October 20, 2025 • 29 mins
Luke Falk, former WSU and NFL quarterback joins Jessamyn to talk about his efforts in helping athletes focus on what's outside the hashmarks - mental strength. He delves into the importance of it through his own experience, and tells us why he's helping more people beyond the field.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into Seattle Voice.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
This is Jesson and McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice,
your community voice, presented by iHeartRadio here in Seattle, and
today I have the pleasure of being joined by someone
who I covered throughout his career at Washington State University.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
One of the best quarterbacks I've ever.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Seen, and oh, I would say one of the best
people I've ever met as well.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Luke falk is joining me. Luke, thank you for your time.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hey, I appreciate it, and I think those are stretches
on both of those, butkkoks happy beyond.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Okay, Well, you're You've always been a humble person, and
I think that is what brought you to the career
that you currently are in right now. Obviously, you had
your time in the NFL post Washington State and you
learned a lot from it.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So tell me about what you are doing now.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Yeah. Well, I'm having a lot of fun doing it.
It's called mind strength coaching, and I help athletes, coaches,
you know, even parents of athletes, people in business, really
any field, strengthen their mindset so so often, especially in athletics,
we work so hard on all the physical skills and tools,
which is great you know, you need some level of
(01:13):
baseline training to be able to play your sport at
a competent level. But at a certain point, you know,
the thing that's really going to allow you to excel
in your sport comes between you know, your ears, and
too oftentimes it's overlooked and it's not trained. And you know,
quite frankly, it was the perfect ingredient for me that
(01:35):
helped me go from an unconfident kid to somebody who's
you know, setting Pack twelve records. And then when I
quit using it and I quit strengthening it, then you know,
we saw how short my NFL care was due to that.
So I just think it's you know, I really think
there's a mind strength movement going on. There's so much
chaos going on in the world. There's so much noise,
(01:55):
there's so many places outside that are just a big
source of interference, and you know, what are we doing
to really strengthen our internal systems? And to me, what
mind strength is about is about being able to master
your inner world so you can handle anything in the
external world. And it's very fulfilling for me. I was
in college coaching, I was fortunate enough to be the
(02:17):
offensive coordinator in Northern Iowa for a short stint. And
you know what I really love about this, though, is
whether the athlete's done at nineteen twenty five or forty five,
they're always going to have mind strength with them forever.
You know, it's going to be in every arena. It's
going to be in their business and their marriage and
everyday life versus you know, when I was working with quarterbacks,
(02:39):
it's like, yeah, it's cool to be able to get
them to throw spiral and to get them to throw
fifty or sixty yards or whatever. But when they're done playing,
what good is that skill unless they're coaching and so me,
it's very fulfilling having this mind strength be not only
what can help them on the field, but most importantly
in the arena of life. That's what that's what really
lights me up.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, I love hearing you lit up because I saw
you light it up on the field, But now knowing
that you're doing it in another way.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
It's pretty great.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Can you take me back to exactly what you felt
you didn't have what between the ears when it came
to the NFL.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Well, you know, I just quit working on so you know,
let me just fast forward or let me go back.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, yeah, I want the whole story, Luke, I want.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Yeah, we'll go. We'll go the whole, the whole shebang here.
So if anybody watched me play, hey, they know that.
Really I'm a terrible athlete in comparison to those that
I'm playing with.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
You're too old, man.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I didn't have a strong arm, I wasn't fast at all.
Is probably the slowest player on the field. And but
what allowed me to play at a at a decently
high level is I started working with supports psychologists. I
started training my mind like I trained my body. And
I used to get so nervous going into situations and games,
and I used to have a belief system that I
(03:57):
wasn't clutch, and you know, all these all these negative
internal stories that were just driving negative responses. And then
I wasn't playing that great. And I worked so hard physically,
like I don't think there was a high school kid
in my area at least that was working as hard
as me, but I wasn't reaping the rewards. Because really,
when it comes down to performance and really just quality
(04:20):
of life is do you have the key to unlock
what you've worked so hard? For and that key to
me is mind strength. That key to me is being
able to master your internal world and the dialogue that
you tell yourself and be able to calm yourself down
and get yourself into a great emotional state and so
to be able to respond. So I worked on it very,
(04:40):
very hard, and I did everything that my mind strength
coach is asking of me, and I got to you know,
I saw incredible results from really twenty thirteen till twenty sixteen. Well,
then twenty seventeen rolls around and I got a little
too big for my bridges. I allowed the trappings of
(05:01):
success to come in. I didn't work as hard. I
didn't I complained, I blamed, I did things that you
know I was I was coached to not do. And
you know, it's a great lesson for me that mind
strength isn't and you get to this destination and you're good. No, No,
it's a journey. It's like if you don't brush your
teeth every day, your teeth will rt. Well, that's kind
(05:22):
of what happens with mind strength. If you don't utilize it,
don't work on it, they won't be there for you
when you need it. And when I got to the NFL.
I had quit. I had quit being as diligent on
the things that I had practice and I had been
coached on. And I enjoyed my paycheck. I enjoyed, I relaxed.
I just I didn't do the things that I needed
to to play at a high level. And if you
(05:44):
really want to dive into it, it's because my my
motivation wasn't there. I had been so externally motivated to
be like my people, to be at the top of
this mountain, to feel like I was good enough. And
you know, I had some I had some decent accolades
at Washington State. I had achieved what I wanted to
achieve besides the PAC twelve championship, and I felt, you know,
(06:06):
I felt empty when I when I had achieved those things,
it didn't give me what I was looking for. And
so my motivation to do what I had done. And
you know, you know the people always talk about, well, hey,
you're one of the most disciplined people that each was
discussing and all this, why wasn't my senior year I didn't.
I didn't do the things that had put me in
a position to be successful. My motivation had ran out
(06:28):
and so yeah, it's a long winded answer, but I
view it as a great apprenticeship now. So I look
back on it, it's like I liked playing I wouldn't
say that I was in love with playing football. I
was in love with what it could get me, or
at least I thought, you know, which is totally probably
counter to what people know me as.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Right.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
They know me as like stoic, robotic, almost type of individual.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I would go with stoic over robotically.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Yeah, were people like, well, you know, I don't care
what people think. Oh, I definitely did. That's how I
That's what That's what filled me up. And I would
ride the emotional highs and lows of the outcome. And
I lived on what I call this teeter totter trap
of just the highs and loves of sport, the highs
and lows of the external stuff. And you know it
just it wore me out. It wore me out. And
what I love doing right now, what I'm in love
(07:20):
doing right now is helping people unlock their full potential,
people just like me, people who struggle with confidence, or
people who are you know, succeeding at high levels but
being able to build a foundation where it's going to last.
