All Episodes

April 19, 2025 14 mins

Send us a text

What keeps you going when life knocks you down? When talent isn't enough and your playbook falls short, what's the missing piece? The answer lies in your purpose the powerful "why" behind everything you do.


Coach Mikki takes us deep into the crucial role purpose plays in achieving lasting success. Beyond simply identifying goals, true purpose fuels your journey through unexpected challenges and provides the clarity needed when confusion tries to derail your progress. Through powerful sports analogies and personal stories, she illustrates how purpose transforms difficulties into stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks.

The most compelling insight comes when Coach Mikki reveals how our deepest pain often becomes our greatest purpose. Her own journey overcoming obstacles as a 5'1" female football coach who never played the game demonstrates how purpose helps us push beyond limitations others place on us. She candidly shares how she transformed potential disadvantages into strengths by surrounding herself with knowledgeable people and committing fully to mastering coaching despite critics saying she couldn't.

Whether you're struggling with identifying your true passion, feeling stuck in someone else's dream, or simply needing renewed motivation to keep going, this episode provides practical questions to uncover your authentic purpose. As Coach Mikki emphasizes, "Start strong, finish strong, and dominate everything in between." Ready to discover or reclaim your purpose? This conversation is your playbook for turning purpose into unstoppable momentum.

 Subscribe now and pre-order Coach Mikki's new book "4th and 1 Mindset" to continue your journey toward purposeful achievement!


Start Strong - Finish Strong! - Let's Go! 
@4thand1Mindset

4th and 1 Mindset with Coach Mikki 

Support the show

www.4thand1Mindset.com
Football Drip

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, come on, bring it in.
Bring it in, listen up, listenup Everybody.
Bring it in.
Take a knee.
Hey, I'm Coach Mickey andyou're on Fourth in One Mindset.
Do you have a clarity of yourpurpose?
I mean, do you know why you'rein this game?
And it could be the game on thefield, it could be the game in
your life, it could be whatevergame you're playing each and

(00:21):
every day where you're trying toaccomplish something.
Game you're playing each andevery day where you're trying to
accomplish something you know.
Before each snap we go into ahuddle or before we step onto
the field, we go into the lockerroom, and the reason we go into
the locker room is not just forthe hype, it's to know why are
we doing this, why are we here?
Well, the same is true in life.
You can have the greatesttalent in the world and you can

(00:45):
have set all these goals andeach day, you're looking to move
forward and accomplish them.
But do you have clarity of thepurpose?
The clarity is something thatis going to give you all the
fuel that you're going to needto do these things that you do
each and every day.
We have to have clarity beforewe walk out on the field.
Why are we doing this?
We have to have clarity beforewe walk out on the field.

(01:05):
Why are we doing this?
Are we doing this because wewant to win the game yeah,
that's one step.
Or are we doing this for thebigger picture, such as we want
to get to a championship, butbefore we do that, we have to
win our league, then we have towin our division and then we
have to go on to move on?
So what is the ultimate purpose?
What is the ultimate claritythat you have for everything

(01:28):
that you're doing each and everyday?
The purpose that you're goingto have is going to be something
that will drive you to get backup, even after you've been
knocked down.
It's going to be the firethat's beneath all this grind
that you're doing, all the hurt,all the heartbreak, everything
that hits you that you didn'texpect.

(01:49):
Your purpose is going to be therefuel that you're going to
need each and every time, andyou can't fake it.
I mean because we know we'veseen it happen where things have
blindsided us and things happenand we get sidetracked and,
instead of moving forward withwhat we're doing, with our goals
, we allow all those things totake place and replace what

(02:11):
we're supposed to do, instead ofputting it aside, using your
purpose to be the reason thatyou keep going.
Now, if purpose isn't present,I don't care how well-trained
you are, I don't care how strongyou are, I don't care how your
playbook for your life is solid.

(02:32):
If you don't have that purpose,everything else is going to be
difficult to accomplish.
And why do I say that?
Because I've seen it many, manytimes.
I have had teams withincredible talent and I've seen
an abundance of skill that isout on the field during practice
become game time.

(02:53):
I can't tell you what happens.
I've seen seasons go by thatI'm like I have no idea why they
happened the way they did.
And over the years, I'verealized it's not just about the
players, it's also about thecoaches, it's about the culture,
it's about everything else.
What is our purpose?
What is our why?
Why are we even here playing?

