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Okay, here we go. Three, two, one.

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Welcome to Students Incorporated podcast exploring the topics of business, education,

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technology and design. I'm your host, Mr. Jason. Join me weekly as my team and I produce content

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that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting. Episodes include student conversations,

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interviews with thought leaders and inspirational stories with an international flavor.

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This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International Community

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School of Bangkok. In today's episode, we have the privilege of talking with a professional athlete

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who knows a thing or two about hard work, adversity and perseverance. But before we get

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into our first segment, let's hear our quote of the day and get some headline sports news.

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Our quote of the day comes from Tim Tebow. He's quoted to have said,

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every time I step on the field, I'm going to give my whole heart regardless of the score.

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This quote emphasizes a player's unwavering commitment and passion for their sport and

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their teammates. It reflects their determination to always work for their best effort and play

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with their utmost dedication, regardless of the outcome or score. It illustrates their immense

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love and respect for the game. And now on to some sports news. Here are some top football news from

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the United States. Beginning with college football, the Georgia Bulldogs are ranked number one and

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continue to dominate other opponents each week. Just this past weekend, they crushed the Florida

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Gators 43 to 20. The Georgia Bulldogs are currently undefeated with eight wins and zero losses.

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Now onto the NFL. The NFL preseason is underway and there are currently three teams leading

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in a three way tie. Those teams are the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Pittsburgh Steelers,

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and the Washington Commanders. And finally, the trade deadline for this NFL season was set for

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October 31st. Today, teams are scrambling to make last minute roster changes and trades right up

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until the deadline. And that ends our American football sports news.

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All right. Thank you for the quote and the headline news. Today, we welcome a special guest

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who knows a lot about the sport of American football. Please help me welcome Asa Watson,

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a former college player from the Wolf Pack of North Carolina State University and who also

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spent a short time with the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys. Let's give it up for Mr.

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Asa Watson. Bremie is going to get us started with our first question. Thank you again for being

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our guest. Would you please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about who you are and

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what you are doing now? My name is Asa Watson. First off, thanks for having me on the show.

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So glad to be here and be a part of the chapel. I've stepped in a warm welcome from Ben and

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Cock and never been there before, but hopefully one day I'll have the chance to come visit.

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But like I said, my name is Asa, 33 years old. I'm from Rock Hill, South Carolina, originally.

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I have four kids and a wife and I've lived in Germany in the past three and a half years,

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but now I'm back in the States where I'm a personal trainer and also working on my masters.

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So yeah, I like sports, like football, and definitely enjoy sharing my story and getting

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to know people and hearing their stories as well. Thank you. We're super honored to have you here

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with us. We'd like to start with some more lighthearted questions. So our first question

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is, did you ever have the opportunity to catch a pass from Tom Brady?

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Yeah, I didn't break up a season game, but I definitely caught passes from him almost every

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day in practice. So I was the guy who was standing there just catching passes to help him warm up or

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catching passes during drills. So different crossing passes from Tom Brady, but he throws

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the ball really hard. Oh wow, here's another question about another quarterback. What was it

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like playing with Russell Wilson when he was in college? For the sake of our audience, Russell

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Wilson played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and helped take his team to two consecutive

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Super Bowls, winning one. He now plays for Denver Broncos. Yeah, so I think that's a good

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question. So playing with Russell Wilson is definitely also a privilege. Russell is a smart

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guy, a very hard worker, and a really great quarterback, really great player. And so he's

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the type of person that when you're around him, you spend time with him, he makes the people around

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him better at what they do. By setting an example, he first really hard, so that helps the team to

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work hard as well. So playing on the field with him is fun, and also during practice time,

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being around him and seeing his work ethic really helps me to become a better player as well.

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And we understand your brother also plays football and has been influential in your life.

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Could you explain a little bit about how that has happened and what that means to you?

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So my family, when I was growing up, we had a really happy family. We wanted to play college

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football as well. And so all of us at some point played sports. We played soccer, we played football,

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we played when we ran track, or gymnastics and different things. But my brother, he excelled at

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football and played for the team at NFL. For me, watching him grow up, he was a huge example for me.

