As many know, two of my passions and loves is sports and self-development. As in my book, “The Big Four”, athletes and sports provide a great metaphor for life and success leaves clues. For Jerry Rice, this was certainly the case.
Who is Jerry Rice? He is an all-time NFL leader in receptions, touchdown receptions, and yards. His career record stand at 1549 receptions for 22, 895 yards with 197 touchdown receptions and 208 total receptions. His career points stands at 1295, which makes him the highest scoring non-kicker in NFL history. He is a three time Super Bowl Champion with the San Francisco 49ers, including one Super Bowl MVP. Jerry was also ranked as greatest football player of all-time in 2010 by the NFL Network in their show, “NFL’s Top 100 Players of All Time”. Jerry was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2010. Year in and year out, he was the most feared opponent for other NFL defenses.
As a result, Jerry Rice was clearly the Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Wayne Gretzky, and Tiger Woods of the NFL. He was simply the best. He was able to perform at a high level for nearly 20 years in the NFL.
What made Jerry Rice the best? Was it natural talent? Outstanding speed? No and no is the answer. Jerry actually ran only a 4.71 40 yard dash. For those like me who are not familiar, that is fast for a lineman. However, a 4.71 40 is very slow for a skilled position player. There have been many other players and athletes who have run a much faster time. Also, Jerry was drafted in the middle of the first round in 1985. He was not considered a top prospect to come out of college into the NFL. Fortunately, for the 49ers, Head Coach Bill Walsh saw it differently. Bill Walsh saw Jerry Rice perform one night on a highlight reel and was completed hooked on a wide receiver from a little known school called Mississippi Valley State University.
So what truly made Jerry Rice the best? Jerry became the best because of his mindset, commitment to the game, and his willingness to work harder than anyone has ever in the sport. There was no one more dedicated to his trade than Jerry Rice, period. Jerry’s offseason regimen was even tougher and more demanding than anyone else. Jerry made sacrifices that other players were not willing to make in order to become great at his trade. One example was that a week after the 49ers won the Super Bowl, quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Steve Young came to the team’s facility to clean out his locker and get his belongings. Steve hears something and peaks out in the back. What Steve Young sees is Jerry Rice working out and doing routes on the practice field. Instead of celebrating a Super Bowl, Jerry is already getting prepared to win the next Super Bowl.
Jerry continued throughout his career to compensate for his lack of natural speed. Jerry was obsessed with mastering receiver routes on the practice and always seemed to find a way to get past an opponent and not be caught after catching the ball. Rice was incredibly disciplined and prepared on the field. His conditionally allowed him to be refresh late in the game and when the game was close. It gave him a decisive edge over his opponent.
In addition, Jerry had this hill that was 2 ½ miles that he ran everyday on. I believe to this day he runs this hill long after retirement. This hill was a beast, and Jerry conquered. Jerry would take fellow superstar teammates throughout the years on the hill with him. There was no player that could keep up with Jerry Rice. Once a player thought he was going full out, Jerry would accelerate the pace.
There is also a sense of humbleness and leadership by example Jerry constantly displayed. It was routine during quarterback and receiver drills to run the play, make the throw, and the receiver to make the catch and play. Once the play was complete, the receivers would go back and either walk to job back to the quarterback huddle. Jerry, however; sprinted back to the huddle. Jerry kept on doing this over and over again.
Another trait of Jerry’s was to show up to rookie camp and work and play with the rookies. His message was that if he is there and doing everything to make the team, the rookies needed to do the same thing. Jerry wanted to teach the rookies on what it takes to be a success in the NFL.
Lastly, Jerry was driven by fear and used fear as a friend. He had a fear of being cut from the team and also feared if he made the team he would not start. Jerry used fear on the field during a play, where he feared of being caught and tackled instead of scoring. As a result, Jerry became the all-time leader in touchdowns scored.
We can definitely apply Jerry’s principles in every area in our life. How can we become the Jerry Rice of our life?
- Be addicted to hard work. There is no shortcut to putting in the work. We have to work and practice in our trait and be totally dedicated. It will lead to mastery. Make the commitment.
- Find ways to compensate on your weakness that will enable to grow and get to the level you need to. Jerry knew he was not the fastest person on the planet. Thus, he need to find ways to compensate for his weaknesses.
- Lastly, we need to lead by example and remain. No matter what we accomplish, we need to give back and never be above it. Jerry was never above helping out rookies who were trying to make the pro level. Jerry has never been shy on sharing his success story. Jerry is completely transparent on how he was able to get to the level of being the greatest NFL player ever.