David Novak 0:03 

Welcome to How leaders lead where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world, I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader. That's what this podcast is all about. Today's guest is Dr. Tom house, a world renowned expert in the biomechanics of throwing who's coached elite athletes like Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees. He's been called a pitching guru, and a quarterback whisperer. But if you ask him, he prefers to be simply called coach. Tom is a pioneer who brought the science into the coaching equation. For decades, Tom has used elite athletes to create models that others can replicate. The leadership lesson for us here is that we should do the same in business, we should look to those who come before us that had been wildly successful, and then mirror our approach to what they do to build healthy, high performing businesses. Because here's the thing, the great leaders I know learn from the best and they apply those learnings to be even more successful themselves. And I'll tell you what, there's a lot we can learn from today's episode. Here's my conversation with my good friend, and soon to be yours, Dr. Tom house.

Tom, it's so great to have you on the show.

Tom House 1:34 

David, thank you so much. You really did your homework, but I want you to know that using all those words, and my name in the same sentence, probably shouldn't be. I'm a coach, you said it perfectly. I'm just the coach.

David Novak 1:46 

Hey, I'd say you're a pretty darn good goats do it. I can't wait to talk to you about your coaching ability. But first, you've really gotten in the big business side of things. Now you've got this startup called mustard. Tell us about mustard. What's the mission? Well,

Tom House 2:01 

the mission is actually to democratize the information and instruction that we've been giving our elite athletes for the last 1520 years, putting all that quality into a cell phone and an app to her, the mom and dad of a 12 year old little boy or little girl can film a delivery or a swing in the backyard, send it to the cloud through mustard, and come back with the same analysis that a Brady or a breeze or a Nolan Ryan would pay 15 $20,000 A weekend for. So again, we want to democratize the information we want to put in the kids hands, and just hope that they play longer than what's going on with the numbers. Right now. There's 120 million youth athletes, boys and girls that are less than 13 years old, that will quit playing by age 14 80% of them. And what we want to do is just keep as many of those kids playing, at least through high school. Because sports are the last venue that will teach affiliation, how to deal with adversity, how to learn from your failures, all the things that a businessman like yourself, has figured out through the business world, they can get it through the power of play.

David Novak 3:26 

You know, Tom, it sounds like you have a noble cause here that you're really passionate about.

Tom House 3:30 

Yes. And we'll talk about I'm sure before this podcast is over, but Jason Goldsmith and myself this was a brainstorm thing. When when I was up at USC doing research for the raw data research and baseball Institute, the question came up, I wonder how many Nolan Ryan's have gone home? Because they weren't having fun or they were getting hurt. I wonder how many Michelle wheeze never stayed with golf long enough to find out that she could actually play on the men's tour. And that led us into Okay, can we make it easy and inexpensive for a mom and a dad and athlete to have fun number one. And number two, experience what it's like with good information and instruction to survive in a game of failure coached by negative people in a misinformation environment. Now, that's a lot to take in. But for example, in today's world, it's an outcome world. And nobody teaches kids that they're going to learn more from failure than they do from successes because parents care and because they don't want to see their child fail. A lot of the kids don't understand that they're going to learn more from their screw ups than they do from their successes. So all the things I just talked about, mustard is trying to put out there. And we're not really worried about bottom line. Although that's going to happen. We want to inform, instruct, inspire, and we want to mentor and make a difference in these young people's lives. And see what happens that,

David Novak 5:10 

you know, it's amazing. When you do good, the good comes back to you. And it sounds like you can really change the world of sports for young kids with what you're doing here,

Tom House 5:18 

we are so hopeful that what you just said, will be the outcome of all this effort we're putting in and I have to give credit where credit's due. I'm the old age and treachery guy. I've been on the field and dealing with sports my whole life. But turning the sports world into the new era of athletics, where it's quantifiable, it's measurable, it's deliverable. I've surrounded myself with some really great people, Jason Goldsmith being one of them, that have allowed us to take old school, bridge the gap to new school, and make it friendly and fun. For young people.

David Novak 5:58 

You know, you've mentioned Jason Goldsmith, who's a good buddy of mine, as well. And we've just written a book called take charge of you how self coaching can transform your life and career, I have to ask you, how do you end up with that oddball?

Tom House 6:10 

You know, what do they say fleas on a dog's butts have a tendency to find themselves. I was, I think I mentioned earlier, I was doing research and working up at the University of Southern California, in the baseball program, and Jason was actually working with tennis players. And the facilities are right next to each other. And Jason came by one day and sat in on one of our lectures. And all of a sudden, he's a regular with the lectures, we realized we had a lot in common. And like I mentioned earlier, when we first started, Jason looked me in the face one day said, you know, Tom, how many kids go home before they even realize they have potential. And that was the beginning of the mustard science and technology,

David Novak 6:57 

while you're making a dynamic duo. And it sounds like you've got a great mission and the company's off to the flying start. And I've met your team, and they're all passion. They're all aligned around the mission that you have, as the founder of the company. How did you instill that passion and really drive home what you were trying to do with this whole idea? Well, I'm

Tom House 7:18 

sure you know, because you've seen it with people that you do, when someone shows up, they're going to show up with x Batum motivation and passion. No matter how hard you try, you can't give them more motivation, the passion they have is there. And if you don't de motivate them, or do anything to take away from their passion, you put enough people in the same room with the same interest, passion, and caring for the process more than the outcome, all of a sudden the synergy of that group, it starts popping. And when it's poppin is fun and using sports. I think the power of play, and sports, you don't work at sports, you play a sports and getting that understood, then business gets easy. And I'm I'm going to try to capsulize this, we may be working our families off which I know we do. And we may be taking wrong turns here and there. But with the group, everybody we're dealing with male, female, old and young, has this belief that sports and the power of play are going to make a difference in the world. And it makes it easy. With everybody pulling on the same end of the rope to get that thing going.

David Novak 8:30 

I want to stop right here because I think you said something that every business leader needs to really soak in that is the power of play. You know, creating fun, Tom, before you started coaching all these elite athletes, we've already mentioned that you were quite an athlete yourself. Tell me about your journey. How'd you get started?