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He really worked really hard to get to where he wanted to go online. And so he said he

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went home when he was a high schooler, a teenager, that he wanted to play in the NFL. And so he

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walked his butt off as a high schooler, as a college player, to get to where he wanted to be.

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And so that's really an example for me to see that hard work really is important,

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but hard work actually helps your character and keeps you in the perseverance to go further.

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And it really does pay off in the long run.

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Thank you. That's really inspiring. And now building on the topic of hard work,

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our next question is also about practice. We all know that becoming good at something takes a lot

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of training and practice. Could you give us a little insight into what your training and practices

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were like in college and in the NFL? And what kind of character qualities that build in you?

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When you're in college, you basically get four years to play. And so when they bring you in,

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you usually love a young guy, maybe 17, 18. And you've played football before, but you've

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never really been challenged to give your absolute best to the race potential. And so what college

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coaches do is they try to kill you. They try to bring you as close as they can get to the limits

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as possible. And so during the off season, the time that we're not playing actual games,

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there's about three or four months where they give you the hardest training in your life.

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And so that's waking up at sometimes four to 35 in the morning. When it's cold outside to go to

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ability and training and running to lift weights, to get yourself bigger and stronger and faster.

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But it's the time where you have to mentally be strong

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in order to get physically strong. And so that was everything from our training and weight

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growing to our running to our dieting to stretching. But as a college student, even on top of that,

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you have to be a great student. You have to go to class, you have to study. And so all of these

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things are important to making you a good person. And I think having a good student at it helps you

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to be even more balanced individual and more balanced in the whole, because I realized

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that I've gone through some really hard things and I was able to give them perseverance.

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But being a part of the team is a huge thing. That's super insightful. Our next question is

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about expectations. Was it hard to deal with outside expectations from family, friends,

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coaches and teachers when I came to school and sports growing up? When I was younger,

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and I was looking up to my brother, we grew up in a small town. So my brother was pretty famous

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where we're from. He was famous for being one of the strongest football players in the history of

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his college, being a great football player. And so a lot of the pressure for me was

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being just like him. I felt like he was the standard that I had to meet, that if I was going to be

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successful in anything, I had to be just as good or better than him. But I realized after a while

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that some of the pressure that I was feeling wasn't for my brother. It wasn't for people on the

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outside. It was only for myself. And so I get to listen to that and that is something that we can

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all take away is that when we compare ourselves to other people, it applies pressure on us and it

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can hinder our view of ourselves. It can keep us from being our best. And ultimately, we just have

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to understand that God has created us individually different from everyone else in the world. And we

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all have different gifts that we have that we can offer. And so the best thing that we can do is

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just give our absolute best with what we have.

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Yeah, for sure. I think that too. And I think siblings or pressure from siblings definitely

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plays a big role and also pressure and expectation, self-expectation also plays an important role as

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well. And that's a follow-up with our last question of this segment. Regarding adversity,

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expectations, and hardships, how did you overcome them and what does it mean to you to be strong

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and courageous?

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I think one of the biggest hardships I think I had during college was that I would feel having

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two hard-stir duties between my freshman and sophomore year. And that actually took me out of

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them all for a little bit. And for me, as a college student, first and second year, I was really

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trying hard to prove myself. I was trying to show my coaches that I was good enough. I was trying

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to show my teammates that they could rely on me. I wanted to make a name for myself and show that I

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was as good as my brother was. And so feeling the pressure and then having a heart surgery

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wasn't good mix. It took me out of the thing that I was trying to prove myself in. And so at a

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point where I was trying to find my worth in the sport, in football, I was unable to do that

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anymore. And so it was at that time that I really started to read the Bible and to really see how

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God doesn't love me any differently, whether I'm good or bad or whether I perform well or not.

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What it says is that my grace is sufficient, but my power is made perfect in weakness. And so

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I felt like what God was saying to me was that, even if you're not the best athlete, even if you

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have challenges, even if you make mistakes, I care more about your effort. I care more about

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the attitude that you bring to whatever activity. God cares about what we do is what we have.

