Tom Brady: Leadership, Accountability, and the Mindset of a Champion

0:00Tom Brady did not start winless freshman high school football team. Yeah. Sixth round is getting to the very end. And I'm like, I don't know if I'm going to go anywhere. You know, maybe I'm going to have to not play football anymore. Maybe I have to go sell insurance like my dad. I throw it to the middle linebacker for UCLA, who goes 45 yards untouched, interception return for a touchdown on my very first college pass. I was very much a late bloomer physically, but there were some intangibles that I had. Like, that's not normal for kids. Of course, I'm going to play in college because that's what I want to do.

0:34Like, why would I not? And then it was like, okay, well, now I'm going to go play pro football. Of course, I'm going to play pro football. Like, why would I not? If you push the limits and you try to do things that are very challenging, you're going to fail. I think the competition is me versus me. It's myself today versus the version of myself yesterday and the improvement that I can make on a daily basis, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally, to live the life that I want to live. Welcome to the Sean Callaghan Blinded Podcast, where we support people in seeing what they don't see about growing their financial abundance, time freedom, magic, and impact in the world.

1:08And we have the greatest episode yet of the Sean Callaghan Blinded Podcast, maybe never be surpassed, with who Tink Nicole Maiello is going to introduce the incredible, masterful who. Imagine this. Tom Brady, drafted 199th, overlooked and underestimated. steps out onto the field, not as a chosen one, but as an underdog. His story echoing the ancient tales where greatness is forged in the shadows of doubt. He didn't just win seven Super Bowls, he shattered the very idea of limits. While Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Magic Johnson shared with their iconic coaches, Brady did the unthinkable. He left the dynasty he built With a new team, new city, and new system, he conquered again.

1:54That's not just sports. That's Odysseus leaving Ithaca and returning with new kingdoms. Brady's heroic, unique identity is not just in his arm, but in his relentless heart, his obsession with growth, and his ability to elevate everyone around him, on the field, in business, and in giving back. He is the living proof that legacy isn't about where you start, but how you transform every step back into a stepping stone, every doubt into destiny. So let's welcome to the Sean Calgian Blinded podcast, not only the greatest football player of all time, but arguably the greatest athlete and leader in sports history, the one, the only Tom Brady.

2:35Wow. Mr. Brady, thank you. Thank you. That was amazing, by the way. And I think completely accurate and appropriate. I wouldn't expect you to say that, but I do believe that. So before we started, I joked about my incredible disappointment in this remarkable place, the card vault that you're launching here in Las Vegas literally today. And again, it's such an honor and privilege to have you here. But I'm so crushed that my Jets have like one card in the entire store and no helmet here. So this is a man who's tortured me throughout my life. And the truth is that I used to root against you vehemently.

3:10And then as I matured and I began to understand mastery, I was inspired. I was led. And when you went to Tampa Bay and the transition occurred, I rooted for you so deeply in my heart and soul to do what you did. And I was blown away by what you created. 24 years old, winning your first championship, 43 the last. Thank you again, Mr. Brady. And how do you feel about being in your store and the impact you're creating and all these different ways? What's on your heart and mind today, please? Thank you so much for the introduction. And it's such a unique opportunity for me to be here and talking to you.

3:52And we all have our unique journeys that allow us to get to certain places in our life and our career and to connect with people in different ways. And I was able to do that in one way on the football field. And I think people could see that on the television screen every weekend. And my love of the game, my love of the teammates. And now when you transition to another part of your life where I'm not wearing the helmet and really engaged with one team all the time, I'm able to be out there in the community more often and hopefully making a positive difference and impact in a lot of different ways.

4:26And I do it on television in a broadcasting role. I do it with different speaking engagements. I do it through businesses like Card Vault, where we can connect with people that weren't just football fans, but are fans of sport, fans of community, fans of people that inspire you to do different things. And I'm only at this place in my life because of the people that came into my life and impacted me in a positive way. And I've learned from so many people on my journey. and I just want to give back to the people that have committed to me. And hopefully if I can continue to inspire people to reach for their goals and their dreams, well, that's a great legacy to live.

5:09Amen. And so, Mr. Brady, one of the things that we lean into... Can't call me Mr. Brady anymore. Tom, please. Thank you. Thank you. Well, I would never take somebody whose identity is that large and presume anything. So thank you. That's gracious of you. So one of the things we cover a lot on the Unblinded podcast is the concept of what we call actualization. The combination of consulting, telling people what to do, training and coaching, what Mr. Miyagi did for Daniel-san. What Herb Brooks did for, of course, the Amazing Miracle and Ice team. Mike Tyson, Customato. And of course, you have all these folks you've just noted that have had this impact on you.

