SHARK MINDSET | One of the Best Speeches EVER by Walter Bond

My freshman year I don't play a lick.

And before I knew it, I lost my mindset again.

And I begin to recalibrate.

You know everybody doesn’t play in the NBA,

I'll graduate in 4 years.

You know what?

I'll just go get a good job.

It's okay, it's okay.

And the end of my freshman year my daddy called

me on the phone, and he asked me a question.

He said, “Son, you're not playing. Why not?"

- Politics dad.

It's political.

My father asked me a question.

He said, “How does your coach get paid son?”

I said “Dad, he gets paid to win”.

He says, “Okay, son.

If your coach gets paid to win, won’t he

play the players that give him the best chance to win?"

He said, “Son, you got recruited, you took

all your visits, you chose Minnesota”.

You took the time and you chose Minnesota.

You told me that you're going to turn that

program around.

You told me you’re going to graduate in 4 years.

You told me you're going to make more money

in business than you did in sports”.

One of the core values of our training and

development called family was accountability.

That was a core value of that training and development

organization called the bond family accountability.

He said, "So, go back and do what you said you're

going to do".

My father reminded me of what I said I was

going to do.

I went back to my coach's office and I said,

“Coach what do I need to do to play in the NBA?"

He looked confused.

Here's what I told him.

I'm going to become somebody different - What

do I need to do to play in the NBA?

I'm taking this thing to the next level.

We are about to rise up.

So, for you to be passionate your logic and

your emotions need to be intertwined.

See, some of you guys have the intellect and

some of you guys have the passion but you

have to have both to be successful in this

business.

Sharks are hunters and predators.

They never stop swimming.

In fact, if a shark stops swimming, it will die.

If the shark goes backwards, it will die – Think

like a shark, act like a shark and behave like a shark.

Can I ask you a question right now?

Can I ask you a real question?

Not your neighbor, I'm talking to you.

What kind of student are you right now in life?

You're in charge of your promotion.

If you do five million and you want to get

to ten, you're in charge.

In order for you to rise up you better take

your game to the next level.

Your mindset needs to go to the next level,

your information needs to go to the next level,

your relationships need to go to the next level.

Take your money and give information and access

and you will get good habits and good rituals

and you will go to next level.

Coach, what do I need to do to play in the

NBA?

He said, “You can't run, you can't jump,

you can't dribble, you can't shoot,

and you can't rebound son”.

Next year I'll be your most improved player.

I’m going to think, I’m going to execute

and I'm going to win.

I'm going to think, I'm going to execute and

I'm going to win.

I'm going to execute what I've been trained to do.

I'm connected to a shark.

I'm connected to the greatest training organization

in the world and when I get home, I'm going

to become somebody who’s different - What

do I need to do?

You didn't have an honest self-assessment

about what your witnesses are

and that's how you get to the next level.

My sophomore year rolls around, we go all

the way to the Sweet 16

and I'm the top six men in the country.

I go back to my coach - What do I need

to do to play in the NBA?

The list gets shorter, the next year we went

all the way to the Elite 8.

We were one shot away from the Final 4 and

I was a top six player in the country.

I carved out a niche!

And that's what impact players do.

They make their community better.

They make their city better.

They make their town better.

They make Realtors better.

Be an impact player and anybody in your life

if they need a shark you become their shark.

All I had to do is have one good year and

I'll walk right into the NBA.

My senior year, everything lines up but the

first game of my senior year I break my foot.

I come back in six weeks and I break my foot

for the second time.

In my mind my college career was over, and

my NBA dreams were dead.

I averaged 7 points per game.

I got offered a $75,000 job because one of

our season ticket holders liked me.

Right before I took the job my daddy called

me on the phone.

He would always ask the right questions at

the right time.

He said, “You had a tough year son, what's

next?”

I said, “Daddy, I'm going to be a hospital

administrator $75,000 job”.

He said, “Not bad son but can I ask you

a question?

Do you believe you're an NBA player?”

Come on now dad, I only averaged 7 points

a game dad.

We're not like these other black families

that just need basketball dad.

We're educated dad.

We're not dependent on basketball dad, we're

boundless dad, we're educated dad.

I got a $75,000 job dad.

- Do you believe son?

He was checking my mindset.

He was checking to see if I was thinking like

an A student or if I was falling back into

that C mindset.

“Do you believe you are an NBA player?”

I said, “Yeah, dad, I do”.

He said, “Well, go for it, son”.

– “But dad, I never started in college”.

But… but… but…

My father said, “You told me son that you're

going to turn their program around

and you did it from the bench son.

You told me you're going to graduate in 4

years son.

The average student graduates in 5.

I'm proud of you.

But you told me that you are going to play

in the NBA.

And you told me you are going to make more

money in business than you did in sports.

Do you believe you are an NBA ball player?”

I do daddy.

Go for it, son.

Go for it.

I go back to my coach's office and I said,

“Coach what do I need to do to play in the NBA?"

He teared up.

I teared up.

He said, “I'll be honest with you son.

When I recruited you, I heard you was a mama's boy

but you’re not.

In fact, you’re one of the toughest players

I've ever had”.

I'm a Hall of Fame motivational speaker.

I go all over the world running my mouth,

but he gave me the greatest compliment

I've ever received.

He said, “You're just like your daddy”.

My daddy was a shark and I was a sucker fish,

but that moment was my opportunity to turn

into a shark myself.

If you hang around sharks long enough, they

will transform your mindset and I promise you

you will be like a shark, you will think

like a shark and you can't go backwards.

If you stop swimming, you will die.

He can't go backwards and if he stops swimming,

he will die.

So, ladies and gentlemen you're connected

to the right shark

All you need to do is be a good sucker fish.

Success is all around you, just pay attention.

Every time you leave the business meeting

consciously and subconsciously that person

is debriefing you.

Are you likeable?

Do you brighten up a room when you enter or

do you brighten up a room when you leave?

Are you good with people?

And don’t you ever be a parasite

which means don't you ever come to this conference

and go back home and do nothing.

And then claim, “Oh, I tried it, and it didn't

work”.

No!

My college basketball coach said, “Son,

I think you should be a motivational speaker”.

I said, “Coach, I can talk the rest of my life.

What do I need to do to play in the NBA?”

He said, “If you do these two things you

will play in the NBA.

You gotta better shoot the three-point shot

with range and you got to lose about 15 pounds

because you don't pass the eyeball test”.

When I talk about the eyeball test, I'm not

talking about you, I'm talking about me.

He said, “The NBA thinks you're a football

player trying to play basketball.

You're going to lose weight to change the

perception”.

I lost 15 pounds and I became the first-ever

undrafted rookie free agent

in the history of the NBA to start opening night.