Hunger: Your Force Multiplier
What’s the true potential of developing an unstoppable drive to keep going, no matter what gets thrown at you?
INSPIRING QUOTE:
“The hungrier you are, the more you get back, the more you engage, the more you network, the more you give— and not because there’s an expectation that you’re going to get something back. It naturally happens when you have this voracity for life, for work, for relationships, everything that you can give yourself to. It’s impossible to not see it as just an amplifier of all things good.” —Michele Kajiwara
GUEST BIO:
Michele Kajiwara is the Senior Vice President of Premium Sales and Service at STAPLES Center/AEG. She began her career with the company as a Service Manager and innovated her way up and is now responsible for four consecutive years of $100+ million in revenue for her team. Like any great Playmaker, Michele truly knows what it means to get up off the mat and keep fighting.
Follow Michele Kajiwara on LinkedIn
Profile on Michele’s Work
OPENING MONOLOGUE SUMMARY:
The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly been unprecedented when it comes to the medical and economic impact on human lives. But the fear, risk, uncertainty, and anxiety? Are those feelings unprecedented, or have we all felt all those things before? There’s power in realizing that you’ve been in a place emotionally before, and in times like this it’s time to self-assess and ask yourself— How did I get off the mat last time? And how am I going to do the same this time? These questions are the beginnings of grit and resilience.
CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:
[8:08]
The Origins of Hunger
Are hunger and drive something we’re born with or can they be cultivated?
Both Paul and Michele share how their hunger, drive and willingness to be humbled weren’t there at the start of their lives or even their careers. They had to be grown over time, deliberately and with great effort. But they can be grown.
[11:13]
How to Build Hunger
Unlocking the secrets to growing hunger and resilience
If you want to spark hunger, you have to spark joy. You have to tap into that little burning ember that makes you want to wake up before the sun and get to work, excited by what you might accomplish. That’s where you’ll find the resilience to overcome absolutely anything.
[13:03]
Sustaining Momentum Through Challenges
When the worst happens, how do we sustain our drive to succeed?
You’re cruising. You’ve got the hunger. You’re powering up and making plays. Then a major block happens— let’s say, oh, a global pandemic, for example. How do you sustain that hunger through these challenges? You stay humble. You remember that nothing is just handed out, even in the best of times. You have to earn it now just as you did when things were flowing. Soon, they’ll start flowing again.
[22:59]
Tapping into Human Potential
Bringing the best out of the people around us
Whether you have 2 employees, 20, or 2,000, how do you tap into their potential? By taking the time to genuinely get to know them. Check in with your team members, not just professionally but personally. The trust you build will quickly become priceless.
[29:49]
Talking Speed and Thinking Speed
Why it’s so easy to zone out, and how to zone back in
We think more quickly than we speak, which means that it’s often easy for us to zone out when someone is saying or teaching us something. So how do we fix this? The key is to start from a clean slate, without assumptions, and truly listen to each word and what meaning it has for you. You’ll be surprised by how much more you get out of meaningful conversations.
[40:05]
Vacation Benefits Without the Vacation
Refreshing yourself from right where you are
How do you refresh your perspective and momentum without taking an actual vacation? By remembering to love the things you spend your time doing. You may not currently be in your dream job, but you can certainly find some aspect of it that you can wake up and feel excited about each day.
[49:42]
The Power of Givers
We remember the givers, not the takers
The curious people and the ones who give of themselves without expecting anything in return are the ones we remember most. What can we learn from them? To be genuine, curious, and giving ourselves.
[51:28]
The Peaks and Valleys
Ask what you can learn from your highest highs and lowest lows
A powerful exercise: Look back on the expanse of your life and identify your highest peak and lowest valley. This could be in your career specifically or in life generally. Then identify the way that those two opposite points have shaped you for the better.
[54:53]
When You Fail
How to grow from failures
When you don’t get the gig, the dream job, the opportunity that passes you by, what next? Michele says to look at who does get hired. Be self-aware. Don’t sit and cry and say, poor me. Ask what you can improve so that next time you are the one who gets the opportunity.
SHOW RESOURCES:
- [00:28] Purpose Labs
- [1:13] Staples Center/AEG
- [05:37] Success Principles by Jack Canfield
- [5:48] Grit by Angela Duckworth
- [16:17] Michele’s LinkedIn
- [29:49] Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
- [46:39] Conde Nast
- [1:04:50] The Power of Playing Offense, by Paul Epstein
MAKE A PLAY:
If you want to level up in terms of your experience, information, and relationships, you should constantly be asking yourself these three critical questions:
- How can I pick up a new experience today?
- What new information can I learn today?
- What relationship can I build or enhance today?
Any person can live up to these standards for growth every day, and if you hold yourself accountable to these challenges, then you’ll become the true Playmaker you’re meant to be.
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Take a seat at the table with leadership expert, sports industry veteran, personal transformation coach, purpose igniter, and your host Paul Epstein in this inspiring, yet immediately actionable podcast. From stories of total defeat to the thrills of unimaginable achievement to the practices of mastering the inside game, each show will share a high-energy, prescriptive blueprint to unleash impact and drive success, significance, and purpose no matter your starting point.
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ABOUT THE HOST:
Paul Epstein may not be a hard charging running back on the actual football field, but his list of high-profile wins in the world of sports will have you thinking that he could be.
Paul has spent nearly 15 years as a pro sports executive for multiple NFL and NBA teams, a global sports agency, and the NFL league office. He’s transformed numerous NBA teams from the absolute bottom in league revenue to top-two in financial performance. He’s broken every premium revenue metric in Super Bowl history as the NFL’s sales leader. He’s opened a billion-dollar stadium, helped save the New Orleans NBA franchise, and founded the San Francisco 49ers Talent Academy.
He's since installed his leadership and high-performance playbook with Fortune 500 leaders, Founders and CEOs, MBAs, and professional athletes.
Now, as Founder of Purpose Labs, keynote speaker and host of the Playmakers: Impact Unleashed podcast, Paul explores how living and working with a focus on leadership, culture, and purpose can transform organizations and individuals anywhere to unleash their full potential.
Learn more about Paul at PaulEpsteinSpeaks.com
Pre-Order Paul’s new book, The Power of Playing Offense
CREDITS:
Paul Epstein: Host | [email protected]
Connor Trombley: Executive Producer | [email protected]