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When I actually changed my perspective on my sport and changed my perspective on what I

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was doing as an athlete, I came back after sitting out of the year and I became a better athlete.

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I was a better football player because I wasn't thinking about the pressure that was around me.

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I wasn't thinking about the pressure for myself or thinking about making mistakes. I was so

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really focused on me giving my best for God because God gave me his best through his son Jesus.

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So that really changed it for me. I guess that'll be the biggest lesson to my college days that I

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can share. And with that last question for our first segment, you can just hold on Asa, we'll

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come back to you in a moment. We'll be right back with our second segment, which includes questions

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from some of our audience members. So thank you for that audience members. But first,

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it's time for a short announcement. Hello student led organizations and clubs. You have the opportunity

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to showcase your amazing organizations and clubs during our podcast episode PSA announcement

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segment. This is a fantastic opportunity to promote and highlight the unique experiences

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your students have. We're so grateful for your support and support. We're so grateful for your

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support throughout the process. Your club offers as well as connect with our community, simply

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fill out the Google form posted in the homeroom slides or contact any member of the students

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Inc. podcasting.

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We are back with our second segment. For this segment, we invited our students and faculty to

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submit questions they'd like for us to ask Mr. Asa. Now in order to make this fun for them for

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We also entered your names into a raffle drawing

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with a chance to win an autographed souvenir

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from Mr. Asa.

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We'll announce the raffle winners

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at the end of our next podcast episode.

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Okay, let's get into our first audience submitted question.

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Premier, will get us started again.

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All right.

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All right.

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Our first audience question comes from Miles.

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He asks, did you ever get scared on the football field

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because some of your opponents were huge?

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Yeah, I definitely been scared.

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I was definitely scared going to the field sometimes.

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There were times where you're coming out of the tunnel,

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you walked out of this long tunnel,

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and then for home games they shoot out smoke

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and fireworks and there's flame throwers.

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And you run out and there's 60,000 people screaming

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and you don't want to,

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the biggest thing is you don't want to trip and fall

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and get run over by teammates.

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But I think it was definitely that was where

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I've been challenged by looking at the guy in front of me.

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I blocked some people that were 300 pounds.

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I got hit by people that were about 300 pounds.

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So yeah.

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Our next question is from Abby.

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She asks, during your football playing years,

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which player has impressed you the most?

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I don't know, probably Tom Brady.

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Yeah, I think it would be Tom Brady.

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Just because Tom is like, he's just like a celebrity.

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He's already a celebrity.

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But, and then when you meet him face to face,

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it's just like, you know, it's like,

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you're kind of at loss for words because he's so famous.

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But yeah, I think what impressed me the most about him

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is that he was just a professional in everything he does.

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He goes through practice,

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but then he has a guy who works with him extra

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to do drills with him, to do his nutrition,

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to give him everything that he needs to eat,

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to stretch him, to do all this stuff, recovery.

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He's very professional about everything he does.

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So I'd never say Tom Brady.

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Our next question is from Aoi.

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She asks, have you ever felt like

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your body was not fit for the sport?

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Yeah.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.

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I think I always felt like,

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I was always pretty undersized for my position.

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So I'm like, when I was playing,

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I was probably like 225, 225 pounds.

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And most of the guys in my position were like 240, 250, 260.

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And so I always felt like I was smaller,

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which was really hard because,

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you know, if you're going against somebody

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who's like 70 pounds bigger than you,

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it would help to have some extra pounds.

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But I think it just made me be a much more aggressive

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and that much more,

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I realized I had to hustle more

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and work harder than everybody else.

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So yeah.

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Our next question is from Noah.

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He asks, what was your best play

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and do you like the Falcons?

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No, no.

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No, no, I don't like the Falcons.

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But I think my best play,

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okay, my best play in high school was,

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yeah, I'll start with high school.

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High school I had, yeah, high school was fun.

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So I best play in high school.

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We were on defense, the team was on defense.

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We got, we took the ball,

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and so we were on the one yard line.

