Dealing with Rejections: Career Lessons from Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady

The superlatives for New England Patriots Champion Quaterback Tom Brady keep pouring in after the enormity of what Brady and the New England Patriots achieved this weekend winning a record Sixth Super Bowl in an otherwise underwhelming Sunday game.

It’s best to ignore the debate if Brady is the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T) athlete (yes, Jordan, Federer, Ali, Gretzky, Phelps and so many others will make that debate unending). What I would like to focus instead is on how Brady took the disrespect of being the 199th draft pick with 6 other quarterbacks picked before him in a draft to fuel his ascent to being debated arguably as an all time great.

At the beginning of the video here “Brady 6” he remembers clearly the names of the other quarterbacks picked ahead of him [Chad Pennington (18), Giovanni Carmazzi (65), Chris Redman (75), Tee Martin (163), Marc Bulger (168), Spergon Wynn (183)]. As he recounts that day 19 years back, the tears in the video of an otherwise very confident and brash Brady betrays the pain of that humiliation that he carries many years later.

His Scouting report out of college football read like this

Negatives: Poor build. Very skinny and narrow. Looks a little frail and lacks great physical stature and strength. Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush. Lacks a really strong arm. Can’t drive the ball down the field and does not throw a really tight spiral. System-type player who can get exposed if he must ad-lib and do things on his own.

Positives: Good height to see the field. Very poised and composed. Smart and alert. Can read coverages. Good accuracy and touch. Produces in big spots and in big games. Generally plays within himself. Team leader.

If this was the sentiment of your year end review you will pardoned if you lock yourself in the room with Netflix and Ice Cream for weeks after this damning appraisal.

If Brady’s journey inspires you then these are the lessons you can learn to take your career to the next level, even with any momentary setbacks.

Awareness

“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.” — Lao Tzu

Brady does not have the greatest athleticism, the best mechanics, or the strongest arm. His life through high school, college and even pro football was a constant struggle for recognition of his greatness. His strengths were study and reading of the defences, awareness of the game, courage and composure, strong work ethic, capacity to learn and supreme belief in himself even when faced with rejection. Brady played at Michigan from 1996–1999. When he came to UM, there were six QB’s ahead of him on the depth chart. Six! His belief in his ability, however, meant he was always in the running to become the first choice. Eventually. He took over from his senior Brian Griese and fended off challenge from highly gifted local hero Drew Henson. Brady’s own assessment of Drew was that he was “faster, stronger, quicker and more elusive” than Brady. Yet, Brady is the one that surpassed Drew at Michigan and then at Pro-football like he has done with every single of the 6 picks before him at the draft. Brady was clear that speed and physical strengths were not his strong points. His strength was his mental capacity and his eagerness to learn. His calmness even when the team was behind and standing up in big games when the stakes were high seperated him from other more physically gifted and talented quaterbacks. His awareness and self-belief allowed him to put the humiliation of the 199th draft pick behind him and still walk up to the Patriots owner Kraft and tell him with honest belief that selecting Brady was going to prove the best decision the Patriots organization had ever made.

To understand your strength and areas of improvement there are many tests you can take (Myers-briggs, SWOT, Emotional Quotient-Inventory 2.0, Character Strength), but I have found the best way to know this is through trying different tasks and roles, putting your hand up for challenges just beyond your current reach, listening to feedback, and an honest introspection (Book : Strength Finder 2.0). List the strengths down detailing what you think your strengths are, and listing how you plan to leverage them. Also, clearly articulate your limitations and improvement areas. This exercise of putting it down in writing will be an important start to your awareness process. Then as you go through your role, periodically revisit this list and update it.

Preparation

“Every battle is won before it is fought” — Sun Tzu

Spergon Wynn was the 3rd choice on Clevland Brown’s roster. Wynn did not think he was going to play. His intent was noble to sit and learn and soak it in. But mentally he had not thought he would start for the team. Through injury to the starting quaterback, when Wynn found himself playing in the NFL, he was not mentally ready. He got a 44–7 thumping on his first game, and Wynn’s career in NFL ended shortly afterwards.

