I played for 3 years in the NFL and I was 25 when I retired from playing. Fortunately I worked for a boss, Chuck Noll, who taught me a couple of things. Number 1: He taught me that playing football was not really a real job and it wasn’t life. Number 2: When you do look for your real job, never make a decision based on money, but make the decision based on your passion, what you feel and your desire to do something. That was really good advice for me.
When I started out, I interviewed several places. I worked some jobs as an intern for some great companies, but I never found a job that I had that passion for. I worked for General Mills, Heinz, and Mellon Bank. I enjoyed those positions, but they weren’t jobs that I was excited about going to each day. Coach Noll came back to me and asked if I wanted to work for him as an assistant coach, and the first day I went in, I couldn’t wait to get back to work the next day. That taught me something. That taught me that coaching was where I needed to be and what I needed to do. And I’ve been a coach for 28 years since then. And for those 28 years it was great. I enjoyed it every day. I was fired up about going to work. I thought it matched the talent that God had given me and I had a passion to do it.
My advice for young people or anybody searching for a career is this: Follow God’s passion that He’s placed in your heart. Don’t worry about money, or the prestige of the position. Do what you enjoy, and you’re going to have a great job.
