April 7, 2025 • 12 mins
All 1N Moments - Pivot or Perish: Embracing Life's Major Transitions
Jake Fine and Braxston Cave dive deep into the art of pivoting in life, sharing personal stories of major transitions from the NFL to business and exploring how embracing change leads to growth and new opportunities.
• Signs that it's time to pivot include feeling stuck, unmotivated, or outgrowing your current situation
• The younger generation often fears committing to a career path, but you'll never know what's right until you try
• Professional athletes must train with a "no Plan B" mindset while knowing their careers will be extremely short
• Don't be afraid to take advantage of learning opportunities just because they're uncomfortable or unfamiliar
• Initial discomfort in a new path doesn't mean it's wrong - sometimes you need to push through to know
• Successful people adapt and focus on what they could gain from changes rather than what they might lose
• The most valuable pivots often require fully committing rather than going "half in, half out"
If you're going through a pivot in your life right now, reach out to us - we'd love to talk through it with you, relate experiences, and learn from each other. Share this episode and tag us if it resonates with you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Welcome back to the Go On Podcast.
I'm Jake Fine.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
And I'm Braxton Cave and on today's episode we're
going to hit you guys withanother quick hitter, all-in
moments, and this episode isgoing to be on pivoting in life.
But before we get started, twothings.
One at the time of this episode, we are fresh off of the quick
(00:45):
little storm that came throughtown.
Yes, and my wife and I.
We lost power for a couple ofdays, and so we were bouncing
around and stayed at a friend'shouse and trying to drag the
kids around.
You don't realize how muchstuff you need for like one day
of your kids until you have tomove stuff out of your house.
(01:08):
And so we're through it.
Now things are good.
No, no damage to the house, youknow.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Thank god for that you don't, you don't realize how
, how important electricity is.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Oh man, I mean the things that we take for granted,
I tell you it's, it's.
I mean just the simple stuff.
Like you know, we're in themiddle of potty training with
Asa right now.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
And you know flushing toilets.
You don't realize how likeingrained that is in your brain
to flush the toilet.
We're like, oh no so.
But it's all good, caffeine andJesus is getting us through and
we're going.
But the second thing is justrecapping on our on our episode
that we did with Nick.
(01:51):
Just incredible, great reviewsfrom people.
I enjoyed it, I know youenjoyed it.
But just listening back to allthe nuggets of wisdom and you
know the things that Nick's beenthrough was really incredible.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Just to sit in front of him and hear there's a lot in
that two hour segment that wedid.
Like you know, I was locked inthe entire time.
I didn't say much in theepisode.
I was like just infatuated.
I was like looking at him likedude, you are just got me in a
trance.
But yeah, it was.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
it was really good it was good to have him on.
Yeah, so if you guys haven'thad a chance to listen to that,
we split it up into episode one.
Episode two with Nick Urincar.
It was an epic couple ofepisodes, so go ahead and go
back and listen to those if youhaven't.
But, getting into today'sepisode, pivoting in life.
(02:46):
You know, both you and I havehad to make some major pivots,
and obviously in two verydifferent worlds, and so we
wanted to talk through that withyou guys today and some of the
lessons we've learned, and maybetry and correlate our stories
to something that you guys aregoing through today to maybe
help you hit that pivot andtransition into something maybe
(03:08):
you're called for and so, jake,you want to hit us with your
pivot.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, before I dig in , you know a lot of people.
I mean there's probably a fewpeople out there that don't know
.
You know a pivot in life wouldbe, you know, feeling stuck,
unmotivated.
Maybe you've outgrown yourcurrent situation.
You know it could be your job,relationships or even your
mindset.
You know, the signs are alwaysthere, you just have to pay
attention.
But the pivots I've made, Imean I know I'm probably not
(03:39):
done.
There's probably going to bemore in the future, which I
already know there will be, likethe podcast.
I had to make a pivot.
You know businesses.
You know they just don't alwaysgo as planned.
Sometimes you burn out, youknow you do it for so long.
You're like you know what thisis not where I see myself doing.
You do it for so long you'relike you know what this is not
(03:59):
where I see myself doing.
So you just make that pivot inlife and in the business world
and go a different direction andyou know it's a new thing all
the time that you're learningand you'll know.
You know right away.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
And one thing I want to add to that because I have a
lot of conversations with someof the younger generation that's
up and coming, whether theywent to school or they decided
to jump right into work.
