November 10, 2025 • 48 mins
In this episode, Tim Tebow opens up about life beyond the football field — from his early days as a “miracle baby” and the lessons learned from his parents’ unwavering support, to the discipline, faith, and purpose that continue to drive him today. He reflects on his college football years, the promise speech that defined his legacy, and how he’s learned to compartmentalize, persevere, and stay grounded through change. Tim also shares how he approaches movement, fitness, and recovery after football, and what inspired his new book. A conversation about resilience and living with purpose on and off the field.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, guys, it's your friend Kate Max and welcome back
to Post Run High. Today's guest is Tim Tebow. We
started the day together with a walk through Central Park
with his wife Demi before heading back to Tim's hotel
to record this podcast episode. And Guys, while we were
in the park, Tim and I threw the football around
(00:20):
a bit, and I think one of the best things
my dad taught me growing up was how to throw
a football. So shout out to my father John, because
my muscle memory definitely kicked in and I managed to
not embarrass myself in front of Tim. We filmed this
episode on November fourth, which was the same day Tim's
new book, Look Again, came out, so it was extra
special getting to hang out with him and Demi on
(00:41):
his book release day. In this conversation, we talk about
what fitness looks like for him now, becoming a dad
for the first time, his early life, his iconic college
football career, a bit on his time in the NFL,
what he's up to now, and what inspired his new.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Book, Look Again.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Today's episode with Tim is really an inspiring conversation that
reminds you what it means to live life with purpose
and It also showed me that Tim Tebow could make
an entire career out of just being a motivational speaker,
because he really is that good at talking. This is
Tim Tebow on Post Run High. Let's get into it.
(01:23):
Tim Tebow, Welcome to Post Run High.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Oh, thank you so much. I just I'm recovering a
little bit from our speed walk. Yep, it's aggressive. It
was fast as aggressive as some of the people that
bumped us on the way.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, the guy that almost took us out for running.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
For walking in the zoo almost got taken out.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Tim was like, not really.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
I feel like you were a little shocked, and I
felt like I got a little protective and slightly agitated
at that guy too, Like what do you have to
do that is that important? Or do you really think
you're running for gold right now? I know, Like it's
not just so down go to the side, It's okay,
pick back up. You know, the.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
People in ten Park, the runners and the bikers, get
really into it. So like normally I am so cautious
of not saying and not being in their way because
like I get it. But at the same time, yeah,
that was overwhelming.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
But I get it too. If like you're going for gold. Yeah,
but you're not. You're in between ninety four people in
Central Park.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yes, okay, guys, for context, we were just on a
walk in Central Park. It's about I don't even know
nine am. So it's prime running biking time. So yeah,
we were in the midst of a lot of a
lot of runners booking it.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And it was the three of us.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
It was Demi, Tim's wife, Tim and I and Jeremy,
my husband, walking in front of us.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
We gotta include Jeremy. Jeremy was part of it. Jeremy
was a give me the most talented ones. He was
filming why turning backwards first.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Jeremy did catch.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
A poll one time. I got the shoulder a little bit.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, we got. Today was epic. We both got to
throw the ball with Tim, which was pretty cool. I
throw the football. We brought that.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
We had that prop in our car from our bachelor
bachelorette party and it came in handy.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Well I guess it did.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah, yeah, okay, So we went on a walk.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
We normally start out this video either with a run
or a walk or some form of movement. We've done
so many different types of things, going to the gym
with people. So I love to start out the podcast
by just asking about everybody's kind of fitness. And you know,
I know we talked a little bit about this on
our walk, but you and your wife just had a baby.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Your daughter is.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Three months old, so you know, I'm curious what movement
looks like in your house right now and what it
looks like for you and you know how you guys
are prioritizing with the news.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Well, it's so important. Yeah, we really believe in it
for so many reasons. We really believe that taking care
of your body and being a good steward of it
and every way form and fashion is so important and
it's critical. It's critical to giving you the opportunity to
truly strive to be your best. You know, I really
believe that there's a lot of people that they want
(03:46):
to be their best, but they actually don't put in
the right fuel or the right sleep or the right
exercise to be their best. In other areas, maybe they're
so focused on business or their career or something, but
actually the right movement, the right sleep, the right fuel,
all of that is just going to make you better
with more clarity, with more energy, with more drive for
that thing that you're striving for. So I think it
(04:08):
is just it's crucial. I love that I've gotten a
chance to really train so much of my life because
I was trying to be my best for a game.
And a lot of people say, well, you're when you're
because you're done playing, you'll take it easy now, And
I say no, because a lot of it wasn't just
for a game. It's because I want to be the
best at everything that I get to do. I want
to be my best at everything that I get to do,
you know, especially when I'm doing things that are more
(04:30):
important than a game. And so if I would give
all that effort and diet and nutrition and everything to
a game, why would I give less for things that
are more important. And so taking care of our bodies
and taking care of our brains and focusing on sleep
and all of the things are so important to us.
And so it's also where we get a lot of
(04:50):
quality time. We love going to the gym together. We
love getting in there for edsana, We do the red light,
we do the EMF mats, we do the we have
a cold tub. Jimmy doesn't like that very much, So
it's just not a big fan. Every now and then
I'll talk her into it. We love going for walks,
We love getting the chance to have our coffee together
(05:12):
and find whichever protein we want to put into our coffee,
and and so it's just it's just been a fun
journey of something that we both love doing together. And
there's slight differences that we enjoy more, but it's like
we talk about it, it's fun. So it's really good
for quality time and it's good for our body and
our brain and relationship.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I mean, I completely agree. I feel like having a.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Partner that you can work out with and move your
body with is so good for your relationship dynamic.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I mean, I'm a big believer in it.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Jeremy and I go for runs together, we go for
walk together, we go to the gym together. So I
love knowing that that's a big part of your life.
And I do have to say, like I have, you know,
I have two brothers and a lot of friends that
played sports in college, not not professionally, but I you know,
hearing what you said about you know, obviously when you're
training for a sport, there is a lot of intensity
involved with that. From like what you're eating, to what
(06:02):
you're doing to work out on and off the field,
and a lot of people do kind of step away
from that type of lifestyle when they're done playing that sport,
but it is really nice knowing that you've stuck with
it and it just is a part of your lifestyle
because it is interesting, like I'm sure you have a
lot of friends that once they stepped away from the
game or from sports that they were playing at a
(06:22):
certain level, they kind of didn't prioritize fitness as.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Much because so many times you're training and training and training,
and it's very easy to get burnt out from it.
And so what's happened to, you know, some of my
friends and teammates is they've been burnt out, so when
they stop, they really want to take a break from it,
but then it actually slows down your drive for wanting
(06:45):
to do it. And I feel like if you can
push through it and you don't have to necessarily always
do with the same intensity or with the same kind
of vision or goal in mind, but doing enough to
have your body be active. And I think it's also
important to be around the right people that are doing it,
because if we're around the right people, it becomes contagious
and we want to do it. So like when we're
(07:06):
around friends we're playing pickleball, it's contagious. You want to play.
Then all of a sudden, it's two hours later and
you're like, we've been running for two hours, right. Or
we'll go to the field and we'll do sprints together
and then it's so fun because we're pushing each other
and Timmy's like, I don't know if I can do
a cut three hundred, and I'll be encouraging her and
I'll say the same thing and she'll be encouraging me.
And then we'll go to the gym and so it's
(07:28):
really about trying to be your best. But then it's
also about how the right people around you can inspire you,
which just means to be filled with the urge to
do something right. And so that inspiration when you're around
the right people, it does feel you with the urge
to do more, to be healthier, to go a little
bit further, to train a little bit more, because you
(07:49):
want to be your best for what you're pursuing, but
you want to be your best for them too. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
No, and I feel like it too.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
For you It's like when you stepped away from football,
you then leaned into being a sports analyst ones the
end in the SEC. So it's kind of like showing
up for game day in a different way, right, Like
you want to feel your best when you're on camera,
and I just feel like getting a good workout in
always makes it feel.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Always, it always helps, And I really do believe, and
I think there would be a lot of experts that
would back this up, but when you are exercising and
your strength training and you're you're doing the right exercises
that it actually gives you more clarity in your brain.
And that's so important. I think it gets missed a lot,
and it's just so important. And then we get into
(08:32):
you know, all of the right supplements and things to
do and that are good for your body but also
for your brain, you know, And I love that. Like
one of my favorite supplements is a supplement called an
iran that I found out by a bunch first heard
about a decade ago by a bunch of the Steelers
defense and I'm like, what is this. This is the
best defense in the NFL. And it's a supplemment that
(08:52):
that helps you focus and I'm like, this is awesome.
Why have I not used this my whole life and career?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Did you start using it? Of course I did. Yeah,
I'm like I.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Need it's awesome. But then so like me and Demmy,
we like, we'll study and we'll look at all stuff,
and we send stuff back and forth when I'm not
with her, she's not with me, And so then it
becomes a journey of like, Okay, what do you think
is best? And we talk about it. We have good conversations.
So I feel like it just continues, just the health
journey of learning and being like, man, we've done this
and it was wrong, or man, we've been doing this
(09:23):
by accident and this has been really good for us.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Okay, what are some of the things that you tried
out health and fitness wise that we're wrong and what
now is working for you?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Well, I would say it's wrong for us. Is early on,
you know, we were so many nutritionists would be like, okay,
before games are big practices. You got a car blowed
and I just am not a believer in that, And
so I got far away from that now and I'm
closer to what a ketogenic diet would look like. It's
a little bit different, probably closer to modified Atkins, but
(09:53):
people don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Speaking Brothers language.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
So it's really a low carb, low sugar, moderate protein,
and pretty high fat diet. And sometimes I'll up my
protein a little bit more. But I've really felt like
that has worked well for me and it's something that
I enjoy and it's easy for me to keep doing,
so I really like it. And plus I feel like
it gives me a whole lot of focus and I
(10:17):
guess brain energy would be a good way to say it.