Tom Brady was the 6th choice. His coach considered him as a “wasted spot on the roster”. Patriots starting QB was Drew Bledsoe, the #1 pick in his year, compared to Brady’s #199. And yet, privately to friends and in his mind he visualized beating Bledsoe to the starting QB spot. Brady’s coaches in college and NFL have unanimously stated that nobody works harder than Brady. Brady has had to fight for his position in high school, college and NFL. He was always trying to fight off more talented QB in front of him, and younger QB behind him. Which meant that the days between the Sunday professional games — the “tuesday, wednesday, thursday” — he would always play as if his position as starting QB was at risk.

When Bledsoe had a season ending injury, and Brady was more than ready. He made sure that he grabbed the opportunity with both hands, and made the starting QB role his. Famously, Bledsoe never got his role back even when he became physically fit, and Brady made his start as a starting QB start of a legacy.

As technology is evolving at a much rapid rate than ever before with AI, and machine learning and code that write effective code, one has to constantly play the role of an eager student. As global processes change, and cross-border trades and boundaries evolve, the business process are also in a state of flux. With machine, platform, crowd sourcing both technology and business are undergoing revolution. No matter what skills you have, there is so much you could learn to continue being relevant. Make it your habit to read, prepare, learn (the amount of online resources available these day equal some of the best university teaching). Visualize yourself in the next role, and prepare constantly to make yourself stand out. You never know when an elavator conversation or a chance meeting presents you with the opportunity to make your mark. Do the yards in the off season to make sure you are ready when the opportunity presents itself at game time.

Taking Feedback constructively

“ If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too” — Rudyard Kipling, If

Drew Hansen was a junior to Brady. Drew’s atheletic prowess and skills were well known at Michigan since Drew played in a neighborhood school. Brady had always had to deal with the fact that he was “not a natural athlete”, he did not have the right mechanics, he could not throw the long ball without the strongest arm. In the early years at Michigan, Brady had to deal with the fact the Griese was an upperclassman, and the Michigan coach stated that experience was the reason Griese was starting before Brady. When Hansen came about, suddenly Brady found the same coach stating that both Brady and Hansen would start a quarter and then whoever is better on the day would get to finish the game.

Brady could have sulked as the rules had changed unfairly on giving upperclass man the starting role. He waited his turn on the sideline watching Hansen play. He soaked in the game, studied the opposite team. He took his coach’s feedback on his inferior physical talents to Hansen as facts and not a personal attack. And when the chance presented where Hansen had left the team in a 17 point hole, he passed for 241 yards in the final 18 minutes to almost complete the first of his many miracle comebacks. He made the next game his own and after that Brady had become the unquestioned starting QB for Michigan. He led Michigan to an overtime win in the Orange Bowl over Alabama, throwing for 369 yards, four touchdowns, leading the team back from a pair of 14-point deficits in regulation.

When rejection does happen in your career, take what is being said objectively. Sort out by being honest to yourself and the one that provided you critical feedback and hear the message and not the messenger. Is there value in the feedback given when you were rejected? Is there new technology that you need to equip yourself with? Would it have helped if certain situations you had handled differently to showcase your leadership and soft skills? Do you need to adjust your behavior and emotions when dealing with crisis? For things that you do not agree with after this analysis, let it go without taking it personally. And for the feedback that you agree, create a plan to overcome the shortcomings and improve on the areas highlighted.

Grabbing opportunity

“What matters is how quickly you do what your soul directs.” — Rumi

Giovanni Carmazzi another QB picked before Brady was fast, atheletic and stronger than Brady. He was drafted by San Francisco where the coaches had coached Montana and Young. Caramazzi had great coaching and the coaches confidence in his talent. Carmazzi started for 49ers in the pre-season against Brady’s Partiots. Carmazzi game started with two back to back sacks, and he was visibly shaken. His confidence had given way to self-doubt to such an extent that his NFL career ended shortly afterwards. Brady was playing on the other side. He was the 4th choice for Patriots and had no real chance to starting for Patriots that year, yet he grabbed the pre-season opportunity. He was mentally and emotionally ready to make an impact with the skills that he had and with an eagerness to run. His college coach by yo-yoing between Brady and Hansen had created doubt in the future NFL coaches and were red flags against them choosing Brady as their QB. Brady himself did not let this impact his confidence. He instead waited for his team to need him and grabbed the opportunity with both hands. From being the coach undecided choice, he won Orange Bowl for his university. From being his coaches “wasted roster spot” in NFL, he created an all time best record 6 Super Bowl win legacy. Brady did make some rookie mistakes and some bigger one with higher stakes when he gave away the AFC championship to Manning’s Indianapolis with an interception that lost his team the championship. But he came back and had one of the best quaterback season the next year.

