Sticking his head beneath his desk for a second, Joe Moglia popped again up holding a heavy binder.
“See this file?” he mentioned. “I’ve three of those.”
Hundreds of variations of Moglia lie between the strains of these pages: A 19-year-old school sophomore supporting his spouse and new child daughter by driving a cab and publish workplace truck in New York Metropolis whereas additionally working at his father’s fruit retailer within the Bronx. The profitable CEO of TD Ameritrade. An award-winning head soccer coach at Coastal Carolina.
The connective tissue weaving all of these wildly totally different selves collectively is his “non-public notes,” a sequence of journal entries of over 50 years’ value of makes an attempt to peel again the layers of his unconscious. The notes characterize a course of Moglia believes anybody can use to be taught extra about themselves and make huge selections.
The method is easy. First, Moglia sits down in entrance of his notepad and prompts himself: What’s my favourite music? Do I like Bruce Springsteen? Why do I like him? What are my talent units? What am I good at? And what am I dangerous at? What does my profession seem like proper now? And what do I need it to seem like?
The purpose of asking more and more particular questions is to have them add up over time to reply an even bigger and broader query: Who am I?
Most significantly, Moglia refuses to inform anybody what he wrote, particularly if he uncovers a realization about himself. The objective is to pinpoint precisely who he’s and the way he feels with out the judgment or affect of others.
That approach, when huge selections are required, he is aware of himself properly sufficient to know what selections will serve him finest.
“Any time I do something main in my life,” he mentioned, “I’ve gone by that.”
How did he know he was prepared to go away New York and check out teaching? What made him understand it was time to go away teaching and go to Wall Road? Why did he really feel comfy leaving TD Ameritrade to provide school soccer a ultimate shot?
“I went proper to the authorized pad,” he mentioned.
In 1971 Moglia was majoring in economics at Fordham and training soccer on the facet. As commencement neared, so did his first huge profession choice.
“If I can get a head high-school teaching job, I’ll pursue a profession in teaching,” he advised his spouse. “If not, we’ll try to go to Wall Road.”
He utilized to 100 colleges and acquired a name again from Archmere Academy, a Catholic highschool in Claymont, Del. He knew he cherished teaching, and he knew the plan was to take the job if supplied, however there was nonetheless loads to contemplate. He stored asking himself: What’s driving me?
“I simply began writing s— down,” Moglia mentioned.
He wrote down each thought and feeling he had about his life, prompting himself with questions on his pursuits, ambitions and private life.
“Simply maintain writing,” he advised himself. “Don’t cease. Simply maintain writing.”
The primary a part of his course of was born, and Moglia took the job at Archmere Academy.
Later that yr, Moglia was on the New Jersey Turnpike, en route to fulfill his new group. He felt excited and wished to make a great first impression, so he determined to introduce his new journaling train to his gamers. He known as it “religious soundness.”
He advised his gamers in regards to the first a part of his self-discovery course of — about why it’s necessary they “stand on their very own two ft” and “take accountability for themselves.” He defined how that turns into simpler when you take the time to immediate your self with questions and write sufficient to be taught precisely who you’re and what you consider in.
However he additionally pressured an necessary level: They wanted to verify they didn’t share their notes or realizations with anybody.
“The entire thought right here is that is your examination of conscience with your self, with God, with whomever, however it isn’t any individual else’s,” he mentioned. “We are likely to develop into a composite of the individuals round us. The primary time you go to anyone else, the closest individual in your life, subconsciously what you’re doing is you’re in search of them to affirm what your thought is. That’s the entire level. We’re not in search of that. We’re in search of you to determine who you’re.”
Joe Moglia left his position as CEO of TD Ameritrade and joined the Nebraska soccer program as a volunteer. (Picture by Invoice Frakes / Sports activities Illustrated by way of Getty Pictures)
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than Moglia climbed his approach to collegiate teaching, serving to information the Lafayette Faculty soccer group earlier than turning into the defensive coordinator at Dartmouth in 1981. It was there, in his first season, that he acquired divorce papers and moved into the storage room above the soccer workplaces.
A few years later, he says, he acquired a dream supply to teach on the College of Miami, dwelling of the reigning nationwide champions. As soon as once more, Moglia returned to his religious soundness journal: Professionally and personally, what are the professionals and cons?
Professionally, he was offered. It was, he mentioned, “essentially the most good job I might presumably have.” If he accepted it, he believed he would succeed and will someday fulfill one in all his desires: to develop into the top coach at a significant college.
Personally, nonetheless, he was unconvinced.
