How to Develop the Tom Brady “Mindset of a Champion”

One common theme that successful people have is they do not blame others for their shortcomings. Rather, they analyze what went wrong and then find a solution to fix the problem. Brady has gone on the record by saying “too often in life, something happens and we blame other people for us not being happy or satisfied or fulfilled. So, the point is, we all have choices, and we make the choice to accept people or situations or to not accept situations.” If you blame other people for your shortcomings, not only is it not true, the problem will never get fixed. Chances are the same problem will arise and you will push the blame on someone else again. Whether you are a future Hall of Fame Quarterback or a cashier at MacDonald’s, owning up to your shortcomings and correcting your faults is the way to get successful results and build character while doing it.

Do it! With a Chip on Your Shoulder

When Tom Brady was picked in the 6th round of the NFL he did not make an excuse, he did not pout and whine like other QBs have done in the past. Rather, deep down inside he took the act personally and vowed to himself to prove everyone that doubted him wrong. This is the championship mindeset you can’t teach. Brady says “I’m a pretty good winner. I’m a terrible loser. And I rub it in pretty good when I win.” If you want to adopt a successful mindset, start by finding your motivation. A good motivator will push you forward and prevent you from falling back into homeostasis. Sometimes pain and the fear of failure are the biggest motivators one can have. Then when we succeed it turns into the greatest accomplishment.

Play to Win

If you asked someone “do you like to win?” I imagine everyone will give you the same answer, yes! The truth is everyone likes to win but wants to win with the least amount of hard work. It’s a common knock on the current generation. You will hear “nowadays people just want handouts. They don’t want to work for their success.” In some cases that may be true. Everyone wants to get rich quick or get promoted immediately. This mentality is flawed because even though you say you like to win, you are not really playing to win, you are playing not to lose. Brady elaborates on this type of mindset by saying “I think that at the start of a game, you’re always playing to win, and then maybe if you’re ahead late in the game, you start playing not to lose. The true competitors, though, are the ones who always play to win.”