And I just I love that.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Yeah, when you stepped away from football, what were you
most excited to kind of turn down with the fitness,
you know, because obviously it's an adjustment. It's like you're
not doing the same workouts that you were doing. I'm
sure when you were training, which were.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Honestly, sometimes I still did a lot of it, and
sometimes I got to remind myself. I'm like and almost
my subconscious like, I'm I'm not having to train to
go compete. I don't have to do this, you know,
three ret max today. I don't have to do it. Man,
I'm a little run down. I've been flying, I've been traveling,
you know, just get a quality workout in or just
(10:55):
get some movement, but don't kill yourself. Because one of
the things that I feel like I made the mistake
in years and years and years, and it took until
I found a few of the right trainers to help
me with this is one of the things I just
messed up on a lot was I was overtrained and
I was under recovered, and I just lived in a
state of being overtrained because I would wake up and
(11:16):
go train again, and wake up and train again, wake
up and train again, and I just thought, if some's good,
more is better. And so I just did a lot
to actually break down my own body and didn't actually
give myself enough time and nutrients and sleep to recover
because it was just work, work, work, to try to
be your best. But I could have learned at an
(11:38):
earlier age to work smarter than just harder.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Mm hmm, yeah, No, it's true.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
And I feel like that's something that a lot of
athletes have to like slowly figure out. And now with
some like technology like or rings and stuff, I feel
like it's a lot easier you have one, it's a
lot easier to track those types of stuff.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Sometimes it's actually super disappointing.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Your orring Yes, why what is your.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Because sometimes you wake up and I'm like, man, that
was a good night's sleep and it's like thirty six
minutes of deep sleep, and you're like, I know, it's
so depressing.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
My sleep was horrible last night because and I looked
and when I looked at my ordering same thing, I
was like, what I felt like I slept pretty good.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
And this is another area that Demmy crushes me at.
She'll sleep like some nights two or three hours less
than me for whatever reason, and it's like deep sleep
twice mine, rim sleep twice mine, like, and I'm like,
how in the world is this happening? Like it's she
just crushes me out. So I work a lot at
(12:35):
trying to figure out how I can sleep better.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yeah, I feel like sleep is like one of the
most important things to like feeling good in a day.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
It's actually wild how important it is.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
It's crazy, and you look at all of the studies
and what it does, and it's actually one of the
things that gets me a little bit frustrated with the
education system of our young people is there are so
many schools that are telling these kids that you need
to wake up at five point thirty because you have
to get on the bus or you have to leave,
and you have to be a class, you know, starting
(13:04):
at seven, and then they're going to have after school curriculum,
they're gonna have homework. And now there's there in these
peak years of development and they're not getting the sleep.
And so a lot of kids that are around us
and nieces and nephews, and I just encourage them, like no,
that that class is not as important as you getting
(13:24):
two more hours of sleep. I really believe that, And
it's one of the things that I am for education.
I am pro it, I am, but I am not
it to the detriment of young people not getting sleep.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Yeah, So okay, Tim Tebow, what time should we be
sleeping until in the morning?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
What should we like? What time should kids be sleeping?
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I would not be the best expert, and I would
not There are a lot of better experts on me
than that. Ye like doctor Aman who I had just
got to meet with last week. You know, he'd be
a good one to talk to you, because I'm going
to pitch for so many But I would say push
it back to like a nine. But then I also
encourage them to get to sleep at like a ten
(14:04):
pm or nine pm, so that you are for young people,
you should be getting at least a minimum of eight hours,
but closer to a nine or ten, especially when you're
growing and developing and hitting puberty. Like it's just so important.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
A little bit different.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
But sometimes I think about this, like when I sleep
in on a weekday until like nine or eight thirty,
which is rare, I feel like now I'm getting up
a lot earlier. But when I sleep into those times
on a weekday, I think to myself, I'm like, damn,
Like there's high school and middle school students out here
are getting up at six thirty. If I can't get
up and these kids can, like, what am I doing
with my life?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
But I think that's one of the things I have
to reframe our brain, and that is not being lazy.
It's actually being productive. It is helping your And now
you're seeing so many studies about how it helps in
longevity and fighting aging and how sleep is just so
important and I need help. So maybe y'all have good
tips and tricks. I try to sleep in and I can't.
(14:57):
I just wake up.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Well, I have a baby, so it's like and.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
That just adds to it. But it's like, oh man,
I can sleep until eight right five am? Boom, yeah,
wide awake, Like dang it, I just want to sleep
for a few more hours.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Gosh, get this guy, get this guy some let me sleep.
Meant that Phil said those things are magic? Really yeah,
let me sleep. This is so good.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
It's never heard. Oh okay, what is it like melatonin?
Speaker 1 (15:20):
It's like, I think it's like melatonin. There's also magnesium
in it. But I swear when I take them, I
feel like I'm like having some sort of like witch
potion because the way you sleep.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
On it is insane. So maybe try those out.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Okay, Okay, Well I'm curious. Did you grow up with
parents that were really active, Like, how did you, at
a young age get so into sports.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Well, I'm the baby of five and a missionary family,
and I mean you kind of learned to just compete
to get food off of the table. And our family
and our family is so in degree competitive that it
kind of blow your mind. Like sometimes when we're together
for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we won't even play like board
games because you know how it's going to end. It's
(16:10):
just so intense, but it is also some of my
favorite memories. Like, we love very intense and we compete
the same way, and so I love it. But my
whole family was so competitive. And one of the things
that I love being the baby of five and having
siblings that are three, six, nine, and twelve years older
(16:31):
than me is they would never let me win. And
I'm so grateful for that, because I'm competing against you know,
brothers and sisters that are older than me, and they
won't let me win. And so you know, when you
do win, it's because you've earned it and that you're
you're finding ways to adapt and finding ways even though
you might be smaller or not as strong or all
(16:53):
these other things. But it taught you so much. So
then you go compete against kids your own age and
you're like, man, this is easier. And so that was
really helpful, helpful for me. But then also just a
mom and a dad that were very active. And my
mom would take her little two pound weights and she
would walk several miles every morning and and she would,
(17:16):
I mean every morning. And now she still gets in
the pool and she swims back and forth and she
does all her exercises she's so disciplined and consistent. And
my dad was always someone that's very active, even though
it wasn't ever about lifting weights, but just just going
to work and being so active wherever we were, whatever
we were doing. And one of the things that my
dad did that was so special for me was he
(17:41):
just always supported us so much in every way he
could with our dreams, of most importantly believing in us.
Like truly, he was the biggest advocate of speaking life
into me and believing in me. And I can't tell
you how many times, in games and practices and moments
(18:01):
of disappointment, I would hear my mom and my dad's
voice in my head. I would hear their words of encouragement.
I would hear the songs they sang. I would hear
the prayers they prayed. I would hear the words of
belief in my head.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
What were some of those things that they would be
saying to you in your head? Like, what were the
things replaying for you?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I was a miracle baby, and the doctors wanted to
abort me, and they didn't think I was even a baby.
At first, I thought I was a tumor. And then
there was all these issues and My mom even went
to a coma for part of the pregnancy, and she
had amba dysentery and the placenta wasn't I only had
a tiny bit that was attached. And my parents just
(18:43):
trusted God and gave me a chance. And I was
a miracle baby that was malnourished. But I was very
but I made up for it quickly.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Yes, And I was gonna say.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
My first nickname from my siblings was actually Timmy the tumor,
so I had that going for me. It's not an
easy nickname to break, but I tell that story to
say that. Then my parents would always before I go
to bed, they would sit on the edge of my
bed and they would say, Hey, Timmy, I want you
to know God spared you for a reason because you
have a great purpose in life. There's a reason that
(19:15):
you're here. There's people that you get to impact. There's
something great that you can do. God's given you abilities.
Will you use it? But then will you use it
to help people? And over and over and over and
over and over? And you know what happens when you
hear something over and over and over again, You start
to believe in You start to believe that you can
(19:35):
make a difference. You start to believe that you can
strive for something. You start to truly believe, even though
there's no evidence yet that you could do something of
significance and meaning. And I'm just so grateful for it.
But then my dad also so many ways backed it
up and believing in us when we're never blessed with
(19:58):
a lot of money or you know, my my parents
just gave everything to be able to help those that
could never do anything for them, and it's one of
the reasons they are my greatest heroes. But for example,
one Christmas, I'd asked my dad if I could get
some weight so I could train to try to be
my best because I, you know, I first learned about
(20:20):
weight training how important it is for an athlete, and
we just couldn't afford to buy weights. So my dad
stayed up for nights and nights in a row welding
together different weights from some PVC pipes and some other
things that people gave him, and then put together a
weight set. And I still have some of that in
(20:41):
my parents' house in our barn to this day. And
I you know, it wasn't fancy, but there was a
level of determination I had when I went in there,
because I thought, Man, if my dad went to that
work to do this for me, then I am going
to use this till at rust And now if you
walk in there, it's all rusty, but it has so
(21:01):
much meaning to me. And there was also a mentality
that came with it. Now there's a lot of kids
that have fancy weight sets and gym memberships, but what
shows up and here is heart and determination and grit.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
That can't be taught.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Yeah, I can't pay for it, and it really can't
be taught. It has to come from within you.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
And what I think it can be shown. I don't
think it can be taught in the sense of just
learning a lesson, but shown. And I get to see
a level of grit and even a different way from
my parents, a level of grit and what they were doing,
a level of determination when other people would tell them,
they're crazy, you can't do this, Why would you do this?
Why would you move to the Philippines with four kids
and have a fifth one over there? That's crazy, you know.
(21:45):
But they were so called and they believed in it
so deeply, and it's so contagious when you're around people
like that.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Absolutely, and I feel like too.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
It's you know, especially now it's like you have a daughter,
you know, I feel like there's often times like for
our kids, it's like we want them to feel so
comfortable and we want to give them everything that they
need to succeed at the things that they.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Show interest in.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
But from your experience, you know, it's kind of like
there's a double edged sword a.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Little bit right, Yes, there's such a double edged short
with it. You do. Like, man, we want to be
able to provide and protect everything we possibly can for Daphne,
But at the same time, it's we learn so much
from struggle. We learn so much from setbacks. We learn
so much from like think about how the body develops
(22:34):
and lifting weights, it tears down and it builds back stronger.
That's also how resilience is built and determination in the
right mindset. And so yes, we do want to protector
from everything, but there's some things that you really shouldn't
protect her from. There's some things that hey, you know,
you get knocked down, like uh, more than just maybe
(22:56):
helping her up, it's that we would speak that life
into it or weird say you can do this, you
can get back up, because life's going to knock you
down and there's gonna be obstacles. But we love you
so much, regardless. God loves you so much, regardless. We
believe in you. Strive to be your best, not strive
to be the best. Strive to be your best, because
(23:19):
when you're striving to be the best and something, it
doesn't mean it's always wrong. But we live in a
society that so quickly looks at comparing to one another.