5:46I do deep research. I get very prepared for the privilege of a moment like this. I know your dad was one of those people, of course, and Coach Belichick and many others. But if we would start there, what do you see now about that journey that's maybe different than what you saw as a team, college player at Michigan, coming to the NFL? No, please. I think perspective is an amazing thing to have in your life, to look at where you're at. and then when you reflect back on the different experiences of your life and the people that came into your life and how they impacted you and how you realized that you could never accomplish things in life of significance without the help of other people.

6:25And I feel like I've been so fortunate to be on great teams and I've had great teammates that push me every day to hold myself to a standard of accountability that has been very unique. And I know that accountability is so important because when you wake up every day and you have great purpose and you're around other people who have great ambition, my only motivation was how do I not let the people down that are counting on me? And when it was easy, when it translated in football, that's your coaches, your teammates, the whole organization, all your fans, your family, you have a name on the back of jersey that you represent which is your family name and you have a name on the front of your jersey which represents the town you're in the community that you're a part of and the team that you play for and there's nothing that ever changed my motivation over a period of time and in fact because i had success in my professional career at an early point in my life i realized that that was the only motivation that i ever needed it wasn't about you know a a contract it wasn't about anything material it wasn't about fame it wasn't about it was just how do I not let the other guys around me down and how can I represent my family in the best possible way and I I took that approach throughout my playing career I take that approach in my life beyond my playing career too and the things that I commit to I want to do a great job I want to commit my full self in those moments to be very present and to go out every day and try to say, okay, well, this is how I can do my best today.

8:02And, you know, I just, the people that came into my life, and I'm very fortunate to have met some of the coolest people that have the most unique upbringings and unique life. And I look at the things that have happened in their life and how they mentored me to teach me things that I never would have known had they not been in my life. And now I get to meet other people and I get to make an impact. So whether it's a podcast, whether it's a speaking engagement, a speaking appearance, whether it's something like our card vault store here that brings together so many amazing people that I've met that want to be connected to something.

8:38And this is so authentic to who I am because this is what connected me to all the kids in my neighborhood growing up was trading cards. And we would swap cards. It was a big part of our life growing up. And I realized the impact that this hobby made in my professional football career. So it's like, now I get to impact and traveled around the different cities, broadcast games in different cities, and I just see the impact that kind of we made on a much more of a far-reaching scale. Thank you for that and for all that you have done and continue to do. And I wish you all the best with Card Vault as Las Vegas opens up today.

9:16Yeah. And we're in the vault, like, hanging out. So growing up, your dad, home, what were the lessons that were there? How did that sort of merge into what happens at Michigan? And then we'll come up to Coach Belichick and service of people. And this is sort of the frame I come from very often is the moment in The Karate Kid where Daniel loses trust from Mr. Miyagi, who has nothing but the best of intentions and believes that Mr. Miyagi is using him for his own devices. I asked this question of Mike Tyson about custom auto, and I was shocked. Mike Tyson said he never lost belief and trust in custom auto.

9:59It was the first time I've ever heard any human say that and went deep on it. How was that for you growing up? I know your dad. I know Coach Belichick. What did that look like in the formative years before you win the first Super Bowl? So I was the youngest of four kids, three older sisters, all hugely impactful in my life. And as a kid, to realize the importance of family and the stability that it gave me through the ups and downs of my early athletic career, of my early childhood. Like my parents were so supportive of everything I did. I was just like the normal American kid that just loved sports and wanted to play.

10:40And then I had this mom and dad that it was like an unrelenting confidence that they had in myself, even when I didn't have it. And I was kind of a late bloomer to football. I didn't really start playing until high school. I played on the street with my friends. And the San Francisco 49ers was such a great team growing up that I loved the sport. But I also loved baseball. I loved soccer. I loved golf. And when I started playing football in high school, we weren't very good. But, and as I fell in love with the game through my freshman year in high school, my sophomore year. Can I turn it? Can I have one quick question on that?

11:14So how gifted or not were you uniquely genetically? Not very gifted. Not very gifted. I was very much a late bloomer physically. But there were some intangibles that I had that I think were very unique that I would like to try to take credit for my competitiveness. and for my work ethic and for my desire. But I think those, I was born with those. Like you don't take credit for your height. You know, you don't take credit for your eye color. I think there's other things in traits within you that maybe we think about willpower, determination or discipline as something that is nurtured in us, maybe to a degree.