A lot of the conversations Ihave with them they're searching
and searching and searching forthe perfect job and I'm like
you're never going to find it.
You've got to jump in and trythings out and, honestly, you're
probably going to hate it, butthen you're going to know.
I have this conversation withsome of my younger family
members and it's almost likethey're scared to try things
(04:52):
because I mean, maybe it's afear of failure, maybe it's just
fear of I'm going to get intosomething that I'm not going to
like, and it's like you can veryeasily pivot, but once you know
, you know I'm going to get intosomething that I'm not going to
like.
And it's like you can veryeasily pivot, yeah.
But once you know, you're nevergoing to know until you gain
that experience and know whetherthis is something that I enjoy
or it's something that I'm not,and then you can course correct
and try something different.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
So it's just really interesting.
You've had to make some pivots,I've made some pivots.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
You know, you know, I , I, I told you this story, you
know, a few days ago, but I'mgoing to try and relate my, my
football story to maybe like amore, you know, normal career
path.
And you know so I was sayingimagine training every day since
(05:39):
you were nine years old to bean accountant.
Right, I'll use an accountantas an example.
An accountant or a nurse, or achef, whatever, whatever you
want that career path to be.
But you, you know, at nineyears old, you practice it, you
fall in love with it, you have apassion, you go to camps and
you travel around, you go tothese different things and your
(05:59):
family invest money into this.
You know, and all along knowingthat the, the role of being an
accountant won't last forever.
I don't think people look at it,you know, when it comes to
professional sports, they don'tlook at it with that type of
mindset, like would you jumpinto being an accountant and
going through all that?
If you knew that at 24, 26years old you wouldn't be able
(06:24):
to do that anymore.
It's totally different.
Yeah, you know.
So I look at it as you know,when professional athletes go
through these, you know itdoesn't last long, right.
Nfl not for long, right, butyou have to go into it with the
go-all-in mindset, becausethere's there's no plan b.
(06:44):
If you want to get to thatlevel, regardless of what you're
you're going to do, there is noplan b.
You know, people used to ask meall the time, like Brax, what if
?
When I was in high school, brax, what if you don't go to Notre
Dame or don't get a collegescholarship?
Like it wasn't an option?
Yeah, didn't?
We didn't even like talk likethat at my house.
You know, brax, what if youwouldn't have made it to the NFL
(07:06):
?
It, it wasn't an option?
Yeah, in the back of my head,did I know I was getting a Notre
Dame degree?
Of course I did, cause that'sstill you know, but I wasn't
like, oh, I'm going to dip mytoes in here and hopefully I get
picked up and I can play, andif not, I'll just go be whatever
.
It was never something that Iwould even think about or talk
(07:29):
about.
Um, and so I hope that thatputs it in perspective, what
it's like from you know what,what I'm going to use air quotes
here of, like a normal jobversus, you know, playing, a
professional sport.
And so you know, my pivots were, you know, nfl to business and,
(07:50):
like I said, I didn't haveanything lined up.
Yeah, I had a huge network, knewa lot of people.
So, like you know, my thoughtin my head was it's going to
work out whenever I'm doneplaying like I'll, I'll figure
it out.
And so, you know, made thepivot from football to a
professional career, you know, apivot to being a dad.
(08:12):
In the middle of all that, andyou know, I went, once I got
into the business world it was,you know, I went from.
I thought I was going to betaking a medical sales job.
Um, thank God it was not theright thing for me.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
So, you know, jump into the manufacturing world as
a trainee, and I go from atrainee to you know, leading a
small group of people to then,you know, leading, actually
leading a manufacturing group toleading a distribution group,
to leading a customer servicegroup to lead leading an
insurance claims group, likepivot after pivot after pivot.
(08:54):
And to me, the only way Ilooked at that was I'm just
putting another tool in my toolbelt right.
I knew I jumped intomanufacturing.
I didn't know a damn thingabout manufacturing but I was
willing to learn, seek tounderstand mindset, and you know
a lot of people.
I think that maybe was aseparating factor from me, from
(09:16):
some of the other people thatjumped into it around the same
time as me, was I was not afraidto fail.
I knew I didn't know anything.
So to me I'm like I got nothingto lose anything.
So to me I'm like I got nothingto lose.
You know I'm going to come in,I'm going to ask a lot of
questions, probably a lot ofstupid questions, but you know,
as the saying goes, there's nostupid question beside ones
that's not asked.
