Poyee Chiu, Sue Covelli-Buntley, and Rebecca Braitling welcome Rodney Davis to another inspiring episode of the UpSpiral Leadership Podcast. Rodney is the co-founder of a video-interviewing technology platform called Bondfire LLC, whose primary focus is connecting the best talent to the best opportunities. He is also the President of L.I.F.E. Support Inc., a nonprofit that offers educational and recreational activities to underserved individuals in Aurora, Illinois and surrounding communities.

Rodney is also a published author, having written the book 'After the Buzzer, Seven Steps for Winning the Big Game: Life',  a book that inspires young athletes to be the best, both on and off the field.

In this interview, they discuss Rodney's journey into entrepreneurship, how student-athletes can change their mindset towards their education, and the struggles people of color face in a society that's struggling to accommodate them.

[02:23] Introducing Rodney Davis

[02:10] Rodney's Leadership Journey

[04:50] Life's Lessons That Inspired Rodney's Journey

[08:58] Great Management and Coaching

[10:40] Challenges Faced and How He Overcame Them

[15:35] Having a Positive Attitude

[19:55] Lightning Round: A Series of Quick Questions

[46:28] The Flip: "It's Not Worth Trying"

Leaders are not born; they are made, and like most great leaders, Rodney's journey started when he was still young. His exploits on the basketball court earned him a full scholarship and later tryouts with some big league teams such as the Chicago Bulls and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rodney admits that his interactions with coaches and teammates during his playing days shaped him to become the leader he is today.

Like most student-athletes, Rodney was only concerned about his game, a mistake that made him fail his first semester exams. Rodney explains that a majority of student-athletes fail to understand that the student part of a scholarship is even more important than the athlete part. Seeing that this was an issue that needed to be addressed, Rodney decided to tackle the problem by inspiring student-athletes to take their education as seriously as they do their sport.

Everybody is unique in their special way. Most leaders don't understand that uniqueness makes people different, not their skin color or social-economic backgrounds. Rodney encourages managers to get to know each individual on their team on a deeper level to get the best out of each of them.

Rodney attributes his leadership to watching his parents face challenges in their lives, including his sister who was the first in their family to go to college and his father who had to quit school in sixth-grade to earn money to support his family. Motivated by his father’s tenacity and hard work, Rodney focused his energy on doing what he was passionate about. He expects that things won’t go right and focuses on the bright side to be ready for challenges and keep moving beyond them.

As a parting inspiration, Rodney advises aspiring leaders to remove the word 'not' from their vocabulary. He also notes that people fail to try because of the fear of failure. If you're passionate about something, then it's definitely worth the try. Get out of your comfort zone and follow your passion. What's the worst that can happen?

For more information on becoming an excellent leader, visit the UpSpiral Leadership website, and remember to tune in on the next episode!