Tom House 8:50 

You know, my mom and dad are from the World War Two era and reads like a script. I started off in Little League and played a bunch of sports and was pretty good at it. And my dad's job took him from Portland, Oregon, where I started playing all sports down to the Los Angeles area. And baseball kind of took off from there. I kept playing football and basketball but baseball was literally what motivated me the most. My hero at that time was a guy named Sandy Kofax. And I put up really good numbers in high school. For a couple of reasons. I was on a really good team, and I was a lefty that threw a curveball for a striker. So without really understanding why I had great baseball numbers. But it was an interesting thing. My mom really didn't care about sports. Because she cared about our grades. She was an Iowa farm girl that knew that having a degree would be long term. So her rule in the house was no a no play. And I got my you know, it's hard to get anywhere. She said if you want to play baseball, you want to play sports. You got to get me out So my brother and I, we were straight A students, not because we were smart, but because she honestly believed that if we got A's, we're gonna end up getting a degree and being set for life. In fact, on our deathbed, my mom looked me in the face. He said, Now, Thomas, when are you going to find a real job, she could never understand why I played sports and how I can make a living doing it. But with that support, I went on, and not only got to play at USC, and I don't know how much you know about raw data when the Trojans but he was the coach of the century. And I was again, precipitous positioning, I happen to be on the same team with Tom saver, Billy Lee, Dave came and see Busby the scouts would come in to watch these studs. And they see this little left hand and it threw a curveball and got people out. You know, a scout like me with the Braves drafted me. And Coach dado said, Tom, you're not gonna get any money to sign but you could ask for your education through your PhD program, and they'll give it to you. So Mama's happy. All right, I'm playing pro ball. And I'm working on a degree. And, you know, again, I got lucky that it was set up like that. And then every situation or every crossroads in life where I could have gotten in the tank, there was a mentor, and with that mentorship, it allowed me to number one, get my PhD. But number two, also play for 10 years in the big leagues. And Coach 13 more.

David Novak 11:37 

Wow, you know, when you were at USC, quite a few of the people on your team went on to the big leagues, I think 15 out of 25 What was the culture like that allowed so many of your teammates to be successful? Because, you know, usually somebody might want to take over be the man or whatever, you know, how did that culture bring everybody together?

Tom House 11:56 

It was I will tell you with you know, a big heart and a thankful everything that raw data was the reason nobody worked harder than we did. Period. And he didn't care when comparing myself to Tom Seaver. Our first bullpen I'm throwing in my fastball is not as good as Tom Severs. And Rob came up and said, Tommy house what do you think a young Tom Seaver and I said, Skipper if you need me to do that you got the wrong left hander. He said, No, no, no. I don't want you to be Tom Seaver. I want you to be the best Tom house you can be. And he was the first one to make me realize that. If you did everything you could do to be the best you could be. Then you could be confident going between the lines. And that carried over to everything I did in the classroom, on the baseball field, in research. When I went to bed at night, and I look back over the day, I say, Okay, did I do everything today to get the most out of what I was put in front of. And if I didn't, I'd write down one or two things to do tomorrow. So Rod was the guy that put that in my head.

David Novak 13:06 

That's great. You know, and can you tell us a story when you met Tom Seaver for the first time? He had a big fastball. I know. But what was he like as a guy when you first met him? And

Tom House 13:15 

and I'm sure it's the same in the business world. There are just certain people that are recognized as being a little bit better at everything than all the others in the business. And there were a couple guys this guy Tom Seaver and there was a guy named Nolan Ryan in Texas, that we had all weren't best friends. But we played against each other and knew of each other. And Tom Seaver was a man child at age 18. I mean, he was a stud way before anybody else. And everybody knew that if he stayed healthy, that he would end up being one of the best in the game, obviously a Hall of Famer. And then there was this guy, Nolan Ryan in Texas, that we played against in Legion ball championships. And so I saw people like that, and you know that they're special. But what was most impressive is their work ethic. They worked just as hard as anybody else on the team. And they had more talent than anybody on the team and there's your Hall of Famers?

David Novak 14:21 

Yeah, that makes so much sense. And you know, being the Tom house that your coach told you to be you were drafted by the Braves in 1967. And then after advancing through the minors, you made your major league debut in June of 1971. What do you remember when you look back at that moment when you were asked to take the mound tell us about that?

Tom House 14:41 

I'll be honest with you, I remember getting the phone call saying Get ready Tom, you're gonna face the left hander and the next setting can a boots day. But once I went between the lines and I'm telling the truth, I had to read the box for the next day because I don't remember what happened. I remember thinking boy though Lights. It's way different in the big league lights than it is in the minor league lights. And honest to god, I did not even remember being in the game. I had to look at the box for the next morning. So yes, I was thrilled to be there, too. I wish I would have actually been able to be cognitively aware of how I was doing. Yes. But I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was special.

David Novak 15:25 

And then you had all kinds of highlights, I'm sure. But when you look back, what was the highlight of your professional playing career?

Tom House 15:31 

Well, the highlight I hope you don't laugh too hard. This the highlight of my major league career was catching hairier and 750 homerun in the bullpen in Atlanta. That's basically my fondest memory and biggest good warm fuzzy was catching the ball. And, you know, obviously running it back in and give it to him a home plate. It got me in the hall of fame, when I would never have gotten there any other way. That's the highlight of my major league career. And that's probably the good and the bad of it.

David Novak 16:05 

But you know, it's interesting, because I understand you position yourself to make that catch and left center field. You know, Hank Aaron's a pull hitter. Why would you be in left center field and I know you wanted to catch that ball. Everybody wanted to get that seven or 50 ball

Tom House 16:19 

when Henry Aaron had trouble hitting left handed pitching with changeups down away kind of a screwball like action. So every spring training three or four times during spring training, Henry and myself would go to diamond six, and do extra hitting and I would throw him changeup, screwball changeup screwball fastball all away off of a left handed pitcher. And after a while, I got to see that everything that he hit that was away or slightly down, it went to left center. So I had that in the back of my head facing him, just throwing BP chime. And then when we started, we drew straws all the bullpen guys with the Braves drew straws. So we would have a territory behind the fence in left field, in case Henry Aaron hit a home run in that territory, everybody agreed to respectable 10 yard spots. So when I drew my straw, my choice, I still had right down the line, and dead center. And I chose left center, because I seen where most of those pitches off of a left hand or we're gonna go. And we knew that our downing was pitching that night. So what looked like a random event had a little planning involved. But again, for me to be standing there in him head, it was probably a luck of the draw thing. I will say this, everybody talks about what a great cash it was, if I would have stood still it would have just hit me in the forehead. And I'm sure it's the same way in business, the people that are most prepared, handle the most activity,

David Novak 18:03 

I'm sure that that ball was worth a lot of money at the time. But you, you ran in and you gave it to him? And what kind of joy did you feel just being able to do that? And what would that ball be worth today?

Tom House 18:15 

I know what it's worth it would be if it went on the market today, it would probably sell for about four and a half million bucks. But remember, I'm not money motivated. And it tells you what kind of a businessman I was even at that point in time. The thrill of getting to home plate and fighting through the crowd. And it's actually a picture that's in the Hall of Fame is me giving the baseball to Henry era where he's hugging his mother with tears in both their eyes. And I can remember when I got to Henry, I said here it is hammer. And he said Thanks, kid. And when I saw the tears in both their eyes, I was stunned because I've never seen that kind of emotion out of Henry. You know, I thought it was like a lifesaver moment. They had to peel his mom off of them to get the game going. She wouldn't let him go. And I don't think I've ever said this in public, or any kind of a media thing before but the reason she was hugging him so hard, wasn't because it was a lifesaver moment. There had been threats that they would shoot him at home plate. These are the things that the average fan didn't know at this point in time. There's the son and Mother relationship. She was going to take the bullet all those things were slamming through my mind at that time.

