195: Pete Carroll on Winning with Meaning and Purpose

“Strong, trusting relationships among people who are striving to be the best versions of themselves create something powerful.” Today it’s great to have Coach Pete Carroll on the podcast. One of only three coaches to win a Super Bowl and college football national championship, Pete Carroll is in his 11th season as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. With his unique “Always Compete” philosophy and relationship-based approach, Carroll has a combined 46 years of highly decorated NFL and collegiate coaching experience.  Carroll is also widely known for his off-field impact — through community initiatives that aim to reduce youth and gang violence; his leadership with the WE organization that focuses on youth empowerment; Compete to Create, the high-performance mindset platform he co-founded; the Performance Science Institute at USC that he co-created to educate and inspire college students; and his New York Times best-selling “Win Forever” book. In this episode we cover: How players are handling a virtual off-season Some of Coach Carroll’s goals for the virtual off-season How players are coping with the Coronavirus Coach Carroll’s definition of “competition” The importance of striving to be your best What it means to be your best on the sports field How coaches are teachers When recruiting new players, what are some of the most important characteristics? What Coach Carroll was like as a child How determination can be more important than talent The mission of Compete to Create The importance of a culture of love What authenticity looks like in a sports context Coach Carroll’s belief in the importance of self-belief and self-talk The difference between extreme self-belief and narcissism How to cultivate creativity among players The relationship between expertise and creativity Michael Jordan’s greatness The distinction between personal philosophy and vision The early seeds of vision among those who achieve greatness The seeds of greatness that exist all around us Without purpose and meaning there is no winning How has humanistic psychology influenced Coach Carroll’s personal philosophy Why to treat every day as though it’s the Super Bowl The role of fun in sports Finding what’s most important to you Coach Carroll’s pep talk to people who have so much fear right now with the Coronavirus What is Coach Carroll’s vision of humans in 5 years if they practice the psychological skills that his practices with his players