Defending Dreams: Inside Derrick Johnson's Playbook for Impact
Join Kassi Kincaid in a compelling conversation with Derrick Johnson, Texas Longhorn legend and celebrated Kansas City Chiefs linebacker. Journey through Derrick's football career, the formation of his foundation, and uncover his strategic playbook for creating lasting impact.
Links from Episode:
Defend the Dream Foundation Website
Transcript:
Kassi Kincaid (00:00):
Welcome to The Edge of Creativity podcast. I'm your host, Kassi Kincaid. And joined with me today is Texas Longhorn, all time leading tackler of the Kansas Chiefs football team, Derrick Johnson, also known as DJ. DJ, thank you so much for being here today.
Derrick Johnson (00:20):
Thank you, Kassi. I'm very honored to be on your podcast.
Kassi Kincaid (00:25):
I am so excited for our conversation today highlighting football, but also all the awesome work that you're doing in your foundation. So let's get right into it. Can you share with our listeners where your football journey began and how it's progressed over time?
Derrick Johnson (00:43):
Oh man. Well, I guess I'll bottle it up in the short range, but started playing football when I was nine years old. I was a very athletic kid, always outside and I'm like, man, I got to do something with all this energy that I have. But my friends, I was an inner city kid, I was in the inner city and my mom, single parent home, and my friends were like, man, we're playing football. We've been playing football for a year. Why don't you join us? And I'm like, alright, cool. I mean, I play football with y'all outside on the street all the time. Let's go. So my mom took me and man, I got to tell you, we were in the hood. We were in a tough part of town. So that coach was really, really tough on us and I wasn't used to that. And I used to cry before I went to practice, and my mom already knew the guy, so she knew nothing was going to go on and what, but I didn't know that.
(01:47):
So she used to kick me out the car like, nope, you got to go, you got to get out. You got to get out this car. So obviously it panned out for me and got better at it and really excelled early on. And just football, sports in general teaches kids. It's got a great components to it that you can use in life about getting knocked down, figuring things out, being able to persevere and grind through something that kind of doesn't favor you at times on the field. And man, I went through junior high, went through high school. I really blew up in high school as a parade, all American, all the schools wanted me. So I mean, it was pretty cool that whole process and being able to excel at a high level and be able to get picked up. Well get a full scholarship to the University of Texas.
(02:44):
Being a Longhorn, I loved that. I was always a Texas Longhorns leaner, even though all the colleges wanted to have me. I wanted to come to Austin and plant my seed here in Austin, and I did that, did very well. Played early on, was all American. Won a couple big awards when it comes to a Nagurski award, which is the best defensive player in the Nation award, the Butkus Award, which is the best linebacker in the nation award. So God has really blessed me through that time and I got an opportunity to go, really to be in my dream job. And that's the NFL. And I was the first round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2005, played for them for 13 years, and man, it was a blast. I was really living a dream and being able to be to all pro seasons, four pro bowl seasons, man, being able to be the all time leading tackler in Chief's history. That's really, really a big, big deal. Take a lot of pride in that. And then I retired in 2019 and now I live here in Austin, married, kids and living a good life, talking to Kassi.
Kassi Kincaid (04:06):
Wow, DJ. What a story. That is incredible. Your life should be made a movie. It deserves that. Absolutely. Wow. So incredible. Just to see every stage of your life and from like you said, where you start an inner city kid and with a mom who was just so supportive and believed in you and your God-given talents and how that just kept evolving and kept growing. Wow. So in the midst of your football career, what sparked the idea to start a foundation, especially one focused on education and literacy?
Derrick Johnson (04:46):
Yeah, great question. Well, regardless, playing football, I'm on a platform that influences the younger generation, influences everybody. And being able to use my platform and take advantage of that in a positive manner was very important to me. My mom's a school teacher, so she's been a school teacher for over 40 years. And growing up in a house with a school teacher, it's tough. It's tough. It's tough for a little kid, I say tough in a light way because she was very strict, but when you look back on it, you're like, oh man, I thank you so much for that discipline that I had growing up. But being able to be instilled the right values that my mom instilled in me at an early age, talking about how important education is, how important my faith is, and just putting those things together and seeing how I can impact others in a great manner.
(05:42):
And it was probably about my sixth or seventh year in the league, I said, man, I was doing so much stuff. I was building playgrounds. I was doing some things for some foster kids. I was doing some things for sick kids. I was doing a lot and that's all good, but I didn't have anything that was an extension of me just specifically. I was like, education, that's me. That's my field where I want to mentor and help others and that's where I can make the biggest impact. So I started my foundation, Defend the Dream Foundation, in 2013 and where it caters to inner city kids through education. And what we do is we go in and revamp and beautify Title 1 elementary school's, libraries. And this was in Kansas City at the time. I'm doing that here now. But at the time, and it was awesome.