And so you know, one of mybiggest action items or
(09:40):
takeaways I would give for youguys is that, like, don't be
afraid to take advantage of anopportunity to learn and grow
just because it's uncomfortableor unfamiliar territory, like to
me, like those are the greatestopportunities because there's
no expectation at that point, soyou can dive all into it and
learn as much as you possiblycan.
(10:00):
And again, you may hate it.
I mean I remember going throughit.
I've told this story before.
Like my first month in this newjob I came home and I told
Natalie I remember going throughit.
I've told this story before myfirst month in this new job.
I came home and I told NatalieI'm like I think I messed up, I
think I made the wrong decision.
And thankfully she told mestick with it.
But there's times when it's notgoing to be sunshine and
(10:24):
rainbows, oh yeah, but you haveto push through that and
actually know.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Give it enough time to know whether it's the right
thing for you or not, you havethat voice in your head telling
you to quit.
It's just funny how you talkabout the accountant story and
you know, it makes me think ofphil knight, because he was an
accountant and he sold shoes outof his car that's what you know
.
That's how nike started.
Didn't he start out?
Wasn't it selling like phonebooks, or something?
(10:48):
like that yeah, he was doingphone books and then shoes,
right, so yeah, but I mean, yeah, he was an accountant it's like
any successful person that youmaybe look up to, didn't start
in what they're doing what youknow them as today yeah yep,
just like any other big company,usually didn't start in the
area or the industry thatthey're in today.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
They had to make a pivot and took advantage.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
I just, you know, the problem is most people just
fear the change.
That's the big fear they haveis change.
They worry about what they'regoing to lose instead of
focusing on what they could gainfrom it.
And you know, the mostsuccessful people in life are
the ones that who adapt.
You know, adapt or die, that'swhat I say.
And, um, they don't let theirego or fear keep them trapped in
(11:31):
something that's not working.
So that's, you know, usuallysuccessful people, that's what
they do.
But you know, you said itbefore you know you gotta go all
in.
You can't go half in, half out.
It doesn't work.
Yeah, so, but yeah, quick andeasy, quick and easy, quick
hitter.
But if you guys, you know, aswe in this quick, quick hitter
(11:56):
episode, if you guys, if it hitsyou, if you guys feel it inside
your heart, you know, share itfor us, tag us, I mean, that's
what helped grow this thing.
Word of tag us, I mean that'swhat helped grow this thing.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
um, word of mouth, that's the big thing about what
we use and, uh, share it for us.
And yeah, at the end of the day, if you're, if you're in a
position like that right now,you're going through a pivot
shoot us a note like we'd loveto, I'd like to talk through it
with you guys, maybe relate anexperience, learn from each
other.
Um, that's what this is allabout, so don't be afraid to
reach out.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
But that's it, man.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
That's it.
See you on the next one.
See ya, thank you.
Welcome back to the Go On Podcast.
I'm Jake Fine.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
And I'm Braxton Cave and on today's episode we're
going to hit you guys withanother quick hitter, all-in
moments, and this episode isgoing to be on pivoting in life.
But before we get started, twothings.
One at the time of this episode, we are fresh off of the quick
(00:45):
little storm that came throughtown.
Yes, and my wife and I.
We lost power for a couple ofdays, and so we were bouncing
around and stayed at a friend'shouse and trying to drag the
kids around.
You don't realize how muchstuff you need for like one day
of your kids until you have tomove stuff out of your house.
(01:08):
And so we're through it.
Now things are good.
No, no damage to the house, youknow.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Thank god for that you don't, you don't realize how
, how important electricity is.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Oh man, I mean the things that we take for granted,
I tell you it's, it's.
I mean just the simple stuff.
Like you know, we're in themiddle of potty training with
Asa right now.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
And you know flushing toilets.
You don't realize how likeingrained that is in your brain
to flush the toilet.
We're like, oh no so.
But it's all good, caffeine andJesus is getting us through and
we're going.
But the second thing is justrecapping on our on our episode
that we did with Nick.
(01:51):
Just incredible, great reviewsfrom people.
I enjoyed it, I know youenjoyed it.
But just listening back to allthe nuggets of wisdom and you
know the things that Nick's beenthrough was really incredible.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Just to sit in front of him and hear there's a lot in
that two hour segment that wedid.
Like you know, I was locked inthe entire time.
I didn't say much in theepisode.
I was like just infatuated.
I was like looking at him likedude, you are just got me in a
trance.
But yeah, it was.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
it was really good it was good to have him on.
