On this episode, Ted and Patrick dive into Success and Failure. The conversation starts with how failure is taught to be a bad thing from an early age, yet it often leads to the most growth. Next comes risk taking, which can be scary due to finding the limit of your abilities, which can lead to someone not trying. To end the episode, Ted shares the success and failures of his career, what he learned from each failure, how he learned from his failures to propel himself forward, and finding the thing the gives you purpose. Enjoy!

Listen to us on Megaphone (or find our RSS Feed!): https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/VI9326253269?selected=VI1151133526

Follow us on our Socials:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLzsGH4hM9TxHC4hHPvgMJw

X: https://x.com/ManDownPodcast

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:lm4shifbvs6k63eb54k2gmho

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandown.podcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mandownpodcast

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:19 - Failure is a good teacher

02:47 - Go out and do interesting/hard things

03:58 - 2 kinds of failure

06:28 - No risk, no story

07:10 - Patrick’s experience not trying

08:56 - There’s a limit somewhere

10:00 - Imposter syndrome

12:43 - We’re programmed to be risk averse, but we have so many fewer risks now

15:38 - Life is not school, failure is ok

17:33 - Ted and Pat are real people with real experiences

19:25 - Statsbomb

20:14 - Ted’s history of success - starting as an athlete

21:27 - College and learning how to try

22:05 - Dropping out of graduate school

22:31 - The meandering path of Ted’s career

23:36 - Success at age 25, but not happiness

24:33 - Magic the gathering and sports betting

25:54 - Getting into football and winning a title

27:04 - Founding Statsbomb and gaining financial independence

28:47 - The failures along the way - a boring job with a horrible boss

29:42 - The .com crash and delivering pizza

30:12 - Editing starcitygames and then Magic

30:54 - quitting/getting fired

31:48 - Getting into sports betting with no training

32:56 - How did these choices feel to you at the time?

33:55 - Accepting interesting opportunities

34:37 - Knowing you have value so the failures don’t question your self-worth

36:28 - Divorce when young

37:27 - Rebuilding pinnacle + losing $63K on the day 1

38:36 - Learning to be successful at sports betting

39:29 - Was the stress addicting

40:33 - Nearly getting fired in 2010

42:25 - Not letting it stop his career

43:27 - When did you realize your political naivety?

44:55 - Choosing to spend more time with children

45:59 - The football side of things + getting fired for job hunting

47:07 - Starting statsbomb due cancer

47:59 - Great timing

49:05 - Great people in history have failures that lead to success

50:25 - Larry Miller and spending no time with family

52:30 - The stress of the last 2 years of Statsbomb

53:43 - The crowning moment of your career and everything is falling apart

55:13 - Acknowledging the good

57:20 - The biggest thing people look back on

58:14 - This conversation wouldn’t be happening without Statsbomb

59:00 - New projects to keep yourself occupied

59:42 - Writing, video games, and finding meaning in something

01:00:40 - Pat’s time at Football Daily

01:01:41 - Finding YOUR OWN definition of success

01:02:40 - Learn to love the work

01:03:57 - Not just the work, but other things in life

01:05:57 - Embrace failure, learn to feel better and find meaning in life

01:07:53 - It’s a marathon not a sprint

01:09:32 - Volunteer to having your dating profile reviewed by an EXPERT