That's that's what lights me up. So I'm internally motivated
to do it. Therefore I the discipline that it takes,
I continue to put forth that effort. I'm going to
(07:42):
be able to do it for a long long time.
Not to say I'm not externally motive, of course I am.
Of course I want to be the best of what
I'm doing. Of Course I want to be a best
selling author with my new book and all these things.
But the motivation switch, it's more internal than external driving
this rather than as a player. Was dang near all external.
And when when I had achieved all those things, you know,
(08:05):
all that stuff burned up. It's like kindling. You know,
you need some logs in there, a few logs that
love the internal motivation. You need some of that. It's
great to have kindling to get it going. It's a
good combo. But if you only have kindling, you won't
have a long fire, and you won't have grit, and
you won't have the things that it takes to have
sustain success.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Well, Luke falk is joining me.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Jessamin McIntyre here, your host of Seattle Voice, and if
you want your voice heard. You can always email Seattle
Voice at iHeartMedia dot com, and thank you so much
for you know, really taking us through your own journey
and everything that you were saying. I think applies beyond
sports because I you know, I was a college athlete
as well, you know, volleyball. It's not really I wasn't
(08:46):
going to be on the beach for post college or
anything like that. But I understand the mentality of that
external satisfaction that you get, and also that swings both ways.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
It does.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
You know, you you like love the high and I
understand also resting on that sometimes. But I think that
this could apply to so many people beyond the field,
the court, whatever it is, the pitch. You know, what
do you think this could do for let's say someone
who is not a college athlete.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Well, I think it's a skill we all can learn.
There's a I think he lives right in your guys's
area and he used to work with the Seahawks. Doctor
Michael Jervais Re talked about, you know, a huge source
of interference for people's FOPO, the fear of other people's
opinion and really what that stems down to. You know,
It's like I think so often it's it's a human
(09:40):
I think it's human nature to want approval. Like I'm
on the radio right now with you. I want people
to like this. I want them to like me. I
want them to like the message. I want to like
my book, my coaching. But when we turn that want
into a need, that's where we're in trouble. Like we
need oxygen, we need food, we need shelter. We don't
need approval. And when we catch ourselves needing it to
(10:03):
fill us up to you know, make up our identity
and all those things which I did now you're on
the slippers, help to choking into poor performance and to
really an anxiety ridden life. Where you are, how you
feel about yourself is based upon how other people view you,
and so now you're giving your control away to other people.
(10:24):
And it is you know, I call it the Teeter
Totter trap, and a lot of athletes fall into it.
It's like, if they have a good outcome, that teeter
totter goes up, They get praise, they get the approval.
How about if they compare themselves to somebody else and
they're ahead, well, that teeter totters up. But you know,
on the opposite. You lose a game, you don't get
the approval, somebody says something negative to you, you're compared yourself,
(10:47):
you're behind somebody. Now that teeter totter flips down, and
all those things are things you can't control. And what
I learned with my sports psychologist is when you focus
on things you can't control, your anxiety increases. You know,
it's like a back seat driver my mother in law,
and this is notorious for this. It's like, yeah, she's
(11:07):
in the car and she's barking out calls left and right,
and her anxiety is through the roof because she doesn't
have control of the wheel. Well, there's a lot of
athletes and people in lives who focus on things they
can't control, and therefore they don't enjoy the ride. And
a great way to be able to shift is to
focus on what can you control. And when you can
focus on things you can't control, anxiety decreases, performance increases.
(11:30):
So there are a number of techniques and skills when
it comes to sports in particular, to be able to
help the athlete focus on, okay, what is within my
control because that naturally reduces anxiety. And one of them
is breath work. You know, when you find yourself anxious, well,
you're probably more so likely focused on something that's external,
and external means you can't control it. So a great
(11:52):
way to shift is to then focus on your breath.
And one of my favorite ways to be able to
do this is the four to six breathing method, which
I breathe in through my nose from four seconds and
I breathe out through my nose for six seconds. That
I did, I'd use that exact technique.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, that's what I That's how I learned that. It
was from the Navy Seals.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Yeah, in incredible why right, if the Navy Seals are
doing and I'm on the right.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Had you Yeah, I thought that's where you heard it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I didn't, I did, you know how I liked it?
As you know, there's some breath work techniques that you
do your breath, and those are all fine and dandy,
But when I was playing sports, I thought I was
going to pass out when I held my breath, So
I didn't like that. And then I liked a longer
excel than I like an inhale, right, because there's some
there's some benefits to that when it comes to calmon,
you're a nervous system down. And then I like the
(12:40):
increments of ten, so I could just count, you know,
pretty easily, so I could keep myself on track to
figure out how long I'd been doing it. So that's
how I got the four six breathing, and it's just
it stuck. So I don't challenge anybody whatever their whatever
breath work they want to use. There's box breathing and
there's four seven eight. I don't care, just a matter
of what works for them. And that can be a
break shift for them when they find themselves getting anxious,
(13:02):
worried about what Boss was thinking of them, or you know,
a cell that it could coming out for the future,
maybe they had guilt about the past. A shift your
perspective and your focus on your breath and then it'll
help you get back in the present, get back on
things you can't control, and calm you down.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Luke Folk joining me, Jessman McIntyre here, you're host of
Seattle Voice.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
And I've done that, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
I was always after college, I marathon for a long
time and then my knees were like yeah, no, like no,
we're not doing that.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
My knees are hurt and thinking about that.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
My goodness, Oh it was so great, and it was,
but it's something that forces you to breathe that way, right,
You have to control your breathing if you're training every
day for something like that, and then you go out there,
and it was just it wasn't something that I thought about.
So afterwards, you know, spinning, and then I started hot yoga,
and I started realizing how much it forces you to breathe.
(13:56):
That's the first thing you do when you go in there,
is they focus on your breathing.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
And I would leave every.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Single one of those sessions, like literally had to wring
out my clothes before I put them in the laundry.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
And but my brain was great. My brain was great.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
And it's just it's amazing how much they, at least
in that practice, they preach the importance of breath mon Yeah,
but it isn't for the physical part as much as
it is for the mental part. So I completely understand
exactly what you're saying, so totally yeah, yeah, and it's
it's you know, I did it for exercise. I didn't
(14:31):
realize how much it was helping me mentally at the time.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
So I get to get that funny, oh goo funny story.
