01/25/2026
Shared from one of my favorite mentors Diana Kokoszka
Today I am in Denver, the mile high city, where the air is thinner, the temperature is freezing and the people are …. well living in anticipation as to what will happen this afternoon at Empower field as the Broncos play the Patriots for a trip to the Super Bowl.
Here’s the part that makes this a mindset lesson: Denver is doing it with a quarterback who is stepping in after a long stretch away from real game action. Bo Nix’s season-ending ankle injury forced the switch, and Jarrett Stidham now carries the huddle in the AFC Championship.
One report put it in concrete terms: Stidham’s last regular-season pass was more than two years ago, meaning he’s walking into the loudest moment of the year with “rust” as a storyline and a Super Bowl as the assignment.
Pause for a moment and personalize that., Picture getting handed the responsibility at the exact moment the lights are brightest:
You have millions watching and you have only one week to prepare.
Can you imagine being judged in real time on every play with the margin for error measured in inches. Not to mention the weight of carrying the hopes and dreams of all the loyal Bronco fans on your shoulders. The pressure mounting in each second of the game. Will Stidham look at pressure like Jack Nicolas does “pressure is pleasure.” Or as I say, “no pressure, no diamond?”
The separating line is what happens next.
Some people stare at the size of the moment. Great leaders shrink it down to the next play. Coaches and teammates around Stidham are intentionally building belief, publicly backing him, and keeping the focus on ex*****on. That’s leadership: reducing panic, creating clarity, and reinforcing confidence.
So when life tags someone in unexpectedly a new role, a crisis, a family situation, a business pivot three questions guide the response:
What’s the next right decision, not the whole outcome?
What has been practiced in private that can carry the moment in public?
Which of the four storytellers living in your mind will you listen to? The devious storyteller? The flattering one? The one that gives you reasons and excuses or the empowering storyteller. Which storyteller’s voice will be the loudest in Stidham’s mind before each play?
Take away: Some days you don’t get a warm-up. Big moments don’t ask if it’s convenient. They ask if you’re ready. And readiness isn’t a feeling, it’s what you built long before today. Pressure reveals what’s been built.
Go Bronco’s…..May the pressure you experience become the diamond that sparkles bright in your Super Bowl ring.