Don Yaeger is a nationally acclaimed inspirational speaker, longtime Associate Editor of Sports Illustrated, and author of over 30 books, eleven of which have become New York Times best-sellers. He began his career at the San Antonio Light in Texas, and also worked at the Dallas Morning News and the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville before going to work for Sports Illustrated.

As an author, Don has written books with, among others, Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden, baseball legends John Smoltz and Tug McGraw, and football stars Warrick Dunn and Michael Oher (featured in the movie The Blind Side). He teamed up with Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade to pen the 2013 best-seller George Washington’s Secret Six, a look at the citizen spy ring that helped win the Revolutionary War and then again in 2015 for Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War that Changed American History, and in 2017 for Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans:  The Battle that Shaped America’s Destiny.

Don left SI in 2008 to pursue a public speaking career that has allowed him to share stories learned from the greatest winners of our generation with audiences as diverse as Fortune 10 companies to cancer survivor groups, where he shares his personal story. More than a quarter-million people have heard his talks on “What Makes the Great Ones Great.” He collaborated with the Florida State University School of Business’s Continuing Education Program to build a corporate webinar program focusing on lessons that build a culture of success within an organization. This naturally led to another keynote speech on “What Makes the Great Teams Great.”  The release of his tenth New York Times best-seller, Teammate, was the inspiration for his newest keynote on “What Makes a Great Teammate: Becoming Invaluable Without Being Most Valuable.”

Learn more at www.donyaeger.com or contact Don at [email protected]

Show Highlights:

Even if the last play was a good play, you have to look at yourself and think, "Next play." -Don YaegerEven out of the worst things that happened to me, better things came. -Don YaegerControl the things that you can control. The way you talk to yourself is one of the things that you can control. -Don YaegerI need to talk to myself in the third person; I need to talk like I would to someone else. You're always so much more positive with someone else. -Don YaegerIf someone else talked to you the way you talk to yourself, you'd leave that person. -unknownThere are going to be things that you won't understand in the moment but you have to believe that it's going to be okay. -Don YaegerYou can be bitter or you can be better. -Don YaegerHumility is not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less. -John WoodenReach out and ask. Amazing things happen. -Don YaegerIf left alone, we will continue feeding the beast. We have to be very intentional about changing the meal plan. -Don YaegerThere's a role model and mentor out there for all of us. They don't always have to be people that we meet. -Don Yaeger

Don's closing thoughts: Part of my drive is based on my life experience which was not altogether positive but left a mark. The second thing is I'm an insatiable learner. What did I learn today that I'll use tomorrow? If I can't answer that question, I may not sleep that night!

The Action Catalyst is a weekly podcast hosted by Dan Moore, President of Southwestern Advantage, the oldest direct-sales company in America, and Partner with Southwestern Consulting. With more than 45 years in sales leadership and marketing management, Dan has a wealth of knowledge to share on how to make better use of time to achieve life, sales, and other business goals. Each week,