I saw one study that said twelve percent of our
daily thoughts are spent in some form of comparison. And
if we live a life of comparison, we're going to
live a life of not being grateful. Because I don't
believe that you can be grateful and be comparing yourself
(23:41):
to others at the same time. And we can go
back and forth, but I don't think you can do
them at the same time, because you're really when you're
you're comparing yourself to others, it's implying to God that God.
I wish I looked like her, I wish I could
play like him, I wish I was on that team,
I wish I had that job. And so I think
compare and kills joy, it kills your spirit, and it
(24:03):
kills being grateful for something. And so we want to
be grateful and be grateful for what we've been blessed
with and strive to be our best with it, not
necessarily strive to be the best, because then you're comparing. Now. Obviously,
if you're playing a sport, you want to be the
best in.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
It, right, Yeah, But I do think comparison can kill
potential in a big way too. Totally sitting there with
you know, welded weights in your family's garage, right while
comparing yourself to these other kids whose parents were paying
for personal trainers and fancy gym memberships, then you would
have never gotten to the level that you were at,
right because.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
You totally believe that. Yeah, being able to compete against
my older siblings and being able to use what my
parents so kindly and lovingly provided for us, and the
support they did. But I would also say it was
more than just the weights. It was the life that
they spoke, the belief, the support for us in our dreams.
(25:01):
Almost I sound so silly, but the wind that we
felt behind us from their love and support, it's propelling
and it's contagious, and because you know how much they
love you, you really believe that I can endure more
like I can keep going, I can pursue, I can
(25:22):
fall down and I can get up, and I know
they're going to love me the same. But I want
to honor them, and I want to honor God, and
I want to honor the people that have supported me
along the way. And sometimes the greatest voice that was
in my head or my heart was the one that
was saying, I just don't want to let them down.
(25:43):
I don't want to let my loved ones down. I
don't want to let my teammates down. And I actually
believe most of the time that voice is stronger than
the one that says, I I want this championship, I
want this And I really think if you talk to
a lot of people that are in line of service
or places of the military, so many times you'll hear
(26:04):
from them. And I have some friends that have served
in some of the hardest places around the world, and
they're saying, man, one of the greatest driving forces was
my brother or sister beside me, you know, and you're
doing it for them. And I feel like many times
that is a stronger compelling desire to support them. Then
it's when it this is just for me. And if
you're doing it for just for you and you don't
(26:25):
feel like it, guess what you ain't going to do it?
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Well, that's the beauty of growing up with five siblings
and also falling in love with team sports, right as
you kind of naturally have that mentality. And that's why
in the workforce, I think hiring people that played team
sports is such a good height.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
I love it, so we do it all the time,
Like it's so important. Do you understand what a team
looks like? Right? Do you understand the difference between I
and a we and you know and me and a team.
And it's important that you represent the name on the
back of your jersey, but it's just as important that
you represent the name on the front of your jersey.
(27:00):
And it's so easy for so many teams to put
on the same jersey, but it doesn't really make them
a team. What makes a great team is when you
have the same vision, the same dream, the same mindset,
and you're all willing to suffer for it together and
now there's a bond that's created. And I really believe
(27:21):
most of the time. Those are the special teams, not
just putting on the same jersey, having the same dream,
the same mission, the same vision, and we're all chasing
for that. We all come from different walks of life,
different backgrounds, different beliefs, different cultures, different communities, but it's like, no,
we're coming together for this. That's why I also believe
that if you look at the great teams, it's a
great example of what our society should do more of,
(27:46):
of actually coming together with so many different walks of
life and backgrounds and beliefs, but man, we come together
with that vision and we're all united for that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
United purpose is so it's so important and it's transformative,
and it makes me think. You had a really famous speech.
It's not longer than thirty seconds, right, but it's the
promise speech that you gave after was it you were
as were playing was it Oklahoma?
Speaker 2 (28:08):
St Old? Miss Okay?
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Sorry, and you gave a speech called the Promise Speech
that got a lot of recognition and it actually united
your team in a really big way.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Right. Well, I don't know if it united I think.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
But I was watching a little documentary where one of
your teammates said it really inspired him and I don't know,
so tell us a story behind the promise speech.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Well, it's my junior year of college and we fell
short at home against Ole Miss, and we had it
just a great team. And I really believe that as
a leader, it is so important that you don't just
lead by inspiring, but you also lead with humility. And
(28:51):
you're the first one to say I was wrong, and
you're not the one that always says I have all
the answers. So many times we think that the leader
always has to have the answer, and I disagree. I
think the leader needs to be one that helps find
the right answers, but doesn't mean they always have to
have them in And when we lost that game, I
was heartbroken. I just felt like I let my team
(29:11):
down as the leader, I let the Gator Nation down,
I let my family down, and I sat in my
locker for a long time, but I knew I had
to go talk to the media and I just didn't
want it to be the status quo. But I also
truly believe in my heart I did something wrong. I
was just not the leader, the ambassador for my family,
(29:33):
for the team, for Gator Nation that I should have
been and so I went in there and answered some questions,
but I knew I had to share this from my heart,
and so I started by saying I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry.
I started with an apology because I believe that when
you do something wrong, what you should do is apologize.
And that does not mean you say I apologize. It
(29:54):
means you say I'm sorry. And so I said it
twice because I wanted to be clear that I am sorry.
And then a lot of people say, man, it's so
cool because you then you promised that y'all were never
going to lose, you were going to win the national
championship and all this, and they don't actually listen.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
I know you guys had a winning streak at the time.
That was what you were defending.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
We did, and then we went on to win the
rest of the games and win the national championship. But
I didn't promise anything that I didn't believe that we
could could guarantee. I didn't promise we would win all
of our games. I didn't promise we would win the
national championship, even though that's a lot of people took it.
What I tried to promise was that we were going
to be the hardest working team and I was going
to be the hardest working player the rest of this year.
(30:38):
And because I believe that was something that we could control.
You get to control every day your attitude, your effort,
and your focus. And we were going to be a
team that controlled that at such a high level, to
such a high extent, that we were going to be
a team that embraced the grind, that we lived on
the edge, that we weren't showing up, and dude, we
(31:00):
were going to show up and it was going to
be extreme. And the next day, a bunch of the
leaders called a meeting together and we talked and hashed
a lot of things out. We went out in practice
and it was an extremely intense, violent practice. And after
that practice, I think if you ask a lot of
players on the team, they would probably say, I think
we'll win the championship. And it really wasn't because of
(31:24):
you know, we had amazing coaches, but it really wasn't
because of that. But it was the ownership that the
players took of. No, we own this, it's our faught
but watch now the attitude, the effort, and the focus.
And I think it was also cool to see how
so many players adapted and grew and learned. And I
think that's one of the things that is really hard,
(31:46):
is when you're really good, to go from really good
to great?
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Yeah, And what was that like for you, like, you know,
after committing to that so publicly, right, I'm sure there's
a lot of pressure all of a sudden on your
back to then live up to that.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
It gets hyped and praised now and they have it
like as blacks in the stadium, but there's a lot
of people at the time that they didn't like it.
I remember, I go and I put my hoodie on,
and I go and get in an elevator, like literally
fifteen minutes after the interview, and at the last second,
a bunch of reporters walk in and I have my
hoodie because I really don't want to talk to them,
and they walk in and they close the elevator and
(32:22):
we're going up and I'm going to watch some film,
and they're like, man, can you believe Teboh gosh, it's
kind of crazy what he said on kind of all
like this. It was not how they kind of refer
to it now. And so it's interesting sometimes. And we
were talking about this earlier. Sometimes when you try to
stand for something, they might not understand it or agree
(32:42):
with it, or even criticize you in the moment. But
it's not about letting them speak in to you. It
is about living by that conviction. And I was convicted
that I needed to apologize and apologize to my teammates
and apologize to Gator Nation and then not just say that,
but go show how it's going to be different. And
that's what we went on the journey of doing as
(33:02):
a team, of showing how it was going to be different.
And if you looked at the way we played the
rest of the year, it wasn't always because we were
just better than everybody else, although I do believe we
were a really good team. It was also because there
was a level of grit, toughness, endurance that we were
one of the best teams for a long time in
(33:23):
the fourth quarter, Like we were losing in the SEC
Championship in the fourth quarter, but there was a mental toughness.
We were tied in the National Championship in the fourth quarter,
and you know, there was this different level of grit
of going back to that attitude, that effort, and that focus,
and that was a team that was so special in
all the areas because I think, yes, the physical talent
(33:46):
and the coaches and the scheme and all of it,
but then I think the mental toughness was one of
my favorite parts about that special team.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Yeah, and the heart that goes into kind of showing
up and playing. What was the hardest part about playing
up to that bar that you set for yourself that
year kind of in all your years in college, Because
sometimes I look at these college players and I'm like, man,
they're so young, you know, like twenty nineteen, twenty twenty one,
twenty two. You guys are kids out there playing and
(34:12):
setting such high bars for yourself, and you have all
these fans that are a lot older than us. Right,
you're kind of playing an adult game, criticizing you and
watching everything you do, but also loving you. So what
was it like kind of living up to that bar?
Speaker 3 (34:24):
I think that year we did a really good job
of blocking out the noise and playing with the chip
on our shoulder. I think the next year, after we
had won another championship, we let the noise speak into
us a little too much, and we were playing with
such a weight and not playing free. But when we
were playing our best what was special about it? And
(34:45):
one of the mentalities I tried to focus on was like,
let's say I'm walking out of the tunnel. I'm not
looking around at the crowd, although I love feeding off
of it. I'm not thinking about the hype of the game.
I'm not thinking about what our rankings are, what this
game means. What I'm thinking about is to focus on
(35:06):
the smallest common denominator it possibly cancel. When I run
out of the tunnel, I literally run from the tunnel
to the thirty yard line. I do three jumps. I
run from the thirty yard line to the goal line
three times. I do three passes I do Is.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
That a superstition threes?
Speaker 3 (35:20):
No, It's just I just wanted to be to get
warmed up, to feel my best, and now do three snaps.
And then I would go and I would go through
our first fifteen plays, and I'll do this the things
that I dent over and over and over again, I
would just try to do them better and better and
better and better and better, because I think one of
the things that happens when you let pressure gets to
it is you stop and you look and you smell
(35:40):
the roses and you look at the hype, But why
do that? Hey, no, just focus. This is who we're
going against. This is what we need to do. This
is how we have to attack them. This is how
we have to rally people together. We're not looking at
the environment, We're not looking at the moment. We're looking
at the opponent, and we're keeping our eyes fixed and
we focus on that and focus on the task at hand.
