Say what you’ll about Tom Brady, but his uniqueness is undeniable – or the countless fascination with how he “receives It Completed“.
During his illustrious football profession, the longtime New England Patriots quarterback won seven Super Bowl rings – greater than another player in history – and earned a status for being meticulous and disciplined. (TB12, anyone?)
In his second act, Brady has focused on all the things from NFTs to FTX to sports commentary and most recently a partnership with Delta Air Lines as an advisor. He joined Delta’s Podcast “Gaining Height” this week to rejoice his virtues and values and reflect on what brought him to the highest of the group.
“One of the most important foundations of my personal success – and the success of our team over a long period of time – is that no one was afraid of constructive criticism,” Brady, 49, told Bastian. Criticism “really means that you care about the other person. I’ve always felt like I would have those difficult conversations with the people who mean the most to me about what I think they need to do to improve.”
Whether Brady was noticing sloppy prep for a game or emotional swings, he said he almost felt it was a disservice to not criticize his teammates. And the team’s superstar wasn’t immune. “I wanted everyone to see it that way; I had to be open to their constructive criticism. I got that from the owner, the head coach and my position coach; I never wanted to feel like they couldn’t coach me.”
In fact, it was crucial for Brady’s bosses and peers to “feel like they were in a position of authority” to inform him he needed to step up his performance. Granted, he may not have needed much coaching, especially during his peak, record-breaking years.
“It was easy for me to say, ‘Don’t you understand? I’m Tom Brady. I’ve won this before. I was MVP,'” he noted. “But that would be the worst thing you could do.” Fearing an echo chamber where his peers and coaches would just defer to him, Brady told Bastian that he makes it a degree to be certain everyone around him knows he’s open to criticism.
“I’m always one of the teammates. I had to get along with all the guys,” Brady said. “Maybe I developed a higher standard of performance over time, but I was lucky because I had a lot of experience.”
That divide led Brady to his most significant ethos, which he credits together with his continued success: never getting jaded. “Some of these guys were brand new, but I wanted them to treat me like it was my first day on the job, too,” he said.
A key a part of the primary day’s work mentality is maintaining balance, he added. “It’s always about regulating the inputs and outputs; when I really have to bring in a lot of energy and emotion, I have to make sure I still have enough of it,” he said. “I really had to make sure I was clear about what I was doing the day before the game and what I was doing after the game.”
Brady said his teams – and fans – need him to be the undisputed star, with 100% focus, determination, concentration and energy. To try this, I would like the suitable nutrition, the suitable hydration, the suitable bodywork and, most significantly, “the right people around me.” Ideally, individuals who can call him out when he slacks.
