Longtime collaborators Russell Wilson (right) and Trevor Moawad speak to Alaska Airlines employees.daniel mogg / west 2 east empire
Russell Wilson told Trevor Moawad that he would secure the starting quarterback job shortly after he was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks.
Moawad, then director of performance at IMG Academy, who had helped Wilson with his mental conditioning prior to the draft, kind of smirked at him, Wilson recalled. “He said, ‘You know, it may take some time,’” Wilson said. “I said, ‘Nah, it’s not going to take some time. I am going to make sure I get this done. I just kept my head down and kept working.’”
Doing the work required for success is part of the mental conditioning that Moawad instilled in Wilson. Seven years later, the two of them are taking their mental preparation system, which helped the quarterback win Rookie of the Year and a Super Bowl and earn six Pro Bowl selections, to corporations.
Wilson and Moawad have founded Limitless Minds, a business coaching consultancy. Wilson is chairman, while Moawad is CEO. The other co-founders are Wilson’s brother, Harry, whose background is in sales and leadership for pharmaceutical companies, and Harry Wilson’s longtime business partner, DJ Eidson. Harry Wilson is president, and Eidson is COO of Limitless Minds.
Wilson and Moawad have remained close through the years, including talking and texting almost daily. The idea for a company is something they kicked around for the last four or five years, Wilson said. Then, last summer, Wilson was talking to his brother, who wanted to do something different that involved instilling skills and leadership techniques for employees at companies.
“I started laughing,” Wilson said. “I said, ‘It’s the craziest thing. Me and Trevor were just talking about this yesterday.’”
Six months in, Limitless Minds has about 10 clients, including companies in the biotech, health care, technology and wealth management industries. Limitless Minds, based in Seattle and Scottsdale, Ariz., offers a menu of services, including keynote training, train-the-trainer sessions and digital content. Moawad would not identify any clients or reveal its pricing, but he did say the company is already profitable.
On the set of the ESPN show “QB2QB,” Moawad (far right) and Wilson (blue shirt) work with Baker Mayfield (far left).daniel mogg / west 2 east empire
“We are leading with an idea that we call ‘neutral thinking,’ which is unbiased, nonjudgmental thinking that focuses on behavior, not outcomes,” Moawad said. It’s something he starting working on with Wilson before the 2012 draft.
“So everything for Russell was: ‘What do starting quarterbacks do? How do they prepare? How do they train? How do they sleep? How do they study?’” Moawad said.
Mental conditioning helped Wilson get through the disappointment of losing the Super Bowl in 2015, he said. “Adversity is temporary — that’s what Trevor and I believe and know,” Wilson said.
As chairman and co-founder, Wilson said he is heavily involved in Limitless Minds.
“For me, I think my biggest thing is just being able to network and help and be a major part of where I think the future is of mental conditioning, mental health, leadership skills,” he said. “And I want to be a part of that for every generation.”
