5 Lessons We Can Learn From Tom Brady
One thing I think most people can agree on is that they are tired of watching the Patriots win another Super Bowl. Even more specifically, many can’t stand to see any more of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Tom and Bill always seem to be everywhere you look and we are tired of watching them win the Super Bowl year after year. We want them to go away and give somebody else a chance to win.
BUT! What if YOU could have that kind of success?
I’m talking about the kind of success that keeps coming year after year. The kind of success where you become so successful that people start wanting to see someone else be so successful! Now let me ask, how would you feel about that?
Whenever I see high achievers in anything, whether it is business, sports, relationships, or life… I try and study it and learn what they are doing. I do this because I was to excel and thrive in all those same areas of my life as well! I realized I had to make a mindset change and begin to learn everything I could from them if I wanted to get to where they are.
So now when I see Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Nick Saban, Geno Auriemma win another National Championship or Super Bowl, I smile. I smile because I know there are lessons that I can learn from them!
Here are my Top 5 Lessons I learned from our most recent Super Bowl with the Patriots, yet again winning!
1. Never Stop Growing, Learning, or Training
Tom and Bill are often praised as being one of the hardest working duo’s in all of sports. They relentlessly pursue excellence and never settle for being “Good Enough”. With that said, they are never content on where they are as a coach or player.
Tom has even taken his training so seriously that he has come up with his own TB12 Method in which he sells products and a style of training. Yes, this is brilliant marketing, but also a sign of how dedicated he is to taking care of his body.
If you want to excel in your sport, or even in life, you must train year-round. It simply isn’t enough to train and prepare for 3 months and then take the next 9 months to run around playing games. In reality, those numbers should be flipped! If you really want to thrive and give yourself the best chance, you should be training for 9 and playing for 3 with an in-season lift program. Your health takes no breaks and Tom is a perfect example! I hope you get to play at a world class level well into your 40’s!
2. “The Bigger the Dream, The More Important the Team”
I heard this quote from Under Armour founder, Kevin Plank, but it couldn’t be more applicable here. It isn’t all about the BEST players, it is about the RIGHT ones!
Year after year the Patriots seem to win in a different manner and with a different set of guys. How many “no name” players do the Patriots seem to win with year after year? Even Tom himself was a “no name” player when he was drafted in the 6thround of the 2000 NFL Draft.
Tom ran an absurdly slow 5.28 second 40 yard dash, and had a miserable 24.5” vertical at combine. Juxtapose that with RGIII who ran a 4.41 second 40 yard dash and a 39” vertical, it should be a no brainer who the better athlete is… yet one of these two has 6 Super Bowl rings and the other is a backup.
The “best” isn’t always the best choice. Focus on being the best YOU, you can be! Live with integrity, relentlessly pursue excellence in all that you do, and focus on being the best servant leader you can be!
3. You Must Win the Battle of the Mind
You can win or lose the game well before the game is ever played! If you walk up to an at-bat fearing that you will strike out… more than likely that will happen. Tom and Bill have no doubt that when they take the field, they will walk away with the win. They are so confident in fact that even the fans expect them to pull something off!
When Tom was drafted in 2000 in the 6thround, he told owner Robert Kraft that ‘I’m Best Decision This Organization Has Ever Made’. Now some might call that cockiness, but he had no room to be cocky. After all, all 32 teams had passed on him 5 other times! This just shows that you MUST believe in yourself and what you are worth.
We all get that stinkin’ thinkin’ running through our heads from time to time. We get fearful and begin to doubt ourselves. Next time you have those negative thoughts about yourself, I want you to punch them in the face and tell yourself “I AM WORTHY”, “I CAN DO THIS”, “I AM DESIGNED FOR THIS MOMENT!”. Be your own best cheerleader!
4. Setbacks Are Nothing More Than a Setup For Better!
9 Super Bowls in the past 18 years, 6 of them wins! Even more impressive, they have 4 Super Bowl appearances in the past 5 years, winning 3 of them. That already confirms what we already know, that they are good. But what do we tend to overlook?
We overlook the fact that they don’t ALWAYS win. Just last year they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles and had to bounce back. While yes, this was a loss and they did not accomplish what they set out to do… the bounced back, learned and persevered!
We know that we will have hardships in life! We know the punches are coming, so let’s get ready for them. If we get hit, take the punch, learn from it and grow. The setback you are facing is nothing more than a setup for a great comeback!
5. Age Doesn’t Matter
This is one of the most common excuses we give ourselves on why we can’t do something. It is either “I am too old to get started” or “I am too young and nobody will take myself seriously.” What we are seeing from Tom is that age doesn’t matter. If you have the right plan, and amazing mindset, and a great team around you; great things are possible!
On the other end we also witnessed history recently as 13 Year Old Alysa Liu became the youngest ever U.S. Figure Skating Champion! All I can say is WOW! To be 13 years old and to be the best in the country!? All I can ask myself is what does her day to day schedule look like? What is she doing differently than the “average” 13 year old? I can bet that she isn’t spending countless hours on Fortnite or any other such distraction!
It just goes to show that we limit ourselves all to often! We give ourselves excuses on both ends of the spectrum! If you want something, go for it! You must believe in yourself and divorce yourself from all those excuses you build up!
6. Cherish The Challenge
You know we always do more than expected! Lesson number 6 is a standard one for us at Crucible! Whether he call it this or not, he “Cherished The Challenge”. You don’t get to his level of success without enjoying the process of challenging yourself. The struggle brings out the best in Tom and that’s why when the game is on the line, we all expect him to succeed!
What challenges in your life are you needing to tackle? What challenges are you running from? What would happen if you turned and faced them? Would you grow? Would you get better? I would argue yes you would. Let’s snap those bands and change our mindsets when it comes to challenges.
The challenges aren’t happening to us, they are happening FOR us!