(03:13):
And it's the same thing withwhatever you're doing in your
life.
It's like you may have a fullteam around you and you may have
coaches or mentors or family orwhoever you have that is
surrounding you, and they arenot focused on your purpose.
They're only part of the gameplan.
Your purpose is only somethingthat you can solidify and hold

(03:36):
for yourself.
So how do we do that?
How do we even get to that?
How do you even recognize yourpurpose?
Well, first of all, what's yourdestination?
Where do you want to go?
What does your success looklike and why are you doing it?
It's got to have a meaning.
Every movement has some kind ofmeaning, meaning, some kind of

(03:59):
meaning, and your purpose has tostart with these questions.
You know what makes you comealive.
Why do you hit the groundrunning every day?
Is what you're doing exciting?
Are you getting up every dayand you can't wait to do it?
I know for me.
Every day, whenever footballseason's in place or whenever I

(04:23):
get an opportunity to work withmy players, I'm excited.
I can't wait.
I'm constantly looking atdrills and ways to improve, not
only for them, but for me alsoas a coach.
What problems do you feel likeyou can solve?
You have to take an internallook and say am I solving a
problem?
Am I solving something in mylife that is a void, that is

(04:46):
missing?
That is my purpose.
That could be something that'svery strong and dear to you.
What would you fight for, evenwhen it's really hard.
Things are not going to alwaysbe easy.
We know that.
It's life.
You have to get through thehard times to get you to the
really good times.
It's like this.
It's always going to be likethis.
It's never going to be astraight line.
If it's a straight line, you'redead.

(05:06):
I mean, look, going to be likethis.
It's never going to be astraight line.
If it's a straight line, you'redead.
I mean, look at think of aheartbeat.
If there's ups and downs andups and downs, that's the way
life is too.
But when you're down here, whatare you using as your strength
to bring you back up to thosehigh points?
Because those high points arethe ones, at times, you're going
to celebrate, and that's whereyour why has to be the strongest
.
What are you trying to impact?
What's going to be the impact?

(05:29):
Is it for you, is it for others?
Is it for something you'retrying to accomplish?
What is your greatest impactfor your why?
Why do you want to do this?
And then, can you turn thisexperience into something else?
Can you help others?
Because sometimes, when youtake your purpose and you apply

(05:50):
it and you teach it, and youshow it and you live it.
Other people see you as anexample of what maybe they were
afraid to do or maybe theycouldn't do, and maybe it could
have been from the pain that youwent through.
Sometimes our pain is purpose,and it's not a pretty sight,
it's not something that we wantto always acknowledge, but

(06:13):
sometimes the pain can be thethings that bring you out the
strongest as a leader.
It can be the thing thatdefines you, and even an ugly
path is something that candefine you.
You know, I didn't come fromthe greatest area, I didn't come
from the best family life and Icertainly didn't come from a

(06:34):
lot of experience to put me inthe position I am.
But I did know that whateverhappened to me, I did not want
anybody else to ever think thatthey didn't have this ability
and chance to do it.
If you really really wantsomething, your environment,
your situation, your finances,whatever it may be, is not a

(06:56):
reason to stop your purpose.
Your purpose should far exceedall of that, because it'll never
allow you to get stuck andallow those things to keep you
from moving forward.
You know, we get up and eachand every day we put on a suit,
we put on a jersey.
We put on a coaching shirt, andthat doesn't make you who you

(07:20):
are.
It doesn't make me a leaderjust because I put on a shirt
that says Coach Mickey with myteam name on it.
It doesn't automatically makeme that experienced coach, but
it does have the ability to putme in the mindset of a leader,
of what I'm supposed to be doing, not for just everybody else,

(07:41):
but for me personally.
I have to say, when I'm wearingthis on the outside, what's
going on in the inside, what isbringing me out onto this field
or bringing me out onto thisstage or through this YouTube
channel or through this videothat tells you I want to make a

(08:02):
difference.
It doesn't matter.
I am holding myself to a higherstandard.
My purpose is to be able tohelp others and those who need
to be able to move to the nextstep and identify with who they
are and what they want, and toknow and believe that they are
far more than what maybe theoutside world sees or maybe even

(08:25):
what you believe in yourself.
But all I can tell you is youhave to find your purpose of why
you want to do that, why do youwant to be that person, of why
you want to do that, why do youwant to be that person?
And if you know deep downinside that I'm better than this
, I'm skilled to do this, I canmove beyond and I'm doing it
because I don't like mysituation, I don't like my

(08:45):
finances, I don't like where I'mat.
Maybe you don't like thestructure and the people you're
surrounded with.
You have to find out what yourdaily alignment is so you can
actually move beyond that.
What is that purpose?
You know, are you still playingwhat you want to do?
Is your purpose still part ofyour everyday life?