11:51But I think there's a pretty strong baseline I had in those areas that maybe people couldn't recognize then. But I always remember when I was in fifth grade, I was going to the gym doing jump rope and pushups and sit-ups. And like, that's not normal for kids. So I was very blessed just being born in the family I was born into. And I was cultivated by a great work ethic by my parents and a commitment to family and a commitment to one another that gave me such a great foundation. So I go into my athletic career and I'm a late bloomer. So I'm not as good as the other players. I'm not as good as the kids on my own team.

12:22Not as good as the guys in the league. So you were not the best player in a high school football team? No. I mean, it took me a while to get there. My first year, I was the backup quarterback on a team that didn't win a game. Didn't even start me in a game. Barely played me. And our team never won. So I was so shitty, they didn't want to play me on a team where we couldn't win a game. I was starting at the very, very, very bottom. And this is on your freshman team? My freshman team. Wow. So my second year, I try out for junior. So Tom Brady did not start. No. I did a lot of prep work. I didn't find that.

12:52did not start on his freshman high school football team. A winless freshman high school football team. This is my favorite fact I have learned yet. It goes back to you. Crazy. So I go to my second year, and I start on the junior varsity team because the guy who was a starting freshman quarterback, my friend Kevin Kristofiak, he quit football. He's like, I'm not playing football. We stink. I'm going to play basketball. So I elevated to the starter position just by happenstance. I really got improved and got better, but we still weren't a great team my second year. But I was falling in love with the game.

13:27I had coaches that really cultivated the love of the sport in me. I had parents that were supportive that wanted to facilitate my growth by bringing me to camps in the summertime. Because I was like, hey, I really love football. My dad was like, hey, let's go up to this camp at the College of San Mateo. There was a football coach up there named Tom Martinez. God rest his soul. He passed away in about 2012. and he took a liking to me because he saw my work ethic and said, God, I can work with this kid. He can improve a lot. So I go into my junior year, much improved. I was grown into my body. We were a decent team my junior year.

14:00I think six wins, four losses. And I go into my senior year and had another similar type year, but I still wasn't as good as a lot of the other kids in the Bay Area where I grew up. Which is a hotbed of athletic talent in the country. Yeah, in the country. And it's good in baseball. I was actually a better baseball player growing up than I was a football player. Much more natural as a baseball player. But I loved football. I loved the teamwork. I loved the camaraderie. I loved just being involved in this team sport. Because football is like an orchestra. There's so many moving parts and everybody plays a role.

14:38And you can't play a role that someone else is playing because you have a very important job yourself. I'm a quarterback. I can't catch the ball. I can't block people. I can't tackle people. I just have to do my job well and I have to count on my teammates to do their job well in order for us to be successful. So because I had perspective from my first year where I didn't play, when I was playing as a fourth year player and a senior, I had so much love of the game because I love being out there competing with my teammates. Wow. And how, so how do you get to Michigan with sort of this background like what's that like what does that all look like there was a regional scouting combine atst mary's college in moraga and uh it's also in the bay or in the east bay and i drove over there because you wanted to gain some awareness by these other coaches and it wasn't the digital age at that time yeah it was just you had people had to visualize you and see you so you would go to these regional camps and you would perform in these camps and there'd be write-ups that would go in these little scouting booklets.

15:41And after that first combine that I went to, where you throw the ball and you show off some of your skills, well, these coaches start to recruit you. So I would start getting these recruiting letters from different places. And my dad and I made some cassette tapes of my highlights from my junior season. And we sent them out to colleges. We made 50 of them. And one of the tapes I sent to the University of Michigan. So they get the tape. They also see some of these write-ups that are coming from me, from these regional combines that I did. And I would say I got lightly recruited. It wasn't this heavy recruitment where every team in the country wanted me.

16:20There were teams that were interested, like Cal Berkeley offered me a scholarship. I was really considering going to Cal Berkeley. And University of Illinois offered me a scholarship. The school I really wanted to go to was USC, but they didn't want me. There was another kid by the name of John Fox, who was the top-rated quarterback on the West Coast that they wanted, and he went there. So Michigan, in the spring of 95, came— And with the competitiveness and the evolution beginning, how did you feel about that? Were you inside? Was it burning? I read a little bit about when the draft was happening and how you would feel a couple years later.

