Kellen Clemens is a former NFL quarterback and Partner and Head of elateus SPORTS at elateus. Although his career was athletics for over a decade, Kellen did not let being an athlete become his primary identity.

Kellen joins Jared Siegel to talk about his experience of transitioning careers and rediscovering purpose, passion, and identity in this week's episode of Success That Lasts.

Tune in here, at delapcpa.com/podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts:

Here are a few highlights from Jared's conversation with Kellen Clemens:

• elateus is the exclusive provider of a comprehensive behavioral assessment for the U.S. and North America called Prism Brain Mapping. They use Prism to help recruit, build, and develop high-performing teams. Kellen briefly describes the work they have been doing.
• Due to the sudden thrust into the virtual workplace, people are still trying to figure out how to work remotely and how to adapt their teams to the change. The pandemic has provided Kellen’s company with the opportunity to coach others in virtual team building. Kellen and Jared liken the experience to a new year on a college football team.
• “This is what you do, not who you are.” Kellen shares the advice a former colleague gave him when he was struggling with his identity. “[People] like to put you in a box [based on what you do], but it’s important to understand [your value]. Identify what can get taken away in a heartbeat, and what can’t, and place your value in what can’t,” he remarks.
• Jared asks Kellen to describe his career-transitioning experience. “I was nervous because of the fear of failure and the unknown,” he replies. According to Kellen, the fear of failure and the unknown was a boogeyman that motivated him to seek alternative opportunities where he could apply his unique skills.
• In a lot of ways, we are products of our environment, Kellen comments. It’s all the more important to be mindful of the environment you choose to be in and the people you allow within it. He talks about the people who have been most influential in his life.
• “One thing I didn’t value [enough] early in my career is how important it is to connect with who you’re leading,” Kellen admits. “One of the things I failed to do was to connect better on an individual level and show a greater amount of empathy.” He and Jared discuss the significance of displaying empathy as a leader.
• “[Life] is like walking through the woods with a flashlight; what’s right in front of you is really clear, but once you get 10 or 20 feet out in the distance, it’s sort of shadowy,” Jared claims. “The only certainty we have is uncertainty, so creating optionality around your life and plans is a good way to live.”