David Novak 19:38 

Wow. That's incredible. And after your retirement as a player, you became a pitching coach, How'd you make the decision to become a coach?

Tom House 19:48 

Well, I had been involved while I was playing with a group called the San Diego School of baseball. And it was Roger Craig, Bob cluck and Bob Skinner who were big leaguers. At that time, Bob cluck was the farm director for the Houston Astros. And in the offseason, we did camps and clinics and gave lessons to kids. And it wasn't quite playing. But it was almost as fun teaching. And I also found out that the more I taught, the better I got at what I was doing. So it was kind of the seed was planted when I was working with the San Diego School of baseball. And then when I got released as a player and had to face do I want to go to work in the real world, or do I want to stay in the game as a coach, I really didn't know. And as luck would have it, Bob Clark, who had been under the San Diego School of baseball was with the Astros as their farm director, and he said you want to go to Sarasota and be a rookie league pitching coach. And basically I said Yes, before I even listened to the sentence completed. I started off with Bob Clark. And I moved quickly as an instructor. I went Sarasota rookie wall, to traveling pitching coach to getting actually an offer from the Texas Rangers. After three years where the Astros Bobby Valentine called and wanted to interview me for his big league pitching coach. I got that job coach with Bobby.

David Novak 21:32 

That's interesting, because I want to interrupt here for a second I met Bobby Valentine when I was in Dallas, and we went to lunch together and we had a really good lunch. And as I was about to say goodbye to him and went to shake his hand. Instead of shaking my hand, he patted me on the butt like I was going out on the field. I couldn't believe that I've never had anybody do that. After a visit visit

Tom House 21:53 

you in that lobby. He's at Mr. effervescence. Tell me he's not he

David Novak 21:57 

really is. But you know, you're known for bringing science to coaching. Were you doing that from the very beginning? Or when did that start? When did you bring your scientific approach to the game?

Tom House 22:08 

David, I'm so glad we're having this little chit chat. It was right in between being released as a player and becoming a coach. When I became a coach. I started asking, Do I believe everything I'm teaching? And my rule was, if I'm not quite sure what I'm telling a kid, if it doesn't feel quite right, I write it down and search for an answer. And all of a sudden, I have a couple pages of questions that I couldn't find an answer for. And as luck would have it, there was this guy up in Cote de casa, where with Vic Braden, a tennis coach, that was doing what they called motion analysis. And MOTION ANALYSIS broke down and delivery at 1000 frames a second, not what our eyes see at 40 frames a second. But what can actually see at 1000 frames a second. And what our eyes actually see in real time, lie to us, your eyes can only see about 40 frames a second, a guy with a 90 mile an hour fastball, or a golfer with clubhead speed of 171/250 215 100th of a second, your eyes aren't really seeing what's going on. When you watch a car commercial on TV, the car is going like 70 miles an hour, but the wheels look like they're going backwards or stop. That's because you're only getting 40 frames a second. With motion analysis, you could actually see for the first time in the history of sports, what athletes were doing to be good at their skill. And all of a sudden we're seeing things where teaching weren't actually real. Is it real? Or is it feel. And that was the beginning of science bringing science into it. And believe it or not, David it was not well received. Traditional baseball, didn't really care didn't want it. But we kept pushing and research and it grew organically. And to be honest with you, I had no clue what we were doing. But at every juncture, something held up that allowed us to make a right decision and a right turn.

David Novak 24:23 

You know, it sounds like as you mentioned, you had a lot of people saying hey, you know we don't do this in baseball, you know, so, you know, what advice can you give to people when you get those kinds of people putting those obstacles in front of your way when you're really your major league, you know, no pun intended your major league innovator here, you're really breaking new ground.

Tom House 24:40 

Yes, we were but again, I finally understood the difference between role and status and having visibility but not having quality information. For example, Sandy Kofax was my god I really, really worship To him, and everything he did as a pitcher. And when we filmed his delivery, it became apparent that what he taught, and he thought he did was not quite what His body did at 1000, you know what we saw at 1000 frames a second. So while I took a beating with it, why it was not readily accepted, not even believed until about seven, eight years ago, was I stayed the course because it was true science. Everything I knew from education, we had quantified, we had measured, we have proven within two standard deviations, and confidence intervals are 97%. So I knew the science was there. And coming up with the teachers to implement the science. It was the belief system we had in that that kept us going, even though we were kind of mocked and criticized and laughed at for the whole thing. So how did

David Novak 25:59 

you take this belief in biomechanics? And how did you use that in terms of, you know, changing your own coaching method,

Tom House 26:07 

the greatest right we have in this world, I'm sure you're aware, it's the right to change, the hardest thing you do is make a change. And you're not going to make a change until there's a compelling reason. So we knew when I say we, again, it was myself probably coming from the field with the right questions. But the technicians and the smart people that were working on with me, he said, and here's the business side, we're never going to be able to force this on people. So how are we going to get it into the flow, and a part of baseball's acceptable protocols? So I started going to organization and said, Give me your problems. Give me the kids that are hurt, give me the kids you can't fix. And if I fix them, I want X amount of finances coming my way. If I don't fix them, it's a freebie. So what we started finding out David is if an organization would give me a kid to get fixed, we fixed them, or we got paid. And we started looking at the data. And we were fixing about 83% of all the problems that baseball was having. So I said, this is rehab. What would happen if we prehab so I trademarked and copyrighted the word prehab. And I started going around saying, okay, you've got 20% of your pitchers in your organization are hurt. What if I prehab in that drop down to at the most three to 4%. All of a sudden, we got more business that we can handle.

David Novak 27:39 

You know, all the entrepreneurs, I talked to all the people that create startups, they solve big problems that occur frequently. And you basically build the biomechanical sports business around solving those problems that occurred for the teams, which is very interesting. And now you're solving the problem with mustered of democratizing coaching to people who might not necessarily get the sophistication you have or be able to afford it.

Tom House 28:01 

You got it? No, I think that's the reason I'm still pushing as hard as I'm pushing. What you said succinctly there is exactly what my pathway is supposed to be over the however much longer I'm alive. We've taken we proved it with the big boys. And I want to give

David Novak 28:19 

it to the kids. And with the kid your vision is to do it in all significant sports.

Tom House 28:23 

Yeah, all rotational sports around the world, we're going to take instead of having 80% of 120 million kids quit sports at age 14, we're going to try to get in play sports through high school, which is aged 18.

David Novak 28:36 

And you're using models from the best of the best as your tool to help all these athletes improve their performance and kids play longer and get more out of the game. Explain that process of learning from the best of the best and then duplicating it through technologies so that others can learn.

