If I had to boil down the way I approach life, coaching, and leadership, it comes down to three words: patient, present, deliberate. These aren’t just ideas I toss around — they’re a mindset for endurance. They guide how I show up each day, how I coach, how I parent, and how I push through challenges when things get hard. Because they do get hard.

This mindset didn’t come to me overnight. It’s been tested on the field, in the heat, in losses, and life. But what I’ve learned is that the people who stay in the game, the ones who finish well, all share these traits.

Be Patient with the Process

If you have a goal, any goal, it’s going to take longer than you want to achieve it. Period. That’s reality.

We live in a world of shortcuts, instant results, and constant comparison. But growth, real growth, doesn’t work like that. It’s slow. It’s frustrating. And most people don’t make it to the end simply because they get impatient.

I remind myself constantly: Be patient with the process. Whether it’s developing a player, building a team, parenting my kids, or trying to grow in my own life, this all takes time. If we give up because it’s not happening fast enough, we miss the opportunity to become who we’re meant to be.

Stay Present: Be Where Your Feet Are

The harder life gets, the smaller I try to make it.

When I’m coaching a game and the pressure is on, I don’t think about the fourth quarter. I think about the next step. What’s the very next thing I need to do to move us forward?

It’s the same off the field. I’ve learned that if I start worrying about next month or next year or what might happen, I lose control of what I can do right now. I try to live fully in the day I’m in — and it’s become a superpower.

When my mind starts to drift too far ahead, I tell myself: “No. What’s the next step?”

It sounds simple, but staying present is one of the hardest things to do in a distracted, anxious world. And it’s one of the most powerful.

Be Deliberate in Everything You Do

The third piece of this mindset for endurance is being deliberate.

Every word I say. Every relationship I pour into. Everything I eat. Every hour I spend. All of it matters.

It’s easy to go on autopilot and coast through life. That’s human nature. But if I want to operate at the highest level I can — as a coach, as a father, as a man — I have to fight that tendency.

Intentional living is uncomfortable. It forces me to own my choices. But it also produces results. It makes me a better leader. It teaches the boys I coach how to live with integrity. It sets the tone for the kind of legacy I want to leave behind.

The Mindset That Endures

So there it is. My mindset, in three words: Patient. Present. Deliberate.

It’s not flashy. It’s not complicated. But it’s how I endure.

When the heat is scorching, when the odds feel stacked, when the wins aren’t coming, and the hotel gives away your room — it’s this mindset that grounds me. And I believe it’s the kind of mindset that builds not just great athletes, but great men.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what we’re building: young men who are ready to lead when we’re no longer the ones calling the shots.

Stay patient. Stay present. Stay deliberate. And keep going.