In a world of sameness, where most of us are told what it should “look like” to be successful in our space, the NFL Scouting Combine stands out as perhaps the world’s most predictable job interview. One the one hand, draft prospects are told to stand out, to make an impression, but what teams really want is another player that fits their ideal mold for certain positions. That’s why we should all be rooting for Shaquem Griffin.
Griffin is well decorated: a two-time first-team All-American Athletic Conference linebacker, AAC Defensive Player of the Year, National Champion, and Peach Bowl MVP.
And he did all of it without a left hand.
A rare birth condition called amniotic band syndrome prevented his fingers from fully forming, and at age four, Griffin’s hand needed to be amputated. If you or I lost a hand at four years old, chances are we wouldn’t be playing football at the highest level. But Griffin had one phrase for others: "Please don’t tell me what I can’t do."
Along with his twin brother Shaquill, who currently plays cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks, Griffin attended the University of Central Florida and dominated his position once given the chance. However, when the NFL chose the 330 players who would be invited to the league’s Combine “job interview,” Griffin was originally not among them. After playing – and playing well – at the Senior Bowl, the league gave him a last-minute invite to the Combine. When the message was sent his way, he knew that he would have to prove himself to doubting NFL General Managers.
This weekend Griffin proved himself and more.
In addition to setting a new record in the 40-yard dash for a linebacker, he also strapped a prosthetic hand on his left arm and did an incredible 20 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press. Griffin succeeded beyond their expectations, but that’s not the lesson here. The right lesson, in Griffin’s own words, is this, “I don’t define myself by my successes. I define myself by adversity, and how I’ve persevered.”
How often do you define yourself just by your success? And how often do we let others tell us what box we have to fit in to be that “success?”
A great coach can teach players how to be successful based on a model, or process. But it takes an individual’s strength of character to overcome adversity and persevere.
Nick Saban is a good example. His process has led to Alabama’s decade of dominance in college football. However, that foundation for success is a player-type model which determines the best physical traits for individual positions, including the suitable height and weight. In many ways the NFL has adopted Saban’s rigid positional philosophy, perhaps to its detriment. If we just hold on to old assumptions, how can there be room for someone like Shaquem Griffin?
Another great example of not listening to conventional wisdom is the late Sir Roger Bannister, who passed this Sunday at the age of 88 and was famous for being the first man to run a 4-minute mile in 1954. Prior to his run, many thought a sub 4-minute mile was impossible to achieve, perhaps even physically unattainable for humans. Bannister, like Griffin, showed that other’s opinions of what’s possible for you to do aren’t reality.
There are plenty of people who will tell you what you can or can’t do. They seek to define us, to control us, to bend our wills to their own. You’re too old to do this, you’re too young to do that, you need two hands to play football. In an article to NFL GMs on ThePlayersTribune.com, Griffin said,“Nobody was ever going to tell me that I didn’t belong on a football field. And nobody was ever going to tell me that I couldn’t be great.”
Who knows where Griffin will be drafted. He’s vying for a job in a system that overwhelmingly rewards conformity over the outlier. But I have a feeling he will make it. Seahawks general manager John Schneider said, “I had somebody tell me… that the feeling they got sitting down with John Wooden for five minutes was the same feeling they got from him.’’ I’ve spent more than 5 minutes with Coach Wooden and I can’t think of a greater compliment.
Bill Polian, a former executive with the Indianapolis Colts, who drafted quintessential quarterback Payton Manning, once said, “You don’t make a living betting on the outlier.” Maybe not. But if you don’t make room for someone with grit and the determination to win, you might miss out on someone truly Great, like a Russel Wilson, an Isaiah Thomas, or even yourself. We all have things about us that make us different, that help us stand out. We simply need to have the courage, dedication, and perseverance to say, “nobody was ever going to tell me that I couldn’t be great.”
Please don’t tell me what I can’t do!
Ref: Forbes.
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