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For God's sakes, quit worrying about your next job. Just do the best you can at the job you have now, and the offers will come. And when they do, if you have confidence in yourself you don't have to feel that you can't turn it down if it isn't quite right for you because you fear you'll never get another offer. You will. Wait for the right opportunity, and turn down all the rest. It will make all the difference.
I'm not a person that really deal in color. I recognize the inequities that certain cultures have to go through. I understand the history of slavery and all those things. But I'm not a victim. I can vote, I can participant. I can invest my money. I can invest my time. And that's what I'm doing. I'm not working for anybody. I'm not making any money doing what I'm doing. I'm doing it because someone did it for me.
I led the NFL in attempts the past two years and they really didn’t go out and get a quarterback to help me so I knew it’s going to be all on me again. I could see my mortality as a football player, that I’m not going to be able to do this much longer. It just became obvious to me that playing football for me is not going to be fun, not something I’m going to enjoy and it’s time for me to do something different.
I've had smarter people around me all my life, but I haven't run into one yet that can outwork me. And if they can't outwork you, then smarts aren't going to do them much good. That's just the way it is. And if you believe that and live by it, you'd be surprised at how much fun you can have. “Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.
One of the things I know about my family, my generation, and my ethic background is that we put in work and I'm not just talking about just to eat. You have to think about the civil rights movement, they were putting in work; marching, walking miles and miles, sacrificing, getting on the bus, feeding one another, they had schools, voter registration, they were working! They were hard workers so my advice is to work.
I've been here for eight years and I'm going into my 13th season. There's nothing I'd have liked better than to retire as a Jet. But the reality is, they released me. My goal now is not to break the bank. I did that twice already with my original contract and a restructuring. It's about winning a championship, and from this point forward, I'm going to go to the team that gives me the best chance to win a Super Bowl.
If you take a wrong step but you're still in that football position, you can just react and change directions. I think for the most part young guys need to work on their football position. Get in their stance and hold it as long as possible. Work on your flexibility, especially in the hips, so you can hold that longer. A good football position will help you be more mobile and give you better leverage in the trenches.
First of all, I wish everyone who loved football could stand in the quarterback's shoes just for a play, because I think it would be tremendously humbling to anyone who loved the game to say, "I didn't -- I had no idea." You can think about what it would be like, and the cameras are getting better at giving that perspective, that one that the skycam comes down and you get a sense of it, but you just -- you don't know.
My first experience with football was not very good because I didn't plan on playing football. I was just playing hookie one day and I was a sophomore and decided not to go to class. And the principal - normally he does his rounds and I thought I had him down pretty good where he was going to be - he sort of walked up behind me and scared me. He noticed I could run real fast. So that's how I got introduced to football.
When guys come over to date my daughter, I'm going to tell them, 'I want you to go out and have a very good time with my daughter. I want you to enjoy yourself and have her home on time. If you abuse her in any way, I'm going to kill your mother and father, cut your back open, pull out your spine, and leave you in a wheelchair so you can think about what you did for the rest of your life. Now, go out and have a good time!'
A label is a soul-tattoo that is ingrained deep in our hearts, so much so that it determines how we see ourselves, And how we see ourselves determines how we live... A destructive label leads to a destructive life. There is a soul thief, a dark enemy, who wants to nail ruinous labels to your heart so that he can steal your life. Jesus wants to give you life giving labels that release your potential for the good of the world.
So use all that is called fortune. Most men gamble with her, and gain all and lose all, as her wheel rolls... A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of your sick or the return of your absent friend, or some other favorable event raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.
I've always felt like the most improvement you can make is from year 1 to year 2, much like a college freshman who the most improvement he can make in an entire one year of college football is going from year 1 freshman year to his sophomore year. Like a pro football player going from his rookie season to his second season. There's a window there that will never come again that you have a chance to making your biggest strides.