This will this is going to shock the crap out
of some people probably. So in twenty twenty, right, I'm
going through my quarter life crisis. I'm trying to figure
out what I want to do with my life after
just the NFL deal, right, a number of things. And
my sister Natalie, who I think you've met, I have
(14:54):
this thing called plant medicine, right, and they talked about iowascas. Anyways,
I booked a trip to go do ayahuasca.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
We could talk those details later, but you know, one
of the most profound things that I got from it
is we did breathwork, you know, the first day were
there and the last day we left. And I almost
got more out of the breath work from a vaxation standpoint,
all that stuff than I ever did from the plant medicine.
And it was, uh, you know, it was great that
I have to throw up or do any other stuff
that came with the huasca deal. But because I'm so
(15:26):
you know, straight laced people like you've done that and
I did it so well.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
And also thanks for being open about it, like our
very own Aaron Rodgers over here, I.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Did it before. I did it before the Netflix documentary. Okay,
and I did it before I guess it was the mainstream.
I had no desire to.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Do it again, but yeah, there's something, Yeah that it
just comes with doing something different, and you know, to
each their own the way that they do those things.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
As long as it helps you, that's it.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
But you saying that you got more from the breath work,
it's very interesting so that you were talking about the one, two, three, four,
and I had read that on you know, a study.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
I don't know, I'm a nerd. I read a lot and.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
That that is what the Navy seals actually use as well.
So I started doing that in situations where I either
was mad or frustrated and didn't want to act out
in a way that isn't me. Like you know, you
were talking about the fact that you felt like you
weren't yourself at times, and I realized throughout just that
little practice of the breathing and then reacting in a
(16:37):
way that I have said this on the show a lot,
that I get so much more positive energy if I
react positively to someone and have a positive interaction with
another human, and if I react negatively, I have a.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Guilt complex I have.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
It actually takes energy from me, and that is something
that I like to preach. I'm not a psychologist or anything.
I just know what works for me.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
And so you've got real life experience, which I think
is pretty dang good.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yes, exactly, And I just think that you get more
out of you know, compassion, empathy, and you might have
every right to be angry or frustrated, but it's the
way you react to that that really is what goes
into your life after the fact totally.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
And I even like to say this, like I had
always learned that when you react, it's almost negative. It's
like your initial instinct probably isn't great to a certain degree,
just with all the negativity bias and things that were
hard wired to do. But when you consciously, like you said,
do your breath, work at yourself in a better headspace,
you respond. And when you respond, it's like you're conscious
(17:49):
of it. It's like what you want to do, rather
than ladding the innate almost animalistic type of deal take
over for you. Yeah, So I always like like the
word respond in a positive way and like react to
me as more negative if you want to coin it
that way.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Yeah, I go positive and negative because there's a lot
of nuance there, but you know that those are basically
the black and whites.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Yeah, in that situation again. Luke Falk joining me.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Jessaman McIntyre here, you're host of Seattle Voice, presented by
iHeartRadio Radio here in Seattle, and if you want your
voice heard, email Seattle Voice at iHeartRadio dot com. Let's
talk a little bit more specifically about your business.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
I know that you have visited some colleges. Can you
share some of that.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Yeah, So I'm actually excited. I'm going up to Washington
State next week for my book launch on the twenty fourth,
to do a little book signing there the day before
the game. And then actually on the twenty third, I'm
going to Eastern Washington go speak to their whole student
athletes amaze, give them a mind strength talk and that'll
be a lot of fun. Katherine Walker, who used to
(18:56):
work at Washington State, help me set that up. So
look forward to doing that. And then, uh, it's just
at Utah State last week. I think I'm gonna We're
working out some details right now, but hopefully going to
be their mind strength coach for their basketball program. This season,
which you know that's their head coach is awesome. Coach Calhoun, Yep,
you know, he's He's incredible. He what's great about him
(19:18):
is there's like a walk on mentality with him. He
was a D two head basketball coach. I mean, I
coached quarterbacks at the D two level, and you're doing everything.
You're doing academics, you're doing the equipment, you're doing the
field stuff. I mean, so I have a lot of
respect for anybody that goes from the D two ring
(19:39):
all the way up to where he's at right now.
I was fortunate enough to speaking to Idaho State, spoke
at Washington State, spoke at a number of different high schools.
So yeah, it's just been it's been real fun for
what I what I thought. You know, I got my goals,
got my benchmarks in year one. You know, I've surpassed
that tremendously. I just think there's a huge need for this.
(20:00):
I think people really like my message that I'm not
somebody who's twenty dollars in my name and I'm trying
to tell them how to get rich, that I've actually
done it, you know, I've actually lived it. I think
that's a pretty unique deal and walk into a locker
room and guys know, oh, this guy has every Pack
twelve record when it comes to passing and probably sex too,
maybe negative rushing MARDs as well. But hey, he's been
(20:22):
the man in the arena. And it's not just fluff.
You know, it's not just fluff. So I think they
really like that the authenticity that comes with it. And
you know, I get very vulnerable. I get very vulnerable
about the things that work and the things that did
and the things that are going on in my life.
And I'm almost like the older I'm getting, the more
open I am and the more open book I am.
(20:43):
And it feels so much better. I got to tell you,
it just feels so much better when you just you're honest,
You're authentically you. I'm not perfect at it, but I'm
getting better and better, and I think it's helping my
coach and I think it really helps drive home the
message to the coaches that I'm working with are that
I'm working with them. And what's been fun too, is
I think, like you mentioned, this isn't just for athletics.
(21:06):
I've been getting a lot of business requests. Now, Hey,
can you come work with our sales team, Hey, can
you come work with our leadership deal because I think
a lot of people see that. You know, these definitely
transfer over mind strength is it's great in any arena.
In fact, it's the difference maker in every arena in
my opinion.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Yeah, I was going to say again Luke Folk, Johnnie Mee,
j justsaman McIntyre Seattle Voice here presented by iHeartRadio, and
I was going to say that real life experience that
I shared with you about you also have that real
life experience and authenticity is also something that I think
goes underrated. And I actually, you know, as the world
(21:47):
has changed recently, feel as though it's more appreciated now.
And it took me a while to find my true self.
I'll just share this with you. You know. I I
grew up in New York on Long Island, and I
was an athlete. I was born into a healthy body.
