Desmond Clark is the President of Bear Down Logistics, a company that provides reliable freight and transportation services across the United States. He leads the team in delivering efficient supply chain solutions for businesses of all sizes. Before founding Bear Down Logistics, Desmond built a successful career in professional football as a former NFL tight end for the Chicago Bears. He now combines leadership skills from sports and business to drive growth and excellence in logistics.
Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Hear:
- [02:34] How early jobs and a drive for independence shaped Desmond Clark’s work ethic
- [07:10] How setting a goal to be successful at age 14 shaped Desmond’s path to college and the NFL
- [11:28] What Desmond learned from playing behind NFL legend Shannon Sharpe and adapting to the speed of the pros
- [17:37] The challenges of moving from professional football to life after the NFL and overcoming personal and financial setbacks
- [29:37] How the “process of greatness” mindset fueled the creation and growth of Bear Down Logistics
In this episode…
Success on the field and in business doesn’t happen by chance. It takes a clear vision, relentless preparation, and the ability to adapt when life throws unexpected challenges. How can the mindset that drives a professional athlete translate into winning strategies for life and entrepreneurship?
According to Desmond Clark, a 12-year NFL veteran and Super Bowl competitor, it begins with committing to the process of greatness and executing consistently. He highlights how focusing on small, daily improvements creates long-term growth. His journey — from overcoming a tough childhood to thriving in professional sports and later navigating setbacks such as financial losses and career changes — illustrates the power of resilience and discipline. By treating both sports and business as a series of repeatable processes, he demonstrates that greatness is built one deliberate step at a time.
Tune in to this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast as John Corcoran interviews Desmond Clark, President of Bear Down Logistics, to discuss how the discipline of professional sports can drive entrepreneurial success. They explore how early-life adversity shaped Desmond’s work ethic, how NFL lessons influenced his business mindset, and how consistent execution builds lasting results. Desmond also shares his “process of greatness” approach for thriving in logistics and beyond.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- John Corcoran on LinkedIn
- Dr. Jeremy Weisz on LinkedIn
- Rise25
- Desmond Clark: LinkedIn | Instagram
- Bear Down Logistics
- Principles of Winning: 5 Keys to Create a Standard of Excellence by Desmond Clark
Quotable Moments:
- “At the age of 14, that’s when I determined that I was going to be successful.”
- “I just never identified myself as just an athlete because what I did was never my identity.”
- “The process of greatness is executing the details in excellence consistently over time.”
- “Whatever it is that I want to do, I can do it.”
- “The people who are considered great at what they do, they do it consistently.”
Action Steps:
- Set clear goals and track daily progress: Staying focused on small, measurable steps builds long-term success and resilience.
- Embrace challenges as learning opportunities: Viewing setbacks as lessons strengthens adaptability and prepares you for future growth.
- Build a strong work ethic early: Developing discipline and responsibility from a young age creates habits that carry through every career stage.
- Focus on mastering details with consistency: Executing key tasks at a high standard over time transforms potential into recognized greatness.
- Separate identity from your profession: Defining yourself beyond your job ensures confidence and direction during major life transitions.
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Episode Transcript
Intro: 00:00
All right. Today we’re talking about the principles of winning. I’m speaking with a 12-year NFL veteran who played at the highest level, including the Super Bowl. His name is Desmond Clark. I’ll tell you more about him in a second, so stay tuned.
Welcome to the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, where we feature top entrepreneurs, business leaders, and thought leaders and ask them how they built key relationships to get where they are today. Now let’s get started with the show.
John Corcoran: 00:30
Alright. Welcome everyone. John Corcoran here. I’m the host of this show, and you know, if you’ve listened before, that every week we have fascinating guests. We have smart CEOs, we have founders, we have entrepreneurs from all kinds of companies.
And if you check out the archives, we’ve got Netflix, Grubhub, Redfin, Gusto, Kinko’s, lots of great episodes for you to check out. And before we get into this, this episode is brought to you by our company, Rise25, and our platform podcast, Copilot at Rise25. We help businesses to give to and connect to their dream relationships and partnerships. We do that by helping you to run your podcast. We have the easy button for any company to launch and run a podcast.
We do three things: strategy, accountability, and full execution. And we even invented what some are calling the Wix or Squarespace of B2B. Podcasting is our platform, Podcast Copilot. So if you go to our website, you can learn all about it. Go to rise25.com or email us at support@rise25.com.
And before I get into this guest, I want to thank my business partner, Dr. Jeremy Weisz, who is friends with Desmond and has hung out many times in person and raves about him. And so I’m really excited. I know it took a while for us to get this scheduled, but I’m excited to talk to him today. So Desmond Clark is the Founder and President of Bear Down Logistics. He had a successful 12-year NFL playing career, playing tight end for a number of teams, including the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and Chicago Bears.