(06:45):
When you talk about being able to show the love of reading, show the love of literacy, knowing that that's the kid's way out. When you talk about inner city kids, you talk about underprivileged kids, their way out is education, period. There's nothing else to it. I don't care what they want to be in life. Education has to be a big priority early, early, early. And literacy is a big part of that. And I knew I can make a difference through that. I know that and I believe that. And I've seen on a positive note and a negative note, how literacy can affect your development going forward when it comes to being successful in life. So Defend the Dream is very near and dear to my heart when it comes to catering to inner city kids through education.
Kassi Kincaid (07:36):
Absolutely. And so how did you balance that starting the foundation? You were still really in the peak of your NFL career. What was that like?
Derrick Johnson (07:48):
Well, that's a good question because whatever you're passionate about, you're going to put some time into it. So regardless of, I was stretched thin when it comes to trying to, being a professional athlete is very taxing on your body and your mind because you have to perform at a high level all the time that you never can be off. And when you're off, the people upstairs, meaning the owner and the GM, they're trying to get somebody else in. So, you got to make sure you're on key all the time. And I'm passionate about kids, I'm passionate about education, and we all make time for what we want, what we're passionate of. And regardless of how involved I was with the Kansas City Chiefs or being a football player, a football star or whatever you want to call it, you got to make time for what's it really, really important.
(08:46):
And knowing that I play a game, a kid's game, even though I love it and it's fun, I get paid and compensated for it, man, I have to give back. I mean, I was raised that if you're a blessing, then you need to be a blessing to others. And there were times where I'm like, man, I'm a little bit tired, but I have to go over here to this school. I have to open up this DJ's Discovery Dean is what we call the little revamp beautified enhanced spaces at the Title 1 schools. And I tell you what, man, I loved it. I loved it just because kids, they see me on TV, especially at that time, they were seeing me on TV. And for me to come into their school, talk to 'em and tell 'em how important education is, how important your attitude is, and being able to stay out of trouble and how important literacy and reading is, man, they were all in. So I had a influence that whatever I said sometimes meant more than the parents. When you have that kind of influence, man, I had to take advantage of it. So I loved every bit of it.
Kassi Kincaid (09:56):
That is amazing. Oh my word. And you're so right that whatever we're passionate about is where we invest our time. And I love that, that you created time even through your super busy schedule at that time to make such an impact starting like you said in Kansas City and now here in Austin. So switching gears just a little bit, to focus on the creativity aspect of your football career and the foundation, how did you use, first of all, creativity? We'll focus on the football field first and then we'll move to the foundation.
Derrick Johnson (10:31):
Yeah, creativity, if you want to be special, if you want to stand out, if you want to do something that separates yourself or has more value, creativity has to be there. You can't do something without being very strategic and having that plan, that man, that tactical plan to make sure that things are, even though it's a little bit different, but it works. And on the football field, that's my whole thing. I mean, it's so many times that you have to figure things out. You got to be creative, you got to be curious to try this, to try that and not be afraid to fail. Creativity, it's a lot of failing in there. It's a lot of mess up. It's a lot of, oh, that's not right. That's not right. But if you can do that, then you can get to the solution. If you are trying to be perfect and safe all the time and not put forth that effort that makes you different or set yourself apart, then you're never going to really grow. You got to fail. You got to try some things and have a strategic plan. And when I did that on the football field for a long period of time, I came up with a good body of work that I'm very proud of.
Kassi Kincaid (12:01):
Do you feel like creativity enabled you to be that all time leading tackler had a role in that and how you did the plays and things like that?
Derrick Johnson (12:12):
Yeah, absolutely. Because if I wasn't creative, if I didn't figure out how to set myself apart, then I would've been like everybody else. Not that everybody else was bad, but everybody else was, they was just doing things the normal way. And I wouldn't have been the Chief's all time leading tackler. I'm number one, up at the top. So to be creative, you got to be creative. You can't just say, oh, I just did this. It's like, no, it's not that simple, but it's not that complex either. So it's one of those deals, it's a give and take where it's like, hey, don't overthink this. But you do have to put some passion and some thought into it. But you have to be able to accept, hey, you got to try some things at full speed, try some things. I'm talking football full speed to try some things and figure out a way. That's the great thing about football and sports. You have to figure things out. And that's the creativity part that before I was on this podcast, this is actually helping me to remember my creativity was really at a high level, and that really relates to the outside life other than football and sports. Now that I'm out of football, I can still have that passion, that creativity to start other things and to make things excel at a high level.
