JJ Birden

Former NFL Pro

JJ Birden

Former NFL Pro

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Biography

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.

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.

Speaker Videos

Sizzle Reel

There BETTER Be an “I” in Team

When Opportunity Knocks: A Conversation with Former NFL Player JJ Birden

Speech Topics

From the Field to the Boardroom: Building a Winning Team - Unlocking Your Team's Potential

Many organizations struggle with teamwork, causing role confusion and difficulty balancing individual and collective success. This leads to demotivation and disconnection from the bigger picture. Without a clear team strategy and commitment, organizations face communication breakdowns, trust issues, conflicting work styles, and lack of collaboration, leading to overall failure. Effective teamwork is crucial for success and progress.

In this keynote, JJ Birden leverages his contrasting NFL experiences to provide actionable insights and delivers powerful lessons on building successful teams. He compares the 1993 Kansas City Chiefs, who nearly reached the Super Bowl, with the 1989 Dallas Cowboys, who struggled through a 1-15 season. Through these experiences, he illustrates essential strategies for creating winning teams in any environment.

JJ aims to empower organizations to achieve their goals and cultivate a high-performance culture by translating the principles that made his teams great. This keynote inspires leaders and teams to embrace change, foster growth, and create environments where everyone can thrive.

Key Takeaways:

Growth: Audiences will learn strategies for personal and professional development through change, mentorship, and effective leadership. They will gain insights on how mentorship can transform team dynamics, inspired by NFL legend Joe Montana's experiences.
Retention: Attendees will understand how to create a winning culture that ensures long-term success. They will discover the importance of commitment and loyalty in fostering team cohesion and sustained performance, drawing parallels between professional sports and the corporate world.
Teamwork: Participants will know how to employ methods to foster a supportive team environment where dynamics are optimized for success. They will learn the significance of sharing and celebrating team achievements to ensure everyone feels valued and motivated.

Winning as an Underdog

In today's fiercely competitive landscape, organizations often find themselves at a perceived disadvantage when pitted against industry giants with larger market shares, extensive budgets, and formidable resources. However, this perceived weakness can be transformed into a strategic advantage with the right guidance. Rather than limiting their growth potential, these organizations can harness their unique strengths to foster alignment, momentum, and ultimately, sustainable growth.

Drawing inspiration from his own journey as an underdog, JJ Birden, a former NFL player and successful business professional, shares invaluable insights in his compelling keynote, "Winning As an Underdog." Despite facing odds stacked against him—where the average NFL player towered over him by 43%—JJ mastered the "underdog mentality," leveraging his perceived shortcomings to fuel his success both on and off the field. Through over a decade of experience in the medical and fitness equipment industries, JJ continued to embody this mentality, defying expectations and achieving remarkable success.

In his captivating keynote, Winning As an Underdog, JJ empowers attendees to embrace their underdog status and capitalize on every opportunity. With a blend of undeniable truths, actionable strategies, and inspiring anecdotes, JJ guides participants through a collaborative experience, showcasing how underdogs can not only thrive but also revolutionize established business norms. Join JJ Birden as he reveals how underdogs are the true catalysts for innovation and change in the business world.

Attendees will walk away:

Recognizing the strategic benefits of embracing underdog status.
How to cultivate a mindset that thrives on challenges and adversity.
Implementing JJ's proven framework for narrowing the underdog disadvantage.
Maintaining unwavering determination and resilience on the journey from underdog to industry leader.

Seize Your Opportunities

Success is not going to be given to you--you have to go get it!

Businesses have always aimed to get more out of their people, but it is becoming increasingly hard to provide resources, instruction, and encouragement that actually motivate employees to show up and give their best. To truly succeed in today’s extremely competitive business world, organizations need employees who are genuinely motivated to give their best, improve each day, and do whatever it takes to win. Unfortunately, not everyone has this capacity; JJ Birden does, and he can help anyone develop it, too.

Seize Your Opportunities focuses on the individual and what one must do for success as part of a larger group—no matter the odds, and no matter how much hard work it requires.