During his time with the Bears, he helped lead the team to the 2006 NFC Championship and Super Bowl 41. He’s a two-time second-team all-ACC selection and became the first Bears tight end since Mike Ditka to have three consecutive 40-reception seasons, and then, after football, he has transitioned into entrepreneurship and has been a speaker at a number of different levels as well. So, Desmond, so excited to have you here today and to have this conversation. And I always like to know what my guests were like as a kid, because I think that informs so much of who we become as an adult. And you said when you were growing up in Florida, you were mowing lawns in the neighborhood and even before you turned 15, you’re filling out applications to get a job at a young age, and you end up working in a restaurant.
So tell me a little bit about young Desmond and what that was like.
Desmond Clark: 02:34
Yeah. Young Desmond was someone who wanted to have and be better than kind of the surroundings, like and that came from, you know, having living with a single mom who did everything possible that she could do to make sure that we had everything that we needed. But then my father, being drug addicted, kind of sent our family into a hole. And then once they were divorced, you know, having a life where there wasn’t a whole lot. So at the time when I got to an age where I can kind of control my own destiny, that’s kind of what I wanted to do.
If it was, hey, man, we got a lawnmower. Let’s go push this lawnmower around the neighborhood and let’s see if we can cut a couple of yards and make, you know, 20, 30, 40 bucks. Or like you mentioned, when I was 14, I got on my bike and I was all over town filling out applications, you know, a week or two before my 15th birthday. So on my 15th birthday, I had a job offer, and it was interesting. My first job was at Union Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, Florida.
And that was quite an experience. The thing that I loved most about that experience is I was a dishwasher, so I was back in the kitchen. The cooks were cooking food that they wouldn’t serve to, to everybody else. It would be their own stuff. And man, those are some of the best meals I ever had.
So I used to look forward to those meals.
John Corcoran: 04:04
When I was in college. I worked in a dining hall, and that was the best perk was that you could eat a meal every every shift, you know, and I had a lot of meals during that time. But I think, you know, working in food service, working in restaurants, I feel everyone should do it. I did that. I did everything from delivery to cashier to eventually waiting on tables.
And you learn you learn a ton about customer service through that type of experience. You know, serving people in a restaurant.
Desmond Clark: 04:33
Waiting on tables is one of the best jobs ever, especially if you can. I never worked at a high-end restaurant, but just knowing what I knew from working in college, I used to work at a couple of restaurants in college, and knowing what I knew, I know from then, you know, a high-end steak restaurant in a nice city, man, you can make a really decent living. The thing that I loved about waiting tables is I had cash in my pocket every day. Especially in college, man, you can’t. You can’t beat that.
I think at the time, $2.13 was the wage because it’s lower than minimum wage because you’re getting cash. But I didn’t worry about the $2.13. It was all about the tips.
John Corcoran: 05:14
Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. How did you manage working in college?
In college, you’re competing at this high level. Like, I mean, my best friend from high school ended up playing football at UCLA. So I was friends with him and his friends at UCLA. And I just saw, like it was all-consuming. How did you manage to do both of those things?
Desmond Clark: 05:36
So this was really summertime. So definitely not doing the football season.
John Corcoran: 05:42
Yeah.
Desmond Clark: 05:43
Yeah. And I may have, you know, after spring, spring football, that’s when, you know, I would go out and work or, you know, over the, you know, the holidays when we’re all for the winter for that month or whatever it was. But yeah, it was definitely in the summertime. There’s no way you can manage the course load, being a full-time student and playing football, which is why it was 20 hours a week back then. But then you had stuff that was not voluntary.
Yeah, but if you know what that means, it’s your butt. Better be there.
John Corcoran: 06:20
Yeah.
Desmond Clark: 06:23
So, yeah, it was. It was during my off time. It definitely wasn’t done when we had football practice or anything.
John Corcoran: 06:29
Like you mentioned, you grew up with a single mom, a drug addicted dad. Did you have this vision of going and playing professionally? And I’d love to know, like, how did you make that seem achievable? You know, when you’re a young kid and you’re struggling, you’re fighting to, you know, get playing time or whatever. You know, the idea of being in the NFL sometimes can seem so far off.
And yet in your mind, you got to kind of set your mind towards it. So talk a little bit about your mindset as, as you’re in high school and college towards, you know, being the best that you can be.
Desmond Clark: 07:10
Yeah. So at the age of 14, that’s when I determined that I was going to be successful. And I said it just like that to my mom, not that I wanted to be successful. I am going to be successful after seeing everything that I have seen in my life. I made that determination.
And then at that point, I didn’t look too far down the road. So when I was 14, success to me was graduating high school, going to college, and getting a good job. But the first obstacle was, okay, damn, how am I going to go to college?
John Corcoran: 07:44
Yeah.
Desmond Clark: 07:46
Who’s going to pay for that?
John Corcoran: 07:46
Yeah.
Desmond Clark: 07:46
So one of my older brothers went to college for a year. He didn’t get the scholarship. He went as a prop 48. And then he was supposed to get a scholarship. He didn’t get the scholarship, but I knew there was an opportunity to get a scholarship for playing sports.
So that became my focus. Okay. If I’m going to go to college, I need to get a scholarship. So that’s what made what made me competitive, right? That’s what made me get out there on the field and do and do the work that a lot of people were not willing to do.