Cuttino Mobley is a name synonymous with relentless drive and profound depth, both on and off the basketball court. Cuttino was a sharpshooter in the NBA, whose strategic gameplay characterized his impressive career. Since hanging up his jersey, he hasn't slowed down. Instead, he has transitioned into a savvy businessman, channeling the discipline and focus once reserved for the basketball court into his entrepreneurial endeavors. But there's even more to Cuttino than his professional achievements. He embraces the role of a devoted father with the same passion and commitment he showed on the court, bringing love and leadership to his family.

Cuttino's spirituality is a core aspect of his identity, guiding him through life with mindfulness and resilience.

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Damon Davis Interview with Cuttino Mobley

[00:00:00]

[00:00:04] Damon: Cuttino Mobley is a name synonymous with relentless drive and profound depth, both on and off the basketball court. Cuttino was a sharp shooter in the NBA. Who's strategic gameplay characterized his impressive career. Since hanging up his Jersey, he hasn't slowed down. Instead he has transitioned into a savvy businessmen, channeling the discipline and focus once reserved for the basketball court, into his entrepreneurial endeavors. But there's even more to Cuttino than his professional achievements. He embraces the role of devoted father with the same passion and commitment he showed on the court, bringing love and leadership to his family.

[00:00:45] Damon: Cuttino spirituality is a core aspect of his identity. Guiding him through life with mindfulness and resilience.

[00:00:53] Damon: I'm Damon Davis. And this is my discovery diary with NBA legend entrepreneur and dedicated [00:01:00] father could see no Mobley.

[00:01:03] Cuttino: Good to see you, sir. How are you?

[00:01:05] Cuttino: Good, man. Good.

[00:01:06] Cuttino: Glad to hear it.

[00:01:07] Damon: Thanks so much for making time to be with me, man. Appreciate it.

[00:01:09] Damon: Let's just chat a little bit if you don't mind, I want to take you back a little bit to your early career.

[00:01:16] Damon: One of the things that I've heard said about you is that you're one of the hardest working guys around, but that you also speak your future into existence. Can you just talk a little bit about that mentality of being, , positive towards your goals and how you drive yourself in those ways?

[00:01:33] Cuttino: Yeah. My stepfather, I think I had, I was blessed to have four parents and my stepfather instilled that in me, , that belief system because it is actually a system that I think anybody can adapt. And, when you understand the price you can see the promise, In a way where I know how much hard work it takes.

[00:01:56] Cuttino: And I promised myself to be able to get [00:02:00] through it. So I have to pay that price, right? and anything, right? You military, if you MBA, if you're NFL, if you're a teacher, if you're a doctor, you have to go through doctor's residency. You have to go through lawyers. You gotta read a lot.

[00:02:14] Cuttino: You it's just so many different things. You have to really understand. And you say to yourself when you started, do I have enough to pay for this? And it's not it's not money. It's willpower. It's that you buy in the very beginning, you buy that system. And I bought my system very early in life.

[00:02:32] Cuttino: And what I did was I created an habit. So I created that habit and that habit became a part of my skin.

[00:02:39] Cuttino: It reminded me on days where it's like, nope, don't sit around. Keep going.

[00:02:44] Damon: Get up. That's right. Get up, get at it.

[00:02:47] Cuttino: Exactly. And it, again, that was my stepfather. And then I surrounded myself with what the universe does, brother Once you understand the promise, the vision becomes more clear, and then you'll have more [00:03:00] individuals like minded that will surround you to keep you going in that same direction.

[00:03:09] Damon: It's everything in the universe has gravity. And when you've got that kind of positive energy, people gravitate toward you because a lot of those who don't have it themselves.

[00:03:19] Damon: Want to be around someone who does. You uplift others and those who want to compete with you as you did in the NBA, they know you're fighting for it, but you're also going at it with that positive energy. I love that.

[00:03:29] Cuttino: Yeah. And my stepfather used to say to me, there is no pressure into being perfect because we're flawed.

[00:03:35] Cuttino: But the pressure is to be disciplined.

[00:03:38] Damon: Yes.

[00:03:39] Cuttino: So if I'm disciplined, to, I'm not trying to be perfect because basketball is an imperfect sport. We are flawed humans. The pressure is disciplined. Basketball is easy. Living life is hard. That's where you have to really try to understand, like, there was a coach who said this.

[00:03:59] Cuttino: [00:04:00] Billy Donovan. He said, a lot of people focus on the ball. You got to focus on the other 95%. And that's like life, Do you only work hard when you have the ball? when things are going good. Or do you focus on the 95%? Be really good at the 95 percent because then now when you have the ball, life becomes more magical.

[00:04:25] Damon: Yeah. That's a really good point. I'm envisioning you, you know, if someone's got the ball on the court, they've clearly got control, but it's everything else around them that's happening. The cuts, the defense, if that's where you are, you know, all of these other things, the transitions up and down the court, every one of those elements is incredibly important.

[00:04:42] Damon: So I can see what you're saying that it's. It's important to be prepared in every other aspect, not just when you get the ball. I love that image. Right.

