Tackle What's Next

Transform the next chapter of your life into the best one yet

In Tackle What’s Next: Own Your Story, Stack Wins, and Achieve Your Goals in Business and Life, NFL veteran and motivational speaker Eric Wood delivers an inspirational and insightful take on how you can prepare for the next big thing in your life. Whether you’re riding high or feeling low, the author shows you how to make your “What’s next?” into your best yet.

In the book, Wood draws on his own experiences transitioning out of his NFL career and provides you with the tools you need to achieve success in your own circumstances. You’ll explore:

• How to pivot between opportunities when life forces you to unexpectedly change direction
• Strategies for closely examining what you’re good at, what you’re great at, and what you can contribute to the world with your unique combination of gifts and talents
• Ways to adjust your perspective to maintain resilience and toughness in the face of adversity

A can’t-miss read for anyone looking for proven and straightforward ways to make the next chapter of their life even more exciting than what’s come before, Tackle What’s Next is your own personal handbook to achievement, resilience, and success.

Foreword xiii
By Sean McDermott

Preface: You’re Right Where You Need to Be Right Now xv

1 The Pivot Point 1

2 Examine Your Gifts 13

Question 1: What Are You Good at Naturally? 15

Question 2: What Have You Learned to Do Well? 16

Question 3: What Do People Who Love You

Say Your Gifts Are? 17

Question 4: What Are You Resisting? 20

Adversity Is a Gift 23

Key Takeaways 24

3 Choose a Greater Perspective 25

Setback 1: Not Succeeding in Football Until Late in High School 28

Setback 2: My Joe Theismann Leg Break 29

Setback 3: My MCL Injury 33

Setback 4: The Career-Ending Neck Injury 36

Ways to Shift Your Perspective When You’re Stuck 38

Key Takeaways 41

4 Create a Vision for Your Future 43

Seeing Past the Moment 46

Contemplate and Write Down Your Thoughts and Feelings 48

Conquering Obstacles in the Way of Envisioning Your Ideal Self 50

Key Takeaways 54

5 Examine Your Core Values 57

Finding Your Core Values 58

Getting Back into Alignment with Your Core Values 60

Seeking Others Who Model Core Values You Want 61

Define Your Hard Boundaries 63

Once You Have Your Core Values, Write Them Down 64

Design Your Life and Schedule Based on Your Core Values 67

Having the Courage to Reach Out 68

Key Takeaways 70

6 Focus On Your Health 71

Your Unique Health Focus Requires Vision and Perspective 72

Early Health Sacrifices in My Football Career 73

After Football: Getting My Long-Term Health Back on Track 74

Developing New Habits 75

Dealing with Traumatic Brain Injury 76

The Three Pillars of Recovery 77

Key Takeaways 84

7 Get into a Routine That Sets You Up for Success 87

The Built-In Routine of the NFL 90

The Struggle of Finding a New Routine 92

High Performers Have Similar Routines for Success 93

The New Routine That Works for Me 94

Intentionality: You Get to Decide How Your Day Will Go 97

Gratitude Changes Everything 98

Intentionality the Night Before Can Enhance Your Whole Next Day 101

Become a Super-Learner 102

Habit Stacking 103

Key Takeaways 104

8 Starting Your Day with Wins and Building Momentum 107

How Small Wins Add to Your Momentum 108

Building Confidence Through Wins 109

How Morning Wins Can Help You Mitigate Small Setbacks 111

Remembering Big Wins Can Get You Through Significant Setbacks 112

Gaining Momentum from Wins Requires Accountability 113

Boundaries and Systems: Built-In Accountability for Wins 115

Maintaining Unstoppable Momentum Part 1: Daily Process 117

Maintaining Unstoppable Momentum Part 2: Support System 118

Maintaining Unstoppable Momentum Part 3: Removing Distractions 120

Standards over Feelings 121

Don’t Let Positive Momentum Seduce You (Keep Doing the Thing!) 122

Overcoming Negative Momentum 123

Growing Your Confidence and Process Goals 125

Looking Back at How Far You’ve Come 125

Key Takeaways 126

9 Serve Others 129

How I Came to Adopt a Serving Others Mentality 130

My Challenges with Serving Others After My Pivot Point 131

The Long-Term Benefits of Generosity and Serving Others 132

The Unexpected Benefits of Serving Even When You Are at a Pivot Point 136

Finding Ways to Serve in All the Buckets of Your Life 137

Internal Challenges of a Serving Mentality 139

Servant Leadership 140

Key Takeaways 143

10 Fill Your Mind with What You Want to Show Up in Your Life 145

The Sea of Thoughts 146

Self-Limiting Beliefs 146

The Power of Media 149

The Power of Choosing Your Thoughts 150

How I Filled My Mind in College Football 153

How I Filled My Mind in the NFL 154

How to Start Filling Your Mind Intentionally 155

Don’t Limit Yourself 157

Key Takeaways 158

11 Examine the People You Are Spending the Most Time With 161

