work: Consistency, hard work, and supporting your teammates—whether anyone’s watching or not—lead to lasting success.
Tune in as we break down how athletes can “Seek to Bless, Not Impress” and reflect the light within them to inspire those around them.
Especially for Athletes:
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Join the conversation using #TheSportlightPodcast
Credits:
Hosted by Shad Martin
Produced by IMAGINATE STUDIO
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Support the show: https://especiallyforathletes.com/podcast/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the especially for athletes podcast where we explore essential principles that empower athletes to learn life's most valuable lessons through sports.
00:00:16
Speaker
All right, Dustin, we're going to do a short little episode today, but really these episodes, the reason why we're doing it weekly is just to keep these principles, the core principles of especially for athletes, fresh in the minds of our
Core Principle: Seek to Bless, Not to Impress
00:00:28
Speaker
athletes.
00:00:28
Speaker
And this is actually at the heart of our program, the one we're going to talk about today, which is seek to bless, not to impress.
00:00:36
Speaker
And Coach Dabo Sweeney, coach of the Clemson Tigers,
00:00:41
Speaker
Great guy, has lots of great quotes.
00:00:44
Speaker
I think he would get along great with us with some of his philosophies.
00:00:48
Speaker
He's a wonderful man.
00:00:50
Speaker
But he said something that it's almost like it was taken out of the Especially for Athletes book.
00:00:55
Speaker
You know, he said something, a principle that we teach,
00:00:58
Speaker
a little bit differently, but he said it so awesome.
00:01:02
Speaker
I just want to let you hear the quote and then get your thoughts on how this applies to our athletes who have the sport light, that extra attention that's given to them because they're an athlete.
00:01:14
Speaker
He said this, let the light inside of you always be brighter than the light shining on you.
00:01:26
Speaker
So let me read that one more time for athletes to hear because it's pretty deep.
Handling Attention and Pressures in Sports
00:01:30
Speaker
Let the light inside of you always be brighter than the light shining on you.
00:01:39
Speaker
So I'm asking you to guess what's in his head.
00:01:41
Speaker
What do you think he meant by that, Dustin?
00:01:45
Speaker
Well, that is deep.
00:01:46
Speaker
That's really deep for a football coach.
00:01:48
Speaker
Yeah.
00:01:49
Speaker
You know, obviously the light shining on you part would fit, I mean, like you said, word for word with what we refer to as the sport light.
00:01:59
Speaker
I assume that's what he's referring to there as well.
00:02:02
Speaker
And it doesn't even have to be sports.
00:02:05
Speaker
Any time in life where you're given attention or a spotlight of sorts is on you.
00:02:11
Speaker
It's easy to sit in that and bask in that, and I think sometimes get burned by that light.
00:02:18
Speaker
You stay in it too long, you get burned by it.
00:02:21
Speaker
And we've seen athletes get burned by the sport light.
00:02:25
Speaker
They don't know how to handle it, and they sit in it and feel comfortable in it, and they don't do anything with it other than just bask in it, and they end up burning themselves.
00:02:34
Speaker
You know, letting the light inside of you shine, I would maybe relate that to being more of a reflector.
00:02:42
Speaker
reflect the light that's shining on you.
00:02:44
Speaker
And this light from sports shining on you as an athlete, it's not at the level as a college athlete or a professional athlete or if you, until you reach those, if you are a pro athlete, you know the light's a lot brighter.
00:02:57
Speaker
But as a high school athlete, you have a light that's on you.
00:02:59
Speaker
As a junior high athlete, as an elementary school kid, if you're in sports, you have a light on you.
00:03:05
Speaker
And so I think what he was meaning there, Shad, is the same things that you and I talk about all the time is that
00:03:11
Speaker
you know, this sport light that's on you, it's going to magnify who you are.
00:03:16
Speaker
If you're a good person, it's going to spotlight that.
00:03:20
Speaker
And people are going to see that in you.
00:03:22
Speaker
If you're not,
00:03:24
Speaker
If you're a bad person, if you're doing things you shouldn't do, that's going to be bad to fight.
00:03:27
Speaker
It's going to be seen.
00:03:28
Speaker
You're not going to be able to keep your actions in the dark as an athlete for very long.
00:03:33
Speaker
People are going to find out about it.
00:03:35
Speaker
So you have to be careful with that.
00:03:37
Speaker
But that light that's inside of you that all of these athletes have, you got to be willing to share it, though.
00:03:43
Speaker
And that's eyes up, do the work.
00:03:46
Speaker
Eyes up is recognizing that you have this light on you.
00:03:49
Speaker
Doing the work is, okay, what am I going to do to make good with this
Genuine Hard Work vs. Seeking Attention
00:03:54
Speaker
light?
00:03:54
Speaker
And what work do I need to do to make sure this light doesn't ruin me because I get caught thinking I'm, you know, too cool for school and then drop my guard and end up making a mistake and paying the price for it.