Tom House 28:54 

Okay, that's very perceptive, a lot of research, initial baseball research, they're going to test 4000 Little leaguers. Well, because of me playing in the big leagues, and having access to technology and be able to get it in a stadium. We did all our initial research on elite Major League pitchers. In other words, we didn't have to extrapolate from 2000 Little leaguers. We had the best in the world that we modeled from so our model in baseball, the most effective healthy pitcher long term that we have in the history of the game was Greg Mannix. So our model became a six foot 200 pound pitcher, with the same mechanics and timing as Greg Maddux had and then taller pitchers the algorithms smaller pitchers younger pitchers. We did the same thing in football quarterbacking with Drew Brees Drew Brees was a most accurate quarterback in the history of NFL football. So we had the models of the elite, we didn't have to go through the nosebleed of extrapolating from a bunch of non elite. So when we went into teach our models when I said we're 97% Confidence Interval within two standard deviations, that's why

David Novak 30:22 

is I've learned more about you, Tom, you're very holistic coach, and you talk about the performance table. I think your four legs in a table, the one is strength training, two is nutrition. Three is mental and emotional, and four is biomechanics. You know, why have you come to the conclusion that it's so important for athletes to address all four legs?

Tom House 30:45 

David, that's a great question. And it's finally becoming mainstream. What I've seen in the 3040 years that I've been working with science and technology, parents and athletes, coaches come to you for biomechanics, first, functional strength, second, nutrition, sleep, for recovery, third, and mental, emotional fourth. And what we designed our models to satisfy was the best information and instruction in each one of those fields. And remember, I told you earlier that my mom was really pleased that I went on and got four degrees, well, biomechanics, functional strength, mental, emotional, and nutrition and sleep. So I've got degrees in nutrition. My PhD is in performance psychology. I've got a master's in exercise Phys. And the obviously, the biomechanics came with all the motion capture. So you see how it wasn't well planned out. But in the final analysis, we stumbled into the right protocols.

David Novak 31:55 

Hey, Tom, just think what would happen if you knew what you were talking about? Well,

Tom House 31:59 

here's the deal. I think I know a little. But David, honest to God every day, we're getting smarter with things that we've been looking at for 20 years and not seeing, all of a sudden, we're seeing things differently. So I don't know if I can have for the people that are listening to this. Don't ever ignore what you've been doing, have a look at it. Always look for something new. But don't be afraid to take something new and look back at the old because there's always something you missed, or you can improve on. And that model works so well in coaching now. Because someone that believes more in old school, I said, Hey, I was there, I was exactly where you are 10 years ago, and I didn't lose that or change it. I added to it. And now I find myself collaborating more than I'm confronting. Is that a good choice of words?

David Novak 32:53 

Absolutely. And you know, speaking on these four legs, I want to get a little bit of free advice here for our listeners here. If you could give us one tip. Okay, what would be one tip that you would give to listeners about nutrition?

Tom House 33:04 

Okay, a balanced meal 4030 30 40%, complex carbs, 30%, protein, 30%, smart fat, hydrate early, hydrate, often, those two things. And 4030 30 is just a balanced meal, and hydrate early hydrate, often, you should drink one half to two thirds of your body weight in fluid ounces of water a day. Most important time to get it in when you wake up in the morning, get a glass of water in your system, and hydrate all day long. So we are one of the most under hydrated countries in the world. And while we have lots of calories available out there, the way we use those calories are not helping us saline. So three meals and two snacks a day most important meal is breakfast, the size of your meal, the calories you put in, should be put in before you're going to burn the most calories. Try not to go to bed on an empty stomach. There we go.

David Novak 34:08 

All right, and how about one mental or emotional tip

Tom House 34:11 

number one have? Number two, you'll learn more from your screw ups than your successes. Ask yourself why the minute you ask yourself, why you're gonna get out of what just happened. And then do the now which when you talk to Jason, that's all the matters is right now. And if you do it enough, you're going to learn more from your screw ups by asking yourself why it makes you an avid learner inspire yourself. So those of you out there that have a bad round of golf and you're still worried about it four hours later. That's not really conducive to learning more and how to do it right. So give yourself 30 seconds between swings and an hour after. And if it's not about why and fixing it right now. It's not worth doing.

David Novak 34:58 

You first figure out How your athletes learn and you believe in the idea that the athlete he or she is in charge, not you. Now, how did you arrive at that being the best approach because I can see here your guy, you, you study everything, you've, you got four degrees, you've got all this knowledge. And then you're gonna say, Okay, you're in charge, not me.

Tom House 35:17 

Everybody has to learn what they actually need to master to be successful. But the way that they learn is a function of mastering not only what you're listening to, but interpreting it and turning it into action. So long story short, the way that your coach or your parent or your peer group teaches, may not be the way that you learn. I'm an auditory tactile learner, visualizing is good. But when I hear it, and I feel it, I learned quicker. And some kids, if you talk words through them, they don't even hear what you're saying. So as a coach, a teacher or a parent, you have to frame the way you communicate to the way your athlete learns. And there are great tests out there, some of which we've actually have a part of what is called a persistence index. And another one is called the star profile, where it actually identifies the way the athlete learns most efficiently. And what are the characteristics that will allow him to succeed in spite of failures, and if the way you're teaching isn't the way your kid learns, then you're going to have to reframe, to make the communication process more efficient. And I think sports are getting better at that. Identifying the way an athlete can turn words and concepts into physical action, are now being delivered more efficiently than ever before.

David Novak 36:58 

That's just a great breakthrough. And, you know, I want to get back here coaching career in baseball for a couple of minutes, you know, so Nolan Ryan, he signs with the Texas Rangers in 1989. And that's the season where you were the pitching coach, how would you realistically say you impacted his career?

Tom House 37:16 

Well, nose was going to be a Hall of Famer without me being involved. When he came to the Texas Rangers. He came because of a couple of reasons. Number one, he played with Bobby Valentine. And when I was actually a coach with the Astros, when he was with the Astros, I got to know him and talk about the exciting thing we were doing with technology. So he thought he was going to be done. He was going to play one more year. And one of the things that was important to him was his family. So the negotiation for him to come to the Texas Rangers is one Bobby One, Bobby Valentine said Bring your family anywhere, bring them on the road, bring into the field, bring it to the clubhouse, we will absolutely make sure that you and your family can be together. And then the fact that Nolan kind of knew we were doing things different, throwing footballs and doing motion analysis and strength training. He bought in and what was supposed to be one year ended up being eight years. And he was a better pitcher. This is what I'm most proud of. He was a better pitcher from age 39 to age 47. Than he was 19 to age 39.

