JJ Birden: Former NFL Player
Former NFL wide receiver JJ Birden shares lessons in perseverance, preparation, and personal accountability to help audiences strengthen performance and act on ambitious goals.
Quick Facts:
- Former NFL wide receiver.
- University of Oregon football and track background.
- Selected in the 1988 NFL Draft.
- Professional playing experience with the Kansas City Chiefs.
- Formats:
Keynote presentations and motivational workshops.
- Audiences:
Corporate teams, sales organizations, leadership groups, professional associations, schools, universities, and sports programs.
- Outcomes:
- Identify preparation habits that support consistent performance.
- Respond to setbacks with greater adaptability and personal accountability.
- Translate ambitious goals into manageable, repeated actions.
- Travels from: Phoenix, AZ
- **Fee range: $10,001 - $20,000
Keynote Topics
SEIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES
Success is not going to be given to you, you have to go get it!
Businesses have always aimed to get more out of their people, but it is becoming increasingly hard to provide resources, instruction, and encouragement that actually motivate employees to show up and give their best.
To truly succeed in today’s extremely competitive business world, organizations need employees who are genuinely motivated to give their best, improve each day, and do whatever it takes to win.
Unfortunately, not everyone has this capacity; JJ Birden does, and he can help anyone develop it, too.
Seize Your Opportunities focuses on the individual and what one must do for success as part of a larger group—no matter the odds, and no matter how much hard work it requires.
As a former NFL wide receiver, JJ knows what it takes to reach the highest level of performance and have the capacity to maintain it. Many of the success principles he learned as a professional athlete has helped him thrive in the business world as an entrepreneur and professional speaker.
In this presentation, JJ shares his winning principles and strategies and teaches audiences how to maximize and seize the opportunities in their lives.
Success is not going to be given to you. You have to achieve success; and once you have it, you can’t stay at that same level. You have to continue to work to fight mediocrity and complacency. JJ will show you how.
Key Takeaways from Seize Your Opportunity
- Finding, defining, and defending your Why
- How discipline and self-motivation lead to success
- Achieving your breakthrough through adversity
- Developing championship focus and resolve
- How complacency can destroy momentum
- Avoiding complacency by continuous self-improvement
- The Joe Montana Effect – what JJ learned playing with one of the greatest athletes of all time
SEIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES: LEADERSHIP
Before you can lead others, you must have the ability to lead yourself.
Leadership is a popular term and hot-topic in the business world, and rightfully so. Leaders have a direct impact on how successful an organization is; unfortunately, not all leaders naturally have the skills to set the pace, set the bar, and drive a group’s collective efforts towards accomplishing the most important goals.
As impactful as good leadership is, poor leadership can be equally impactful, albeit in the opposite direction. Leaders who fail to recognize the role they play or the impact they have on others can leave employees feeling lost, unmotivated, and paralyzed to step outside their comfort zones. The results? Decreased revenue, low morale, and poor performance overall.
In There Better Be An “I” In Team, JJ Birden explains the principles of leadership and team dynamics he learned playing at the highest level in the NCAA and NFL. The heart of his message is clear: “To lead a team, it’s imperative you can lead yourself first. The team’s success is dependent on your success!”
This dynamic, engaging keynote presentation will help develop and strengthen the leaders within your organization.
Key Takeaways from There Better Be An “I” in Team
- Defining your personal leadership style and communicating it to your team
- Clearly stating your expectations as a leader
- Creating a championship environment
- Identifying “star players” on your team and elevating their game
- Empowering and inspiring your team to do whatever it takes to win
SEIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES
TO GET THE FUTURE YOU WANT, YOU MUST BRING YOUR BEST EVERY DAY.
The economy is changing fast. The jobs of the future mostly don’t exist yet, which means the people who are most likely to thrive are the ones who are prepared to improvise, adapt, overcome, and continually grow.
Unfortunately, the youth of today may not have the resiliency skills to get the futures they want–but they can develop what it takes to get there. The key is developing a set of core life skills to manage school, work, and outside interests while being responsible, dependable, and accountable adults.
Those are the skills that helped JJ Birden overcome astronomical odds to reach the NFL, and they are the same skills that can help the youth of today become the leaders and high-achievers of tomorrow.
In this captivating and empowering keynote presentation for students and athletes, JJ helps his audience understand the importance of giving their best every day so that when the going gets tough and all eyes are on them, they will have the capacity to succeed and breakthrough to bigger and better things. In Every Day is Game Day, JJ shares actionable tips and strategies that help young people approach every day like an NFL Pro.
Key Takeaways from Every Day Is Game Day
- Mastering your thoughts and overcoming the underdog mindset
- Avoiding the entitlement trap
- Benefits of creating the right “positive” social media trail
- How you react to F.A.S.C.O. (Failures, Adversity, Setbacks, Challenges, and Obstacles) can lead to either a breakthrough or a breakdown
Why having a mentor is the ultimate shortcut to anything you want in life
Even though you may be winning now, complacency can cause you to lose
Talent Short Bio
JJ Birden is a former NFL wide receiver and motivational keynote speaker whose presentations explore perseverance, preparation, teamwork, and personal growth.
An Oregon native and University of Oregon athlete, JJ was selected in the 1988 NFL Draft. Despite questions about his size, he pursued a professional football career that included playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.
JJ draws on those experiences to help audiences examine how they prepare, respond to setbacks, and take responsibility for improvement. His presentations connect the demands of professional sports with practical habits relevant to business and everyday life.
Through personal storytelling and actionable guidance, he encourages leaders, teams, and individuals to clarify their goals, remain adaptable, and build consistency in their efforts.
Videos
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