From Athlete To Entrepreneur: Brian Taylor Of Goldiata Creative On The 5 Work Ethic Lessons We Can Learn From Athletes

As a part of our series about the work ethic lessons we can learn from professional athletes, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Taylor.

Brian Taylor is an entrepreneur in the digital marketing industry. He connects clients to their goals using creativity, skill, and an acute ability to not just see possibilities, but to take action to create profitable realities. As Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Goldiata Creative, he is at the helm of a highly skilled group that embodies the Goldiata name, a powerful moniker that has its roots in the Mali empire and traditional African languages.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! It is a great honor. Our readers would love to learn more about your personal background. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up in the suburbs outside of Baltimore City with my mom, dad, and older sister. Throughout my life, sports played a pivotal role.

My dad was an NFL player for the New England Patriots. I followed in his footsteps, and I played football from the age of 6 all the way through college. Plus, my sister was a Division 1 softball player at George Washington University, and I would travel with her across the country for her tournaments. So from a very early age, I had the mentality of working hard and being committed to trying to achieve extraordinary things.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career as a high-level professional athlete?

My dad inspired me to be a professional athlete. He was a legendary high school player in the state of Virginia, then played in the NFL with the New England Patriots. I always thought that was the coolest thing.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

Again, I would say that my dad is probably my biggest influence. Growing up, my primary goal was to play college football, then make it to the NFL. With that, there was always a lot of hard work and physical training.

Whether it was early in the morning or on the weekends, my dad would always be the one training me and encouraging me to push myself further. I definitely get a lot of my resilience and work ethic from him.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your sports career? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?

One of the most interesting mistakes that I made while playing college football was getting a critical penalty with the game on the line. Because of a stupid decision, I got a penalty that ultimately led to the other team kicking the game-winning field goal.

A lesson that I learned from that mistake is that the worst thing can happen to you, and life goes on. One of our team captains chastised me in the locker room in front of everyone, we had a long bus ride home to think about it, then we had to watch the footage of the mistake the next day.

Even with all of the negative emotions around the situation, the only option was to keep moving forward. There was no use in living in the moment forever.

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. As an athlete, you often face high-stakes situations that involve a lot of pressure. Most of us tend to wither in the face of such pressure and stress. Can you share with our readers 3 or 4 strategies that you use to optimize your mind for peak performance before high-pressure, high-stress situations?

Practice makes perfect. Practicing situations over and over again when the stakes are low helps build your muscle memory. The same applies in non-sport situations. For example, doing role plays of presentations makes executing the live presentation that much easier.

Visualization. Before I go to bed, I’ll take a moment to play out the situation in my mind. The more details I can add, from sounds to sights to smells, the easier it is to perform when everything actually unfolds.

Focus on deep breathing. For me, the more I concentrate my mind on my breath, the more present I become. It helps calm my mind so that I can treat high-stakes situations like a normal situation.

Can you tell us the story of your transition from a professional athlete to a successful business person?

I had a reality call early in my college career when I saw the most talented athlete I’d ever seen play NOT make it to the NFL. When I saw you could be that talented, and still not be good enough to play in the NFL, I realized that it was going to be tough for me to make it.

Even after seeing that, it took life slapping me in the face before I started transitioning my mind into becoming a successful businessman. I was suspended from college in my senior year, which gave me a year to really think about what I wanted to do.

Over the course of that year, I started formulating my business plan and thinking about the various ways I could make a positive impact. That year away from school — I went back to graduate — gave me time to make the mental transition.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting new projects you are working on now?

We’re currently running an advertising campaign for Bowie State. Getting to work with a local HBCU is very interesting for me for a couple of reasons.

I never really wanted to go to college, and I mainly went so I could pursue my football career. Then, I got suspended from college. But now, colleges like Bowie State look to me to help them attract more students.

Do you think your experience as a professional athlete gave you skills that make you a better entrepreneur? Can you give a story or example about what you mean?

Today, I’m still able to leverage a lot of the skills that enabled me to play Division 1 football, I just use them in a different way. Namely, getting deeply obsessed with being the best I can be and loving the learning process.

For example, in order to become good enough to earn a Division 1 scholarship, you have to wake up early to work out, train on the weekends when your friends are being lazy, and travel so that scouts can find you.

Then once you’re in college, it’s more of the same. We would wake up at 5 am to work out outside in the snow before classes, then watch a film once classes were done, and finish the day with homework. The only way you make it through those rigors is by becoming obsessed with greatness and learning to love the process.

Ok. Here is the main question of our interview. Entrepreneurs and professional athletes share a common “hustle culture”. Can you share your “5 Work Ethic Lessons That Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Athletes”?

Keep going. No matter what, you have to keep moving forward. Even if you receive a “no” from a prospect. I’ve had prospects say no to working with us previously, then come back around after 3 years.

First in, last out. This behavior sets a good example for your team and your professional relationships. We work in a co-working space, and the other business owners have become accustomed to seeing me there when they arrive in the morning, and me being at the desk when they’re leaving.

Take a rest day. If you’re going to work hard as I’ve mentioned in the last two points, you must rest. Even when we were training extensively to play college football, we would always take one day off per week to recharge our batteries.

Lead from the front. Sometimes, the process really sucks. As a leader, when you dive in and show that you’re willing to do the hard things, like doing whatever it takes to get a deliverable out on time, the rest of the team is able to follow that example.

Team, team, the damn team. We implement a practice of public praise for our team. Every Friday, we shout out our team members for the positive things they’ve done to contribute to our mission of “Amplifying Positivity.”

What would you advise a young person who aspires to follow in your footsteps and emulate your career? What advice would you give?

Practice delayed gratification. After expenses, we made basically $0 in our first 2 years in business. Even as our company continues to grow, there are countless scenarios where we have to forgo some of the “shiny” things and continue to reinvest in our foundation.

There’s a lot of “get rich quick” messaging out there, but the most successful individuals practice delayed gratification.

You are by all accounts a very successful person. How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

One thing I’m really passionate about is equal education, so I’ve taken up mentoring high school students.

Another thing is that our company is in the process of becoming a certified B Corporation. It’s a certification that you earn by setting intentional practices about being inclusive and equitable with everything from employee benefits and charitable giving to best business practices.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’ve always wanted to help sponsor a back-to-school drive. I know that may not be a “movement” per se, but I think even within a city like Baltimore, if you could rally the community together to support that initiative, it would make a huge difference for students.

I think it’s very easy to take for granted the privileges that we have, and even what some may consider a “small” effort would impact so many families.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

Somebody’s gotta do this hard-ass shit. One of my college teammates would yell that at the beginning of every workout, or before going outside to practice in blizzard conditions.

That resonates heavily with me because if you want to be successful, you’re going to have to do the hard things. The world can’t be full of individuals who shrug at challenges. So if somebody has to step up, why not me?

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

I’d love to have a conversation with Ice Cube. I look at his life, and I think it’s really amazing how entrepreneurial he’s been.

Looking back at his NWA days, many would argue that he was the driving force behind the group’s success. Plus, he had his own rap career, and I think he’s one of the most underrated rappers in history.

Then, he was able to transition that rap career into movies and television. Hell, he went from one of the Godfathers of gangsta rap to making family movies. That’s insane.

I’d love to hear about how he was able to make so many transitions not just in career paths, but also in how his personal brand has been perceived.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.

Thank you for the amazing opportunity!

About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.