He remembered step one of the religious soundness course of he established with himself: Take accountability for your self. He thought of who he was as a father, who he wished to be as a father and the way the job would affect that a part of his life.
“How can I do that and never reside as much as my tasks as a father?” he mentioned. “I’ve bought 4 children. I’m OK making selections. I’m not OK feeling responsible.”
He known as turning down the job the “hardest profession choice I’ve made in my life.” However that was the entire level of his journal course of.
“You get to a degree the place you go, You realize what? That is me,” he mentioned. “That is the reality, that is who I’m. These are the great factors and the dangerous factors, however that is who I’m. When you perceive that, now your capacity to make the best choice below stress, the chance goes up considerably. And the extra instances you can also make the best choice below stress, critically, then you definately improve the chance you’re going to be ok with who you’re. You’re going to really feel fulfilled.”
Quickly after, he took to his journal once more with a brand new realization. He nonetheless had a lingering curiosity in Wall Road. It kickstarted what’s now the second step in his course of: Have braveness and know you’ll must reside with the implications of your actions.
So he started to community.
Within the Eighties, with out contacts of his personal, he approached alumni teams at Fordham and the 2 colleges the place he had coached, Lafayette and Dartmouth, and requested for names and numbers. Slowly, he constructed a listing of people that labored on Wall Road and started to chilly name.
“I had a one-minute pitch that mentioned one thing alongside the strains of, ‘I acknowledge I don’t have an MBA from Harvard, nonetheless, I do have this,’” he mentioned. “‘I’ve bought a PhD in life stuff. And I do suppose I’ve the talent units that you just’re in search of.’”
He spent about three months chasing leads. Ultimately, he ended up in Merrill Lynch’s MBA institutional coaching program. He mentioned he was the one one in this system with out an MBA. He spent the next 17 years on the firm.
In 2008, Moglia stepped down because the CEO of TD Ameritrade after seven years.
“I used to be by no means extra in demand in my life,” he mentioned.
However he realized he nonetheless had a lingering curiosity in teaching school soccer once more.
He knew what he wished to do was uncommon. And he knew he was lucky financially; he didn’t have to fret about cash. He additionally puzzled: Am I going to get a job? That thought was adopted by one other: I’d be good at this. Possibly somebody, my background, it’s so distinctive, any individual may give me a possibility.
By means of his religious soundness course of, he uncovered precisely why he wished to return to soccer. It wasn’t that he was such a giant fan; he mentioned he’d relatively watch TV exhibits than a sport. However he loved soccer technique and believed in his capacity to affect gamers.
“The true sport of soccer is like grasp’s chess, however with 22 individuals transferring without delay. I’m superb at that,” he mentioned. “The power to place collectively a complete program. I’m superb at that.”
He thought: Possibly I do have an opportunity to return and see what I might do.
His journal course of made it clear: He ought to go for it. Moglia started in 2009 as the chief advisor to Bo Pelini, then the top coach at Nebraska. A yr later, he was named the top coach of the Virginia Destroyers, a brand new group within the upstart United Soccer League. He then grew to become president and head coach of the UFL’s Omaha Nighthawks.
Lastly, in 2011, he bought his likelihood: Coastal Carolina, then a Soccer Championship Subdivision program, made him the college’s second head coach in historical past. Moglia gained 72 % of his video games, together with back-to-back 12-win seasons and 4 consecutive appearances within the FCS playoffs. In 2014, Coastal Carolina began the season 11-0 and was ranked No. 1 for the primary time in program historical past. He introduced his “religious soundness” with him and to his gamers.
Following the 2018 season, Moglia introduced that he would step down as Coastal Carolina’s coach, however he remained energetic within the subject of management. He served because the chairman of athletics and govt director at Coastal till the summer season of 2024 and remains to be the chief advisor to Coastal Carolina’s president. He has delivered 10 graduation speeches, together with at Coastal and Fordham, his alma mater. And on the College of Miami’s enterprise college, he spoke about develop into an efficient chief.
As at all times, all roads lead again to “religious soundness” and the method he developed greater than 50 years in the past.
To this present day, he nonetheless leans on that course of, even occurring private retreats to finish the train all year long. Most lately, he sat down over the vacations and reviewed all three of the binders containing his overflowing notes from through the years, a unending journey to be taught extra about himself and his life.
“All people says they know who they’re, however they don’t,” he mentioned. “I’d say, ‘Please, you gotta undergo this train.’ I feel each one in all us needs to be completely happy in life. It’s very tough to really feel completely happy when you don’t be ok with who you’re.”
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Jason Smith / Sports activities Illustrated / Getty Pictures)