00:04:08
Speaker
Yeah, I think that it's hard for athletes because they don't ask for the light.
00:04:15
Speaker
Yeah.
00:04:16
Speaker
Most of the kids that are playing at Clemson right now, you know, they were like me and you.
00:04:21
Speaker
Backyard football, right?
00:04:23
Speaker
They were probably out there.
00:04:24
Speaker
About four inches taller and 60 pounds heavier.
00:04:27
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:04:30
Speaker
But they just, they were kids that loved it.
00:04:34
Speaker
When they were kids, they were just, they didn't think they were going to be playing football.
00:04:38
Speaker
Maybe they did, but they didn't understand the light that was going to be on them because of that backyard football love turning into playing in front of 100,000 people.
00:04:47
Speaker
Right, right.
00:04:48
Speaker
And so all of a sudden, they're kind of thrust into this situation where you have a really bright light shining on you that you've never asked for.
00:04:59
Speaker
But I think this is a really cool way to say, we say seek to bless, not to impress.
00:05:05
Speaker
So another way to say that, the way you said it is seek to reflect that light, you know, shine it onto other people, take that power and help other people.
Peyton's Story: Impact of Kindness
00:05:17
Speaker
I just really love that quote that the light inside of you, like what people feel when they interact with you, let that be brighter than the light shining on you.
00:05:30
Speaker
I think that there's a difference between impressing and blessing.
00:05:35
Speaker
I wrote this, the one who makes everything about themselves, they crave the spotlight, they want their name in the headlines, they only work hard when people are watching.
00:05:44
Speaker
That's someone who's more concerned about the light being on them.
00:05:50
Speaker
versus the one who works just as hard when no one's watching.
00:05:53
Speaker
They encourage teammates.
00:05:54
Speaker
They lead by example.
00:05:55
Speaker
They give everything they've got, not for attention, but because it's who they are.
00:06:01
Speaker
that light inside of them.
00:06:03
Speaker
Jabari Parker once said, his dad always said to him that John Wooden quote, that the true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching.
00:06:15
Speaker
And his dad took that and said, be the same person in the dark that you are in the light.
00:06:21
Speaker
And I think what Dabo Sweeney is saying here, one of the things he might be implying by this is like who we are is important.
00:06:29
Speaker
Right.
00:06:30
Speaker
Not just what people know us for, but that light within us, the person that we are deep inside of ourselves.
00:06:37
Speaker
Let that be brighter than all the accolades, all that spotlight that's shining on on other people.
00:06:44
Speaker
It reminded me of when I think of the impact that others can make.
00:06:48
Speaker
Do you remember Peyton Day?
00:06:50
Speaker
She came on our podcast and she made she told this story.
00:06:55
Speaker
OK, here's the story from Peyton.
00:06:58
Speaker
There were a couple things in my personal life that just didn't
00:07:04
Speaker
go the way that I thought they were going to go.
00:07:06
Speaker
And I was really struggling with these things.
00:07:09
Speaker
And then I had lost my cousin in a tragic car accident.
00:07:14
Speaker
And I still to this day don't know who it was, but someone had written me an anonymous note, left it on like my desk where I had sat and it was seminary class, but it was that Peyton, you are a light to others.
00:07:31
Speaker
And it was that, sorry, I'm like getting kind of emotional about this, but it was a time when I didn't feel that my light was very bright, that I was feeling really dull.
00:07:42
Speaker
But that's when it really clicked for me that like, hey, someone had their eyes up, they did something about this.
00:07:49
Speaker
And it changed my day.
00:07:51
Speaker
Still, what, seven, eight years later, I remember that.
00:07:58
Speaker
So it was a simple action.
00:08:02
Speaker
No one really knew she was going through a difficult time in life, right?
00:08:05
Speaker
Someone just gave her a note that talked about actually the light within herself.
00:08:12
Speaker
And it totally changed things for her.
00:08:17
Speaker
And so I'm just wondering, Dustin, do you have any thought, just what are you thinking that you're hoping athletes will do in regard to eyes up, do the work as they have this sport light that they didn't ask for, but they have it?
00:08:30
Speaker
I'm just wondering what thoughts you have maybe to close this out, just to encourage athletes to...
00:08:36
Speaker
to really let the light within them bless other people, not just the light that's shining on them impress people.
Principle: Eyes Up, Do The Work
00:08:44
Speaker
I'd probably make it as simple as possible, Chad, and it's not just for athletes.
00:08:47
Speaker
It's the same for adults and all of us.
00:08:50
Speaker
Because Eyes Up Do The Work is not athletic-focused.
00:08:55
Speaker
We've talked about this.
00:08:57
Speaker
If you're new to our podcast, the only reason it's called Especially For Athletes
00:09:02
Speaker
is because our message that we think is for everybody is uniquely designed, especially for athletes, because of the sport light.