David Novak 38:37 

Yeah, that's amazing. What was his mindset on the mountain? What was he out of he think

Tom House 38:43 

he was a warrior. Quick story real quick, the second or third game that he was pitching with the Rangers he was struggling a little bit. So by Valentine said go out and find out how he's doing. So I jogged out and I said Tex, how're you doing, buddy? said, Tom, I'm doing harshit But it's way better than when she got warmed up in that bullpen. Get the hell off my man. So there's his mindset. It got to a point where we had to tell Nolan when he went out to go and again, we'd say no, and you got 15 pitches or three outs. And then we're going to come and get you. Are you okay with that? He was, I think the last old school pitcher that his job was to give you nine innings and he would try to beat you with a bloody stump. You have to drag him out of a game. And he physically prepared himself to be the most durable pitcher in the history of and he was he very was the hardest man to get to hit off of in the history of the game. He put more innings in more pitches in than any pitcher in the history of the game. And I'll guarantee you right now if you went down and you played catch with him, his arm still works.

David Novak 39:58 

I don't want to play catch what they We know, but I would love to hear the story about his seventh no hitter and how that's impacted the way you coach today

Tom House 40:06 

to kind of set the stage. It's Arlington, Texas. It's hot, sweaty, Arlington, Texas. His back had been bothering his left knee was tender to go through his warmup and his loosen up. He gets to the mound to warm up to go in the game. And it's not good. I'm watching him and he's bouncing his curveball and Groton on his changeup and cat located his fastball. And I'm thinking this isn't real good. So I sneak around to the bullpen, Shawn. And I call Bobby on the bench. I said, Bobby, doesn't look like Nolan is going to be good today. And it's true that came out of my mouth. Nolan starts walking toward the clubhouse. Now I get a little panicky, I said, Bobby, he's walking away. Let me go find out what I said. Okay, we'll get Barfield up and go find out what's going on. So I chased him, and we didn't think he was going to make the game. So I'm walking up the tunnel, and I see his legs coming down from the clubhouse, so I know he's gonna make the dugout. He didn't make national anthem. But at the end of the national anthem, he jogs out those whose warmup tosses, his first fastball velocity up in the board 97 He got through the inning. 13 pitches, three strikeouts in the first thing comes down and sits right next man on the bench as a text what's going on, buddy? He said Tom, I don't know. But this is one of them are games. And he goes boys. He screams at every get me one. It's all I'm going to need today. So nine innings, no hits one walk 16 strikeouts. Now that was cool. It is cool. After the game, I spiked the whole nine yards. were the last ones leaving the clubhouse had not to our cars. And I said Nolan helped me out here. You literally walked off the mound in your bullpen. What was going on? He said, Well, I knew it wasn't getting any better in the bullpen. It had to be better in the game. Now, I knew that as a pitcher. I've had bad bullpens in great games, and I've had good bullpens and bad games. So I understood that. And then he added this in and I wrote it down whenever I get a chance I talk like I'm doing with you. And it's in a couple of my books. He said and besides done everything I could possibly do to prepare for today's game. If I hadn't want to work, I shouldn't hire it out. And you drove away. And I sat in the parking lot and wrote down everything I just told you. And there's the key to a great lecture and a big lesson. For Kids. You may not be the best player or pitcher on the field. But if you're the best prepared you that you can be going all the way back to raw data, then you can be as confident as anybody on the field. And that's one of the messages we deliver wherever we go is one of the musters applications. We're not asking you to be something you're not just be the best you that you can be.

David Novak 43:26 

You're right after you started working with him, his later years were his best years. But I understand he taught you the concept of active rest. What's that

Tom House 43:35 

we prepare to compete to recover and repeat. Anybody you seeing on the elite level, they're working their butts off. There's not very many lazy athletes that you look at on TV. But monotonous overtraining, leads to neural stagnation, which leads to lack of performance. When you add in muscle failure and fatigue from competition. Those three things are deadly for an athlete, real performance inhibitors. So you have to figure out how athletes recover. And some statistics we found that on the major league level, an elite starting pitcher that recovers in two days as a two games when on his record, instead of being 10 and 10. He's 12 and eight, and 12. And eight is a million a month in the big leagues. So we were looking for ways to have athletes recover in that two day timeframe. But then you get over achievers, you get athletes are obsessive compulsive about how much work they put in. And it takes some convincing, and it takes some testing to show them that active rest actually promotes recovery. So you can't Lay off throwing, but you can lay off throwing off the mat. And I'll tell you what we did with Nolan, we have a drill called the towel drill, which weighs three ounces. And Nolan loves to throw you long toss, throw, throw, throw, throw throw, but we were figuring out that he was getting into deficit physically, when he was throwing too many pitches in bullpens in between starts. So he took the baseball out of his hand, and put a three ounce towel in his hand. And we did what we called the towel drill, where he was actually going through the throwing motion on the mound, just like he was pitching in a ball game. But it was with a three ounce towel that took nothing out of his arm. And his recovery. Combined with doing all the work in the pool instead of out on flat ground when it came to running. In giving him an extra day of rest in the weight room. His body bounced back more efficiently. And he lost very little fastball. In fact, the last fastball he threw in Seattle at age 47 was 97 miles an hour. So we learn from Nolan, you prepare, you compete and you recover. And you monitor how they recover and the timing of the recovery. And you adjust workloads sleep and nutrition around active rest so that if they recover quicker than the competition, they're going to be dominating when it gets done to the other wire. And I'm so proud of not just Nolan, but that whole pitching staff with those protocols. We had seven pitchers throw into their 40s After 10 years that we were there with Nolan and our group. Cool stuff. Well, I

David Novak 46:54 

can definitely see why Tom Brady is hooked up with you become such a good friend and you're coaching him because you certainly helped him him with his longevity. When was it time that you made the transition into coaching quarterbacks?

Tom House 47:06 

Well, we threw a football on a baseball field. And I'll give credit where credit's due and I was with the Padres as a pitching coach, their head trainer Dick dent, had the pitchers throw a football for their running, they would run past patterns, and throw a football to make it less boring. Well, I started watching and I saw that all my elite pitchers threw the football perfectly. And the guys with bad mechanics couldn't make a spiral didn't have any accuracy. So the I started throwing the football was part of training protocols for not just mechanics, but the fact that it weighs 15 ounces. So there's some strength training involved. And it didn't take long before I realized that if this works for pitchers, I wonder if I could learn more if I started working with quarterbacks. So we took that biokinetics Aereo model and I think my initial quarterbacks were berline, Montana, Marino Marinovich, I had about six or seven, I didn't know what I was looking at, we just filmed them. And as it turned out, quarterbacks have exactly the same mechanics as a pitcher does. But they're on flat ground so they don't stride as far. The 15 ounce football and a five ounce baseball means that when you throw a football, you have the same arm action, but a shorter arm path. But all the other things fit the same soul is the physical conditioning and weight training. Look at Tom. And when he saw that Nolan lasted till age 45. Plus, I actually sat down with Coach Belichick and Tom Brady, when we first started working with him, and belcheck says you're telling me that he can throw it with age 45? I said, yeah, we've proved it. If he's willing to do the work, which Tom does. There's no reason he can't do it. 45 when he did it, 25 and now he's proven exactly what we learned in baseball.