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So we had the end zone right behind us.

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So basically what happens,

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if you get pushed back one yard,

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the other team gets two points.

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So we don't do that.

220
00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:43,520
So we were back up two yard line.

221
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I was playing wide receiver.

222
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,480
The quarterback snaps the ball,

223
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,840
turns, I run straight through the middle,

224
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:55,560
linebacker through the space piece,

225
00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:57,120
and the quarterback throws the ball,

226
00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:01,760
I catch it, and I break it for 99 yards.

227
00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:03,520
I got a full stretch before.

228
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,520
Thank you for doing that for me.

229
00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,720
Oh wow, that is impressive.

230
00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,520
And now our next question is from Jonah.

231
00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:20,880
He asked, what's the best moment in your football career?

232
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,360
I don't know if it was an exact moment.

233
00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:25,700
Well, I think in a general sense,

234
00:19:25,700 --> 00:19:29,120
I think the thing that I miss the most,

235
00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:34,080
it's just the friendships and the camaraderie

236
00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,200
and just having a bunch of guys around you all the time

237
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,000
that want the same thing that you want,

238
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that have the same goal,

239
00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:46,200
and are all pushing each other in order to get that goal.

240
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That's something unique that you don't really get

241
00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:51,920
in such a way in any part of life.

242
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:56,920
But I think another moment I think I was proud of was

243
00:19:58,140 --> 00:20:01,160
just when I was done playing college,

244
00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:03,000
I went away to train for four months,

245
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,480
and then comes the draft.

246
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,040
And just the moment when you're picked by a team,

247
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:10,440
I was picked by the Patriots.

248
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:14,720
And so that was for me, I think, a really big moment.

249
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Yeah, really exciting.

250
00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:18,800
And our next question is from Julian.

251
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:23,800
He asks, who was or is your favorite NFL football player?

252
00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,000
That would definitely be my brother.

253
00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:32,560
I mean, I guess of course I have some bias,

254
00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:38,880
but he was always very interested in my career,

255
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,560
even when I was in middle school playing football

256
00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,280
for the first time, or in high school,

257
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,440
he was always giving me pointers and tips

258
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,880
how I can play my position better,

259
00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,520
because I played the same position as him.

260
00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,360
And so he was always really supportive.

261
00:20:55,360 --> 00:21:00,360
And yeah, when I was, you know, he would send me gloves,

262
00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:06,080
and would send me wristbands and all that kind of stuff.

263
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:07,880
And so he was always very supportive.

264
00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:09,320
But one time when I was in high school,

265
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:14,120
he pulled me up to visit him when he was playing for Patriots.

266
00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:17,280
And that was the first time I met Tom Brady

267
00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:18,280
as a high schooler.

268
00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:23,280
But yeah, my brother's always been my biggest inspiration,

269
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,680
not only as a football player,

270
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,280
also just as a person, as a dad,

271
00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:33,160
and as a husband, he's really a person that I look up to.

272
00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:34,080
That's really sweet.

273
00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:36,400
If my brother was an NFL football player,

274
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,120
he would be my favorite one too.

275
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Diving a little deeper now.

276
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This next question is from Mrs. Amy.

277
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,480
She asks, how do professional athletes plan for the future,

278
00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,560
knowing that an injury could end their career

279
00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:49,400
much earlier than planned?

280
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,840
Do professional athletes have backup plans?

281
00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:54,560
Yes, yes.

282
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,200
I think you have to have a backup plan.

283
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:04,200
And maybe, I think majority of the guys,

284
00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:07,280
you're always thinking about your mind,

285
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,040
what could happen if I get hurt.

286
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,000
I think that's probably more scary

287
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:14,560
than the guy who's in front of you,

288
00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:18,000
who's maybe bigger than you or stronger than you.

289
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:22,400
It's the thought of, what if I'm just running down the field

290
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,400
and I step wrong and my ankle breaks,

291
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,360
or I get hit in my head wrong,

292
00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:33,000
and I get a concussion and I can never break.