00:09:11
Speaker
That's what changes it.
00:09:13
Speaker
Otherwise, it's living with your eyes up and doing the work.
00:09:16
Speaker
That motto is something we can all follow.
00:09:18
Speaker
We can all be better for doing, having our eyes up doing the work.
00:09:22
Speaker
It's especially for athletes because of this exact thing that Coach Sweeney talked about, and that's this light that's shining.
00:09:29
Speaker
So I would just say, kids,
00:09:30
Speaker
Keep it really simple.
00:09:32
Speaker
This sport light's not going to be on you forever.
00:09:35
Speaker
while it is on you, be careful that you're magnifying the right image to others and that you're magnifying the right type of person that you really are to other people by how you act.
00:09:49
Speaker
And are they gonna look at you and think of you as somebody that brought them happiness and brought them comfort or protection?
00:09:57
Speaker
Are they gonna look at you as somebody that brought them fear and anxiety and sadness?
00:10:03
Speaker
And how are you living your life to make sure that if you are reflecting a light off of you, it's positive and not negative.
00:10:11
Speaker
Yeah.
00:10:13
Speaker
And then check yourself.
00:10:14
Speaker
Go through your day.
00:10:15
Speaker
Ask yourself.
00:10:16
Speaker
And if you say, I'm not doing anything wrong, most of them aren't.
00:10:19
Speaker
We talked about this before.
00:10:20
Speaker
80% of the kids are great kids.
00:10:23
Speaker
They go to school.
00:10:23
Speaker
They're kind.
00:10:25
Speaker
They go home.
00:10:25
Speaker
They're normal kids.
00:10:27
Speaker
We have 10% of them that are the problem.
00:10:29
Speaker
They're awful.
00:10:30
Speaker
They're cruel and they're mean and they do horrible things.
00:10:33
Speaker
And then we have that elite 10%.
00:10:36
Speaker
That's the one that we're trying to really get more kids to be part of.
00:10:39
Speaker
And that's the one that they are seeking.
00:10:42
Speaker
They're actively looking to do good and make other people feel good.
00:10:46
Speaker
So I would ask kids, or parents, your kids probably in the 80 or in that 10 that's good.
00:10:52
Speaker
I hope they're not in the 10 that's bad.
00:10:54
Speaker
But if they're in that 80, let's get them to be in that 10 that's really good.
00:10:58
Speaker
and do extra.
00:10:59
Speaker
And that's encouraging them to not just see things that need fixing, but do things to fix things.
00:11:05
Speaker
And that's being kind and being empathetic and understanding that this sport light gives you that opportunity to do more good or to do more bad.
00:11:17
Speaker
It's just how you choose to reflect or use that light.
Reflecting on Intentions and Encouragement
00:11:21
Speaker
Yeah, I love that, Dustin.
00:11:23
Speaker
I love what Tim Tebow said.
00:11:25
Speaker
He said, we have to humble ourselves.
00:11:27
Speaker
And the way you do that is by serving other people, by using whatever platform you have, by using whatever resources you have to serve people and to make a difference.
00:11:39
Speaker
And he's definitely been an athlete that is amazing.
00:11:42
Speaker
that has really exemplified that idea.
00:11:47
Speaker
And so here's just some challenges maybe as we close up the podcast.
00:11:51
Speaker
Encourage someone today, whether it's a teammate, a classmate, a family member, just find someone today and make their day better.
00:12:03
Speaker
And then ask yourself, am I doing this for recognition or to impact someone's life?
00:12:10
Speaker
And I think it's a wonderful thing when we're able to take what life gives us.
00:12:19
Speaker
And we have a lot of people, Dustin, who support our program.
00:12:22
Speaker
You know, sometimes it's the spotlight that comes from sports that we call the sport light.
00:12:28
Speaker
Other times it's financial means, successful people.
00:12:33
Speaker
I love people who take, like Tim Tebow said there, whatever they've been given,
00:12:40
Speaker
And instead of just using that for themselves, they use it to make the world a better place.
00:12:48
Speaker
And so I love that from Dabo Sweeney.
00:12:50
Speaker
Just let the light that shines inside of us, that shines forth from us, be brighter than the light that shines on us.
00:12:59
Speaker
And I think the way we could do that is to try to give more than we receive.
00:13:02
Speaker
And that's a good way to lose life.
00:13:05
Speaker
Yep.
00:13:05
Speaker
Simple as that.
00:13:07
Speaker
Spot on.
00:13:08
Speaker
Awesome.
00:13:08
Speaker
Well, thanks everybody.
00:13:10
Speaker
Eyes up, do the work.
00:13:12
Speaker
Thank you for joining the,
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:13:13
Speaker
especially for athletes podcast to learn more about, especially for athletes organization, get a copy of our book, the sport light, or to bring our program to your team, school, business, or organization.
00:13:24
Speaker
Visit us at especially for athletes.org.