(36:02):
And that's when I believe that we were our best,
is that there was an edge to that, to the
task at hand. And I feel like there's too many
times I know when when I fall in shortened areas
that you just look at it and you think, oh, well,
what's gonna happen? Why let your brain go there? Oh
what will they say? Why let your brain go there?
Oh well what about what if? Why let your brain
(36:25):
go there? You can't control it? Why are you worrying
about it? It just creates anxiety, and that's gonna slow
you down, it's gonna weight you down, it's gonna make
your heart pump a little bit faster. No, just focus
on the same game you've been playing for so many years.
Focus on the read, the task at hand. What do
you need to do because you've done it a thousand times,
just do it one more and do it a little
(36:46):
bit better.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
It also seems like when you're playing at that level
and you have so many fans in the stadium kind
of watching you, guys obviously or like, yeah, there's noise,
they're getting hyped up, they're excited.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
You have to be really good at compartmentalizing.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
Yes, I think compartmentalizing is so important in sports, but
I also think it's really important in life. I think
it is so important that you're able to go from
a meeting to a meeting to a meeting that you're
especially if you're in a place of leadership, that you
can adjust, that you can be able to Maybe there's
a big burden that you're carrying it, but you don't
(37:28):
need to place it on everybody. So I got to
compartmentalize that burden. I got to hold it over here
because I don't need to place it on the whole team.
And then I got to go be with them and
do all of this. But then I can go back
and start to work on this thing. I think it's
just so important. You know, we see it as a parent,
right You don't want to. You know, times I don't
want to place a burden on Demi of something that
maybe I'm going through. We both won't want to do
(37:49):
that for Daphne. You know, it's just as a family,
when you're going through things as a family, when loved
ones are getting sick and they're fighting through things, you
don't want to place a burden. And so I think
compartmentalizing is just so important, and sometimes it's talked about
even as a bad thing. And I think sometimes there's
times that we compartmentalize too much and we don't share,
and you know, sometimes you hold on to something just
(38:12):
and that's not always healthy. But I really believe it
can be a worked on skill set that can really
help you in a lot of areas of life.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Your dad was a pastor, right, yeah, pastor mission missionary.
So were your parents like sports fans or did they
become sports fans.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
My parents were totally sports fans. Like when I was born,
I started bleeding orange and blue. My parents' first date
was the Florida Georgia game, and it was my grandfather's
dream to see Florida win an SEC championship. So they
were big sports fans. So they were probably bigger Jesus fans,
bigger Jesus.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
Fans, so they were probably so excited when they saw
their son at Florida, just crushing.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
Yeah, well, they so loved it. But honestly, one of
the things that was so special, even though they were
diehard Florida fans, when it came to me being recruited
and figuring out where I was to go play play football,
they never one time spoken to it to try to
influence me. Never one time. If anything, they did the opposite,
which really frustrated me, is because they would just always
(39:13):
say over and over and over again, we love you
and we trust you, we trust whatever decision you want
to make, we love you and we trust you. We're
going to trust whatever decision you want to make. And
I'm like, no, I want your input. But they just
did not want to sway me. They wanted to be
my decision and they were going to support me, but
they didn't want me to choose Florida because they were
Gator fans. That doesn't mean that it's right for me.
(39:36):
And honestly, I didn't choose Florida because I was a
Gator fan. Honestly, I know it's hard for people to believe,
but it had absolutely nothing to do. Like coach Meyer
came in my senior year of high school to Florida,
and before that they weren't in the top fifty and
he really changed that because he came in and Mickey
(39:58):
and Mullen and Murati and all these coaches and it's
change your coaching staff, and it was about the people.
And then it was just a blessing that it was
also a school that I happen to love so much
and that made the decision right for me. And the
style of offense and all of that played into it.
But my parents were just so I think, helpful but
at the same time, never pushy.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
All Right, I want to fast forward a little bit
because you went from having this rock star college career
to playing in the NFL for a few years, and
then you made the decision to leave the NFL and
go into sport, becoming a sports analyst for ESPN and
the SEC, which I think is so awesome expressing your
love for the sport in a different way. But was
the decision to officially leave football do a little bit
of a baseball career, Like what was the decision like
(40:41):
to go for a football, they.
Speaker 3 (40:43):
Just still leave it. I sort of got cut a
bunch of times too, so I had I go in
for me, so sort of like a forced leave to
a certain extent. But I was so fortunate that I
got to instantly be an analyst at ESPN and for
SEC Nation and SEC Network, and then I got to
also at the same time pursue baseball, which I loved,
(41:04):
and just gotten to do so many things. And one
of the things that I just really believe in is
that when you feel a pricking of your heart and
passion for something, I don't believe the worst thing is
striving and failing. I believe the worst thing is doing
nothing and then living with regret of what if. And
(41:25):
so I've really tried in a lot of areas and
fallen short many times, but tried in a lot of
areas to pursue it and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.
But at least you could leave and say, you know,
I gave it a really good effort. You know.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
We talked a little bit about purpose earlier and how
your parents at a young age were saying, like, there's
a reason you're.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Here, you have a purpose.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
How would you say, your purpose changed over the years,
Like are there kind of chapters that you can pinpoint
and be like, this was my purpose, then this is
it now?
Speaker 2 (41:54):
And you know what, I.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
Think it really started when I was fifteen and I
met a boy in the Jungles of the Philippines on
a trip who was born with his feet on backwards
and because of that, he was treated and viewed as
less than insignificant and cursed, and they literally treated him
as equal to the trash. And I just fell in
love with that boy, and I knew that he wasn't
(42:15):
a throwaway to God, and I really felt like God
was pricking my heart saying, yeah, but what are you
going to do about it? I don't want you to
just feel something for him, what are you going to
do about it? And I knew that I love sports,
that I loved winning and I hated losing even more,
and I was pursuing the game and trying to win
and championships and MVPs and all of this. But it
(42:38):
was hard to verbalize at the time, but I guess
to say what I was feeling was it was almost
like God pricking my heart saying, you're chasing MVPs the
most valuable player. I have a more important MVP for
you to chase, and it's the most vulnerable people. But
which one will you care about more? Which one are
going to mean more to you in your life? And
(42:58):
that's been a constant journey of starting at fifteen and
then multiple stories in college that impacted my life. And
the first thing I did when I graduated from Florida
was start the foundation with the mission statement to bring faith,
open love to those needing a brighter day and their
darkest hour. Need to really sum it up as a
fight for people that can't fight for themselves. And when
(43:20):
we did that, honestly, the first thing we got was
a lot of criticism because people were like, well, that's
really kind of you, Timmy, but you won't be successful
because it's too broad. You can't have something that broad.
You need to be specific. It's either going to be
hospital care or orphan care or special needs care. And
(43:41):
we said now were called to do all of them.
And then adding on to that a couple of years
later was a fight against human trafficking and that's been
something it's been a constant journey for me of learning
and growing and being evolved and having my purpose, impact
my heart and God using it, but also also realizing
(44:01):
along the way that I didn't lose the ability to
compete or the chance to compete. I just get to
compete for something more important.
Speaker 1 (44:11):
Now. Yeah, you get to take your competitive spirit and
channel it in a different way.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
And that's the beauty of being a lifelong competitor.
Speaker 3 (44:18):
Right, Yes, and now so many of those traits that
were built and learned in sports now get to be
applied to something more important.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Yeah, the world needs more people with that athlete mentality. Well,
let's talk about your new book. It's called Look Again.
It comes out literally today, right, it's launching today. So
I feel honored to be sitting there with you. This
is how many books have you written? This is your
fourth book or a couple more than that. But okay, good,
all right, all right, so you've written a few books.
Tell us about this book. It's called Look Again. Recognize
your worth, Renew your hope, Run with confidence.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Yeah. I just think it is so important that right
now in our society that we stop and we look again.
We look again at ourselves and stop viewing ourselves from
what the world says. We look again at other people
and stop viewing them for what everybody else says about them,
for their past, for what they've done or haven't done,
but we would truly look at them for their God
given worth and value. And right now in our society,
(45:10):
it is so easy for us to value or devalue
people based on their opinion, what they have done or
what they haven't done. But if we're going to evaluate
people on their opinion or their achievement, then that also
means it's a sliding scale. And what happens when you
disagree with them is their value less. And I believe
(45:32):
absolutely not that every single person has equal value and worth,
and I believe that every person is made in the
image of God and they should be treated that way.
And so my heart with Look Again was to really
challenge all of us, starting with myself, because how many
times have I looked by? Have I looked around or
looked past somebody that I should have seen and should
have helped? So what do we actually stop? Would we
(45:54):
look again? What do we recognize our worth? Because when
we recognize our worth, there's going to be something that happens.
It's going to renew our hope, there's going to be
a joy that takes place. And now, when I have
a hope, I can run with the confidence. I can
run after what I've been called to what my purpose is.
With a confidence because I know my worth, I don't
(46:15):
have to listen to other people and what they say.
And I have this hope and so I can run
after what I've been called to. But then what happens
is if I recognize my worth, it renews my hope.
I'm running with the confidence. Guess what, I'm also running
towards people to remind them of their worth and so
they can have a hope, so they can live with
a confidence. And it's been something for about four years
(46:36):
that has really been on my heart that I've been
wanting to share, and I really hope and pray two
things for it. One is that it will be one
of the most encouraging things people will ever read. And
the second will be that it will be one of
the most challenging things that people will ever read. That
when you start actually knowing your own worth and then
(47:00):
you see somebody else doubting theirs or hurting or being
treated as less than, then it's going to challenge you
to do something about it, to go serve uplift and
care for somebody so that they would know theirs well.
Speaker 1 (47:14):
I am so excited to read the book. I just
got a copy in the mail today so I cannot
wait to read it myself.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
Thank you so much, pleasure, Thanks for.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
Walking and talking with awesome Yes, and thanks for inviting
Demi onto our walk. It was it was really she
crushed it and it was so special to be with
the two of you together and then be able to
sit down here with you and just talk.
Speaker 3 (47:33):
Even more so, such a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
Thanks you have a good time in New York.