(22:10):
I had everything going for me. I was a straight
A student and I had there was something between my
ears that I took a dip in my volleyball career
in college, and it was all between my ears. It
had nothing to do with physicality. It was all external factors.
And then afterwards, I went to After I graduated, I
(22:30):
got hired at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, the network, and
so it was a high pressure situation, and you know,
I felt tamped down a lot of the time, and
I was trying to figure out how to navigate that,
and I became less of myself and I'm kind of
in the Uh.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
My dad gave me a bracelet.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I can't say it on the air, but it's zero
something's given. It was a Christmas pres Yeah, zero's given.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
I like that one and maybe I'll get another one.
And it's in Morse code, so nobody really sees it.
But I wear it every single day and he goes,
you give too many faults?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
You just give and he's like, what is wrong with you?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
My dad's a football coach, so obviously he would say
it like that. But I started to take it to
heart and every time I feel something like that, I
touched that bracelet. And I've become more myself ever in
my life now, and I had to realize that, I'm like,
I'm a good person. Actually, why am I so concerned
(23:39):
with these external factors? And you know, we have to
be present on social media a lot and in our
business and everything, and you can get a thousand really
positive comments and that one sticks in your head. That's negative,
and it is I don't know why we pine over that.
And I tell other young women in this business because
(24:00):
they come to me because we're all we've got a
really good sisterhood. But I tell them what I like.
I give them the confidence and no, you can't focus
on that look at all this greatness.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
But I still do it. Do as I say, not
as I do. I guess it is.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Learning, it's all. I think it's human nature right at Definitely,
you want, you want approval, you want people to like it.
It's I don't think it's wrong. It's you said it
coming down to that need, and I think you being
conscious of it, you're working through it and you'll get
better and better at it. I'm not perfect at it either. Shoot.
I do try to post in ghosts the best I
can though on that type of stuff, because I just
I don't want to put myself in an environment where
(24:38):
I'm looking at that stuff. I'll go and interact a
little bit because I know people enjoy that stuff. But
the biggest thing I dislike with my job, honestly, is
the social media aspect. I know that's where everybody's at,
and so I want to try to do the best
I can at providing great messages and being able to
help people on that platform. But you know, my one
(25:00):
of my biggest things when I work with an athlete, hey,
let's get rid of it. Let's get off of it,
especially for the season, because like I talked about at
the beginning, when you focus on things you can't control,
your anxiety goes up. Well, all social media is is
how many likes do I have? Any followers? What are
people saying about me? Comparing myself? And it's just this
(25:21):
big external focus world that really spikes kids' anxieties and
people's anxieties. I found when I'm off of it, I
feel much better. When I'm on it, and I'm really
on it and I'm like, you know, doing all that
type of stuff, i feel worse because my anxiety is up.
I've been focused on things that I can't control, and
(25:41):
that was actually a contributing factor too. I would say
that twenty seventeen Senior season. People ask them all the time, well, shoot,
I'm listening to Colum Calvert after we'd beat USC, I'm like,
what's he saying about me? What's he saying about you know,
I'm so focused on the media and all that type
of stuff. And I had social media vers in twenty
fifteen when I had a really great season, I had
(26:01):
I did the social media sabbath. I didn't look at anything.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Social media.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Social media sabbath. Yeah, And I did it for a
whole season. And I promise all my athletes and people, like,
all the nice things that people write about you, they'll
all be there at the end of the season. And
all the negative things that people write about you and
say about you, It'll all be there at the end
of the season. Why not just cocoon yourself and give yourself,
you know, the breath of fresh air to just go
(26:28):
out and cut it loose. So I like your I
like your Baulket scale that goes alignment with you know,
Leach had a deal. He's like, hey, fault, you got
to play with house money. Because I was in the
same mindset. I was competing against Peyton Bender, who was
much more talented throwing the football than I was. I mean,
he made certain throws. I was like, holy yeah, yeah, yeah,
(26:53):
And you know, Leach pulled me aside after one of
the practices in springball, when when Peyton and I were competing,
and he said, fulk, you got to start playing with
house money. You know. He coughted however many times, and
he's like, imagine if I gave you a hundred dollars
bill and I told you to go to Zeppo's, which
is that little closet size casino, okay IPOs. Now I
(27:17):
don't think they have the casino there anymore, and IL
ruined them. All these athletes now have money and they
ran them out. But you know, he was like, if
you went there with the money I gave you and
you would play free, You'd play like you've got nothing
to lose, Versus if it's your own hard earned money,
now you've played tight, you'd play tense. And he was
saying that I was playing like I had something to lose,
(27:37):
and like, in your case, it's worried so much about
the outcomes what people think of me. The competition and
the year before I was a walk on, you know,
or I guess I got put on scholarship, but I
still was playing with that well, I got nothing to lose.
I played with that walk on mentality, and I played
really well, and so his coaching point to me is
(27:58):
just play with house money, like I'd rather you'd be
wrong and decisive and right and indecisive. And he used
to say it all the time, like my biggest kryptonite
was my overthinking. And it really stemmed from not wanting
to make a mistake. It really stem from not wanting
people to view me in a negative way. And the
times where I just said, balk it and cut it loose,
(28:19):
let it rip, swing your sword, whatever you want to
call it. The decisive he used to call it, be decisive.
I played great. I played great. So I think it
really is a universal skill. And in fact, I know
it resonates with a lot of people because on social
media I wrote that same story down, and I mean,
I think the thing over all the platforms, over half
a million views, you know, and interactions and all that stuff,
(28:40):
just just with that story, because I think a lot
of it resonates with not only players, but anybody in
everyday life.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I one hundred percent agree, and I could talk to
you for hours, but we are up against it right now.
So Luke Falk, I want to give you the opportunity
to tell people how they can find us.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
I appreciate it. Go to coach lupfault dot com. It's
my website. You can check out more information there or
on you know x and LinkedIn and Instagram coach loop
falk and then you know, if you haven't ordered your
the book, The mindstreng Playbook, it's for pre order right now.
It comes out October twenty fourth, and you can get
(29:21):
that on any major book retail site, Barnes and Noble, Amazon,
you name it. So I appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Well, it's lovely to hear your voice. I love connecting
with you, and I love everything that you're doing, and
I'd love to catch up with you again in the future.
Rejoin us and catch us up on everything that's happening.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
That'd be great. I'll see you if you know, if
you're in pullments for that Toledo game, I'll see you.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
I will be there, so yes, I will see you.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Then again, this is Jessman McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Remember again, if you.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Want your voice heard, email Seattle Voice at iHeartMedia dot com.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
I'll talk to you next week.