If you constantly hone your skills, and constantly deliver whatever role you have currently accepted, there will be an opportunity which will allow you to make a statement. An opportunity to let the organization and the industry know that you belong. Where you will showcase your skills and seperate yourself from rest of the competion. With mental preparedness, constant learning, receiving feedback and clear focus when the opportunity does comes to you, you will have a chance to answer all the past rejections and clear paths for your future successes.

Patience

“How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? Thou know’st we work by wit, and not by witchcraft; And wit depends on dilatory time.” — Shakespeare’s Othello

Tee Martin was another QB chosen before Brady. He won the 1999 Fiesta Bowl for Tennesse. He was a star at College Football level. When he came to Professional football, the game got a little more complex. Receivers that had 10 yards of space, now had defenders closing within a yard of them. Where he had 10 seconds to make a decision, he now had 2. Where the plays were easier to read in college now were more comples and harder to read. Martin found that he had not prepared for the realities of professional football. He quickly lost his way and his career at the NFL.

When Brady became the undisputed starting QB, Hensen decided to give up football altogether and try professional baseball. He started a disappointing 1–9 at Yankees and eventually tried coming back to professional football. His first game back for the Cowboys he threw a pick that was returned for a touchdown. Hansen did not continue much longer for the Cowboys and ended up retiring. Hensen gave up baseball in school and decided to pursure football. With a setback he gave up football for baseball and then tried coming back to football. In the end he was successful at neither.

The worst thing that you could do post a rejection is to have a knee jerk reaction. Take the time to understand what the rejection is trying to teach you and if it is worth your while to learn any of it. Giving up a path you have invested your mind, body and soul and sacrified your personal and family time for, is not worth giving up because of a setback. Use the rejection increase your resolve. Honestly evaluate where you could improve and progressively make it more difficult for anyone to reject you in the future.

You may be hugely successful in your current role, but still do an honest assessment if you are ready for the next role. I recommend the book What got you here will not get you there. Get feedback from your seniors and peers on where you need to develop and be patient for the right opportunity to come your way. Make sure you are even more prepared this time around.

Gratitude

“Everything in life is luck.“ — Donald Trump

In the current political environment, it is always tricky to quote Trump, and Brady himself has got flack for wearing Trump’s MAGA hat. But you have to admit that when Trump becomes president even with his style, persona, history and talent and he says that in the end “everything in life is luck” you have to believe it.

No matter what mental fortitude you develop, how many hours you invest in education, how many skills you sharpen, you have to have the proverbial dice roll in your favor.

Brady could have his legacy killed even before it started if he had not got a refree call in his favor at the AFC divisional playoff that ruled a non-fumble because of tuck rule. The more gifted QBs chosen before him Redman and Pennington have had their share of injuries impacting them at critical times that limited some of the impact they could have had without them.

Brady had the confidence and coaching of Bill Belichick one of the most respected coaches that picked him (even if late) before anyone else did. He wasted a roster position to nurture him. Bill also created a system which allowed Brady even with his limitation to still make an impact. There were better students of the game than Brady, there were better athletes, and many had better techniques. Brady’s critical fumbles were recovered and he got another chance, others had their career shut because the window of opportunity open and shut even before they could blink.

In the end, know that success even for the most successful have had a significant helping of luck. Same way rejections too may have been a matter of subjective perception, wrong timing, or unhelpful circumstances. So do not take rejection personally. If you can though, make the rejection your catalyst. Make your tears and anger at the rejection your inspiration. Let it hurt, but take the hurt and make it a constructive impulse.

Take the doubt and hurt of rejections and reflect, recharge, retool, and reinvigorate. Let the rejection be your springboard to your journey to becoming the Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T) in your area of expertise. Here is to your version of your very own story of the #ComebackKid !