[00:04:53] Damon: Let me ask

[00:04:53] Damon: you something else. One of the things I've heard you say before, I was on a call with you and JT Fox a while back and [00:05:00] you were talking about hard work and the love for the game and how it's not necessarily something that's pervasive today that a lot of cats show up to the league.

[00:05:09] Damon: And they're just showing up because the check is there, but it's not necessarily the love of the game that drives them. And this happens a lot in business too, that people show up just to do their job, but not because they love the work they're doing and putting their energy to it. Can you just talk a little bit about what it means to actually be in love with the game and how that transitions into business as well?

[00:05:30] Cuttino: Yeah. I mean, you actually, you have to ask yourself, these are questions you have to ask brother. Early on and whatever it is you pursuing, is it the female? Is it the male? Is it the job? Is it the career? Whatever it is that you're pursuing. You ask yourself, why am I doing it? Do I love it? And what will I become from it?

[00:05:50] Cuttino: Once you can like really solidify those answers. You know that the question is, that you do ask yourself, then It's not so much of the [00:06:00] money, or the award it's who will I become from it? And that's, to me is super exciting, right? majority of people that are men can become dads.

[00:06:11] Cuttino: Majority of women they can become moms. But who will I become? My kids are my teachers, right? If I'm playing basketball, okay. All right, make varsity. All right. What did he teach you? Who are you now? Did you evolve? Like you, you have to be in touch with that side of you. Not that the cheerleaders like you in the school is praising for you.

[00:06:31] Cuttino: And you know, it's that's fine and dandy, but it wears off. You become egotistical It's the same as giving a child too many presents.

The You give a child so many different presents, and sometimes it won't even open that present.

[00:06:44] Cuttino: The present's just stuck in the closet. So don't really care too much for the present.

[00:06:50] Cuttino: A friend of mine, Al Harrington's wife, I saw her do this. Her daughter had a whole bunch of presents. When I say a whole bunch, I mean, so many presents. And she said, she [00:07:00] doesn't even see them all. She says, when you do a chore, then you depend on what it is that you do throughout the year until the next birthday, I'll give you one, you earn it.

[00:07:12] Damon: Setting it up as a reward, not a foregone conclusion.

[00:07:15] Cuttino: right. and this, this is not just basketball. This is life. Yes. You know, Oh, I want to become a mother. What does it mean to you to do that? I want to become a father. What does that mean to you do that? Because you can become a mother and have really bad, insecure ways.

[00:07:32] Cuttino: You can become a father and really have really bad is I'm a drinker. I'm a smoker. I'm lazy. I'm this, the mother is I'm over controlling. I, you know, I really haven't branched out and became my ultimate self, but because I have kids, I think I'm have authority and it's so many different things. It's yeah, you want it to become that.

[00:07:50] Cuttino: Why now you got to ask yourself, what are my intentions? Because there's a book called mind of the soul, and it speaks about intentions in [00:08:00] chapter five person who gives 2 million because. he gets a tax runoff. Then the other person gives 2 million because you think it's the best thing to do.

[00:08:07] Cuttino: You don't have to say, tell nobody what happened. You just do it. So people's intentions, they really have to take a step back and really find out, okay, does that, does that in line with my spiritual growth? As an individual, becoming a dad, am I a dictator? Am I, you know what I mean? Like, you know what I mean?

[00:08:26] Cuttino: Am I, if I'm a CEO, am I poking my chest out or why I'm not just growing this business? Am I helping others? This

[00:08:34] Damon: is interesting. Yeah, I'm adopted. And. I have spoken to, I do a podcast where I interview other adopted people, and a lot of folks will say, they have grown up in a family that was challenging, and they have chosen to be different from those parents that they grew up with, right?

[00:08:51] Damon: It's the person you choose to be that is who you become. I really love how you framed that. If I could ask you one more final question, [00:09:00] I know that you have Overcome adversity, right? You were forced out of the NBA before you wanted to go but you've made peace with that. That's a huge thing to make it to the NBA and be on a career trajectory that has positivity associated and then find that you have to leave.

[00:09:17] Damon: Tell me how you overcome that kind of adversity. That's major. And a lot of people aren't able to do it in the positive ways that you have. Talk a little bit about how you overcame that adversity.

[00:09:28] Cuttino: It's very simple, man. We can talk all day, but it's very simple for me. My stepfather used to tell me the universe is always fair.

[00:09:36] Cuttino: You just have to understand when fairness comes and when fairness don't. Meaning, the same way you accept my yeses, you need to accept my no's. I played 12 years in NBA. If it was meant to go another 10, it would have, it didn't. So now you

[00:09:52] Cuttino: got to take a step back and say, okay, what is my purpose now? Because if I don't know my purpose now, and I'm lost, a [00:10:00] lot of people are lost, whether they, you know, being a mother for 18 years, a father for this, he works all the time. He gets all right. What am I now? You got to just find out. It's a lot more in life. Yeah. So it's about staying even and understanding that the same way you accept yeses, you need to accept nos.

[00:10:15] Damon: I love that. This is really wonderful. Coutinho Mobley. This has been fantastic, man. Thank you so much for being here with, I appreciate it.

[00:10:22] Cuttino: My brother.

[00:10:22] Damon: Take care.

[00:10:23] Cuttino: Yes, sir.