Everyone knows that Tom Brady wasn't chosen until the sixth round of the NFL draft, after teams passed over him again and again.

When I was a player, I would always go out of my way to make my older daughter's lunches before I left in the morning.

I'm a pretty accommodating person, and I want to be the best I can at my job. So if someone asked me to do an interview or something that didn't fit into my schedule, I'd basically say yes to everybody.

If you want a piece of my time, the work I've put in has earned me the right to get paid for the work I'm being asked to do.

Was I afraid before every game I played? Did I throw up before kickoff? You bet. But I didn't let that fear cripple me and keep me in the locker room.

Guys are missing rewards and opportunities right now because they're feeling that pressure not to fail. And they're not learning about themselves because they're not failing - you're too busy patting yourself on the back to learn anything when stuff's going well.

I played on three Super Bowl winners as an NFL player. In two of them, my team was a favorite to win.

In my career, I was on teams that started 11-0 and 13-0 before losing. I can tell you right now that our streak-breaking losses didn't happen because we weren't the best team on the field. The truth is, we let little things creep in: a holding call here, a false start there.

That's something to be proud of - to have people say that you're the kind of guy who doesn't know how to quit. Try to be that man the next time you foul up: You'll enjoy more success than you ever would by cursing the guys living the charmed lives.

My favorite players in January aren't those living the charmed playoff life, but the guys who can get up when they're knocked down, who forget the last mistake so they can make the next big play.