293
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,800
That's a constant fear that football players have.

294
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,760
Because it's so unpredictable.

295
00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:42,920
Football is a concept sport.

296
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:44,240
It's a collision sport.

297
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,880
And so it's been provided with an injury

298
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:50,800
that can happen at any time.

299
00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:55,240
And so one way I think people prepare is just that

300
00:22:55,240 --> 00:23:00,240
there's the National Football League Players Association.

301
00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:04,200
And what they do is they support the players

302
00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:08,280
to help them prepare for the next level.

303
00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,760
They provide classes on how to start a business

304
00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,600
or how to get into boot camp classes,

305
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:16,800
on how to do commentating,

306
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:18,960
or whatever they want to get into.

307
00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:25,040
There's always support for them to help them

308
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:26,640
to figure out what's the next step.

309
00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,400
And many people aren't thinking about that.

310
00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:31,640
I know when I was in college,

311
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,200
there was a lot of guys who just thought

312
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:34,680
that college would never end,

313
00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:38,080
even though it doesn't for years.

314
00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:43,080
But yeah, it's definitely necessary

315
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,560
for people to think about that.

316
00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:48,280
What happens when all this is gone.

317
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:51,280
Our next question is from Highlight.

318
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:56,280
She asks, how has being an athlete helped shape your identity?

319
00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,680
I think some of the best lessons that I've learned in life

320
00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:02,360
and some of the most.

321
00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:04,400
All right, so I'll say this.

322
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:09,400
The biggest and the best lessons in life that you learn

323
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,200
that will come from the easy moments in life.

324
00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:19,400
Most of the really formative lessons

325
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,720
and the things that really shape your life

326
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:25,080
and shape your character come from difficulties.

327
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:26,200
They come from challenges.

328
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,840
They come from times where you struggle

329
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,600
and you may not have the answers

330
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:38,040
and you may be in a really difficult spot.

331
00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:43,680
But I know one thing is that when you push through,

332
00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,800
when you persevere, when you find a way to get through,

333
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:49,520
whether that's by yourself or somebody's helping you

334
00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,440
and you learn to rely on other people,

335
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,280
you'll always learn something

336
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,360
and take something from that that will shape you

337
00:24:57,360 --> 00:24:58,960
into the person you're supposed to be.

338
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,160
So I would definitely say that, yeah,

339
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,840
the biggest lessons I learned were from my time playing

340
00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:13,520
football and made me to be tougher in life,

341
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,800
to realize that I've been through tough

342
00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:19,520
and physically tough things.

343
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:23,840
Obviously there's some things that are still difficult,

344
00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:27,960
but yeah, they help me to push forward

345
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:32,960
and to realize that there's a big picture in all of this.

346
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:35,640
Yeah, that was a good question.

347
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:36,680
And I definitely agree.

348
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,480
I think that in life, it's the difficulties,

349
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:44,080
the adversaries that truly help shape our identities.

350
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,160
And our next question is from Ken.

351
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:49,320
He asks, how does one stay committed throughout that journey

352
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,560
without burning out or quitting?

353
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,720
Yeah, it's not an easy,

354
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:57,040
I don't know if that's the easy answer

355
00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:02,040
because when you're in the middle of a difficult season

356
00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:08,040
or just something that you feel like

357
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,760
that you'll never see the end of,

358
00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:13,920
I think it's important, number one,

359
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,200
to just remember the big picture.

360
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:17,600
I mean, for most of you guys,

361
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,920
all of you guys are in school, right?

362
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:24,920
So some of you will go to the university where you study

363
00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:29,080
and in that process you'll get a job

364
00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:31,520
of your choice at some point, right?

365
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:33,920
And so when you go to college,

366
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,680
I think it's a pretty normal rule

367
00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,320
that it's not supposed to be easy.

368
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:45,000
And you'd have to study and you have to put in hours

369
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,320
and hours of studying and go to classes.

370
00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,600
But I think that through that,

371
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,400
through that it's shaping our identity,

372
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,200
through that it's making an effort.

