“Patiently impatient.”

That’s my new favorite phrase when it comes to being a backup QB, or really anything where you may not be in the position you desire.

This past summer I sat down with former college and NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky. Myself and Elite 11 head coach Jake Heaps had a conversation with the former UConn star around the QB position which centered around the concept of Chasing What Matters. 

I’ve spent years seeking the red thread that connects elite leaders to elite organizations to elite performers. I’ve netted out that the best in class truly Chase What Matters with clarity around what matters most, they can state that clarity with a grounded confidence and then attack that notion with a unique discipline. In fact, it’s been my keynote speech over the past year and I've seen it resonate with companies and teams across the country.

When Orlovsky, a current ESPN NFL and college football analyst, stated that phrase “patiently impatient” after being asked how he navigated adversity in his sporting life, it hit me with as much power as a free blitzer in the A gap, unloading on a QB.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been on my Training Camp Tour, visiting campuses from Eugene to Penn State and various stops in between. As I watched 5-star recruit Julian Sayin at Ohio State I kept thinking about the phrase “patiently impatient,” as he will be tested while likely being on the bench to start his career. While watching Ethan Garbers at UCLA and Miller Moss at USC this past week, I kept thinking “thankfully they were patiently impatient” as their time has come to lead two storied programs and it would have been easy for them to have hit the transfer portal to find a starting spot. 

After speaking with both of them and sitting down with Miller earlier this summer at the Elite 11 Finals, it was evident that each QB was proud that they had evolved while they sat rather than complained and got worse while they were backups. And now, with experience and resilience as part of their respective tool belts, both Garbers and Moss will lead their dream schools into a new league in a matter of weeks.

I’ll net out that anyone who desires to compete on a premier stage, or simply wants to find success in life, must embrace that phrase and as Dan Orlovsky shared with us and the Elite 11 quarterbacks this summer. Once you do embrace that concept life will present opportunities that you will be ready for, as you will have been preparing for that exact moment. 

Presented by our founding partner 76, I hope you enjoy our conversation and if you are an athlete, coach, executive, lover of the QB position or parent of a high achiever, this conversation will impact you in a powerful way.

The episode was edited and executive produced by Jim Thornby.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

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