Kassi Kincaid (13:45):
Would you say taking lessons from your time on the football field, would you say sometimes the creativity was in the moment on the field, how the game was progressing, and two, maybe the plan that you and the coach had before going into the game? So would you say there's a level of planned creativity and then in the moment creativity?
Derrick Johnson (14:08):
Yeah, absolutely. You sound like a coach, Kassi. Yes. That's what it's all about. It's the amount of preparation and the hard work that goes into figuring things out before the game where you say, man, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm curious about doing this. This will work. And then when you get to the game, not all of it's going to work, right? But some of it will. And then there's an element to being that gametime player where you're like, man, I'm on the spot. And that's where you really, don't get me wrong, being prepared and creating certain things, you have to have that part before you walk out and perform. But there are some things that happen during the midst of the game that let you know who you really are. Because the time, lack of a better word, when the bullets are flying, that's the time. Hey, what are you going to do now? When the real heat's on, that's when you really measure a person's passion. That's when you really measure a person's success rate. If he can operate doing chaos, that's it.
Kassi Kincaid (15:25):
It's a valuable skill. Absolutely. So going from the football field to the foundation, how do you use, see creativity in your foundation?
Derrick Johnson (15:36):
Well, not that it's easy, but it makes the process easier because I've operated on a high level creativity wise on the football field. So when you play sports, you use whatever you do in sports, you use it outside of sports. That's just how it is because you have to be wired that way because they have great components to helping you succeed off the field. And my foundation, being able to create something that helps and strategically helps kids get better, it's all about in the results. Hey, don't get me wrong. We beautify the space up. That's the creativity where you say, man, kids like these kind of colors. Make it bright, make this with some, you got the bean bags, you got the little functional furniture, nice little rugs, paint on the wall, fat heads here and there. I mean, the place is nice. You're catering to kids.
(16:39):
So that's the creativity part. Then what's the main objective is to get kids on grade level reading before they leave elementary school. So age appropriate, new books have to be pumped into that space that you created for them. And then you can relate to kids in a creativity way, in a creative way, and they don't even know, man, their moves better, their environment's better just because of the paint on the wall and just the exterior stuff. But then when you have the books that's available for 'em, that's what really moves the needle in the right direction and where we want to go. So creativity is you got to have creativity. If you don't, it's boring. It doesn't relate to the kids, it doesn't spark their interest. They got short attention span. So I mean, it's all those things. So you got to be really strategic when working with kids.
(17:41):
And my foundation serves the kids, and at the end of the day, they will get better when it comes to literacy. They will a better success rate when it comes to graduating high school because of inner city kids, it's a bad stat out that says half of them if they're not on grade level reading before they leave elementary school, that a lot of them don't finish high school. So I'm trying to, obviously I want them to further their education after high school, but I got to at least get 'em to a point where they're graduating high school and then they have an opportunity, the choice if they choose to go this way or that way. But you got to finish high school and I can't, can't sit back and knowing how important education is and saying, hey, a lot of these kids that aren't on grade level reading, half of 'em don't finish high school. That's like, oh, I got to help that.
Kassi Kincaid (18:39):
And what was it? You said you wanted to do something in education. When you started your foundation, what was it specifically that you decided to refurbish libraries, so many different ways you could have given to education?
Derrick Johnson (18:56):
Yeah, I had to sit down and really, really think about it. I was doing a lot of stuff like kidney disease. I was doing good work, good work that I actually, I still do little stuff on the side. That stuff never stops, but I just wanted something that connected to me and more that I can really, when the times get tough, you get into something. So when the times get tough or it gets stressful, you can still operate, right? If you're not passionate about something and you just, and times, times go slow or something gets frustrated, you kind would give up or you kind of say, okay, cool, cool. But when you're passionate about something, it's something that's bigger than me. You want to get into something that's bigger than you. If it's just about you, it's not going to last because our feelings go up and down.
(19:53):
Things happen throughout our lives, but when it's bigger than you being able to cater to these kids through education, because even though my mom's a math teacher for all those years, I knew how important reading and literacy was because my mom always used to say that regardless of being this guru math teacher, it was like, Hey, reading, we got to read. We got, Hey, did you read your book today? Did you read? It was all about getting your reading again to being exposed to more words. When I got older, I'm thinking, don't get me wrong math. You got to know math too. But in general, if you can't read in a way that you can comprehend certain things, it actually makes life harder on you when it comes to education, just because even in math, you got to read word problems and certain things and you can't even get to that because you're not able to read on your grade level reading. So reading is the basis of everything. That's the foundation of everything and being able to comprehend and understand helps you later on in life.