The Profound Influence of the People You Spend the Most Time With 162

Your Profound Influence on Others 164

Spend Time with People You Can Learn From 166

Find Groups to Learn from Others at an Advanced Level 169

Moving On and Letting Go 173

Key Takeaways 173

12 Be Coachable 175

First, Be Accountable 175

Be Willing to Be Uncomfortable 179

Practice Humility and Confidence at the Same Time 181

Hold Yourself to a Higher Standard by Seeking Coaching 182

Push Your Limits 184

Pivot and Be Flexible 186

The Best Coaching Is Ongoing 188

Key Takeaways 189

13 Control What You Can Control 191

Intentionality and Self-Discipline: How Badly Do You Want It? 193

Consistency Comes from Preparation 195

Be a Champion for Your High Standards of Performance 197

With Great Preparation Comes Great Confidence 198

Key Takeaways 201

About the Author 203

Index 205

ERIC WOOD played as an NFL Center for the Buffalo Bills. He was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft and retired in 2017 due to a neck injury. Now, Eric serves as the Buffalo Bills Radio Analyst, host of the “What’s Next with Eric Wood” podcast, and a motivational speaker.

Life is full of ups and downs, but one thing is certain—we’re always moving forward. And if anyone knows how to take advantage of both the highs and the lows, it’s nine-season NFL veteran Eric Wood. Over the course of his career, including a Pro Bowl appearance and a dangerous neck injury, Wood learned life-changing lessons that got him to the top and helped him launch his successful post-NFL career. In Tackle What’s Next: Own Your Story, Stack Wins, and Achieve Your Goals in Business and Life, he shares his wisdom with readers at all stages and phases of life.

Sometimes we all experience rough patches, and other times we feel like we’re on top of the world. In both circumstances, it can be easy to get complacent, to stop trying, to stop fighting for what we want. That’s exactly the opposite of what we should and could be doing. Eric Wood explains that it’s life’s extreme moments that form the perfect opportunities to push toward the future and put in the work. If we’re going through something uncomfortable, we can harness that discomfort to motivate us to shift toward the next chapter. If we’re already enjoying the fruits of our labor, we can leverage our resources to get beyond where we are and achieve highs we never thought possible.

Tackle What’s Next is full of advice, examples, and entertaining stories from the NFL and beyond. These life-hacks and nuggets of wisdom will help readers figure out where to set their sights and create a plan for getting where they’re going. From identifying life’s important pivot points to visualizing success and accepting help from anywhere and everywhere, this book’s inspiring and motivational principles—plus Wood’s signature, no-nonsense style—will help readers make their mark, whether in business, sports, or everyday life.

PRAISE FOR TACKLE WHAT’S NEXT

“Eric’s daily preparation and work ethic allowed him to succeed in the NFL, and he’s taking that same approach to the next chapter of his life. This book is filled with practical tools and wisdom that will allow you to achieve high success no matter what life throws your way.”
—BRANDON BEANE, Buffalo Bills GM

“Change in life is constant. Eric Wood is the perfect person to speak about thriving through change. After a neck injury ended his career, he stepped into his next chapter of life like the champion he is. This book will give you practical ways to ensure that your next chapter of life is the best part!”
—JON GORDON, Bestselling Author of The Seed and The Carpenter

“Eric is uniquely qualified to cover the information in this book. Each chapter comes from his actual life experience. Eric is a friend and one of the most brilliant, kind, and strong men that I know. I’m very proud of Tackle What’s Next and honored to endorse it.”
—ED MYLETT, Entrepreneur and Author of Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Power of One More

“The people who succeed in life are the ones who thrive in the transition. Change is daunting, but the transition is actually the most difficult. Eric does a phenomenal job laying out the framework and blueprint for how to successfully go through transition and ultimately lead you to living the life you have always dreamed of!”
—DAVID NURSE, NBA Optimization Coach, Author, Speaker, and Performance Coach

“Perspective. Vision. Routine. Through transition. Eric Wood might be THE expert today on this topic. Because he has lived it. One of the best in the world at his craft on the gridiron. UNEXPECTED tragedy caused him to pivot. Eric never wavered and remains a POWERFUL example for all of us to never stop believing in what is possible.”
—BEN NEWMAN, Speaker, Bestselling Author, and Performance Coach