Yeah, so if you guys haven'thad a chance to listen to that,
we split it up into episode one.
Episode two with Nick Urincar.
It was an epic couple ofepisodes, so go ahead and go
back and listen to those if youhaven't.
But, getting into today'sepisode, pivoting in life.
(02:46):
You know, both you and I havehad to make some major pivots,
and obviously in two verydifferent worlds, and so we
wanted to talk through that withyou guys today and some of the
lessons we've learned, and maybetry and correlate our stories
to something that you guys aregoing through today to maybe
help you hit that pivot andtransition into something maybe
(03:08):
you're called for and so, jake,you want to hit us with your
pivot.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, before I dig in , you know a lot of people.
I mean there's probably a fewpeople out there that don't know
.
You know a pivot in life wouldbe, you know, feeling stuck,
unmotivated.
Maybe you've outgrown yourcurrent situation.
You know it could be your job,relationships or even your
mindset.
You know, the signs are alwaysthere, you just have to pay
attention.
But the pivots I've made, Imean I know I'm probably not
(03:39):
done.
There's probably going to bemore in the future, which I
already know there will be, likethe podcast.
I had to make a pivot.
You know businesses.
You know they just don't alwaysgo as planned.
Sometimes you burn out, youknow you do it for so long.
You're like you know what thisis not where I see myself doing.
You do it for so long you'relike you know what this is not
(03:59):
where I see myself doing.
So you just make that pivot inlife and in the business world
and go a different direction andyou know it's a new thing all
the time that you're learningand you'll know.
You know right away.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
And one thing I want to add to that because I have a
lot of conversations with someof the younger generation that's
up and coming, whether theywent to school or they decided
to jump right into work.
A lot of the conversations Ihave with them they're searching
and searching and searching forthe perfect job and I'm like
you're never going to find it.
You've got to jump in and trythings out and, honestly, you're
probably going to hate it, butthen you're going to know.
I have this conversation withsome of my younger family
members and it's almost likethey're scared to try things
(04:52):
because I mean, maybe it's afear of failure, maybe it's just
fear of I'm going to get intosomething that I'm not going to
like, and it's like you can veryeasily pivot, but once you know
, you know I'm going to get intosomething that I'm not going to
like.
And it's like you can veryeasily pivot, yeah.
But once you know, you're nevergoing to know until you gain
that experience and know whetherthis is something that I enjoy
or it's something that I'm not,and then you can course correct
and try something different.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
So it's just really interesting.
You've had to make some pivots,I've made some pivots.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
You know, you know, I , I, I told you this story, you
know, a few days ago, but I'mgoing to try and relate my, my
football story to maybe like amore, you know, normal career
path.
And you know so I was sayingimagine training every day since
(05:39):
you were nine years old to bean accountant.
Right, I'll use an accountantas an example.
An accountant or a nurse, or achef, whatever, whatever you
want that career path to be.
But you, you know, at nineyears old, you practice it, you
fall in love with it, you have apassion, you go to camps and
you travel around, you go tothese different things and your
(05:59):
family invest money into this.
You know, and all along knowingthat the, the role of being an
accountant won't last forever.
I don't think people look at it,you know, when it comes to
professional sports, they don'tlook at it with that type of
mindset, like would you jumpinto being an accountant and
going through all that?
If you knew that at 24, 26years old you wouldn't be able
(06:24):
to do that anymore.
It's totally different.
Yeah, you know.
So I look at it as you know,when professional athletes go
through these, you know itdoesn't last long, right.
Nfl not for long, right, butyou have to go into it with the
go-all-in mindset, becausethere's there's no plan b.
(06:44):
If you want to get to thatlevel, regardless of what you're
you're going to do, there is noplan b.
You know, people used to ask meall the time, like Brax, what if
?
When I was in high school, brax, what if you don't go to Notre
Dame or don't get a collegescholarship?
Like it wasn't an option?
Yeah, didn't?
We didn't even like talk likethat at my house.
You know, brax, what if youwouldn't have made it to the NFL
(07:06):
?
It, it wasn't an option?
Yeah, in the back of my head,did I know I was getting a Notre
Dame degree?
Of course I did, cause that'sstill you know, but I wasn't
like, oh, I'm going to dip mytoes in here and hopefully I get
picked up and I can play, andif not, I'll just go be whatever
.
It was never something that Iwould even think about or talk
(07:29):
about.
Um, and so I hope that thatputs it in perspective, what
it's like from you know what,what I'm going to use air quotes
here of, like a normal jobversus, you know, playing, a
professional sport.