David Novak 49:13 

You've worked with Tom Brady and Drew Brees is of the world. And I've heard you talk about them working to get 1% better. I remember Brady telling me, you know, you do that 1% every day and you'll be surprised what you wake up and our Sunday, you know, how does that play out in the actual training that you recommend?

Tom House 49:32 

Every night when you're hitting your sack or brushing your teeth? Ask yourself, What did I do today to make myself better? And we're not looking for huge 20% gains, we're looking for small gains and small gains are more easily achieved. If you can identify the actual problem or what needs to be fixed. I remember the phrase problem identification is how If your solution, so if it's a mechanical issue, we have measurements and protocols to fix that, if it's a functional strength issue, we have measurements and protocols to fix that. The same with mental emotional, the same with nutrition and sleep. So pick something to get better at. And I have athletes write down three things. And they don't always get all three things done. But if they just do one thing better tomorrow, that contributes 1%, they have to get better or at least hold their own. Because the aging process, some things decline, there's nothing you can do about it. But if you're working on other things, like Tom isn't probably as strong as he was, when he was 25 years old, or as the fishing body wise as he was at age 25. But his mind is experience and his ability to make decisions and not make the same mistakes have grown. And he's hung on to the same level of performance. But the overall key you hit it dead on try to be 1% better at something in your football life or your baseball life every day. And those are the ones that have long term success

David Novak 51:18 

makes so much sense for business as well. And we're such an outcome society, Tom, you know, what's your view on how you get the results. We all want to have results, no matter what our vocation is, you know, we're all focused on that result. How do you get the result in your mind,

Tom House 51:34 

it's a tough sell. And I'll pretend like I'm talking to a mom and a dad of a kid that is a 12 year old that's getting frustrated, because he gave up a home run or he's getting beat. In today's world, you said it best. We are an outcome society, you get your college scholarships, you get your multi year contracts by putting up great numbers. But what people don't realize is you can't control outcome. You can only basically control the process that gives you a chance for a better outcome. And when parents can understand that your child's failing is actually a better learning experience than your child's succeeding, anybody can go good. But the thing that makes a person a long term achiever is understanding that failing is just adversity. And if you can cope with adversity, that will allow you to stay the course. And the process that helps you cope with adversity is what determines a better outcome. And you have to be allowed to get permission to fail. My mom used to say if it doesn't kill you, it's a learning experience. And that's one of the things that has helped me as a coach and a player is my self identity. My self concept was not tied up in success or failure. It was tied up in process.

David Novak 53:04 

How about Drew Brees? You know, he's phenomenal talent, great quarterback. What makes a Drew Brees successful?

Tom House 53:10 

Well, Drew Brees is Tom Brady with not quite the toolkit. I got involved with Drew when he was with the Chargers. He was in his contract year where he's getting ready to sign a multi year deal. And he blew his shoulder and we got him into Dr. Andrews. Dr. Andrews put him back together called me and said, okay, he had a good surgery, but I don't think you'll ever throw a football again. I had known drew for two years before the injury but I really got to know him during his rehabilitation. And what we did with Drew, is we tailor the program specifically to address where his trauma and his shoulder said he'd never throw again. And we came up with shoulder protocols we're still using today that if done properly, you'll never hurt your shoulder. We learned how to quantify energy in energy out what to do to stabilize a mobile joint. And what it boiled down to with Drew as he took all the same research, everything that we've been doing mechanics functional strength, nutrition, sleep the whole nine yards, and just did it with the same dedication of a Tom Brady and a Nolan Ryan and turned a career that for 511 Maybe six feet I think is what the program says most accurate quarterback in the history of and trained him to literally survive the game of football by not taking more out of his arm than he could put in. So the active resting the functional strength you can only accelerate where you can decelerate the stabilizing of the shoulder. All that stuff that we learned on him not only helped him throw As long as he did Hall of Fame career, but it trickled into what we're doing with the younger quarterbacks we're working with right now,

David Novak 55:06 

you had an interesting opportunity to work with a couple of pitchers that resulted in a story that created a feature film. Tell me about the million dollar arm and your work with Rinku. And Dinesh from India, this is a hell of a story.

Tom House 55:20 

This guy, JB Bernstein, who went over to India to do a reality show where he was looking for 30 40,000 Indian kids to find anybody that could throw harder than 95. And if they threw harder than 95, they had a chance to win a million bucks. So they did, they went throughout the country. I think I heard 35,000 athletes they looked at, and they ended up with four athletes, none of which could throw higher than 95. But all four of them were in 92 and 93 with an occasional 94. Well, two of them couldn't travel the United States, but Rinku and Dinesh could. So JB called me. And he said, would you take on two kids to see if we can get them to throw higher than a five. And if we can get them signed? They'll win a million bucks. So bottom line, I said, okay, but you're gonna have to do it to where they're safe. I know, we could probably improve some Roc. But I'm speed without functional strength is injury. And I don't want to hurt these kids. And he said, Okay, well, how long would that take? I said, probably six months to a year. So he checked with his money, people. And they said, Okay, we'll do it. Well, I didn't realize that it was really, if you watch the movie, he was really on a budget. And these kids were pure. I was at SVA as the pitching coach at that time. And they stayed in one of those big homes right down by campus, showed up every day. Work with the Trojans kept getting better and better. And while they were working on the field, they were also learning the game. They had to watch everything they could with video on how to play the game. The first day, for example, Renko didn't know how to work a drinking fountain. And Dinesh asked why the shortstop didn't have a base. Neither one of them ever played catch before. They thought the glove was to put on your throwing hand to keep it warm. But because they didn't know anything about baseball, the Teach was actually easier than having to unlearn something. So long story short, after about six months, both more popping and 95. We went over and had a try out and Phoenix that they bombed on. Because I've tried to clean this up. We call it Rakdos fixture Alice, there were so nervous that their bodies wouldn't let them throw hard. So that's a big point in the movie where they thought they let the whole country of India down. Three weeks later, we retested at USC and they started with the pirates. Rinku got as high as triple A Dinesh, I think pick that high bar. Dinesh is actually the best pitching coach in India right now. And you know why he's the best pitching coach in India, because he's the only pitching coach

David Novak 58:20 

was gonna say it was more cricketer, the baseball for sure.

Tom House 58:24 

You're exactly right. But the bottom line is both the kids we showed that if you follow protocol, and we're consistent, that we could pretty much turn any athlete into a thrower. So that's that story.

David Novak 58:37 

You know, as you mentioned, they both got drafted. And I understand you got a bonus check. And you turned around and you gave it to the guys, what made you do that?