(09:07):
Because if it's not, then youhave to do one of two things.
One, you need to reevaluatewhat you're doing and where
you're focusing on.
And two, maybe your purposechanges.
Maybe you're out of thatenvironment.
Maybe you don't need to worryabout that environment anymore.
Now your purpose may be helpingother people to get out of that
environment, because youlearned how to do.
That Is your purpose.

(09:30):
Are you doing it out of fear orare you doing it out of passion
?
Because sometimes we'll dothings like I got to do this, I
got to get out of that.
My purpose is, and if you haveto do something, you can either
use it as fuel or it can keepyou stuck, and only you can
decide how you want to use that.
And the other thing, too, is areyou chasing your dream or

(09:51):
you're chasing somebody else's?
I've seen it way too many timeswith my kids.
I've asked them.
I said so, what are you goingto do after high school?
Or I'll see my college players.
So what are you going to doafter you get your degree?
And they're like I don't know.
And I'm like well, what do youwant to do with it?
And they're like I don't know.
My dad wanted me to do this, mymom wanted me always done this.
And I'm like well, is that whatyou want to do?

(10:12):
And they're like no, but that'swhat you know.
I've got them paying forcollege.
That's not following your dream, that's doing what other people
are paying for you to do fortheir dreams.
One of the things I have learnedand I learned it very early is
you cannot live by somebodyelse's standards and you

(10:37):
certainly cannot keep movingforward when you think that
everybody else can live yourlife better than you.
If I went every single time andI allowed every single time,
somebody said you can't be afootball coach, you're only 5'1"
.
You're a female, you're 109.
What do you know about football?
You've never played.
Yeah, that might be the case,but I have taken so much time

(11:01):
and effort and I have surroundedmyself with people that have
played the game and I've learnedthe game and I've learned how
to become a leader and I havedone everything I possibly can
do to get out there and learnevery dynamic that maybe I
didn't get a chance to play, butI sure as hell know how to make
a good player and I work eachand every day to accomplish that

(11:23):
and I don't allow someone totell me, just because they
couldn't do it, that I can't doit.
And that is the purpose you haveto have.
You have to have it withconviction, you have to have it
with commitment.
You have to have it to thepoint where, every day, when you
get up and everybody issideswiping you and blindsiding
you with a hit, you have to go.

(11:43):
It's okay, I got this.
And you get up and you brushyourself off and you take the
AstroTurf off your jersey, youknow, and you go.
I got this.
You know what?
I'm good.
I'm good.
Thank you for your insight,thank you for your information.
I've got this and you take whatyou need and you leave the rest,
because it's going to happenday in and day out, but as long

(12:04):
as you focus and you know whatyour purpose is and you know
what it's in your heart to moveforward each and every day, in
each and every play, in each andevery moment, you're going to
excel, you're going to exceed,you're going to do more things
than you ever accomplished.
And not only that, everybodyaround you is going to see it

(12:24):
and they're going to be whatevershe's got or he's got.
I want some of that.
I do.
I want whatever's going on intheir life.
That's what I want, becauseyou're going to stand up a
little taller, you're going tofeel a little bit better and
you're going to be smiling a lotmore because each and every day
, you're going to be doing whatyou love and you're taking the
steps and the chances to get youthere.

(12:47):
So go out there, find yourpurpose, know what it is, dig
down inside, take a couple stepsto figure it out, write it down
, you know, and see really whatit is.
Is it finance?
Is it personal?
Is it for your family?
Is it for you?
Whatever it is, and that's whenyou start putting all the other
things into place.

(13:07):
Now it's not going to be easyroad, but you got this, you've
got this, you've got this.
Go out there and do you, bestrong and do everything you can
to make this purpose work foryou.
All right, bring it in.
Bring it in.
All right on me on three Startstrong and finish strong,

(13:29):
dominate in between.
I'm Coach Mickey, and remember,please like and subscribe.
I value each and every one ofyou, and if you'd like a copy of
my new book, fourth and OneMindset, you can find the link
down below.
It is now for pre-order and ifyou like what I'm talking about,
along with purpose, you'll findso many more of this type of

(13:50):
information within my book.
Until then, start strong, staystrong and dominate everything
in between.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.