And so you know, my pivots were, you know, nfl to business and,
(07:50):
like I said, I didn't haveanything lined up.
Yeah, I had a huge network, knewa lot of people.
So, like you know, my thoughtin my head was it's going to
work out whenever I'm doneplaying like I'll, I'll figure
it out.
And so, you know, made thepivot from football to a
professional career, you know, apivot to being a dad.
(08:12):
In the middle of all that, andyou know, I went, once I got
into the business world it was,you know, I went from.
I thought I was going to betaking a medical sales job.
Um, thank God it was not theright thing for me.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
So, you know, jump into the manufacturing world as
a trainee, and I go from atrainee to you know, leading a
small group of people to then,you know, leading, actually
leading a manufacturing group toleading a distribution group,
to leading a customer servicegroup to lead leading an
insurance claims group, likepivot after pivot after pivot.
(08:54):
And to me, the only way Ilooked at that was I'm just
putting another tool in my toolbelt right.
I knew I jumped intomanufacturing.
I didn't know a damn thingabout manufacturing but I was
willing to learn, seek tounderstand mindset, and you know
a lot of people.
I think that maybe was aseparating factor from me, from
(09:16):
some of the other people thatjumped into it around the same
time as me, was I was not afraidto fail.
I knew I didn't know anything.
So to me I'm like I got nothingto lose anything.
So to me I'm like I got nothingto lose.
You know I'm going to come in,I'm going to ask a lot of
questions, probably a lot ofstupid questions, but you know,
as the saying goes, there's nostupid question beside ones
that's not asked.
And so you know, one of mybiggest action items or
(09:40):
takeaways I would give for youguys is that, like, don't be
afraid to take advantage of anopportunity to learn and grow
just because it's uncomfortableor unfamiliar territory, like to
me, like those are the greatestopportunities because there's
no expectation at that point, soyou can dive all into it and
learn as much as you possiblycan.
(10:00):
And again, you may hate it.
I mean I remember going throughit.
I've told this story before.
Like my first month in this newjob I came home and I told
Natalie I remember going throughit.
I've told this story before myfirst month in this new job.
I came home and I told NatalieI'm like I think I messed up, I
think I made the wrong decision.
And thankfully she told mestick with it.
But there's times when it's notgoing to be sunshine and
(10:24):
rainbows, oh yeah, but you haveto push through that and
actually know.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Give it enough time to know whether it's the right
thing for you or not, you havethat voice in your head telling
you to quit.
It's just funny how you talkabout the accountant story and
you know, it makes me think ofphil knight, because he was an
accountant and he sold shoes outof his car that's what you know
.
That's how nike started.
Didn't he start out?
Wasn't it selling like phonebooks, or something?
(10:48):
like that yeah, he was doingphone books and then shoes,
right, so yeah, but I mean, yeah, he was an accountant it's like
any successful person that youmaybe look up to, didn't start
in what they're doing what youknow them as today yeah yep,
just like any other big company,usually didn't start in the
area or the industry thatthey're in today.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
They had to make a pivot and took advantage.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
I just, you know, the problem is most people just
fear the change.
That's the big fear they haveis change.
They worry about what they'regoing to lose instead of
focusing on what they could gainfrom it.
And you know, the mostsuccessful people in life are
the ones that who adapt.
You know, adapt or die, that'swhat I say.
And, um, they don't let theirego or fear keep them trapped in
(11:31):
something that's not working.
So that's, you know, usuallysuccessful people, that's what
they do.
But you know, you said itbefore you know you gotta go all
in.
You can't go half in, half out.
It doesn't work.
Yeah, so, but yeah, quick andeasy, quick and easy, quick
hitter.
But if you guys, you know, aswe in this quick, quick hitter
(11:56):
episode, if you guys, if it hitsyou, if you guys feel it inside
your heart, you know, share itfor us, tag us, I mean, that's
what helped grow this thing.
Word of tag us, I mean that'swhat helped grow this thing.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
um, word of mouth, that's the big thing about what
we use and, uh, share it for us.
And yeah, at the end of the day, if you're, if you're in a
position like that right now,you're going through a pivot
shoot us a note like we'd loveto, I'd like to talk through it
with you guys, maybe relate anexperience, learn from each
other.
Um, that's what this is allabout, so don't be afraid to
reach out.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
But that's it, man.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
That's it.
See you on the next one.
See ya, thank you.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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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.