Speaker 3 (47:37):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (47:38):
If you enjoyed this episode with Tim, please make sure
to follow Post Run High wherever you listen and share
this episode with a friend. Your support really helps us
keep bringing you inspiring stories like this one. Thank you
so much for listening, and I will see you guys
next week on Post Run High.
Hey, guys, it's your friend Kate Max and welcome back
to Post Run High. Today's guest is Tim Tebow. We
started the day together with a walk through Central Park
with his wife Demi before heading back to Tim's hotel
to record this podcast episode. And Guys, while we were
in the park, Tim and I threw the football around
(00:20):
a bit, and I think one of the best things
my dad taught me growing up was how to throw
a football. So shout out to my father John, because
my muscle memory definitely kicked in and I managed to
not embarrass myself in front of Tim. We filmed this
episode on November fourth, which was the same day Tim's
new book, Look Again, came out, so it was extra
special getting to hang out with him and Demi on
(00:41):
his book release day. In this conversation, we talk about
what fitness looks like for him now, becoming a dad
for the first time, his early life, his iconic college
football career, a bit on his time in the NFL,
what he's up to now, and what inspired his new.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Book, Look Again.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Today's episode with Tim is really an inspiring conversation that
reminds you what it means to live life with purpose
and It also showed me that Tim Tebow could make
an entire career out of just being a motivational speaker,
because he really is that good at talking. This is
Tim Tebow on Post Run High. Let's get into it.
(01:23):
Tim Tebow, Welcome to Post Run High.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Oh, thank you so much. I just I'm recovering a
little bit from our speed walk. Yep, it's aggressive. It
was fast as aggressive as some of the people that
bumped us on the way.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, the guy that almost took us out for running.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
For walking in the zoo almost got taken out.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Tim was like, not really.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
I feel like you were a little shocked, and I
felt like I got a little protective and slightly agitated
at that guy too, Like what do you have to
do that is that important? Or do you really think
you're running for gold right now? I know, Like it's
not just so down go to the side, It's okay,
pick back up. You know, the.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
People in ten Park, the runners and the bikers, get
really into it. So like normally I am so cautious
of not saying and not being in their way because
like I get it. But at the same time, yeah,
that was overwhelming.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
But I get it too. If like you're going for gold. Yeah,
but you're not. You're in between ninety four people in
Central Park.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yes, okay, guys, for context, we were just on a
walk in Central Park. It's about I don't even know
nine am. So it's prime running biking time. So yeah,
we were in the midst of a lot of a
lot of runners booking it.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And it was the three of us.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
It was Demi, Tim's wife, Tim and I and Jeremy,
my husband, walking in front of us.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
We gotta include Jeremy. Jeremy was part of it. Jeremy
was a give me the most talented ones. He was
filming why turning backwards first.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Jeremy did catch.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
A poll one time. I got the shoulder a little bit.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, we got. Today was epic. We both got to
throw the ball with Tim, which was pretty cool. I
throw the football. We brought that.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
We had that prop in our car from our bachelor
bachelorette party and it came in handy.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Well I guess it did.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah, yeah, okay, So we went on a walk.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
We normally start out this video either with a run
or a walk or some form of movement. We've done
so many different types of things, going to the gym
with people. So I love to start out the podcast
by just asking about everybody's kind of fitness. And you know,
I know we talked a little bit about this on
our walk, but you and your wife just had a baby.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Your daughter is.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Three months old, so you know, I'm curious what movement
looks like in your house right now and what it
looks like for you and you know how you guys
are prioritizing with the news.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Well, it's so important. Yeah, we really believe in it
for so many reasons. We really believe that taking care
of your body and being a good steward of it
and every way form and fashion is so important and
it's critical. It's critical to giving you the opportunity to
truly strive to be your best. You know, I really
believe that there's a lot of people that they want
(03:46):
to be their best, but they actually don't put in
the right fuel or the right sleep or the right
exercise to be their best. In other areas, maybe they're
so focused on business or their career or something, but
actually the right movement, the right sleep, the right fuel,
all of that is just going to make you better
with more clarity, with more energy, with more drive for
that thing that you're striving for. So I think it
(04:08):
is just it's crucial. I love that I've gotten a
chance to really train so much of my life because
I was trying to be my best for a game.
And a lot of people say, well, you're when you're
because you're done playing, you'll take it easy now, And
I say no, because a lot of it wasn't just
for a game. It's because I want to be the
best at everything that I get to do. I want
to be my best at everything that I get to do,
you know, especially when I'm doing things that are more
(04:30):
important than a game. And so if I would give
all that effort and diet and nutrition and everything to
a game, why would I give less for things that
are more important. And so taking care of our bodies
and taking care of our brains and focusing on sleep
and all of the things are so important to us.
And so it's also where we get a lot of
(04:50):
quality time. We love going to the gym together. We
love getting in there for edsana, We do the red light,
we do the EMF mats, we do the we have
a cold tub. Jimmy doesn't like that very much, So
it's just not a big fan. Every now and then
I'll talk her into it. We love going for walks,
We love getting the chance to have our coffee together
(05:12):
and find whichever protein we want to put into our coffee,
and and so it's just it's just been a fun
journey of something that we both love doing together. And
there's slight differences that we enjoy more, but it's like
we talk about it, it's fun. So it's really good
for quality time and it's good for our body and
our brain and relationship.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I mean, I completely agree. I feel like having a.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Partner that you can work out with and move your
body with is so good for your relationship dynamic.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I mean, I'm a big believer in it.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Jeremy and I go for runs together, we go for
walk together, we go to the gym together. So I
love knowing that that's a big part of your life.
And I do have to say, like I have, you know,
I have two brothers and a lot of friends that
played sports in college, not not professionally, but I you know,
hearing what you said about you know, obviously when you're
training for a sport, there is a lot of intensity
involved with that. From like what you're eating, to what
(06:02):
you're doing to work out on and off the field,
and a lot of people do kind of step away
from that type of lifestyle when they're done playing that sport,
but it is really nice knowing that you've stuck with
it and it just is a part of your lifestyle
because it is interesting, like I'm sure you have a
lot of friends that once they stepped away from the
game or from sports that they were playing at a
(06:22):
certain level, they kind of didn't prioritize fitness as.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Much because so many times you're training and training and training,
and it's very easy to get burnt out from it.
And so what's happened to, you know, some of my
friends and teammates is they've been burnt out, so when
they stop, they really want to take a break from it,
but then it actually slows down your drive for wanting
(06:45):
to do it. And I feel like if you can
push through it and you don't have to necessarily always
do with the same intensity or with the same kind
of vision or goal in mind, but doing enough to
have your body be active. And I think it's also
important to be around the right people that are doing it,
because if we're around the right people, it becomes contagious
and we want to do it. So like when we're
(07:06):
around friends we're playing pickleball, it's contagious. You want to play.
Then all of a sudden, it's two hours later and
you're like, we've been running for two hours, right. Or
we'll go to the field and we'll do sprints together
and then it's so fun because we're pushing each other
and Timmy's like, I don't know if I can do
a cut three hundred, and I'll be encouraging her and
I'll say the same thing and she'll be encouraging me.
And then we'll go to the gym and so it's
(07:28):
really about trying to be your best. But then it's
also about how the right people around you can inspire you,
which just means to be filled with the urge to
do something right. And so that inspiration when you're around
the right people, it does feel you with the urge
to do more, to be healthier, to go a little
bit further, to train a little bit more, because you
(07:49):
want to be your best for what you're pursuing, but
you want to be your best for them too. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
No, and I feel like it too.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
For you It's like when you stepped away from football,
you then leaned into being a sports analyst ones the
end in the SEC. So it's kind of like showing
up for game day in a different way, right, Like
you want to feel your best when you're on camera,
and I just feel like getting a good workout in
always makes it feel.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Always, it always helps, And I really do believe, and
I think there would be a lot of experts that
would back this up, but when you are exercising and
your strength training and you're you're doing the right exercises
that it actually gives you more clarity in your brain.
And that's so important. I think it gets missed a lot,
and it's just so important. And then we get into
(08:32):
you know, all of the right supplements and things to
do and that are good for your body but also
for your brain, you know, And I love that. Like
one of my favorite supplements is a supplement called an
iran that I found out by a bunch first heard
about a decade ago by a bunch of the Steelers
defense and I'm like, what is this. This is the
best defense in the NFL. And it's a supplemment that
(08:52):
that helps you focus and I'm like, this is awesome.
Why have I not used this my whole life and career?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Did you start using it? Of course I did. Yeah,
I'm like I.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Need it's awesome. But then so like me and Demmy,
we like, we'll study and we'll look at all stuff,
and we send stuff back and forth when I'm not
with her, she's not with me, And so then it
becomes a journey of like, Okay, what do you think
is best? And we talk about it. We have good conversations.
So I feel like it just continues, just the health
journey of learning and being like, man, we've done this
and it was wrong, or man, we've been doing this
(09:23):
by accident and this has been really good for us.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Okay, what are some of the things that you tried
out health and fitness wise that we're wrong and what
now is working for you?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Well, I would say it's wrong for us. Is early on,
you know, we were so many nutritionists would be like, okay,
before games are big practices. You got a car blowed
and I just am not a believer in that, And
so I got far away from that now and I'm
closer to what a ketogenic diet would look like. It's
a little bit different, probably closer to modified Atkins, but
(09:53):
people don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Speaking Brothers language.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
So it's really a low carb, low sugar, moderate protein,
and pretty high fat diet. And sometimes I'll up my
protein a little bit more. But I've really felt like
that has worked well for me and it's something that
I enjoy and it's easy for me to keep doing,
so I really like it. And plus I feel like
it gives me a whole lot of focus and I
(10:17):
guess brain energy would be a good way to say it.
