Rewrite Your Narrative, Redirect Your Future

I believe self-awareness is the ultimate career transition tool. The key to unlocking its value is learning how to master the two sides of it.

Many people think of self-awareness as internal reflection—understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and motivations. But there's a second layer: external self-awareness—knowing how others see you and why.

For many, it feels like investing in understanding how people perceive you is an energy drain. It feels like you’re investing in caring about opinions that distract you from the “main thing”—yourself. But my experience has taught me a different perspective.

More Than a Mascot

When I left the NFL after a decade-long career, I understood the value of the work ethic, discipline, and leadership I brought to the locker room, and how it led to team success. Internally, I also understood those same skills and insights are key drivers of success in the business world.

Externally? Many people didn’t see it that way. They didn’t see the business colleague or peer, or the transferrable skillsets—they saw an athlete first.

Oftentimes when people only know you through the lens of entertainment or past success, the humanity in your value gets stripped away. It’s easier to relegate you to a predetermined box—one built on transactional value:

• "He's just here because of his name."

• “Can you help us reach more people?”

• “Can you open up your network?”

In those boxes your value is defined by the leverage you create for others and the influence you provide—not your ability to contribute to high-performance teams or execute at the highest level.

Your status and success are viewed as an object to be leveraged, rather than a mastery of the processes that helped you build it.

So, while the widely accepted narrative pushes athletes to leverage their network to find pathways to build a successful transition, the hard truth is: people remember you as they first knew you. 

If they saw you as an entertainer, they often struggle to see how you provide value beyond that context. Once that narrative is set, changing those initial perception is tough.

That’s why gaining access to new rooms isn’t enough. You need to control the narrative. Open doors aren’t helpful if they lead to dead ends.

The Opportunity in the Delta

In every career pivot, there's a gap—a delta—between who you know yourself to be and how others perceive you.

There’s always pressure to conform to fit into the boxes that other people recognize because it’s the easiest path forward. There’s a visible path to follow and it gets you established in the short term.

But in the long run, conforming to fit in the predetermined box will dilute your competitive edge—and your authenticity.

The alternative? Leverage the delta to reframe and differentiate yourself. This reframing starts with clear, consistent messaging about your value—what you can provide and what you aspire to provide.

Identify the parts of your story that resonate in the new space you're entering. Lead with those to create your priorities and non-negotiables—a new filter through which you evaluate everything. This filter becomes the "front door" through which all opportunities must pass to reach you.

Changing Your Front Door

For me, breaking through the outside perceptions started with taking a clear stance: I wasn’t there as a finished product—a "mascot" or “spokesperson” whose identity was based on past glory. I was someone humbly learning and working to contribute real value to the business ecosystem.

I quickly realized that resetting and reframing the public perception wouldn’t just happen by chance — it had to come from intentional moves and strategy.

As Donald Miller says in Hero on a Mission: “We either live with the belief that life happens to us, or we learn that we can design the story of our lives.”

The first step is taking control of the narrative around you. If you want to reframe and redefine yourself professionally, start with these three strategies:

1. Re-articulate your value through a new lens:

   Own your narrative. Explain your unique value in a way that connects your most ambitious goals with the needs of the industry or audience you’re entering.

2. Be willing to leave equity on the table:

   The reputation you built in one field won’t always transfer intact. You might have to leave some easy wins on the table to grow into a more fulfilling and sustainable role that allows you to feel whole.

   No one wants to rebuild their reputation from the ground up, but sometimes it's necessary to create a more sustainable path forward.

3. Don’t be afraid to go against the grain:

   Reinvention often means defying conventional expectations. Push yourself to create new paths—even if that means temporary discomfort or skepticism from others.

Final Thoughts

Self-awareness isn’t just about knowing yourself; it's about owning how others experience you. Master both, and you'll unlock levels of influence and success you didn’t even know were possible.

Ready to take the next step?

Every great transformation begins with a single step. Whether you’re navigating a career pivot, building a business, or redefining your path, Separation Playbook provides the tools, strategies, and mindset shifts you need to create sustainable success:

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