Tom House 58:45 

It wasn't a huge check. It was 25 grand, because I'm in the last two minutes of the movie. And for that brief cameo appearance, the Disney people paid me 25 grand. And I wasn't sure if Rinku and Dinesh, whatever make it in the game. So I gave it to them. But a couple years ago, I ran into renqiu. He's now an MMA guy down in Florida and I say hey, look, now that you're making big money, whatever, how about paying me back that 25 Grand i get he said all costs. That money is no longer available.

David Novak 59:23 

Who played you in the movie? Who was who was Tom house in the movie?

Tom House 59:26 

Bill Paxton. And my wife says Bill Paxson did it better. Tom house and Tom house. That's great. Yeah, so yeah, that was a very fun learning experience that summer. You know, you

David Novak 59:39 

mentioned that you've had a lot of mentors in your career, who would be the most influential mentors in your life besides your parents?

Tom House 59:46 

Rob dado? Of course he was the one that made me realize I could never be Tom Seaver, but I could be the best Tom house I could be. There is a low profile guy, Clyde King, who in My AAA years in Richmond, Virginia. I was not doing well. I was as a starter. I was not getting people out and probably looking to get released. And Clyde said, Come on, Tom, we're gonna go for a walk. And when the manager asked me to go for a walk, you know, it's not a good sign. So he sat me down out in the bullpen. He said, What's your era? First time through the lineup? I said, I really don't know. He said it's, you know, a little bit more than two, which is very good. I said, Yeah. So I'm starting to get a little bit more optimistic. He said, What's your era? Second time through the lineup? I said, I don't know. He said it was about 475, which is not good. Then he said, What's your era? Third time to the lineup? I knew this one. Because I never got three times through the lineup. He said, What are we going to do with you? I said, we're going to, I don't know, set me down a double a release me said, No, I'm gonna get you in three or four games a week. And never have you go more than one time through the lineup. I was in the big leagues three months later. Wow. So you see how lucky I got there. He figured out that I was good if I didn't get over exposed. So that was that. Another mentor on top of that would probably be a guy named Tony, stellar, who is a heart surgeon that kind of underwrote all the research, that we started off with aerial system. And because he wasn't money motivated, either he was very wealthy. But if I would have had to pay for all that, it would have never been done. So those four people are probably the reason you and I are talking right now.

David Novak 1:01:40 

Yeah, you know, knowing all that, you know, now, Tom, if you were starting in major league baseball, or football, or any of these rotational sports that you're specializing in, now, what would you look for in a coach?

Tom House 1:01:53 

Well, somebody that is athlete first, self second, if you're not kid friendly, if you're not in it to help the athlete, you're never going to come across as authentic. So there's a sender, and there's a receiver when it comes to information and instruction, you have to find a way to communicate what you know, and do it with no strings attached for the athlete to actually succeed. If there are strings attached, the information is never received efficiently. And I can honestly say that from when I was a player, and when I was a coach, the kids read it real quick. kids and dogs recognize authenticity, fast. That's one of my rules. When I have coaches, and I want to find out what their real makeup is. I'll put them out with a bunch of 12 year olds, which is my favorite group to work with. And kids recognize real quick, the coaches that actually care about them. First, I'll give you my exact three rules, tell the truth, do the right thing when nobody's looking? And would it make your mother proud? When we're certifying coaches, I tell them, you can use a variation on that theme. But if you're not telling the truth, if you walk by a piece of paper and not pick it up in the dugout, then you're not our kind of guy. And then literally, again, the mother thing if it doesn't make your mother proud, don't do it.

David Novak 1:03:19 

You know, Jason, I wrote this book on taking charge of view and self coaching. How would you coach someone to improve on their own?

Tom House 1:03:25 

I've read your book twice. It's actually a nice little primer. It says a lot of things that are very translatable in the sports world, too. So how do you coach yourself? Again, we'll start with did I do everything I could do to be the best I could be? There's insight, hindsight, and foresight. And are you able to literally look at yourself? interpersonally. And look at how yourself works with outside yourself, which is interpersonally. And are you authentic? Do you have tools to teach with and you give information, unconditionally. In other words, think of yourself as a boy scout, but you're in a particular sport. What I see most coaches, they literally coach to stay in the game, rather than coach to be in the game. And they'll have success. But the long term successful coaches, the ones that affect change, and create athletes, in large numbers that survive are the ones that give unconditionally. And all they ask are the athletes that they commit to be the best they can possibly be.

David Novak 1:04:43 

While we're on the subject here. We've got a lot of parents listening in today that have kids that are athletes are gonna want to do well in sports. What advice do you give parents on how to handle their kids in sports?

Tom House 1:04:56 

This is a toughy because we live In a world, I think they call them helicopter parents or snowplow parents, you have to let your kid fail. You have to hold him to a commitment. Like if your kid is going to sign up for a piano, and he figures out he hates it. After two weeks, you're going to fulfill the commitment to the piano lessons that you signed up for. And then you can move on accordingly. What the world is trying to do with kids, is expect them to learn from a cell phone. When in a classroom or in a learning situation, the harder it is, the more they actually learn even when they can't solve the problem. The research that we're getting is that 83% of Hall of Famers are late bloomers. And they had to figure out the hard way, how to experience gain knowledge and wisdom, not having it done for them. If you have a cell phone right now, you really don't have to go to college. All right, because everything that can possibly be asked could be answered by the cell phone. But that's not going to make you any smarter and can make you any better. If you literally have to struggle to learn, you're going to learn more efficiently long term. And what we're doing is creating a generation of athletes that can play it really well on the games the Sony's and whatever, but you put them between the lines, and they don't understand the feelings of adversity, anxiety, stress. And those are the things that make an elite athlete, managing the stress and anxiety understanding that everybody gets nervous, you're going to fail, probably more than you succeed. Even the Hall of Fame hitters fail 70% of the time. Hall of Fame pitchers fail half the time. But that's not the message that coaches and parents are delivering right now. Earlier on, we say game of failure coached by negative people and misinformation environment, learn from your failures, call it fail fast forward. My mom was great at this. We come home and I said That's right. No hitter today. And my mom would say that's great. Did you get your English paper done? My dad I say pops through and O'Hara today that my dad was the ultimate nerd. My dad was saying okay, first of all, what is a no hitter? Second of all, can you do it again? How did you do it? So my family was one and a half, and not a reward or a criticism for the actual outcome. When I say we live in an outcome world, parents, it's hard for them to watch their kid fail. And you have a daughter, I just saw her when she was growing up in the system. Didn't it kind of tear you up? To watch her when things didn't go right? Sure.

David Novak 1:08:03 

You want the best happen to your kids at all times?

