Brady shared that his “most life-changing conversation” was a college pep talk from University of Michigan’s Greg Harden.
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With an unprecedented (and perhaps never-to-be-matched) three MVPs, three-time All-Pro titles, 15 Pro Bowls and seven Super Bowl rings, Tom Brady had to pull from all available sources to achieve unfettered superiority on the field. Still, the “most life-changing conversation” Brady ever had was not with a fellow superstar athlete or an NFL coach, but a counselor who worked with the then-aspiring starter way back when he was a Michigan Wolverine.
The financial success-focused YouTube channel School of Hard Knocks recently interviewed the 48-year-old future Hall of Famer to briefly pick his brain for insights into the mindset that made NFL’s GOAT. When asked about the “greatest advice he ever received,” Brady immediately recalled an exchange with revered late coach and motivational speaker Greg Harden, who also served as associate athletic director and director of athletic counseling for Michigan’s athletics program from 1986 to 2020.
“I would go and bitch and complain to him that I wasn’t getting the same opportunities that other guys were. “He sat me down in his office one Tuesday afternoon and he said, ‘Why don’t you quit bitching about all the things you’re not getting and worry about the things you are getting and don’t worry about anybody else,'” Brady said. “So many times we focus on what everyone else gets and we lose track of what we’re getting and the opportunities we’re getting,” he elaborated. “If they give you three opportunities in practice to go out there and do your best, go do it.”
Though his gridiron accolades are unmatched, Brady also told host James Dumoulin about the struggles he faced to achieve field time during his collegiate career, providing context for that early advice he received from Harden.
“I think what happened, you know, early in my career through high school and college, I had to work really hard to become a starter on the team and ultimately to be a contributor,” Brady said. “I think through those nine years, I really learned a lot of resiliency because things didn’t always bounce my way early on. And I think I really had to find different strategies to be successful. Then when I got to the pro level, I felt like I had a lot of self-confidence because I’d overcome a lot when no one was really paying attention. So then now I got to the pros and I was like, ‘All right, let me put those same tactics to work.’” In his final game as a Wolverine, he would help Michigan close out its season with an Orange Bowl victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Check out Brady’s full interview with School of Hard Knocks below:
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