Kassi Kincaid (21:09):
Absolutely. And DJ, you've already talked about how the foundation, the work, the Defend the Dream does has made an impact. What is one of your maybe favorite stories, an interaction, or a library opening something, or even maybe a child told you that you just kind of internalized that impact?
Derrick Johnson (21:32):
Well, at these DJ Discovery dens is what we call 'em, my Foundation Defend the Dream Foundation, when it goes in and it beautifies this space and we do a grand opening ribbon cutting, we go in there and there's cameras everywhere, media, you got board members there, you got teachers, the librarians there, and you got a group of kids, maybe 15 to 20 at that time to do the ribbon cutting. These kids are so excited about this new opening of the library now. The library is the heart of the school, regardless of what subject you like, that's always, Hey, this is the hardest school. Everybody remembers that librarian and the library and being able to doll it up, be able to make it stick out and make it the environment better. The kids are, I mean, they're like, they're getting a new house. So it is awesome to see the excitement.
(22:44):
Maybe all of the openings that we've had, there's always a kid that says it's two things. Always a kid that says, why here? Why'd, I'm almost like you do this because you got cameras up, you got the place is looking nice. And they're kind like, why us? Why us? And that's a perfect question for me. That's like because you're special, because you deserve a quality education. You deserve to be able to have the finer things in life, the proper resources to help you reach your full potential. At the end of the day, and there's another thing that kids always say, and this really is touching to me, but they say, man, this is the best day of my life. And to say that this library opening is the best day of these young, I mean, it's probably the second grader. This is the day of my life.
(23:46):
This is what I do it for. So those comments is what I do it for, regardless of if other people say, oh, I don't know if that moves the needle as much as this, or whatever they say, when the kids respond that way, doesn't matter. It's like, oh, it's like gas to me. It's like, oh, we're going again. Let's go. Let's get it going. But those are real tangible testimonies that kind of fuel my fire in a positive way to say, Hey, we need to do more. Finding out ways to make great content around the basis of things, of being able to provide them with the proper resources. And I love everybody that's pitching in. There's so many people that love the idea. Austin's helping so much just supporting Defend the Dream Foundation. I couldn't be more proud.
Kassi Kincaid (24:42):
Wow, that is so moving, DJ. Oh my word. Those kind of comments. Wow, that is incredible. I absolutely love the work that you're doing with the foundation, and so this has just been an incredible time today. So wrapping up, what is one parting thought that you'd like to leave our listeners today?
Derrick Johnson (25:06):
One parting thought. Oh man.
Kassi Kincaid (25:11):
I know you probably have so many you can share.
(25:15):
Maybe two if you want.
Derrick Johnson (25:16):
Yeah, regardless, probably regardless of what profession you're in, being able to serve is a big deal. Being able to serve, finding a way, if it's at your job where it's easy access and convenient for you to serve, do it. But being able to get out of your comfort zone and make it less about you and more about others. There's a saying, I like, God reveals your greatest gifts through serving God reveals to you your greatest gifts through. So if you find a way to serve you, find a way to make it less about you and more about others, regardless of what profession you're in, it doesn't matter. You will have that revelation and you will get a perspective on life that is bigger, that's better, and it will make you a better person. It's all about growing and getting better and developing and serving is a big part of that.
Kassi Kincaid (26:23):
Wow, so profound, DJ, and just a testament, wow, from everything that you've experienced in your life, from being in the NFL for so long to giving back, you are such a great example to the community and really the nation, the world of being that kind of servant, and that's such a powerful note to leave us on today. DJ, thank you so much for being here today. This has been an absolute joy.
Derrick Johnson (26:49):
Hey, thank you, Kassi. By the way, let me plug this. Kassi, you are awesome, man. I love Book Days. I'm telling you, man, I mean, I wish you would've talked about it on here, but just what you do with how you present Book Days and how you bring life, bring character to the books and bringing out the actual character, man, it actually is a testimony to your heart. It's actually shows your passion. It actually shows your purpose, and I love Book Days, so I can't wait to go on tour with you again.
Kassi Kincaid (27:24):
Yeah, thank you so much, DJ. Our partnership between Book Days and Defend the Dream has been just an absolute blessing, and I can't wait to continue going to Defend the Dream Schools with you this semester and beyond. Thank you so much to all our listeners for being here today with DJ. Be sure to in the show notes, we'll have his website that you can go on there and learn all about Defend the Dream if you'd like to donate and make more libraries happen, that would be incredible.
Kassi Kincaid (27:56):
Thanks so much for joining us for this episode on the Edge of Creativity podcast. Be sure to follow so you don't miss any of our upcoming conversations. We'll see you next time.
