“Winning” is Gary Brackett’s story about how he became a Super Bowl champion, the captain of the Indianapolis Colts, the captain at Rutgers and the Glassboro Bulldogs (his high school football team in New Jersey). It’s also the story about the people who helped him along the way. It is a great read and will leave you highly motivated! Brackett’s family instilled in him a positive mindset and a strong work ethic. His mother, who taught him about faith and the power of prayer, would say, “Attitude is altitude.” Brackett believes your perspective on life determines the amount of success you have in it.
His father required the ability to overcome difficulties. He required effort rather than excuses. He would say, “A smooth mountain is hard to climb.” One of my favorite quotes is, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Brackett’s life has not been easy. He has faced challenges,worked hard and lost many people close to him.
His coaches encouraged him with goal setting. His coach at Rutgers told him, “Whether you think you can or can’t, either way you’re right. Whatever you spend most of your time thinking about, that’s what you are going to spend most of your time portraying.” Brackett says,“We must never limit ourselves to the lower bar right in front of us. We must reach higher than we think possible, to that level that seems out of our reach. We can only rise to the level of our expectations. Too often kids don’t know or care what they want to do with their lives. Kids who have no plans will get nothing.”