373
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:59,360
But when you're in the midst of the most difficult times,

374
00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:02,800
I think it's important to take a step back

375
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,200
and to change your perspective.

376
00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:07,800
It's like sometimes we don't see the beauty

377
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,640
of what's around us because we can't see it

378
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,160
from a higher view, right?

379
00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,520
So it's like when you go to the woods or whatever,

380
00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,280
like when I was in Germany,

381
00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,120
there's one of my favorite spots in our city.

382
00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:22,720
It's in the middle of a forest.

383
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:24,720
But when you go onto this tower,

384
00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:25,920
there's a big tower,

385
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,000
and when you go up to the top of it,

386
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,120
you can see the entire city.

387
00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:32,320
But not only that, you see the trees,

388
00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:36,240
you see the city over in the distance.

389
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,360
And I could see things when I went up there the first time,

390
00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:41,360
I could see things that I didn't even know were there.

391
00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:42,800
I didn't know there was a city up there.

392
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:44,720
I didn't know there was a hill over there.

393
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,400
I didn't know how beautiful the landscape was.

394
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,280
What I'm trying to say, to last story short,

395
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,800
is that a lot of times we see life like this,

396
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,080
and when we see our difficulties like this,

397
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,560
it's necessary for us to take the blinders off.

398
00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,040
Sometimes that's asking somebody to help us.

399
00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:04,640
But other times it's just looking at,

400
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,120
what is the goal that I'm trying to get out of this?

401
00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:08,440
What do I really want out of this?

402
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:10,160
Why am I doing this?

403
00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,440
And that'll help us to understand where we are

404
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:14,960
in that present time.

405
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,000
And our next question is from Bea.

406
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,440
She asks, who or what was your inspiration

407
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,120
for starting football?

408
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:24,120
Oh, I think you guys know that.

409
00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:29,120
My brother was my inspiration for starting football.

410
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:31,560
I just wanted to be like him.

411
00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:33,280
And because my dad played as well,

412
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,280
I kind of felt like it was in my blood.

413
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,320
Yeah, where I'm from, kids play football.

414
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:40,000
Boys play football, so.

415
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,000
All right, and now our final audience question

416
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:42,960
comes from Camden.

417
00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:45,280
She asks, how did you deal with people

418
00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:46,680
who only wanted to be your friend

419
00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,160
because you played sports and made a professional team?

420
00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,640
I didn't actually deal with that a lot.

421
00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:57,640
I think it's important as an athlete,

422
00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,680
but also in any stage of life that you're in,

423
00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:05,840
to use discernment to see who's around you

424
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:06,760
and why.

425
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:08,920
A lot of people want to be your friend

426
00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:10,920
only for what they can get out of you.

427
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:14,320
And you should use wisdom in that moment to see,

428
00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:16,880
okay, are these people around me

429
00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:18,560
when I'm in my most difficult times

430
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:23,360
or are they just around me when things are good?

431
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:24,480
Are these people accountable?

432
00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:26,480
Can I reach out to them when I'm having

433
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:31,480
a tough time and they're ready and able to help me?

434
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:34,000
Are they true friends?

435
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,320
I think all of us can use that wisdom to learn that.

436
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:40,960
I didn't have a lot of people who were around me

437
00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:43,760
because I was a football player.

438
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:48,760
I tended at that time to try to allow only people

439
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,760
who were around me, not necessarily only allow people

440
00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:55,440
around me, but I tended to choose close friends

441
00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:56,640
more selectively.

442
00:29:57,600 --> 00:29:59,880
And I think that's what I've seen to do.

443
00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:03,440
You can't just let anybody be near close circle.

444
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,720
Our Students Incorporated team likes to ask our guests

445
00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:09,000
for advice before they end our shows.

446
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,080
So what advice would you give to young people?

447
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,560
It can be about anything you feel we should know

448
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:16,560
as we move to the future.

449
00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:18,160
Yeah, that's a great question.