16:59Or how were you feeling in this college process and about things like John Fox and USC not being interested? How was that landing on you? And what was it causing inside? I always had maybe another blessing in my life was I had maybe a very naive confidence in myself. Like it wasn't a well-founded confidence. Like I had done enough things in my life to be really uber confident in football. We weren't that good. I was a late bloomer. I had some size. I had a good arm. But I didn't perform consistently well. I made a lot of good throws, but I made some bad ones too. But I always in some ways in my mind felt like, well, I'm going to figure it out.

17:36I'm going to keep going. Of course, I'm going to play in college because that's what I want to do. Why would I not? I want to play. There's going to be a team that wants me. So Michigan ends up offering me a scholarship, which I thought was a long shot. And I was a bit surprised. I took my visit there, really fell in love with the school. and I kind of in a way chose Michigan because it was the toughest path to success and I chose a difficult place to go that had a high level of competition because I always thought if I want to be the best I got to beat out the best and that's where Michigan is where the best quarterbacks are and it had a history of great quarterbacks like Elvis Gerbach, Todd Collins, Jim Harbaugh.

18:19This is what Michigan football was all about. And there was a great coach there named Bo Schembechler who used to preach the team, the team, the team. And that's what I wanted to be a part of. So I go to Michigan and there are six other quarterbacks on the team when I arrived on campus, which is not totally different than probably a lot of other schools. But I was the sixth or seventh my first year on the depth chart. It's a long way to go to being the starter. And they were going to suit you up, though? They're going to carry six or seven quarterbacks? They'll carry you because there's about 100 guys on the team in college.

18:58And I was a first-year player, and they redshirted me. And I had to grow into my body. Again, I was still physically behind our rails. When I committed to Michigan and I showed up on campus in late July of 1995, I was only 17 years old. So I wasn't an 18-year-old, 18-and-a-half-year-old kid. A lot of kids today, prep school is 19, 20 years old. Exactly. So my body was still catching up to the other guys. In fact, one of my freshman locker mates was Charles Woodson, who ended up winning the Heisman Trophy in 1997. I remember he took his shirt off in the locker room on the first day. And I looked over at him, and I was like, holy shit.

19:40That's what a college athlete. And I looked down at myself, and I'm like, oh, my God. He's in another level league than his own. And he certainly was. But I had a lot of catching up to do because of what he looked like and how he played. And he had this crazy confidence in himself. And it was good for me to be around a guy like that because he inspired me to work harder to be better. So my first year, I redshirted, didn't play. My second year, this is a crazy story. We're playing UCLA. We're blowing them out. And, of course, now I'm eligible to play because I already used my redshirt year. So I'm like the third or fourth quarterback on the depth chart.

20:21We're smashing UCLA. It's the end of the third quarter. We're beating them by like 40 points. They look over at me and they go, Brady, you're going in the game. Of course. I got in Michigan Stadium. Wow. 110 ,000 fans. I know this game is being televised nationally because it's UCLA Michigan. in. Strap my helmet on. It's the last play of the third quarter. I hand the ball off. Quarter ends. Come to the sideline. They say, we're going to throw a pass. I'm like, okay. They said, what do you want to throw? I said, I want to call Tripp's left Lake Hank S. Okay. Tripp's left's the formation. Lake is the protection.

21:06Hank is the route. And the S means I'm going to run a skinny post on the backside of the formation, which was like kind of a play where I want to show off my arm strength. So they come up in a coverage and they give me this opportunity to throw this backside S route. And I want to show off to the coaches that I can look off to the front side, plant my back foot, and then rip this skinny post to the backside to one of my big receivers. All right. I run on the field, get in the huddle. I call the play trips left lane. Can't guess on one ready break break the huddle come to the line of scrimmage they're playing the perfect coverage for me to throw this backside quick post ball snapped drop back I look off the front side plant my back foot look at my receiver throw the ball gets caught and run in for a touchdown except I throw it to the middle linebacker for UCLA who goes 45 yards untouched, interception return for a touchdown on my very first college pass.

22:14I thought there is no way this team is ever going to play me ever again. Wow. So I went in the, literally I was horrified. I felt so bad. The next day I go into the team meeting, our head coach Lloyd Carr, Brady, we ever put you in the game again and you do that. you're never playing in that stadium ever again. And it was a very humbling experience for me. And I had to go back and I had to earn the trust back from my coaches and back from the other teammates that I had that if they put me in, I'm going to make the right play. So it was a very inauspicious, humbling start to my college career. But I think things worked out.