And I just I love that.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Yeah, when you stepped away from football, what were you
most excited to kind of turn down with the fitness,
you know, because obviously it's an adjustment. It's like you're
not doing the same workouts that you were doing. I'm
sure when you were training, which were.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Honestly, sometimes I still did a lot of it, and
sometimes I got to remind myself. I'm like and almost
my subconscious like, I'm I'm not having to train to
go compete. I don't have to do this, you know,
three ret max today. I don't have to do it. Man,
I'm a little run down. I've been flying, I've been traveling,
you know, just get a quality workout in or just
(10:55):
get some movement, but don't kill yourself. Because one of
the things that I feel like I made the mistake
in years and years and years, and it took until
I found a few of the right trainers to help
me with this is one of the things I just
messed up on a lot was I was overtrained and
I was under recovered, and I just lived in a
state of being overtrained because I would wake up and
(11:16):
go train again, and wake up and train again, wake
up and train again, and I just thought, if some's good,
more is better. And so I just did a lot
to actually break down my own body and didn't actually
give myself enough time and nutrients and sleep to recover
because it was just work, work, work, to try to
be your best. But I could have learned at an
(11:38):
earlier age to work smarter than just harder.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Mm hmm, yeah, No, it's true.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
And I feel like that's something that a lot of
athletes have to like slowly figure out. And now with
some like technology like or rings and stuff, I feel
like it's a lot easier you have one, it's a
lot easier to track those types of stuff.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Sometimes it's actually super disappointing.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Your orring Yes, why what is your.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Because sometimes you wake up and I'm like, man, that
was a good night's sleep and it's like thirty six
minutes of deep sleep, and you're like, I know, it's
so depressing.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
My sleep was horrible last night because and I looked
and when I looked at my ordering same thing, I
was like, what I felt like I slept pretty good.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
And this is another area that Demmy crushes me at.
She'll sleep like some nights two or three hours less
than me for whatever reason, and it's like deep sleep
twice mine, rim sleep twice mine, like, and I'm like,
how in the world is this happening? Like it's she
just crushes me out. So I work a lot at
(12:35):
trying to figure out how I can sleep better.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yeah, I feel like sleep is like one of the
most important things to like feeling good in a day.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
It's actually wild how important it is.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
It's crazy, and you look at all of the studies
and what it does, and it's actually one of the
things that gets me a little bit frustrated with the
education system of our young people is there are so
many schools that are telling these kids that you need
to wake up at five point thirty because you have
to get on the bus or you have to leave,
and you have to be a class, you know, starting
(13:04):
at seven, and then they're going to have after school curriculum,
they're gonna have homework. And now there's there in these
peak years of development and they're not getting the sleep.
And so a lot of kids that are around us
and nieces and nephews, and I just encourage them, like no,
that that class is not as important as you getting
(13:24):
two more hours of sleep. I really believe that, And
it's one of the things that I am for education.
I am pro it, I am, but I am not
it to the detriment of young people not getting sleep.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Yeah, So okay, Tim Tebow, what time should we be
sleeping until in the morning?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
What should we like? What time should kids be sleeping?
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I would not be the best expert, and I would
not There are a lot of better experts on me
than that. Ye like doctor Aman who I had just
got to meet with last week. You know, he'd be
a good one to talk to you, because I'm going
to pitch for so many But I would say push
it back to like a nine. But then I also
encourage them to get to sleep at like a ten
(14:04):
pm or nine pm, so that you are for young people,
you should be getting at least a minimum of eight hours,
but closer to a nine or ten, especially when you're
growing and developing and hitting puberty. Like it's just so important.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
A little bit different.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
But sometimes I think about this, like when I sleep
in on a weekday until like nine or eight thirty,
which is rare, I feel like now I'm getting up
a lot earlier. But when I sleep into those times
on a weekday, I think to myself, I'm like, damn,
Like there's high school and middle school students out here
are getting up at six thirty. If I can't get
up and these kids can, like, what am I doing
with my life?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
But I think that's one of the things I have
to reframe our brain, and that is not being lazy.
It's actually being productive. It is helping your And now
you're seeing so many studies about how it helps in
longevity and fighting aging and how sleep is just so
important and I need help. So maybe y'all have good
tips and tricks. I try to sleep in and I can't.
(14:57):
I just wake up.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Well, I have a baby, so it's like and.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
That just adds to it. But it's like, oh man,
I can sleep until eight right five am? Boom, yeah,
wide awake, Like dang it, I just want to sleep
for a few more hours.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Gosh, get this guy, get this guy some let me sleep.
Meant that Phil said those things are magic? Really yeah,
let me sleep. This is so good.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
It's never heard. Oh okay, what is it like melatonin?
Speaker 1 (15:20):
It's like, I think it's like melatonin. There's also magnesium
in it. But I swear when I take them, I
feel like I'm like having some sort of like witch
potion because the way you sleep.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
On it is insane. So maybe try those out.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Okay, Okay, Well I'm curious. Did you grow up with
parents that were really active, Like, how did you, at
a young age get so into sports.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Well, I'm the baby of five and a missionary family,
and I mean you kind of learned to just compete
to get food off of the table. And our family
and our family is so in degree competitive that it
kind of blow your mind. Like sometimes when we're together
for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we won't even play like board
games because you know how it's going to end. It's
(16:10):
just so intense, but it is also some of my
favorite memories. Like, we love very intense and we compete
the same way, and so I love it. But my
whole family was so competitive. And one of the things
that I love being the baby of five and having
siblings that are three, six, nine, and twelve years older
(16:31):
than me is they would never let me win. And
I'm so grateful for that, because I'm competing against you know,
brothers and sisters that are older than me, and they
won't let me win. And so you know, when you
do win, it's because you've earned it and that you're
you're finding ways to adapt and finding ways even though
you might be smaller or not as strong or all
(16:53):
these other things. But it taught you so much. So
then you go compete against kids your own age and
you're like, man, this is easier. And so that was
really helpful, helpful for me. But then also just a
mom and a dad that were very active. And my
mom would take her little two pound weights and she
would walk several miles every morning and and she would,
(17:16):
I mean every morning. And now she still gets in
the pool and she swims back and forth and she
does all her exercises she's so disciplined and consistent. And
my dad was always someone that's very active, even though
it wasn't ever about lifting weights, but just just going
to work and being so active wherever we were, whatever
we were doing. And one of the things that my
dad did that was so special for me was he
(17:41):
just always supported us so much in every way he
could with our dreams, of most importantly believing in us.
Like truly, he was the biggest advocate of speaking life
into me and believing in me. And I can't tell
you how many times, in games and practices and moments
(18:01):
of disappointment, I would hear my mom and my dad's
voice in my head. I would hear their words of encouragement.
I would hear the songs they sang. I would hear
the prayers they prayed. I would hear the words of
belief in my head.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
What were some of those things that they would be
saying to you in your head? Like, what were the
things replaying for you?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I was a miracle baby, and the doctors wanted to
abort me, and they didn't think I was even a baby.
At first, I thought I was a tumor. And then
there was all these issues and My mom even went
to a coma for part of the pregnancy, and she
had amba dysentery and the placenta wasn't I only had
a tiny bit that was attached. And my parents just
(18:43):
trusted God and gave me a chance. And I was
a miracle baby that was malnourished. But I was very
but I made up for it quickly.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Yes, And I was gonna say.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
My first nickname from my siblings was actually Timmy the tumor,
so I had that going for me. It's not an
easy nickname to break, but I tell that story to
say that. Then my parents would always before I go
to bed, they would sit on the edge of my
bed and they would say, Hey, Timmy, I want you
to know God spared you for a reason because you
have a great purpose in life. There's a reason that
(19:15):
you're here. There's people that you get to impact. There's
something great that you can do. God's given you abilities.
Will you use it? But then will you use it
to help people? And over and over and over and
over and over? And you know what happens when you
hear something over and over and over again, You start
to believe in You start to believe that you can
(19:35):
make a difference. You start to believe that you can
strive for something. You start to truly believe, even though
there's no evidence yet that you could do something of
significance and meaning. And I'm just so grateful for it.
But then my dad also so many ways backed it
up and believing in us when we're never blessed with
(19:58):
a lot of money or you know, my my parents
just gave everything to be able to help those that
could never do anything for them, and it's one of
the reasons they are my greatest heroes. But for example,
one Christmas, I'd asked my dad if I could get
some weight so I could train to try to be
my best because I, you know, I first learned about
(20:20):
weight training how important it is for an athlete, and
we just couldn't afford to buy weights. So my dad
stayed up for nights and nights in a row welding
together different weights from some PVC pipes and some other
things that people gave him, and then put together a
weight set. And I still have some of that in
(20:41):
my parents' house in our barn to this day. And
I you know, it wasn't fancy, but there was a
level of determination I had when I went in there,
because I thought, Man, if my dad went to that
work to do this for me, then I am going
to use this till at rust And now if you
walk in there, it's all rusty, but it has so
(21:01):
much meaning to me. And there was also a mentality
that came with it. Now there's a lot of kids
that have fancy weight sets and gym memberships, but what
shows up and here is heart and determination and grit.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
That can't be taught.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Yeah, I can't pay for it, and it really can't
be taught. It has to come from within you.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
And what I think it can be shown. I don't
think it can be taught in the sense of just
learning a lesson, but shown. And I get to see
a level of grit and even a different way from
my parents, a level of grit and what they were doing,
a level of determination when other people would tell them,
they're crazy, you can't do this, Why would you do this?
Why would you move to the Philippines with four kids
and have a fifth one over there? That's crazy, you know.
(21:45):
But they were so called and they believed in it
so deeply, and it's so contagious when you're around people
like that.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Absolutely, and I feel like too.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
It's you know, especially now it's like you have a daughter,
you know, I feel like there's often times like for
our kids, it's like we want them to feel so
comfortable and we want to give them everything that they
need to succeed at the things that they.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Show interest in.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
But from your experience, you know, it's kind of like
there's a double edged sword a.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Little bit right, Yes, there's such a double edged short
with it. You do. Like, man, we want to be
able to provide and protect everything we possibly can for Daphne,
But at the same time, it's we learn so much
from struggle. We learn so much from setbacks. We learn
so much from like think about how the body develops
(22:34):
and lifting weights, it tears down and it builds back stronger.
That's also how resilience is built and determination in the
right mindset. And so yes, we do want to protector
from everything, but there's some things that you really shouldn't
protect her from. There's some things that hey, you know,
you get knocked down, like uh, more than just maybe
(22:56):
helping her up, it's that we would speak that life
into it or weird say you can do this, you
can get back up, because life's going to knock you
down and there's gonna be obstacles. But we love you
so much, regardless. God loves you so much, regardless. We
believe in you. Strive to be your best, not strive
to be the best. Strive to be your best, because
(23:19):
when you're striving to be the best and something, it
doesn't mean it's always wrong. But we live in a
society that so quickly looks at comparing to one another.
I saw one study that said twelve percent of our
daily thoughts are spent in some form of comparison. And
if we live a life of comparison, we're going to
live a life of not being grateful. Because I don't
believe that you can be grateful and be comparing yourself
(23:41):
to others at the same time. And we can go
back and forth, but I don't think you can do
them at the same time, because you're really when you're
you're comparing yourself to others, it's implying to God that God.