Tom House 1:08:06 

Is that good? You said it better than I could ever think you want. You want the best for your kids. But you can't do it for them. I can honestly look you in the face and look back at my life at age 75 years old. I have never not laughed or had a good time. On the field in practice for a game, the average four year old will laugh or smile 400 times a day. The average four year old doesn't laugh or smile. Four times in 10 days. Look what we've done. Our world has programmed what you're doing right now you're smiling. Think about not smiling for a whole day. That never happens in sports,

David Novak 1:08:55 

that he takes the joy out of life with that kind of attitude. And I want to ask you a personal question here. You know, I had cancer myself, my wife has type one diabetes, and she's seven a chronic disease. And you know, that's tough, you know, having a chronic disease and you've been diagnosed for Parkinson's disease. How do you take all of what you know, Tom, and apply it to your approach to managing Parkinson's? How have you coached yourself through this health challenge?

Tom House 1:09:22 

Well, David, I'm telling you, I'm still midway in this journey. But I was misdiagnosed for about three years. And then when the final diagnosis, had some relevancy, they told me that I'd be sitting in a wheelchair, probably drooling on myself. And eight, nine years. Well, I'm nine years into it. I've slowed down. I'm not as quick on the uptake as I was I get tired, my voice gets away from me. But you know what, I think the fact that I get up, I work out. I probably work harder physically now than I did when I was playing pro ball but Getting out. And just taking a step and getting the momentum going. I think that's keeping me going. And the fact that conversations like this, I just came back from a camp in Atlanta, where we had 20 Kids and about 20 coaches, just being on the field and hanging out with them. And you know, seeing how much fun they're having. I think that's helping me push the Parkinson's back. I'm on all this for some human trials with stem cells, which in primates have been 100% Cure, so I've got some hope. But I'm not giving up. And on the days when I have feels like a marathon to get out of bed and brush my teeth, I go to bed and brush my teeth. And by the end of the day, it may not be as much as I would have liked to get done. But I haven't given up yet I haven't given in

David Novak 1:10:53 

a day, are you still working now two hours a day like you used to and getting two hours of a normal life because of that,

Tom House 1:10:59 

pretty much I will say I am taking a nap. Now no matter where I am, and I qualify this coming up front. After lunch, before I go back to the field, I need a half an hour to 45 minutes. If you can't plot that in and I'm not coming to your camp or clinic. So the one thing I'm allowing myself is a power nap in the afternoon. Everything else is just like it used to be but I I am slowing down. And I am depending on other people to do things that I don't have the energy or the time for

David Novak 1:11:34 

you know, Tom, all the research says that the happiest people in the world are other directed. And you know, your focus on helping others. There's got to be one of the main reasons why you're smiling and keeping it going.

Tom House 1:11:45 

Well, and you probably know this better than I do as successful as you can. It seems like the more people you help, the more people come back and make your life better. Yeah. Is it the book the world's greatest salesman where the more you give, the more you get? No question. So it's somewhere along those lines and you know, I have my good days and my bad days. But overall, I am truly blessed. You know,

David Novak 1:12:09 

this has been so much fun and I want to have a little bit more before we wrap this up with some rapid fire questions. My lightning round so are you ready for this? Yes, sir. I three words that best describe you.

Tom House 1:12:21 

humble, hungry, and always looking best forwards.

David Novak 1:12:25 

That's all right. If you could be one person for a day beside yourself who would it be and why? Sandy Koufax

Tom House 1:12:30 

just to throw a 99 mile an hour fastball saying here it is hit it.

David Novak 1:12:37 

What's your biggest pet peeve?

Tom House 1:12:39 

Stupid. I don't do stupid very well.

David Novak 1:12:43 

What's something about you that few people would know?

Tom House 1:12:46 

Probably the I really like people.

David Novak 1:12:50 

Now that's a hard one to believe. He seems to be so genuine. And you seem to love people. So

Tom House 1:12:55 

there's a lot of people that think I'm kind of a you know, a small mouth butthead. It used to be again when I was in my confrontation phase where when I knew I didn't do stupid if someone didn't agree with me. I'll make it really easy. I've been in 50 fights in my life. Am I asked kicked in 46 So small man, big mouth. He goes ask it. But I really truly do enjoy people.

David Novak 1:13:26 

And the best pure athlete you ever coached.

Tom House 1:13:29 

Wow. Best pure athlete I ever coach. That's a toughy probably a kid named Kenny Rogers a left handed pitcher. That could stuff a basketball, scratch golfer pitch 22 years in the big leagues. Was a quarterback in football. Best pure athlete, Kenny Rogers.

David Novak 1:13:53 

Last one, your biggest coaching accomplishment?

Tom House 1:13:57 

I don't think I've done it yet. I'm really happy with some of the things but I think the best is yet to come.

David Novak 1:14:05 

You know, we've got all these aspiring leaders listen in Tom. So what would be one piece of advice you'd give to anyone who wants to improve as a leader?

Tom House 1:14:15 

The best advice, be authentic, be yourself. And when you are yourself, the people that are supposed to find you will find you. If you try to be something you're not, you will never know who you are.

David Novak 1:14:29 

I love that the people are supposed to find you will find you. That's great. And last question, what legacy would you like to leave Tom? You know, how do you want to be remembered?

Tom House 1:14:38 

As a mentor of kids?

David Novak 1:14:40 

Well, you're well on your way. You're you're basically changing the game for the world with what you're doing with mustard, democratizing coaching, giving people the opportunity to have access to the know how that you have. And I can't thank you enough for taking the time out to share your story and your insights. There's no way you can listen to this without taking In a way, a few pearls that you can start applying right today. So thank you very much, Tom. David, thank

Tom House 1:15:04 

you all pal rally you anytime

David Novak 1:15:14 

now that Tom house is one heck of a storyteller and one heck of a coach, and speak in a coaching, I have a brand new book out called take charge of you how self coaching can transform your life and career. In the book, I talked about the importance of being an avid learner. There are so many ways for us to learn, whether that's through regular conversations with the mentor you aspire to be like reading books from successful leaders, or listening to podcasts like this one, where you learn straight from the horse's mouth. Being an avid learner, and then applying what you learn is the key to success for any leader. So here's what I want you to do this week, I want you to subscribe to this podcast. I don't want you to do this for me, I want you to do it for you. Believe me, there's no profit motive here. These episodes are absolutely free for you to listen to. There's a coaching motive, however, I want you to be the best leader you can be and my gift to you is the opportunity to learn from the very best. I want you to add a one hour block to your calendar each and every week, where you'll commit to your own development and listen to these episodes. By applying the lessons you learned from these conversations with amazing guests each week. I know it'll help you become an even better leader. So do you want to know how leaders lead? What we learned today is that great leaders learn from the best. Thanks again for tuning in to another episode of how leaders lead where every Thursday you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world. I make it a point to give you something simple on each episode that you can apply to your business so that you will become the best leader you can be. I'll see you next week.