Welcome into Seattle Voice.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
This is Jesson and McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice,
your community voice, presented by iHeartRadio here in Seattle, and
today I have the pleasure of being joined by someone
who I covered throughout his career at Washington State University.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
One of the best quarterbacks I've ever.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Seen, and oh, I would say one of the best
people I've ever met as well.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Luke falk is joining me. Luke, thank you for your time.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hey, I appreciate it, and I think those are stretches
on both of those, butkkoks happy beyond.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Okay, Well, you're You've always been a humble person, and
I think that is what brought you to the career
that you currently are in right now. Obviously, you had
your time in the NFL post Washington State and you
learned a lot from it.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So tell me about what you are doing now.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Yeah. Well, I'm having a lot of fun doing it.
It's called mind strength coaching, and I help athletes, coaches,
you know, even parents of athletes, people in business, really
any field, strengthen their mindset so so often, especially in athletics,
we work so hard on all the physical skills and tools,
which is great you know, you need some level of
(01:13):
baseline training to be able to play your sport at
a competent level. But at a certain point, you know,
the thing that's really going to allow you to excel
in your sport comes between you know, your ears, and
too oftentimes it's overlooked and it's not trained. And you know,
quite frankly, it was the perfect ingredient for me that
(01:35):
helped me go from an unconfident kid to somebody who's
you know, setting Pack twelve records. And then when I
quit using it and I quit strengthening it, then you know,
we saw how short my NFL care was due to that.
So I just think it's you know, I really think
there's a mind strength movement going on. There's so much
chaos going on in the world. There's so much noise,
(01:55):
there's so many places outside that are just a big
source of interference, and you know, what are we doing
to really strengthen our internal systems? And to me, what
mind strength is about is about being able to master
your inner world so you can handle anything in the
external world. And it's very fulfilling for me. I was
in college coaching, I was fortunate enough to be the
(02:17):
offensive coordinator in Northern Iowa for a short stint. And
you know what I really love about this, though, is
whether the athlete's done at nineteen twenty five or forty five,
they're always going to have mind strength with them forever.
You know, it's going to be in every arena. It's
going to be in their business and their marriage and
everyday life versus you know, when I was working with quarterbacks,
(02:39):
it's like, yeah, it's cool to be able to get
them to throw spiral and to get them to throw
fifty or sixty yards or whatever. But when they're done playing,
what good is that skill unless they're coaching and so me,
it's very fulfilling having this mind strength be not only
what can help them on the field, but most importantly
in the arena of life. That's what that's what really
lights me up.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, I love hearing you lit up because I saw
you light it up on the field, But now knowing
that you're doing it in another way.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
It's pretty great.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Can you take me back to exactly what you felt
you didn't have what between the ears when it came
to the NFL.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Well, you know, I just quit working on so you know,
let me just fast forward or let me go back.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, yeah, I want the whole story, Luke, I want.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Yeah, we'll go. We'll go the whole, the whole shebang here.
So if anybody watched me play, hey, they know that.
Really I'm a terrible athlete in comparison to those that
I'm playing with.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
You're too old, man.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I didn't have a strong arm, I wasn't fast at all.
Is probably the slowest player on the field. And but
what allowed me to play at a at a decently
high level is I started working with supports psychologists. I
started training my mind like I trained my body. And
I used to get so nervous going into situations and games,
and I used to have a belief system that I
(03:57):
wasn't clutch, and you know, all these all these negative
internal stories that were just driving negative responses. And then
I wasn't playing that great. And I worked so hard physically,
like I don't think there was a high school kid
in my area at least that was working as hard
as me, but I wasn't reaping the rewards. Because really,
when it comes down to performance and really just quality
(04:20):
of life is do you have the key to unlock
what you've worked so hard? For and that key to
me is mind strength. That key to me is being
able to master your internal world and the dialogue that
you tell yourself and be able to calm yourself down
and get yourself into a great emotional state and so
to be able to respond. So I worked on it very,
(04:40):
very hard, and I did everything that my mind strength
coach is asking of me, and I got to you know,
I saw incredible results from really twenty thirteen till twenty sixteen. Well,
then twenty seventeen rolls around and I got a little
too big for my bridges. I allowed the trappings of
(05:01):
success to come in. I didn't work as hard. I
didn't I complained, I blamed, I did things that you
know I was I was coached to not do. And
you know, it's a great lesson for me that mind
strength isn't and you get to this destination and you're good. No, No,
it's a journey. It's like if you don't brush your
teeth every day, your teeth will rt. Well, that's kind
(05:22):
of what happens with mind strength. If you don't utilize it,
don't work on it, they won't be there for you
when you need it. And when I got to the NFL.
I had quit. I had quit being as diligent on
the things that I had practice and I had been
coached on. And I enjoyed my paycheck. I enjoyed, I relaxed.
I just I didn't do the things that I needed
to to play at a high level. And if you
(05:44):
really want to dive into it, it's because my my
motivation wasn't there. I had been so externally motivated to
be like my people, to be at the top of
this mountain, to feel like I was good enough. And
you know, I had some I had some decent accolades
at Washington State. I had achieved what I wanted to
achieve besides the PAC twelve championship, and I felt, you know,
(06:06):
I felt empty when I when I had achieved those things,
it didn't give me what I was looking for. And
so my motivation to do what I had done. And
you know, you know the people always talk about, well, hey,
you're one of the most disciplined people that each was
discussing and all this, why wasn't my senior year I didn't.
I didn't do the things that had put me in
a position to be successful. My motivation had ran out
(06:28):
and so yeah, it's a long winded answer, but I
view it as a great apprenticeship now. So I look
back on it, it's like I liked playing I wouldn't
say that I was in love with playing football. I
was in love with what it could get me, or
at least I thought, you know, which is totally probably
counter to what people know me as.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Right.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
They know me as like stoic, robotic, almost type of individual.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I would go with stoic over robotically.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Yeah, were people like, well, you know, I don't care
what people think. Oh, I definitely did. That's how I
That's what That's what filled me up. And I would
ride the emotional highs and lows of the outcome. And
I lived on what I call this teeter totter trap
of just the highs and loves of sport, the highs
and lows of the external stuff. And you know it
just it wore me out. It wore me out. And
what I love doing right now, what I'm in love
(07:20):
doing right now is helping people unlock their full potential,
people just like me, people who struggle with confidence, or
people who are you know, succeeding at high levels but
being able to build a foundation where it's going to last.
