Geno Smith | Seattle Seahawks Quarterback on the Power of Self-Belief

Geno Smith (0:00)

I think a true competitor is never satisfied, no matter what he does. Because to me, it's about the next mountain you climb, right?

You get to the top of the mountain and you don't get to stay there, right? You got to come down and then you got to go climb another one if you want to get that feeling again. So for me, it's like continuing to find new mountains to climb.

Michael Gervais (0:26)

Okay, welcome back, or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training a high-performance psychologist. And I am thrilled to welcome Geno Smith to the podcast for this week's conversation. I know this man personally from my nine seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.

And let me tell you, he is special. As many of you know, Geno is the starting quarterback for the Seahawks.

His NFL journey, it's unlike anyone else that I know. Geno experienced a notable career resurgence that earned him 2022's Comeback Player of the Year, which in all practicality should have been renamed Comeback Player of the Decade. That's how special this is. So after spending 10 seasons in the league, enduring frustrations and adversities that come with injury and several trades and the threat of becoming a lifetime backup quarterback, Geno stepped in as the starting quarterback for the Seahawks last season and put forth a stellar performance that surprised many. It didn't surprise me. It didn't surprise the head coach, Coach Carroll, or anyone that knows him.

He logged his first winning record, a playoff berth, led the league in completion percentage, and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the very first time. I mean, come on, the whole thing, it feels magical. It's just, it's awesome.

Geno's career journey is marked by the kind of patience and resilience we can all marvel at. But it's his mindset, the one that helped him navigate moments where many counted him out. The one that was able to help him navigate the hard times. That's the part that's truly remarkable. Geno recognized that his tough times could be seen as somebody else's dream come true. He never lost that perspective.

His humility coupled with confidence and a steadfast desire to keep learning. He is the epitome of a learner. Through all of his challenges are what makes Geno's success story one that we can all learn from. It's an honor to know Geno, and he brought it for this conversation. There are so many gems. There's so much gold in here. He talks about imagery and leadership and self-talk and competitive mindset and the process of self-discovery and so much more. I want to encourage you as you're listening to be able to take notes, to really think about how you can practice his best practices in your own life. So with that, let's jump right into this week's conversation with the Seattle Seahawks QB1 Geno Smith.

Geno, it's so good to connect again. And I mean, it's about time that we had you on the pod. I've been watching what you've done over the last couple of years. And, you know, it was a real joy working with you while I was at the Seahawks. And what I was thinking, yeah. And what I was thinking is that maybe we just talk about this one kind of indelible memory that I have about your experience is, let's see if I can bring you back to it, it's like what you were doing on the sidelines during games. And so do you, can you bring people into like what that was like for you?

Geno Smith (3:49)

So obviously, the time we spent together, we got to, you know, you were on the sideline and unfortunately, so was I. And, you know, I just remember, you know, really just wanting to be engaged into the game. And I would, you know, go through the process of calling the play in the huddle. You know, obviously not to the guys, but if there's someone around, I would call the play.

Mentally go through the process of, you know, what would I be thinking as I break the huddle? You know, who's the mic protections, you know, certain check, you know, checkpoints that we make as quarterbacks as we as we leave the huddle. And then obviously reading the defense, right.

That was a way to, you know, steal a rep, to get a mental rep.

Although I wasn't able to be out there physically, I was still able to get a mental rep. And then you change things for me. You know, I remember you told me, he's like, you know, you see it, you know, you're thinking it, but can you feel it? Do you feel yourself making the throw? Do you feel yourself in the game, in the action? And that's when I kind of, you know, it really kind of hit home. And I was like, OK, well, yeah, I need to kind of feel that, you know, I need to, you know, feel what that's like and, you know, think about what would it be like to actually make those throws or to make that read in real time. And I think that just became my overall process. That was about my second year here in Seattle. And that just became my process. You know, in order for me to get better, I was going to have to find another way outside of being on the field. And so that was a way for me to do it.