450
00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:22,600
I think the advice that I would give is from

451
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:23,960
one of my favorite quotes,

452
00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:27,720
and let not the wise men boast of his wisdom,

453
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,320
or the strong men boast of his strength,

454
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,440
or the rich man boasts of his riches,

455
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:35,240
but let him who boasts, boast about this

456
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:36,960
that he understands and knows me.

457
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,680
This is God talking and he says that I'm the Lord

458
00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:45,480
who practices love, justice, and righteousness on earth

459
00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:46,720
for these things I delight.

460
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,600
So the reason why that's important to me is,

461
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,680
he says in the beginning, many of us want to,

462
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:57,400
we want to learn knowledge for the sake of our knowledge,

463
00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,440
but one day knowledge is gonna run out.

464
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:00,880
One day we're all gonna die.

465
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,240
Some of us live to be rich,

466
00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,440
and so we want to acquire as much wealth as we can

467
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:09,640
in the time that we have on earth

468
00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,880
to live a comfortable, rich life.

469
00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:15,040
And some of us want to be strong.

470
00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,320
Some of us want to have impressive bodies.

471
00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:22,160
We want to maintain our youth.

472
00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:26,680
We want to, yeah, have physical power, right?

473
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:28,600
But these things are fleeting.

474
00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:32,040
These things will all one day go away.

475
00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,160
We're all gonna get older.

476
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:38,360
And so what I think the message in that is that

477
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:42,000
don't invest all of yourself

478
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,040
in these things that will fail you.

479
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:49,200
Invest in the thing or in the one who will never fail you.

480
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,320
And what I found in my personal life

481
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,760
is that God has never failed me,

482
00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:56,040
and he will never fail me.

483
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,080
But I think the key to that verse

484
00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:01,840
is that the person who is really wise,

485
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:05,720
the person who is really strong, the person really rich,

486
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:07,560
it's not based on his physical strength

487
00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,120
or his physical wealth or his knowledge.

488
00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:14,720
It's based on the knowledge of who God is.

489
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:16,840
So what we should all understand

490
00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:19,560
is that we are all created for a purpose.

491
00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:21,960
If we don't understand that, we need to learn

492
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:23,600
who our creator is.

493
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:25,240
In order to really understand

494
00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,760
the great meaning of how he designed us and created us.

495
00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:31,880
So if I could encourage you in any way,

496
00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:36,480
I'd say seek God with all of your heart,

497
00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,160
allowing him to give you the wisdom for life,

498
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,280
for a future, to help you understand

499
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,680
how to navigate what life is meant to be.

500
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:48,680
Thank you so much for that great advice, Asa.

501
00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:56,680
And that ends our interview with Mr. Asa Watson.

502
00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:58,520
On behalf of the Students Incorporated team

503
00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:00,920
and the entire student body,

504
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:02,800
we'd like to thank you for taking time

505
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:04,640
to tell us a little bit about your story

506
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:06,800
and for answering so many of our questions.

507
00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:08,040
So thank you for that.

508
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:25,400
As we end this episode, I hope you were inspired and encouraged by our interview today with

509
00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:27,000
Mr. Asa Watson.

510
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:32,040
We are all reminded to always put forth our best effort regardless of the outcome,

511
00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,960
and to love and respect not only what we do,

512
00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:37,040
but to love and respect each other.

513
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:41,000
Thanks for listening and participating in our live recorded show today.

514
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:44,640
You can find today's show as well as all of our other shows

515
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:48,480
on the streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

516
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:52,240
As always, this podcast would not be possible without the hard work

517
00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,480
and support of our international student production team.

518
00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,480
All music and sound effects are courtesy of Pixabay.com,

519
00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:02,880
a vibrant community of creatives sharing copyright-free images, videos, and music.

520
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,760
And we're signing off until next time.

521
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:09,760
We are students incorporated, because your voice matters.

522
00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:37,760
Thank you, everyone, for participating.

523
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:42,200
But before you're dismissed, and while we have Mr. Aysel on the wall,

524
00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:45,800
I just want to remind you that I would like to present you with a gift.

525
00:34:45,800 --> 00:35:07,800
Mr. Aysel, I understand you have a one box, or a one box for your friends.