22:50Yes, over time they did. So can we take you to, thank you for that unbelievable story. So what I'm hearing Tom Brady say is it doesn't all start out perfectly. The development, the acceleration, the things we confront in life with masterful people freeing us up and getting real confronts from the people around us. So thank you for that. The draft. Yeah. 199, six round. How are you feeling as that's progressing that day? Yeah. So I end up having, I would say, a very good college career. I finished my career as a starter, 20 wins and five losses at Michigan. I won two bowl games. I thought I improved a lot over the course of my college career and I dealt with a lot of adversity in college.

23:33And again, I go back to my early childhood and I had a great work ethic, very competitive, had a great foundation to deal with success and failure because of my parents. Total unconditional love and support from the people that mattered most in my life. Then I go to college a long way from home and I grew up in California. I go to the Midwest freezing cold long way from home this is before cell phones I can't just you know call my parents up with things so I had to grow up so I go through my college career I have a good career and now I'm like trying to go to this pro level and again what was another blessing I had like I said I was very naive I thought like I did in college well yeah I'm gonna go to college and I'm going to play.

24:25And then it was like, okay, well, now I'm going to go play pro football. Of course I'm going to play pro football. Like, why would I not? Didn't everybody see how good I did at Michigan? And the pro scouts didn't exactly see it the same way. The pro scouts were like, this kid's skinny, doesn't have a great arm, doesn't move very well in the pocket, goes down easily. And in fact, I had a challenging fifth year in college where I kind of platooned at quarterback with a younger player. so a lot of the pro scouts thought well if Michigan doesn't want to play Tom like why would we want him yeah Michigan wants to play another player Drew Henson and I played a lot my senior but they must they see him every day in practice he might must not be that good so I thought man I'd overcome a lot played well I should go like a second or third round pick and the pro scouts again just didn't see it that way so I go to the draft and it was again very different time than today's day and age the draft which is you know all the media attention all the hype it was just kind of a little bit under the radar it happened on a Saturday Sunday the first three rounds were on a Saturday the second rounds four through seven were on Sunday so on Saturday I go to a San Francisco Giants baseball game to take my mind off the draft because I kind of didn't think I'd be a second or third round pick I thought maybe third but I'll probably go on the second day so go to a Giants baseball game and to take my mind off it of course I don't get picked so I go home on that Sunday and I'm like all right this is my day fourth round who's gonna pick me fourth round comes and goes then the fifth round comes and goes sixth round is getting to the very end and I'm like I don't know if I'm gonna go anywhere maybe I you know maybe I'm gonna have to not play football anymore.

26:16Maybe I have to be go sell insurance like my dad. That was his job. And fortunately, the Patriots picked me 199th pick overall. And and I didn't even know where New England was when I got drafted. I was I was I grew up a Niner fan. I was in California. You know, again, I didn't know my geography, the United States, but New England is not a state. You know, when they pick you to the New England Patriots, I'm like, where is that? Not knowing that it's in Massachusetts and I figured it out pretty quickly where I was going after they picked me. We had a mini camp shortly thereafter and out of all the places I could have went, it was an absolute perfect fit.

26:57And again, that's just happenstance. You could be picked to a lot of other places, but I got to go to New England, Bill Belichick's first year, one of the greatest coaches to ever coach, the Mount Rushmore coaches. Right after being head coach of my Jets for one day. I know. One day. He resigned on a napkin that said, I no longer, you know, I'm resigning as the head coach of the New York Jets and ends up going to the Patriots. Coach Belichick had a lot to prove. He saw something in me where I had a lot to prove and it was a match made in heaven. And he took me under his wing. And in another crazy story, I was really responsible to get drafted by the New England Patriots by a coach by the name of Dick Rabine.

27:48Dick Rabine came to the University of Michigan. He was the quarterback coach for the Patriots. He worked me out, came back and reported back to the Patriots. Very good workout. He's definitely a prospect. Nobody else worked me out. Washington Redskins at the time worked me out. So New England comes and Dick Rabine's my quarterback coach. And Dick Rabine, my first year in New England, we didn't have a very good year, 5-11. We go into my second year, and in training camp, Dick Rabine is jogging on a treadmill and has a heart attack on the treadmill, passes away in that moment. And it was heartbreaking for all of us.

28:31and we really dedicated our season in 2001 to coach rabine and because he couldn't obviously you know he wasn't the quarterback coach we didn't have a quarterback coach coach belichick became the quasi quarterback coach and he would come in and instruct the quarterbacks this is how we're going to read defense this is how we're going to you know read coverages this is how you're going to understand formation shifts motions i'm going going to teach all you quarterbacks how defenses are called. And it was just such an eye-opening experience for me to have Coach Belichick come in as our quarterback coach.