I'm a people pleaser by nature, and I want to make everybody happy. But at the same time, it's not fulfilling to make everybody happy. What's fulfilling is to stand for something that's right. Now that doesn't mean you're going to be perfect. We're going to fall and we're going to mess up every day, but we can at least try to stand for something. When you stand for something, then you won't fall for everything else around you.
America is not big enough to shake her fist in the face of a holy God and get away with it, and as I read this I want to explain something. I'm going to read this and then I want to explain something. As America has permitted homosexuality to establish itself as an alternate lifestyle, it is also reeling from the frightening spread of sexually transmitted disease. Sin begets its own consequence, both on individuals and nations.
I think just what my parents instilled in me was hard work and being able to always go out there and focus and be 100%. I took that work ethic into the NFL and everyday I always gave 100% and never wanted anything to be handed to me. I wanted to earn it. And every time I stepped on that football field during practice I wanted to leave that football field with learning something about what the practice was about for me that day...
I think the fans, if you want to actually learn about us, I think you have to go way more intricate than just what you see on TV, because that's whatever they want to report. But it's just so much going on, and when you talk about being in our world you have to understand we're individuals too. We're not just athletes. No, we're fathers, we're sons. So when you put us through a job shortage you take away everything that we built.
I was taught that justice is a right that every American should have. Also justice should be the goal of every American. I think that's what makes this country. To me, justice means the innocent should be found innocent. It means that those who do wrong should get their due punishment. Ultimately, it means fair treatment. So a call for justice shouldn't offend or disrespect anybody. A call for justice shouldn't warrant an apology.
A lot of people look at me as a big person. Some people consider me to be obese. Some people consider me fat and sloppy. Everybody knows that I have a big stomach, but I think sometimes that overshadows everything else on my body - from my calves to my back to my shoulders to my biceps. What people go to the gym and work for, I have. The only thing I don't have that they got is six - packs. But I really don't care about six-packs.
I think our culture right now is a culture that's trying to find itself. They're trying to figure out what is it? Is it social media followers? Is it trying to be popular? Is it money? Is it fame? Is it power? They're searching for identity and so many of us have been there, and we'll get back to that place of what is our identity? Who are we? More importantly, whose are we? For me, I find my identity in a relationship with Christ.
The longer you play, the more you realize that you can't lose focus for one play or two plays or an entire drive. Those things are the difference between wins and losses. You have to figure out how to refocus after a bad play or how to stay focused when you're up in a game. Those are things you learn from experience in playing this position. I've learned a ton of ways and have different triggers for how to regain my focus if I've lost it.
I'm in a unique situation. I'm 5-foot-6, 175 pounds, so I wouldn't say people are super afraid of me. I live a normal life. I don't walk into a room and everybody looks at me and says, "He plays for the Cleveland Browns" or "He's an NFL superstar" - that doesn't happen. I go under the radar. Most people don't realize who I am until I tell them. So it's not like my life has changed since I've been in the NFL or people treat me any different.
There is enough for everyone to have what they need without exploitation. Adequate distribution of resources, including education, without violence can lead to a sustainable system that doesn't stress the ecosphere. Alternately, continued violence feeds population surges and hoarding the products of exploitative extraction, which endanger the survival of our species. In short, if we want a future with humans on Earth, we've got to stop war.
One thing that I don't like about us as a people is that, when we don't have the same view as somebody, a lot of times we bash that person. We say negative things about that person. We all can co-exist with different beliefs. That's the beauty of it. That's why we all have personalities and are individuals. But a lot of people don't see it that way. They feel they have to bash somebody because of what they believe in or what they want to do.
When the words are fuzzy, the programmers reflexively retreat to the most precise method of articulation available: source code. Although there is nothing more precise than code, there is also nothing more permanent or resistant to change. So the situation frequently crops up where nomenclature confusion drives programmers to begin coding prematurely, and that code becomes the de facto design, regardless of its appropriateness or correctness.