That's that's what lights me up. So I'm internally motivated
to do it. Therefore I the discipline that it takes,
I continue to put forth that effort. I'm going to
(07:42):
be able to do it for a long long time.
Not to say I'm not externally motive, of course I am.
Of course I want to be the best of what
I'm doing. Of Course I want to be a best
selling author with my new book and all these things.
But the motivation switch, it's more internal than external driving
this rather than as a player. Was dang near all external.
And when when I had achieved all those things, you know,
(08:05):
all that stuff burned up. It's like kindling. You know,
you need some logs in there, a few logs that
love the internal motivation. You need some of that. It's
great to have kindling to get it going. It's a
good combo. But if you only have kindling, you won't
have a long fire, and you won't have grit, and
you won't have the things that it takes to have
sustain success.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Well, Luke falk is joining me.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Jessamin McIntyre here, your host of Seattle Voice, and if
you want your voice heard. You can always email Seattle
Voice at iHeartMedia dot com, and thank you so much
for you know, really taking us through your own journey
and everything that you were saying. I think applies beyond
sports because I you know, I was a college athlete
as well, you know, volleyball. It's not really I wasn't
(08:46):
going to be on the beach for post college or
anything like that. But I understand the mentality of that
external satisfaction that you get, and also that swings both ways.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
It does.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
You know, you you like love the high and I
understand also resting on that sometimes. But I think that
this could apply to so many people beyond the field,
the court, whatever it is, the pitch. You know, what
do you think this could do for let's say someone
who is not a college athlete.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Well, I think it's a skill we all can learn.
There's a I think he lives right in your guys's
area and he used to work with the Seahawks. Doctor
Michael Jervais Re talked about, you know, a huge source
of interference for people's FOPO, the fear of other people's
opinion and really what that stems down to. You know,
It's like I think so often it's it's a human
(09:40):
I think it's human nature to want approval. Like I'm
on the radio right now with you. I want people
to like this. I want them to like me. I
want them to like the message. I want to like
my book, my coaching. But when we turn that want
into a need, that's where we're in trouble. Like we
need oxygen, we need food, we need shelter. We don't
need approval. And when we catch ourselves needing it to
(10:03):
fill us up to you know, make up our identity
and all those things which I did now you're on
the slippers, help to choking into poor performance and to
really an anxiety ridden life. Where you are, how you
feel about yourself is based upon how other people view you,
and so now you're giving your control away to other people.
(10:24):
And it is you know, I call it the Teeter
Totter trap, and a lot of athletes fall into it.
It's like, if they have a good outcome, that teeter
totter goes up, They get praise, they get the approval.
How about if they compare themselves to somebody else and
they're ahead, well, that teeter totters up. But you know,
on the opposite. You lose a game, you don't get
the approval, somebody says something negative to you, you're compared yourself,
(10:47):
you're behind somebody. Now that teeter totter flips down, and
all those things are things you can't control. And what
I learned with my sports psychologist is when you focus
on things you can't control, your anxiety increases. You know,
it's like a back seat driver my mother in law,
and this is notorious for this. It's like, yeah, she's
(11:07):
in the car and she's barking out calls left and right,
and her anxiety is through the roof because she doesn't
have control of the wheel. Well, there's a lot of
athletes and people in lives who focus on things they
can't control, and therefore they don't enjoy the ride. And
a great way to be able to shift is to
focus on what can you control. And when you can
focus on things you can't control, anxiety decreases, performance increases.
(11:30):
So there are a number of techniques and skills when
it comes to sports in particular, to be able to
help the athlete focus on, okay, what is within my
control because that naturally reduces anxiety. And one of them
is breath work. You know, when you find yourself anxious, well,
you're probably more so likely focused on something that's external,
and external means you can't control it. So a great
(11:52):
way to shift is to then focus on your breath.
And one of my favorite ways to be able to
do this is the four to six breathing method, which
I breathe in through my nose from four seconds and
I breathe out through my nose for six seconds. That
I did, I'd use that exact technique.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, that's what I That's how I learned that. It
was from the Navy Seals.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Yeah, in incredible why right, if the Navy Seals are
doing and I'm on the right.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Had you Yeah, I thought that's where you heard it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I didn't, I did, you know how I liked it?
As you know, there's some breath work techniques that you
do your breath, and those are all fine and dandy,
But when I was playing sports, I thought I was
going to pass out when I held my breath, So
I didn't like that. And then I liked a longer
excel than I like an inhale, right, because there's some
there's some benefits to that when it comes to calmon,
you're a nervous system down. And then I like the
(12:40):
increments of ten, so I could just count, you know,
pretty easily, so I could keep myself on track to
figure out how long I'd been doing it. So that's
how I got the four six breathing, and it's just
it stuck. So I don't challenge anybody whatever their whatever
breath work they want to use. There's box breathing and
there's four seven eight. I don't care, just a matter
of what works for them. And that can be a
break shift for them when they find themselves getting anxious,
(13:02):
worried about what Boss was thinking of them, or you know,
a cell that it could coming out for the future,
maybe they had guilt about the past. A shift your
perspective and your focus on your breath and then it'll
help you get back in the present, get back on
things you can't control, and calm you down.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Luke Folk joining me, Jessman McIntyre here, you're host of
Seattle Voice.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
And I've done that, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
I was always after college, I marathon for a long
time and then my knees were like yeah, no, like no,
we're not doing that.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
My knees are hurt and thinking about that.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
My goodness, Oh it was so great, and it was,
but it's something that forces you to breathe that way, right,
You have to control your breathing if you're training every
day for something like that, and then you go out there,
and it was just it wasn't something that I thought about.
So afterwards, you know, spinning, and then I started hot yoga,
and I started realizing how much it forces you to breathe.
(13:56):
That's the first thing you do when you go in there,
is they focus on your breathing.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
And I would leave every.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Single one of those sessions, like literally had to wring
out my clothes before I put them in the laundry.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
And but my brain was great. My brain was great.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
And it's just it's amazing how much they, at least
in that practice, they preach the importance of breath mon Yeah,
but it isn't for the physical part as much as
it is for the mental part. So I completely understand
exactly what you're saying, so totally yeah, yeah, and it's
it's you know, I did it for exercise. I didn't
(14:31):
realize how much it was helping me mentally at the time.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
So I get to get that funny, oh goo funny story.
