On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we chat with Juan M. Fernandez, a former professional basketball player turned life and transition coach.
Juan has dedicated his life to helping others overcome challenges and maximize their potential. Born in Argentina, Juan followed his passion for basketball and earned an athletic scholarship to study and play at Temple University in Philadelphia. After completing his degree in Broadcast Journalism, he embarked on a 10-year professional basketball career in Europe.
"When you're most uncomfortable is when you grow. That's the place of growth. It's hard to see it then. But now that I reflect back with 15 years of career behind me, those are the moments that made me. I think that's what college gave me: Finding myself and starting to discover who I was for the first time...and it gave me the preparation to find a system that worked for me. To organize myself. To show that I could commit to being an athlete and a student at the same time."
Juan speaks about preparing for the transition out of sports:
"One of the main things that I always did was to look at, what are the possible downsides of this change? Which may happen or they may not, but I would rather be aware of them. And then, what are my transferrable skills? What do I feel comfortable with? What am I good at, other than just bouncing the ball around? And I think it's a powerful thing to do because you become more comfortable, more confident, and then the transition is smoother."
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Connect with Juan on LinkedIn
Check out Juan's website: juanmfernandez.com
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