Everyone fails. But not everyone knows how to fail forward. In this episode of What Really Works, Dr. Michelle Rozen sits down with Jacob Brown - former NFL athlete, keynote speaker, author, and coach - to talk about one of the most powerful mindset shifts you can make: turning your worst moments into your greatest fuel.

Jacob knows the mud firsthand. Cut from the NFL, a 15-year battle with alcoholism, and the loss of an identity built entirely around football. But instead of staying down, he built a framework around failing forward and now he helps others do the same.

This is a raw, real, and deeply human conversation about resilience, identity, and what it actually takes to get out of the mud.

In this episode:

• What "failing forward" really means and where the concept came from
• Failing forward vs. failing backwards: the critical difference
• The slingshot effect: why the harder you're pulled back, the farther you fly
• Why fear of success is greater than fear of failure
• How to use the mud as fuel for your next chapter
• The identity trap: what happens when you lose a title that defined you
• Why sitting with someone in the mud matters more than solving their problems

Quick answers: What is failing forward? Taking every experience that felt like a failure and using it as knowledge, energy, and fuel to move ahead. You can still gain yards even when you get tackled. Who is Jacob Brown? A former NFL athlete turned keynote speaker, author, and coach who helps people build resilience and turn their failures into forward momentum. What is the slingshot effect? The idea that every failure pulls you further back and the further back you're pulled, the farther you fly once you let go.

Subscribe to What Really Works wherever you listen, and learn more about Dr. Rozen at drmichellerozen.com.