Tips, Strategies, and Insights That Move the Bottom Line
Inspire your team with JJ Birden, former NFL Pro turned motivational speaker, through his journey from unlikely contender to professional athlete. His message of determination, resilience, perseverance, and positivity will inspire your team to success, and his tailored keynote presentations will give them tools and strategies to reach the highest levels in business and in life.
A Small Man in a Big Man’s Game
Like a fabled long-shot story and underdog tale, JJ Birden was The Small Man in the Big Man’s Game of Football.
After earning a scholarship to the University of Oregon for track and field (plus being the #1 high school wide receiver in Oregon), JJ also earned a walk-on spot with the football team his sophomore year. His trials were only just beginning though, and he was faced with many naysayers, followed by a cycle of injuries, and unimpressive stats.
JJ’s hard work, grit, speed, and resiliency were enough to eventually earn him the invite to the NFL Combine, where he dominated. His performance earned him an NFL draft pick, and he was on his way, or so he thought. Another series of injuries and failed physicals culminated in one of the darkest moments in JJ’s early career; JJ was rejected by 4 NFL teams in 5 days.
He could have walked away from the game and given up hope in spite of what seemed like insurmountable odds, but JJ didn’t even flinch. Instead, he did what he’s always done when faced with adversity—he found a way to win.
Despite a height of only 5’10 and weighing in at 157 lbs (versus the typical 6’2 and 245 lbs of his peers) JJ would go on to play 9 seasons in the NFL, crushing the average player’s career of less than 2 years. He is now an engaging and passionate keynote speaker, and a leading authority on helping individuals seize their opportunities in life. As a best-selling author, entrepreneur, speaker, husband and father he now shares lessons from his life that help audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and professions realize the most important thing about success—it is never given, but always earned.
JJ is a best-selling author (When Opportunity Knocks 8 Surefire Ways to Take Advantage), entrepreneur, motivational speaker, husband and father. He has been married to his college sweetheart, Raina, for 30 years and has 8 children (3 biological and 5 adopted nieces and nephews). He and his family reside in the Phoenix area.
The key to success is seeing obstacles as opportunities; and boy oh boy, 2021 appears to be full of opportunities!
The difference between the victims and the victors in life, between the underdogs and alpha dogs, is not a lack of adversity but rather how they approach adversity.
2021 has brought forward a new set of challenges for supervisors, managers, directors, and other leaders; low moral & decreased productivity, over worked and overwhelmed employees, and many more issues. These could be recurring issues for businesses and organizations of all sizes, and keeping employees motivated to give their best is a challenge even for the best of leaders during the best of times.
In this inspiring virtual session, JJ shares the winning principles and strategies that helped him achieve success in spite of unbelievable adversity, heartbreaking failure, and herculean obstacles. Audiences learn that no matter what they are dealing with, if they want to win badly enough, they too can succeed in spite of everything (and everyone) against them.
In Spite Of… is an empowering message that helps audiences develop the habit of conquering the “setback” moments in their lives and seeing them for what they truly are: opportunities for growth.
“JJ Birden was the keynote speaker at our client appreciation event; his presentation was outstanding. His message was well received by our very diverse group, which included clients and their guests from a wide age spectrum. His presentation was both energetic and entertaining. The feedback we received from our clients on his presentation was extremely positive. I would highly recommend JJ as a keynote speaker and presenter.”
“JJ delivered a fast-paced, stimulating, informative and yes, motivational message to my group of community bank executives in Phoenix this past fall. The participants and their spouses were totally engaged as each one was focused on the front of the room until JJ wrapped up his session.
Birden provided amazing energy, excellence, fun and most impressionable of all was how he incorporated his football experiences and related the game’s strategy to business expansion and personal development. This is a tough group when it comes to motivational speakers, but they walked away smiling with ideas and tools that they could bring back to their communities and their banks.
I highly recommend JJ for your next event and I look forward to engaging him for another time in the future.”
“JJ took the time to understand our industry and personalities of the group and speak directly to our group. His energy kicked off our conference perfectly. He was the talk of the conference!”
“During the COVID-19 Pandemic, our team shifted gears from our normal operations to a work-from-home setting. During this time, we wanted to place a strong emphasis on personal and professional development. With the uncertainty of the situation, we called on JJ to connect with our staff on topics of motivation, overcoming obstacles, and developing a positive mindset. JJ delivered an outstanding presentation that related directly to our current situation. Not only was he well-prepared and engaging, but his lessons were authentic and unique. Although his background is in the NFL, any business or personal setting can be compared to the messages he depicted. I cannot think of a single person or group of people that I wouldn’t recommend JJ to.
He radiates positivity, grit, and authenticity!”
