We recently connected with Samantha Card and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Samantha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
Always remember, someone has to be the first. I have led with focusing on shattering limiting beliefs, reframing athleticism and empowering one billion athletes to extend their skills and impact beyond the game. To launch, you just need to give it a go. Fail often and fail fast aka “fall forward fast!” Do not tolerate problems. Simplify and go where you are uncomfortable. Focus on the journey and the growth, not the end result. You are one door away from changing the game.
I started with mentoring 2 athletes which has now become +100 athletes. These athletes became my best wake up call. It felt like a semi intervention when they all collectively would stress how much I should be doing this full time because athletes need the support. I have always been a “this AND that” versus a “this OR that” woman, but then two athletes changed my whole entire life view. I helped them both overcome major mental health issues. This became the turning point to live in my purpose, be all in and focus on how I can contribute to society.
I proceeded to write a book in 5 weeks, while still in corporate, on helping athletes transition and connect the dots to go pro in life. I self published my book, The Athlete Advantage, Success Beyond Game Day™ and it went Amazon #1 Best Seller in several categories including sports psychology, women in sports, softball and reference. The book became the runway that many saw as inspiration and I quickly realized I needed to lean all the way in. I gave my corporation 6 months to help them get the right person in the role and build my new business in parallel. I am big on doing hard things and start before you are “ready.” I am a big “walk the walk” human, so the majority of my proceeds will fund player life skills endowments across the country.
It is all about driving education, applied knowledge, placement into “your next sport” and building community. We meet others where they are at and communicate in the language others understand. There is no one size fits all. The four major pillars are mental health, business acumen, financial literacy and go pro in life. We help connect the dots between sports, life and business, focus on attitude and behaviors, effective values embedded storytelling, business 101, and financial literacy 101. We bring former athletes from across the country to be a part of the session because our collective power of WE is so much stronger than ME.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
As a competitive athlete, sports was life. I never grew up with “traditional” work experience because I was playing year round. I excelled on the field and became one of the top 5% of competitive athletes to play in Division 1 sports. I felt on top of the world and was focused on getting my Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry. Then I graduated with a fancy degree, no traditional work experience and a full blown identity crisis. I questioned who I was outside of sports. All I saw was a bleak resume and felt the full weight of depression.
Then it clicked! I tapped into my athletic building blocks, reestablished a routine and decided to not let this define me. I was more than equipped, capable and prepared to take on my new ” Day 1″ by finding ways to leverage my experiential skill sets I amassed through my entire athletic career. I then progressed to get into the MBA program at The University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business. I was confident that I was going to be their best bet and I worked tirelessly to be every bit of a sponge with the strongest work ethic. I was going to make a name for every athlete that choose to go pro in life. I studied abroad in France and graduated on Friday, started work on a Monday for a Fortune 100 company, Honeywell.
By 26 years old, I helped run a $10B merger acquisition project which then became a catalyst for catapulting up the ladder. I literally created every role I was ever in at Honeywell. I decided to leave Honeywell, despite being in the Leadership succession pipeline and go with a spin off from Honeywell into its own publicly traded company. I was managing a chemical portfolio and traveling the world, spanning over all of Europe and Asia. Many would say, “keep going, you are making a ton of money and love what you do,” but I always wanted to say thank you and give back to athletes. I wanted to do more!
We have one life to live so I took the leap, left corporate America in November 2022. I am now traveling across the country to help student athletes at the high-school, college and pro levels as well as coaches, administrators and corporate athletes at every stage in their career.
I am passionate about curating the best experience for others to connect the dots in real time. The team has been able to crystallize our abilities, curate our applied knowledge, capitalize our assets, and partner with other experts to deliver on our commitment.
We want others to win in life. Going pro in life means identifying opportunities, taking action, and applying the life tools gained in competitive sports to business and life success. We do a lot of work with full athletic teams, coaches and administrations. My partner and I have two best selling books and workbooks to help apply the knowledge. We host town halls for parents with the landscape changing. We also provide consulting for corporations who want to hire athletes by coaching them on corporate athleticism and leadership vs management attitudes/behaviors.
Any advice for managing a team?
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should is a big motto of mine. In order to have a thriving team, it is key to be a people forward leader, not a manager. Leadership is granted in permission, has a high degree of collaboration, willingness to let others fail and learn and repeat while staying curious. Management is granted in authority and comes with the title, based in time and efficiency which keeps you removed from the real flow of your team.
Managers say how many people work for them.
Leaders say how many people they work for.
Fail often and fail fast. Do not tolerate problems, even if it is that project you grew emotionally attached to. Go the extra mile and learn who people are the to core. Treat others how they want to be treated. Alignment, radical candor and thoughtful debate at any title/level of experience is critical so you can ensure you give everyone a voice. You get that right and it will pay you back in dividends. I learned a great lesson from Dr. Robbins about culture. The key is to focus on creating a culture of asking
1. What journey did you walk?
2. What journey did I walk?
3. Why am I right?
Let others thrive in the environment knowing they can fall often. You will see the ownership and accountability mindset change and your team will be more inclined to take that extra step.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
An area where I had to unlearn is being fixed in my routines and thought process.
I am passionate and sometimes that can cloud what you truly hear to learn. Moving away from a listen to speak and more of a listen to hear. Diversity of thought isn’t a buzz topic. It is a true right to operate at the highest and best level.
I have come to learn the hard way about “If I do it myself it can get done faster”. That right there couldn’t be further from the truth. In order to be successful, grow and scale, you need a team. You need others to acquire new skills while leveraging their core competencies. Hands on application and failing is the best learning you can have.
As an athlete, I know how to win, but that doesn’t always mean it is the best path to get to victory. Sometimes others bring a perspective that is a “work smarter, not harder” approach.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.samanthacard.com
and www.successbeyondgameday.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthascard/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085142682439
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-card-89239231/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamanthaSCard
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessBeyondGameDay/videos
Image Credits
I have full rights of my images presented