I wish I looked like her, I wish I could
play like him, I wish I was on that team,
I wish I had that job. And so I think
compare and kills joy, it kills your spirit, and it
(24:03):
kills being grateful for something. And so we want to
be grateful and be grateful for what we've been blessed
with and strive to be our best with it, not
necessarily strive to be the best, because then you're comparing. Now. Obviously,
if you're playing a sport, you want to be the
best in.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
It, right, Yeah, But I do think comparison can kill
potential in a big way too. Totally sitting there with
you know, welded weights in your family's garage, right while
comparing yourself to these other kids whose parents were paying
for personal trainers and fancy gym memberships, then you would
have never gotten to the level that you were at,
right because.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
You totally believe that. Yeah, being able to compete against
my older siblings and being able to use what my
parents so kindly and lovingly provided for us, and the
support they did. But I would also say it was
more than just the weights. It was the life that
they spoke, the belief, the support for us in our dreams.
(25:01):
Almost I sound so silly, but the wind that we
felt behind us from their love and support, it's propelling
and it's contagious, and because you know how much they
love you, you really believe that I can endure more
like I can keep going, I can pursue, I can
(25:22):
fall down and I can get up, and I know
they're going to love me the same. But I want
to honor them, and I want to honor God, and
I want to honor the people that have supported me
along the way. And sometimes the greatest voice that was
in my head or my heart was the one that
was saying, I just don't want to let them down.
(25:43):
I don't want to let my loved ones down. I
don't want to let my teammates down. And I actually
believe most of the time that voice is stronger than
the one that says, I I want this championship, I
want this And I really think if you talk to
a lot of people that are in line of service
or places of the military, so many times you'll hear
(26:04):
from them. And I have some friends that have served
in some of the hardest places around the world, and
they're saying, man, one of the greatest driving forces was
my brother or sister beside me, you know, and you're
doing it for them. And I feel like many times
that is a stronger compelling desire to support them. Then
it's when it this is just for me. And if
you're doing it for just for you and you don't
(26:25):
feel like it, guess what you ain't going to do it?
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Well, that's the beauty of growing up with five siblings
and also falling in love with team sports, right as
you kind of naturally have that mentality. And that's why
in the workforce, I think hiring people that played team
sports is such a good height.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
I love it, so we do it all the time,
Like it's so important. Do you understand what a team
looks like? Right? Do you understand the difference between I
and a we and you know and me and a team.
And it's important that you represent the name on the
back of your jersey, but it's just as important that
you represent the name on the front of your jersey.
(27:00):
And it's so easy for so many teams to put
on the same jersey, but it doesn't really make them
a team. What makes a great team is when you
have the same vision, the same dream, the same mindset,
and you're all willing to suffer for it together and
now there's a bond that's created. And I really believe
(27:21):
most of the time. Those are the special teams, not
just putting on the same jersey, having the same dream,
the same mission, the same vision, and we're all chasing
for that. We all come from different walks of life,
different backgrounds, different beliefs, different cultures, different communities, but it's like, no,
we're coming together for this. That's why I also believe
that if you look at the great teams, it's a
great example of what our society should do more of,
(27:46):
of actually coming together with so many different walks of
life and backgrounds and beliefs, but man, we come together
with that vision and we're all united for that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
United purpose is so it's so important and it's transformative,
and it makes me think. You had a really famous speech.
It's not longer than thirty seconds, right, but it's the
promise speech that you gave after was it you were
as were playing was it Oklahoma?
Speaker 2 (28:08):
St Old? Miss Okay?
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Sorry, and you gave a speech called the Promise Speech
that got a lot of recognition and it actually united
your team in a really big way.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Right. Well, I don't know if it united I think.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
But I was watching a little documentary where one of
your teammates said it really inspired him and I don't know,
so tell us a story behind the promise speech.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Well, it's my junior year of college and we fell
short at home against Ole Miss, and we had it
just a great team. And I really believe that as
a leader, it is so important that you don't just
lead by inspiring, but you also lead with humility. And
(28:51):
you're the first one to say I was wrong, and
you're not the one that always says I have all
the answers. So many times we think that the leader
always has to have the answer, and I disagree. I
think the leader needs to be one that helps find
the right answers, but doesn't mean they always have to
have them in And when we lost that game, I
was heartbroken. I just felt like I let my team
(29:11):
down as the leader, I let the Gator Nation down,
I let my family down, and I sat in my
locker for a long time, but I knew I had
to go talk to the media and I just didn't
want it to be the status quo. But I also
truly believe in my heart I did something wrong. I
was just not the leader, the ambassador for my family,
(29:33):
for the team, for Gator Nation that I should have
been and so I went in there and answered some questions,
but I knew I had to share this from my heart,
and so I started by saying I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry.
I started with an apology because I believe that when
you do something wrong, what you should do is apologize.
And that does not mean you say I apologize. It
(29:54):
means you say I'm sorry. And so I said it
twice because I wanted to be clear that I am sorry.
And then a lot of people say, man, it's so
cool because you then you promised that y'all were never
going to lose, you were going to win the national
championship and all this, and they don't actually listen.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
I know you guys had a winning streak at the time.
That was what you were defending.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
We did, and then we went on to win the
rest of the games and win the national championship. But
I didn't promise anything that I didn't believe that we
could could guarantee. I didn't promise we would win all
of our games. I didn't promise we would win the
national championship, even though that's a lot of people took it.
What I tried to promise was that we were going
to be the hardest working team and I was going
to be the hardest working player the rest of this year.
(30:38):
And because I believe that was something that we could control.
You get to control every day your attitude, your effort,
and your focus. And we were going to be a
team that controlled that at such a high level, to
such a high extent, that we were going to be
a team that embraced the grind, that we lived on
the edge, that we weren't showing up, and dude, we
(31:00):
were going to show up and it was going to
be extreme. And the next day, a bunch of the
leaders called a meeting together and we talked and hashed
a lot of things out. We went out in practice
and it was an extremely intense, violent practice. And after
that practice, I think if you ask a lot of
players on the team, they would probably say, I think
we'll win the championship. And it really wasn't because of
(31:24):
you know, we had amazing coaches, but it really wasn't
because of that. But it was the ownership that the
players took of. No, we own this, it's our faught
but watch now the attitude, the effort, and the focus.
And I think it was also cool to see how
so many players adapted and grew and learned. And I
think that's one of the things that is really hard,
(31:46):
is when you're really good, to go from really good
to great?
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Yeah, And what was that like for you, like, you know,
after committing to that so publicly, right, I'm sure there's
a lot of pressure all of a sudden on your
back to then live up to that.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
It gets hyped and praised now and they have it
like as blacks in the stadium, but there's a lot
of people at the time that they didn't like it.
I remember, I go and I put my hoodie on,
and I go and get in an elevator, like literally
fifteen minutes after the interview, and at the last second,
a bunch of reporters walk in and I have my
hoodie because I really don't want to talk to them,
and they walk in and they close the elevator and
(32:22):
we're going up and I'm going to watch some film,
and they're like, man, can you believe Teboh gosh, it's
kind of crazy what he said on kind of all
like this. It was not how they kind of refer
to it now. And so it's interesting sometimes. And we
were talking about this earlier. Sometimes when you try to
stand for something, they might not understand it or agree
(32:42):
with it, or even criticize you in the moment. But
it's not about letting them speak in to you. It
is about living by that conviction. And I was convicted
that I needed to apologize and apologize to my teammates
and apologize to Gator Nation and then not just say that,
but go show how it's going to be different. And
that's what we went on the journey of doing as
(33:02):
a team, of showing how it was going to be different.
And if you looked at the way we played the
rest of the year, it wasn't always because we were
just better than everybody else, although I do believe we
were a really good team. It was also because there
was a level of grit, toughness, endurance that we were
one of the best teams for a long time in
(33:23):
the fourth quarter, Like we were losing in the SEC
Championship in the fourth quarter, but there was a mental toughness.
We were tied in the National Championship in the fourth quarter,
and you know, there was this different level of grit
of going back to that attitude, that effort, and that focus,
and that was a team that was so special in
all the areas because I think, yes, the physical talent
(33:46):
and the coaches and the scheme and all of it,
but then I think the mental toughness was one of
my favorite parts about that special team.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Yeah, and the heart that goes into kind of showing
up and playing. What was the hardest part about playing
up to that bar that you set for yourself that
year kind of in all your years in college, Because
sometimes I look at these college players and I'm like, man,
they're so young, you know, like twenty nineteen, twenty twenty one,
twenty two. You guys are kids out there playing and
(34:12):
setting such high bars for yourself, and you have all
these fans that are a lot older than us. Right,
you're kind of playing an adult game, criticizing you and
watching everything you do, but also loving you. So what
was it like kind of living up to that bar?
Speaker 3 (34:24):
I think that year we did a really good job
of blocking out the noise and playing with the chip
on our shoulder. I think the next year, after we
had won another championship, we let the noise speak into
us a little too much, and we were playing with
such a weight and not playing free. But when we
were playing our best what was special about it? And
(34:45):
one of the mentalities I tried to focus on was like,
let's say I'm walking out of the tunnel. I'm not
looking around at the crowd, although I love feeding off
of it. I'm not thinking about the hype of the game.
I'm not thinking about what our rankings are, what this
game means. What I'm thinking about is to focus on
(35:06):
the smallest common denominator it possibly cancel. When I run
out of the tunnel, I literally run from the tunnel
to the thirty yard line. I do three jumps. I
run from the thirty yard line to the goal line
three times. I do three passes I do Is.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
That a superstition threes?
Speaker 3 (35:20):
No, It's just I just wanted to be to get
warmed up, to feel my best, and now do three snaps.
And then I would go and I would go through
our first fifteen plays, and I'll do this the things
that I dent over and over and over again, I
would just try to do them better and better and
better and better and better, because I think one of
the things that happens when you let pressure gets to
it is you stop and you look and you smell
(35:40):
the roses and you look at the hype, But why
do that? Hey, no, just focus. This is who we're
going against. This is what we need to do. This
is how we have to attack them. This is how
we have to rally people together. We're not looking at
the environment, We're not looking at the moment. We're looking
at the opponent, and we're keeping our eyes fixed and
we focus on that and focus on the task at hand.