This will this is going to shock the crap out
of some people probably. So in twenty twenty, right, I'm
going through my quarter life crisis. I'm trying to figure
out what I want to do with my life after
just the NFL deal, right, a number of things. And
my sister Natalie, who I think you've met, I have
(14:54):
this thing called plant medicine, right, and they talked about iowascas. Anyways,
I booked a trip to go do ayahuasca.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
We could talk those details later, but you know, one
of the most profound things that I got from it
is we did breathwork, you know, the first day were
there and the last day we left. And I almost
got more out of the breath work from a vaxation standpoint,
all that stuff than I ever did from the plant medicine.
And it was, uh, you know, it was great that
I have to throw up or do any other stuff
that came with the huasca deal. But because I'm so
(15:26):
you know, straight laced people like you've done that and
I did it so well.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
And also thanks for being open about it, like our
very own Aaron Rodgers over here, I.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Did it before. I did it before the Netflix documentary. Okay,
and I did it before I guess it was the mainstream.
I had no desire to.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Do it again, but yeah, there's something, Yeah that it
just comes with doing something different, and you know, to
each their own the way that they do those things.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
As long as it helps you, that's it.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
But you saying that you got more from the breath work,
it's very interesting so that you were talking about the one, two, three, four,
and I had read that on you know, a study.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
I don't know, I'm a nerd. I read a lot and.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
That that is what the Navy seals actually use as well.
So I started doing that in situations where I either
was mad or frustrated and didn't want to act out
in a way that isn't me. Like you know, you
were talking about the fact that you felt like you
weren't yourself at times, and I realized throughout just that
little practice of the breathing and then reacting in a
(16:37):
way that I have said this on the show a lot,
that I get so much more positive energy if I
react positively to someone and have a positive interaction with
another human, and if I react negatively, I have a.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Guilt complex I have.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
It actually takes energy from me, and that is something
that I like to preach. I'm not a psychologist or anything.
I just know what works for me.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
And so you've got real life experience, which I think
is pretty dang good.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yes, exactly, And I just think that you get more
out of you know, compassion, empathy, and you might have
every right to be angry or frustrated, but it's the
way you react to that that really is what goes
into your life after the fact totally.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
And I even like to say this, like I had
always learned that when you react, it's almost negative. It's
like your initial instinct probably isn't great to a certain degree,
just with all the negativity bias and things that were
hard wired to do. But when you consciously, like you said,
do your breath, work at yourself in a better headspace,
you respond. And when you respond, it's like you're conscious
(17:49):
of it. It's like what you want to do, rather
than ladding the innate almost animalistic type of deal take
over for you. Yeah, So I always like like the
word respond in a positive way and like react to
me as more negative if you want to coin it
that way.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Yeah, I go positive and negative because there's a lot
of nuance there, but you know that those are basically
the black and whites.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Yeah, in that situation again. Luke Falk joining me.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Jessaman McIntyre here, you're host of Seattle Voice, presented by
iHeartRadio Radio here in Seattle, and if you want your
voice heard, email Seattle Voice at iHeartRadio dot com. Let's
talk a little bit more specifically about your business.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
I know that you have visited some colleges. Can you
share some of that.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Yeah, So I'm actually excited. I'm going up to Washington
State next week for my book launch on the twenty fourth,
to do a little book signing there the day before
the game. And then actually on the twenty third, I'm
going to Eastern Washington go speak to their whole student
athletes amaze, give them a mind strength talk and that'll
be a lot of fun. Katherine Walker, who used to
(18:56):
work at Washington State, help me set that up. So
look forward to doing that. And then, uh, it's just
at Utah State last week. I think I'm gonna We're
working out some details right now, but hopefully going to
be their mind strength coach for their basketball program. This season,
which you know that's their head coach is awesome. Coach Calhoun, Yep,
you know, he's He's incredible. He what's great about him
(19:18):
is there's like a walk on mentality with him. He
was a D two head basketball coach. I mean, I
coached quarterbacks at the D two level, and you're doing everything.
You're doing academics, you're doing the equipment, you're doing the
field stuff. I mean, so I have a lot of
respect for anybody that goes from the D two ring
(19:39):
all the way up to where he's at right now.
I was fortunate enough to speaking to Idaho State, spoke
at Washington State, spoke at a number of different high schools.
So yeah, it's just been it's been real fun for
what I what I thought. You know, I got my goals,
got my benchmarks in year one. You know, I've surpassed
that tremendously. I just think there's a huge need for this.
(20:00):
I think people really like my message that I'm not
somebody who's twenty dollars in my name and I'm trying
to tell them how to get rich, that I've actually
done it, you know, I've actually lived it. I think
that's a pretty unique deal and walk into a locker
room and guys know, oh, this guy has every Pack
twelve record when it comes to passing and probably sex too,
maybe negative rushing MARDs as well. But hey, he's been
(20:22):
the man in the arena. And it's not just fluff.
You know, it's not just fluff. So I think they
really like that the authenticity that comes with it. And
you know, I get very vulnerable. I get very vulnerable
about the things that work and the things that did
and the things that are going on in my life.
And I'm almost like the older I'm getting, the more
open I am and the more open book I am.
(20:43):
And it feels so much better. I got to tell you,
it just feels so much better when you just you're honest,
You're authentically you. I'm not perfect at it, but I'm
getting better and better, and I think it's helping my
coach and I think it really helps drive home the
message to the coaches that I'm working with are that
I'm working with them. And what's been fun too, is
I think, like you mentioned, this isn't just for athletics.
(21:06):
I've been getting a lot of business requests. Now, Hey,
can you come work with our sales team, Hey, can
you come work with our leadership deal because I think
a lot of people see that. You know, these definitely
transfer over mind strength is it's great in any arena.
In fact, it's the difference maker in every arena in
my opinion.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Yeah, I was going to say again Luke Folk, Johnnie Mee,
j justsaman McIntyre Seattle Voice here presented by iHeartRadio, and
I was going to say that real life experience that
I shared with you about you also have that real
life experience and authenticity is also something that I think
goes underrated. And I actually, you know, as the world
(21:47):
has changed recently, feel as though it's more appreciated now.
And it took me a while to find my true self.
I'll just share this with you. You know. I I
grew up in New York on Long Island, and I
was an athlete. I was born into a healthy body.
(22:10):
I had everything going for me. I was a straight
A student and I had there was something between my
ears that I took a dip in my volleyball career
in college, and it was all between my ears. It
had nothing to do with physicality. It was all external factors.