As a former NFL wide receiver, JJ knows what it takes to reach the highest level of performance and have the capacity to maintain it. Many of the success principles he learned as a professional athlete have helped him thrive in the business world as an entrepreneur and professional speaker. In this presentation, JJ shares his winning principles and strategies and teaches audiences how to maximize and seize the opportunities in their lives.

Success is not going to be given to you. You have to achieve success; and once you have it, you can't stay at that same level. You have to continue to work to fight mediocrity and complacency. JJ will show you how.

Key Takeaways from Seize Your Opportunity:

Finding, defining, and defending your Why
How discipline and self-motivation lead to success
Achieving your breakthrough through adversity
Developing championship focus and resolve
How complacency can destroy momentum
Avoiding complacency by continuous self-improvement
The Joe Montana Effect - what JJ learned playing with one of the greatest athletes of all time

Testimonials

"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 too. He radiates positivity, grit, and authenticity!"

- Account Executive, Corpus Christi Hooks

"Here’s what I love about JJ Birden. He brought energy and excitement. But he brought alignment to our team and what we were looking for. More importantly he gave our team the confidence and the courage to go out there to get to the next level. Me as a business leader, you’re always looking for some aspect of that and he nailed all three!"

- Senior Executive Mobile Mini Solutions

"Thank you so much for speaking to our office earlier this year. You were highly motivational and communicated with our financial advisors in a way that they connected with. Your humanity, compassion, and enthusiasm really come through in your presentation and it’s clearly one of the best I’ve seen. I was at a dinner party Saturday night and 2 people were talking about your presentation, even though it was several months ago. Thank you so much for the positive impact you’ve had on our people!"

- Merrill Lynch in Overland Park Kansas

Our office had the pleasure of hosting JJ Birden for a lunch presentation. His message was impactful, direct, and relative to all of our employees. He weaves stories from his athletic life and blends it with his business acumen to deliver a presentation that is consumable and enjoyable to a wide audience of people. In addition, he and his wife are kind and responsive individuals. So, if you have a group of employees, students, athletes (really his message can work for any group) I would highly recommend JJ to speak at your next event.

- Vice President, Morgan Stanley

"In my 16 years in sales leadership, I have heard from some of the best motivational speakers in the world. JJ Birden was by far one of the best motivational speakers I have ever heard. His passion, content, and stories were so relevant to any sales-person or leader. His passion and storytelling had my team of 300 Aflac associates and managers laser focused on every word. JJ is a true professional who took the time to speak to me the week before my meeting to understand our company and culture. I would recommend any sales organization to bring JJ into your next meeting if you are looking for a lift. A week later I still have Aflac associates talking about his motivational speech!"

- Market Director, Aflac

"JJ was very easy to work with and completely understood our ultimate objective. He connected so well with our audience he had a line for over an hour of people waiting to purchase his book and thank him. What I appreciated the most was that he was so gracious with each attendee that came to the table to speak him."

- Events Manager, Orangetheory Fitness

"JJ Birden was excellent to work with and did a great job learning about our company and the audience he would be presenting to. He tailored his personal experiences to our audience in a way that they would relate to and learn from. I would highly recommend JJ Birden!"

- Sr Brand Manager

"JJ Birden spoke at our sales meeting. he kicked off our first day with a high-energy presentation that blended a variety of topics from life lessons to challenging yourself on a daily basis. It was a fantastic start to our day and our meeting. As our individual presenters spoke during the remainder of our meeting, they referenced thoughts or ideas planted by JJ on day 1. This was not a request from our leadership, the impact and energy JJ brought to our meeting was infectious and had a lasting impact over the next few days. It was terrific hearing how our sales and marketing team were using the foundation set by JJ on day 1 to springboard and attack the year to elevate our performance. JJ researched our organization and addressed that knowledge throughout his presentation and connected with our team. JJ’s presentation was a home run and set the stage for a high-energy meeting! I highly recommend JJ to others and enjoyed working with him before and during our meeting."

- Sr. Director, Store Brand Strategy Heartland Food Products Group