I've been spinning dance music since 1990, and genres always come and go. I think as technology becomes more accessible and it's easier for people to make music, they come and go quicker now, but it just comes with the territory. You come up with something new, something hot, and it rocks for a year. It's nothing different from any other genre of music. I mean, name one genre that's sounded the same for its entire existence. It doesn't happen.
I've been training like crazy with my trainer Decker Davis all the time, and we've been doing this new thing called Danger Train. It's kind of storytelling about the offseason training, there's a lot more to come with that. More than anything, from a nutrition aspect to the speed aspect to the strengthening aspect and, most importantly, to the mental aspect, we're always trying to grow exponentially. We're continuing to find new ways to do that.
I think people are wrong to do it, to compare him to your way of wanting to do it. If you're passionate about it, do it and do it your way. It's not always going to be in front of the cameras after a football game - that was the way I did it. Somebody else has a different way, and that's [James] LeBron, and I know who he is. And I can't get into specifics, but it did upset me that people were calling him out for that because they were just wrong.
We live in a society that says "You Gotta get yours" and I'm not suggesting that you don't handle your business but I want to show people... Gandhi gave, Mother Theresa gave, Martin Luther King gave, Rosa Parks gave, Sojourner Truth gave, and these people had a rich life! They may have not had a Rolls Royce, Range Rover, or lived in the best neighborhoods but they changed history forever and they changed lives forever and that's what I aim to do.
Football used to be my god but no longer is. I still love it, I'm still aggressive, I still want to be very successful at it, I want to win a lot of football games. And my job is to be the best football player in the world, because it affords me a life; it pays, it's my job, and so it hasn't dulled my senses for the game or the love or the great excitement I get from the game. It's just that I'm very much at peace with myself because of my faith.
Where we start to lose it is when we start to grasp onto what we think is ours. No, this is mine. No, that's my career. That's my money. That's my platform. But really, no, it's yours, God. It's not mine. You might lend it to me for a little while. You might let me hold onto it. You might let me use it for a little bit, but that's not mine; it's yours. Thank you for letting me use that for a little while. I think that's what staying grounded means.
After the cheers have died down and the stadium is empty, after the headlines have been written and after you are back in the quiet of your room and the championship ring has been placed on the dresser and all the pomp and fanfare has faded, the enduring things that are left are: the dedication to excellence, the dedication to victory, and the dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can to make the world a better place in which to live.
People don't understand: I've always been busy. They think that, "Oh, he's too busy, blah blah blah...," but for me, this is how it's always been. I took 18 credits every semester of college, graduated in three years, took graduate school courses, played football and baseball my whole college career. I've never stopped, and that's where that phrase "No Time 2 Sleep" is always true. I get motivated by success, by winning, by being around great people.
I do not believe that there is any secret or single formula for success, but there are common threads of thought and action that characterize the successful people that I have been fortunate enough to know and observe. I do know, from my own experience, that our chance of succeeding is much greater when we organize and take charge of our lives. When we are willing to make decisions, we aggressively pursue those things in life that are important to us.
Just because the road ahead is long, is no reason to slow down. Just because there is much work to be done, is no reason to get discouraged. It is a reason to get started, to grow, to find new ways, to reach within yourself and discover strength, commitment, and determination. The road ahead is long and difficult, but it’s filled with opportunity. Start what needs starting. Finish what needs finishing. Get on the road. Stay on the road. Don’t give up.
That taught me how to work harder. I learned all about mental toughness on the practice field. If things weren't working out for me in high school, in college, early in my pro career, my solution was always to work harder and internalize. That way, whenever I got an opportunity, I was always prepared. See, there are a lot of guys who are all talk. They say they want to work harder and be the best, but they never pay the price. I love paying the price.
Back when I was training, probably the only nutritious thing on the market was Gatorade-that's all that we knew. But now in this day and age, people are more prone to go out to try new things to enhance their performance on the field-to enhance their physical appearance. I am a firm believer in if you can't get it the old fashioned way, you don't need it. You have a lot of people on the run and really don't have time to sit down and eat a balanced meal.