And then afterwards, I went to After I graduated, I
(22:30):
got hired at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, the network, and
so it was a high pressure situation, and you know,
I felt tamped down a lot of the time, and
I was trying to figure out how to navigate that,
and I became less of myself and I'm kind of
in the Uh.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
My dad gave me a bracelet.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I can't say it on the air, but it's zero
something's given. It was a Christmas pres Yeah, zero's given.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
I like that one and maybe I'll get another one.
And it's in Morse code, so nobody really sees it.
But I wear it every single day and he goes,
you give too many faults?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
You just give and he's like, what is wrong with you?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
My dad's a football coach, so obviously he would say
it like that. But I started to take it to
heart and every time I feel something like that, I
touched that bracelet. And I've become more myself ever in
my life now, and I had to realize that, I'm like,
I'm a good person. Actually, why am I so concerned
(23:39):
with these external factors? And you know, we have to
be present on social media a lot and in our
business and everything, and you can get a thousand really
positive comments and that one sticks in your head. That's negative,
and it is I don't know why we pine over that.
And I tell other young women in this business because
(24:00):
they come to me because we're all we've got a
really good sisterhood. But I tell them what I like.
I give them the confidence and no, you can't focus
on that look at all this greatness.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
But I still do it. Do as I say, not
as I do. I guess it is.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Learning, it's all. I think it's human nature right at Definitely,
you want, you want approval, you want people to like it.
It's I don't think it's wrong. It's you said it
coming down to that need, and I think you being
conscious of it, you're working through it and you'll get
better and better at it. I'm not perfect at it either. Shoot.
I do try to post in ghosts the best I
can though on that type of stuff, because I just
I don't want to put myself in an environment where
(24:38):
I'm looking at that stuff. I'll go and interact a
little bit because I know people enjoy that stuff. But
the biggest thing I dislike with my job, honestly, is
the social media aspect. I know that's where everybody's at,
and so I want to try to do the best
I can at providing great messages and being able to
help people on that platform. But you know, my one
(25:00):
of my biggest things when I work with an athlete, hey,
let's get rid of it. Let's get off of it,
especially for the season, because like I talked about at
the beginning, when you focus on things you can't control,
your anxiety goes up. Well, all social media is is
how many likes do I have? Any followers? What are
people saying about me? Comparing myself? And it's just this
(25:21):
big external focus world that really spikes kids' anxieties and
people's anxieties. I found when I'm off of it, I
feel much better. When I'm on it, and I'm really
on it and I'm like, you know, doing all that
type of stuff, i feel worse because my anxiety is up.
I've been focused on things that I can't control, and
(25:41):
that was actually a contributing factor too. I would say
that twenty seventeen Senior season. People ask them all the time, well, shoot,
I'm listening to Colum Calvert after we'd beat USC, I'm like,
what's he saying about me? What's he saying about you know,
I'm so focused on the media and all that type
of stuff. And I had social media vers in twenty
fifteen when I had a really great season, I had
(26:01):
I did the social media sabbath. I didn't look at anything.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Social media.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Social media sabbath. Yeah, And I did it for a
whole season. And I promise all my athletes and people, like,
all the nice things that people write about you, they'll
all be there at the end of the season. And
all the negative things that people write about you and
say about you, It'll all be there at the end
of the season. Why not just cocoon yourself and give yourself,
you know, the breath of fresh air to just go
(26:28):
out and cut it loose. So I like your I
like your Baulket scale that goes alignment with you know,
Leach had a deal. He's like, hey, fault, you got
to play with house money. Because I was in the
same mindset. I was competing against Peyton Bender, who was
much more talented throwing the football than I was. I mean,
he made certain throws. I was like, holy yeah, yeah, yeah,
(26:53):
And you know, Leach pulled me aside after one of
the practices in springball, when when Peyton and I were competing,
and he said, fulk, you got to start playing with
house money. You know. He coughted however many times, and
he's like, imagine if I gave you a hundred dollars
bill and I told you to go to Zeppo's, which
is that little closet size casino, okay IPOs. Now I
(27:17):
don't think they have the casino there anymore, and IL
ruined them. All these athletes now have money and they
ran them out. But you know, he was like, if
you went there with the money I gave you and
you would play free, You'd play like you've got nothing
to lose, Versus if it's your own hard earned money,
now you've played tight, you'd play tense. And he was
saying that I was playing like I had something to lose,
(27:37):
and like, in your case, it's worried so much about
the outcomes what people think of me. The competition and
the year before I was a walk on, you know,
or I guess I got put on scholarship, but I
still was playing with that well, I got nothing to lose.
I played with that walk on mentality, and I played
really well, and so his coaching point to me is
(27:58):
just play with house money, like I'd rather you'd be
wrong and decisive and right and indecisive. And he used
to say it all the time, like my biggest kryptonite
was my overthinking. And it really stemmed from not wanting
to make a mistake. It really stem from not wanting
people to view me in a negative way. And the
times where I just said, balk it and cut it loose,
(28:19):
let it rip, swing your sword, whatever you want to
call it. The decisive he used to call it, be decisive.
I played great. I played great. So I think it
really is a universal skill. And in fact, I know
it resonates with a lot of people because on social
media I wrote that same story down, and I mean,
I think the thing over all the platforms, over half
a million views, you know, and interactions and all that stuff,
(28:40):
just just with that story, because I think a lot
of it resonates with not only players, but anybody in
everyday life.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I one hundred percent agree, and I could talk to
you for hours, but we are up against it right now.
So Luke Falk, I want to give you the opportunity
to tell people how they can find us.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
I appreciate it. Go to coach lupfault dot com. It's
my website. You can check out more information there or
on you know x and LinkedIn and Instagram coach loop
falk and then you know, if you haven't ordered your
the book, The mindstreng Playbook, it's for pre order right now.
It comes out October twenty fourth, and you can get
(29:21):
that on any major book retail site, Barnes and Noble, Amazon,
you name it. So I appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Well, it's lovely to hear your voice. I love connecting
with you, and I love everything that you're doing, and
I'd love to catch up with you again in the future.
Rejoin us and catch us up on everything that's happening.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
That'd be great. I'll see you if you know, if
you're in pullments for that Toledo game, I'll see you.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
I will be there, so yes, I will see you.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Then again, this is Jessman McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Remember again, if you.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Want your voice heard, email Seattle Voice at iHeartMedia dot com.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
I'll talk to you next week.
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