Time Management, Leadership, and the Entrepreneurial Playbook: Lessons from Brett Goode
If entrepreneurs and professional athletes have one thing in common, it’s that time is their most valuable resource.
On the latest episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, I sat down with Brett Goode, former professional football player turned entrepreneur, to talk about what the transition from the field to the boardroom taught him about discipline, resilience, and time management.
Brett didn’t build his business overnight. He had to figure out what every entrepreneur does: how to manage his time effectively, overcome failures, and lead a team when the pressure is on.
Here are some of his biggest lessons about time management, leadership, and building a business that doesn’t own you.
Your time is yours—if you take control of it
One of the hardest things about leaving professional football was the loss of structure.
For 10 years, Brett had everything planned out—training schedules, film study, recovery time. Then, suddenly, it was all on him.
“When I left football, I had to figure out what to do next. I wasn’t used to setting my own schedule. That’s one of the hardest parts for any entrepreneur—you go from a structured environment to having total freedom, and if you’re not careful, that freedom turns into chaos.”
Time isn’t something you find—it’s something you structure. Whether you’re an athlete or an entrepreneur, success comes from being intentional about how you use every hour of your day.
Quick Fix: Start each day with three non-negotiable tasks—the things that move your business forward. If you’re spending time on low-value work, it’s time to rethink your priorities.
Winning in business (and life) is about recovery time
Every entrepreneur has bad days. Deals fall through. Employees quit. You lose a big client.
Brett compares it to getting knocked down on the field.
“You’re only as good as your last play. You can sit and dwell on a bad day, or you can get up, learn from it, and move forward. That’s how business works. Every day, you’ve got to come back ready to play.”
The faster you recover from setbacks, the more time you save. If you spend too much time focused on what went wrong, you’re wasting energy that could be used to move forward.
Quick Fix: At the end of each day, write down one win and one lesson. Then, leave everything else behind. Dwelling on mistakes only steals time from tomorrow.
Managing time means managing your team
One of the biggest lessons Brett learned from football? You can’t win alone.
“Not everyone wants to stay in the same role forever. I talk to my employees about what they want to do and what they want to grow into. If I can help them move up, we all win.”
If you don’t have the right people around you, you will always be spending your time putting out fires instead of growing your business.
Quick Fix: Make a list of everything you do in a week. What can you train someone else to handle? The goal isn’t to do everything—it’s to focus on what only you can do.
Don’t let one bad play ruin the game
Entrepreneurs tend to obsess over failures.
Brett compares this to a bad game in football.
“If I had a bad game, I had to move on fast. I couldn’t let it affect the next play, the next game. Business is the same way—you can’t waste time beating yourself up over mistakes. You’ve got to adjust and keep going.”
Entrepreneurs waste too much time overthinking past failures instead of focusing on what’s next. Your time is best spent making better decisions, not replaying bad ones.
Quick Fix: Set a 10-minute rule. If something goes wrong, give yourself 10 minutes to be mad about it. Then, move on and get back to work.
Make time for the big picture
Brett has learned that business success isn’t just about the day-to-day—it’s about looking ahead.
“I’m already thinking about where we’ll be in six months. A lot of business owners don’t think that far ahead, and they get stuck. If you’re not planning ahead, you’re just reacting.”
If you don’t carve out time for strategy and vision, your business will always control you instead of the other way around.
Quick Fix: Set aside one hour a week for big-picture thinking. Look at your business, your goals, and what needs to change. If you don’t plan for growth, it won’t happen.
Final thoughts: take control of your time before it takes control of you
Brett’s story is a powerful reminder that entrepreneurs don’t just need discipline in their work—they need discipline in their time.
Plan your days with intention
Recover quickly from setbacks
Build a strong team so you’re not doing everything yourself
Focus on the future, not just the present
And most importantly? Don’t let fear keep you stuck.
“If I could go back and give myself advice, I’d say, ‘Do it sooner.’ I waited too long. The fear of failure held me back. If I had started earlier, who knows where I’d be today?”
So, if you’re still sitting on the sidelines, wondering when the right time is to take control of your time and your business, let me ask you this:
If you don’t do it now, when will you?
I’ll leave you with that
And if you’re ready to take control of your time, build a strong team, and grow your business without working 24/7, let’s talk!