The focus of my life begins at home with family, loved ones and friends. I want to use my resources to create a secure environment that fosters love, learning, laughter and mutual success. I will protect and value integrity. I will admit and quickly correct my mistakes. I will be a self-starter. I will be a caring person. I will be a good listener with an open mind. I will continue to grow and learn. I will facilitate and celebrate the success of others.
We [Cleveland Browns] are from the same segments of America that everyone else is from. We have the same diversity, the same mix, so we don't run away from issues amongst each other, because we're brothers and we have to build that bond because we're always on the quest to be world champions. That's always our quest, and if you don't have that bond, it's not going to happen. So I guess every locker room is different, but our locker room I think is more than fine.
I hadn't really thought about going to college. Nobody in my family went away to school. The other piece of that was I didn't see anybody else in my hometown going to college to give me some kind of influence or something like that you might want to think about. I didn't see any of that. Therefore I thought it was never there. What happened was that my high school coach intervened. Had he not intervened to the measure he intervened, I probably wouldn't have gone.
I'm afraid to walk in public, because people look at me. But I'm not going to stop. I'm afraid because if I want to commune with my friend Shad (Meier), I have to ask him to cut my chicken for me. But I did it. And I'm afraid to go back and see my teammates and coaches because I know that I'll feel envy. But I'm going to do it anyway. Because fear is just a feeling, and if you can acknowledge that fear, digest that fear and overcome it, the rewards are incredible.
We all know of people who thought they could to it (whatever “it” is) tomorrow. We have all procrastinated on such a way, and often to our personal regret. It happens time and again, putting off things that we convince ourselves might be better, more meaningful, more appropriate for another time. So often that better time either never comes or really isn’t better or more appropriate after all. And then, sadly, the window of opportunity -to do something great- closes.
The 7 Practices of Exceptional Student Athletes is an excellent book for student athletes to understand what it takes to be successful. It covers all phases of life, and it is filled with wonderful wisdom. Illustrated by brilliant examples of very successful people, The 7 Practices of Exceptional Student Athletes forces student athletes to use their common sense as they work to achieve their goals. Raven Magwood is a very talented person and an extremely gifted writer.
I think the part that people get confused is that when you come in National Football League at a young age, they tell you to try to look for other things to do, and be ready for everything else in your life just in case. But as soon as you have a bunch of success, they think that's the only thing you can do, that you can only be a football player. I think God has gifted me with so many other things other than just football, and that's what I want to bring to the world.
Every time a player goes out to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be Number One in any business. But more important, you've got to play with you heart - with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.
Church is the people that we get to do life with. It's the people that have courageous conversations with us. It's the people that love us. It's the people that invest in us. It's the people we get to do life with. And we also get to share with them. It's being able to have those people in our lives who we're able to inspire and they're able to inspire us. When we're down, they pick us up. When they're down, we pick them up. Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, 'God, it's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be. I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I'm trying to find.
Once again, God to all glory, because I didnt feel one thing. I didnt hurt it one time. I actually argued with my equipment staff to take it off half way through the game, because I thought I didnt need it. I was trying to tell them it was stopping me from extending, but you know what, Ive always trusted them with their advice. It was kind of important to keep it on, and for me to come out and not have a bruise, not tweak it, not do anything like that, is just really awesome.
I had a tremendous upbringing and foundation but as others like me have experienced, when you go to college, mom and dad are no longer there to help guide. There were some moments in college that really cemented my own convictions and beliefs. It was a real period of growth and maturity in my sanctifying process. I got married in college. That was a tremendous blessing. Four years later, we started having children and that gives you a deeper understanding of the Father's love.
I'm mentally getting myself ready to talk about it all year long because I know it's going to come. My main focus is not to really concentrate on that... So many things have to line up, to be healthy and consistent for so many games, to get to that point. I know as we get closer we're going to talk about it more. But believe me, when it's done, if it gets done, it will be a huge achievement and I'm definitely going to soak it in. But at this time, it's not at the top of my mind.