(36:02):
And that's when I believe that we were our best,
is that there was an edge to that, to the
task at hand. And I feel like there's too many
times I know when when I fall in shortened areas
that you just look at it and you think, oh, well,
what's gonna happen? Why let your brain go there? Oh
what will they say? Why let your brain go there?
Oh well what about what if? Why let your brain
(36:25):
go there? You can't control it? Why are you worrying
about it? It just creates anxiety, and that's gonna slow
you down, it's gonna weight you down, it's gonna make
your heart pump a little bit faster. No, just focus
on the same game you've been playing for so many years.
Focus on the read, the task at hand. What do
you need to do because you've done it a thousand times,
just do it one more and do it a little
(36:46):
bit better.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
It also seems like when you're playing at that level
and you have so many fans in the stadium kind
of watching you, guys obviously or like, yeah, there's noise,
they're getting hyped up, they're excited.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
You have to be really good at compartmentalizing.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
Yes, I think compartmentalizing is so important in sports, but
I also think it's really important in life. I think
it is so important that you're able to go from
a meeting to a meeting to a meeting that you're
especially if you're in a place of leadership, that you
can adjust, that you can be able to Maybe there's
a big burden that you're carrying it, but you don't
(37:28):
need to place it on everybody. So I got to
compartmentalize that burden. I got to hold it over here
because I don't need to place it on the whole team.
And then I got to go be with them and
do all of this. But then I can go back
and start to work on this thing. I think it's
just so important. You know, we see it as a parent,
right You don't want to. You know, times I don't
want to place a burden on Demi of something that
maybe I'm going through. We both won't want to do
(37:49):
that for Daphne. You know, it's just as a family,
when you're going through things as a family, when loved
ones are getting sick and they're fighting through things, you
don't want to place a burden. And so I think
compartmentalizing is just so important, and sometimes it's talked about
even as a bad thing. And I think sometimes there's
times that we compartmentalize too much and we don't share,
and you know, sometimes you hold on to something just
(38:12):
and that's not always healthy. But I really believe it
can be a worked on skill set that can really
help you in a lot of areas of life.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Your dad was a pastor, right, yeah, pastor mission missionary.
So were your parents like sports fans or did they
become sports fans.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
My parents were totally sports fans. Like when I was born,
I started bleeding orange and blue. My parents' first date
was the Florida Georgia game, and it was my grandfather's
dream to see Florida win an SEC championship. So they
were big sports fans. So they were probably bigger Jesus fans,
bigger Jesus.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
Fans, so they were probably so excited when they saw
their son at Florida, just crushing.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
Yeah, well, they so loved it. But honestly, one of
the things that was so special, even though they were
diehard Florida fans, when it came to me being recruited
and figuring out where I was to go play play football,
they never one time spoken to it to try to
influence me. Never one time. If anything, they did the opposite,
which really frustrated me, is because they would just always
(39:13):
say over and over and over again, we love you
and we trust you, we trust whatever decision you want
to make, we love you and we trust you. We're
going to trust whatever decision you want to make. And
I'm like, no, I want your input. But they just
did not want to sway me. They wanted to be
my decision and they were going to support me, but
they didn't want me to choose Florida because they were
Gator fans. That doesn't mean that it's right for me.
(39:36):
And honestly, I didn't choose Florida because I was a
Gator fan. Honestly, I know it's hard for people to believe,
but it had absolutely nothing to do. Like coach Meyer
came in my senior year of high school to Florida,
and before that they weren't in the top fifty and
he really changed that because he came in and Mickey
(39:58):
and Mullen and Murati and all these coaches and it's
change your coaching staff, and it was about the people.
And then it was just a blessing that it was
also a school that I happen to love so much
and that made the decision right for me. And the
style of offense and all of that played into it.
But my parents were just so I think, helpful but
at the same time, never pushy.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
All Right, I want to fast forward a little bit
because you went from having this rock star college career
to playing in the NFL for a few years, and
then you made the decision to leave the NFL and
go into sport, becoming a sports analyst for ESPN and
the SEC, which I think is so awesome expressing your
love for the sport in a different way. But was
the decision to officially leave football do a little bit
of a baseball career, Like what was the decision like
(40:41):
to go for a football, they.
Speaker 3 (40:43):
Just still leave it. I sort of got cut a
bunch of times too, so I had I go in
for me, so sort of like a forced leave to
a certain extent. But I was so fortunate that I
got to instantly be an analyst at ESPN and for
SEC Nation and SEC Network, and then I got to
also at the same time pursue baseball, which I loved,
(41:04):
and just gotten to do so many things. And one
of the things that I just really believe in is
that when you feel a pricking of your heart and
passion for something, I don't believe the worst thing is
striving and failing. I believe the worst thing is doing
nothing and then living with regret of what if. And
(41:25):
so I've really tried in a lot of areas and
fallen short many times, but tried in a lot of
areas to pursue it and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.
But at least you could leave and say, you know,
I gave it a really good effort. You know.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
We talked a little bit about purpose earlier and how
your parents at a young age were saying, like, there's
a reason you're.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Here, you have a purpose.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
How would you say, your purpose changed over the years,
Like are there kind of chapters that you can pinpoint
and be like, this was my purpose, then this is
it now?
Speaker 2 (41:54):
And you know what, I.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
Think it really started when I was fifteen and I
met a boy in the Jungles of the Philippines on
a trip who was born with his feet on backwards
and because of that, he was treated and viewed as
less than insignificant and cursed, and they literally treated him
as equal to the trash. And I just fell in
love with that boy, and I knew that he wasn't
(42:15):
a throwaway to God, and I really felt like God
was pricking my heart saying, yeah, but what are you
going to do about it? I don't want you to
just feel something for him, what are you going to
do about it? And I knew that I love sports,
that I loved winning and I hated losing even more,
and I was pursuing the game and trying to win
and championships and MVPs and all of this. But it
(42:38):
was hard to verbalize at the time, but I guess
to say what I was feeling was it was almost
like God pricking my heart saying, you're chasing MVPs the
most valuable player. I have a more important MVP for
you to chase, and it's the most vulnerable people. But
which one will you care about more? Which one are
going to mean more to you in your life? And
(42:58):
that's been a constant journey of starting at fifteen and
then multiple stories in college that impacted my life. And
the first thing I did when I graduated from Florida
was start the foundation with the mission statement to bring faith,
open love to those needing a brighter day and their
darkest hour. Need to really sum it up as a
fight for people that can't fight for themselves. And when
(43:20):
we did that, honestly, the first thing we got was
a lot of criticism because people were like, well, that's
really kind of you, Timmy, but you won't be successful
because it's too broad. You can't have something that broad.
You need to be specific. It's either going to be
hospital care or orphan care or special needs care. And
(43:41):
we said now were called to do all of them.
And then adding on to that a couple of years
later was a fight against human trafficking and that's been
something it's been a constant journey for me of learning
and growing and being evolved and having my purpose, impact
my heart and God using it, but also also realizing
(44:01):
along the way that I didn't lose the ability to
compete or the chance to compete. I just get to
compete for something more important.
Speaker 1 (44:11):
Now. Yeah, you get to take your competitive spirit and
channel it in a different way.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
And that's the beauty of being a lifelong competitor.
Speaker 3 (44:18):
Right, Yes, and now so many of those traits that
were built and learned in sports now get to be
applied to something more important.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Yeah, the world needs more people with that athlete mentality. Well,
let's talk about your new book. It's called Look Again.
It comes out literally today, right, it's launching today. So
I feel honored to be sitting there with you. This
is how many books have you written? This is your
fourth book or a couple more than that. But okay, good,
all right, all right, so you've written a few books.
Tell us about this book. It's called Look Again. Recognize
your worth, Renew your hope, Run with confidence.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Yeah. I just think it is so important that right
now in our society that we stop and we look again.
We look again at ourselves and stop viewing ourselves from
what the world says. We look again at other people
and stop viewing them for what everybody else says about them,
for their past, for what they've done or haven't done,
but we would truly look at them for their God
given worth and value. And right now in our society,
(45:10):
it is so easy for us to value or devalue
people based on their opinion, what they have done or
what they haven't done. But if we're going to evaluate
people on their opinion or their achievement, then that also
means it's a sliding scale. And what happens when you
disagree with them is their value less. And I believe
(45:32):
absolutely not that every single person has equal value and worth,
and I believe that every person is made in the
image of God and they should be treated that way.
And so my heart with Look Again was to really
challenge all of us, starting with myself, because how many
times have I looked by? Have I looked around or
looked past somebody that I should have seen and should
have helped? So what do we actually stop? Would we
(45:54):
look again? What do we recognize our worth? Because when
we recognize our worth, there's going to be something that happens.
It's going to renew our hope, there's going to be
a joy that takes place. And now, when I have
a hope, I can run with the confidence. I can
run after what I've been called to what my purpose is.
With a confidence because I know my worth, I don't
(46:15):
have to listen to other people and what they say.
And I have this hope and so I can run
after what I've been called to. But then what happens
is if I recognize my worth, it renews my hope.
I'm running with the confidence. Guess what, I'm also running
towards people to remind them of their worth and so
they can have a hope, so they can live with
a confidence. And it's been something for about four years
(46:36):
that has really been on my heart that I've been
wanting to share, and I really hope and pray two
things for it. One is that it will be one
of the most encouraging things people will ever read. And
the second will be that it will be one of
the most challenging things that people will ever read. That
when you start actually knowing your own worth and then
(47:00):
you see somebody else doubting theirs or hurting or being
treated as less than, then it's going to challenge you
to do something about it, to go serve uplift and
care for somebody so that they would know theirs well.
Speaker 1 (47:14):
I am so excited to read the book. I just
got a copy in the mail today so I cannot
wait to read it myself.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
Thank you so much, pleasure, Thanks for.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
Walking and talking with awesome Yes, and thanks for inviting
Demi onto our walk. It was it was really she
crushed it and it was so special to be with
the two of you together and then be able to
sit down here with you and just talk.
Speaker 3 (47:33):
Even more so, such a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
Thanks you have a good time in New York.
Speaker 3 (47:37):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (47:38):
If you enjoyed this episode with Tim, please make sure
to follow Post Run High wherever you listen and share
this episode with a friend. Your support really helps us
keep bringing you inspiring stories like this one. Thank you
so much for listening, and I will see you guys
next week on Post Run High.
Host
Kate Mackz
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