Steven Smith Story

“I take an hour each morning and just exist. This is accomplished by either reading positive social media posts, catching up on work emails that can easily be tackled or just simply going out on my deck and experiencing the glory of the morning with a fresh cup of coffee. Beginning the day with mindfulness is a key.  

The clearest NDCQ moment that I can recall was my first practice as a pro football coach in 2012. I had been an equipment manager prior. In the course of changing my career, my family and I doubted I could do it. But the only way to succeed is by trying & failing. And boy, were there failures. For a moment in a critical situation, I messed some things up. But I realized by quitting I would let down myself and those who put faith and trust in me. So I pulled myself together and soldiered on. It's kind of a trait that my late father marveled in, the fact that I could bounce back quickly from failure. It's something I've done my whole life.  

For a few years I've wanted to attain my undergrad degree and turn my career focus to coaching football or baseball full-time. I've spent the better part of the past two decades working on the operations side of things but it wasn't until after my first season coaching that I found my calling. People have told me that I was living in a dream world, and that I could never achieve the goals that I had set. Well not only did I smash those goals, I set new ones and am now working to accomplish those.”