Mark Schlereth

It was a big change for me not to go into the weight room and train like a football player - I'd been programmed my whole life to go in and make myself stronger so that I could push people around.

Around the holidays, reach out to people you don't get to see to let them know you're thinking about them.

For me, I spend an hour sitting down, sending off e-mails and text messages to everyone in my contacts list - guys I played with, guys I work with, friends, relatives, and neighbors. I just fire off something quick that says I love you, I'm thinking about you, and if you need anything, you call me.

I'm just not that way. I have always been an affectionate, warm guy, and I've never been embarrassed to tell someone I love them. Those are three words we were all created to hear, and that we need to hear.

I played a sport for most of my adult life that required me to work on two of the biggest holidays in America, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Anyone can rise from obscurity and make a few breakout plays when no one's expecting them to. But when a guy you've got your eye on jumps out and shows you what he's made of, that he's ready to compete at the highest level at the most crucial time - that guy's the real deal.

During the playoffs, some players have more second-guessing and outright doubt to deal with than others.

Just about every Super Bowl team takes the first 3 days after the conference championship to get their players' ducks in a row: They purchase tickets, set family up with hotels, and take care of other loose ends. After that, it's work time.

When the kids come home, we get back into the same routines: Sitting around the table, flipping grief to each other and laughing about it.

I'm most at peace in my home when there's chaos, and that means that my kids had their friends over a lot growing up.

Since I finished my football career, I've had the opportunity to do a lot of public speaking engagements.

You're training to be fit, not to make a squad, and introducing new exercises and routines that are tailored towards your goals will help you win the game you're playing now: life.

Instead of doing cardio before I lift, as I usually do, I might do it first, doing 35 to 45 minutes of lifting before I get on the elliptical. Suddenly, it feels fresh and new and different, and that can be enough to give me a new outlook and improved mindset.

In my playing days, I had to gorge myself - painfully - just to maintain my playing weight.

I'm not the biggest fan of New Year's resolutions, but I'm a huge backer for real life change - that's why January gets me so geeked up.

Anyone can go all out when they can grab some glory, but the best give maximum effort at every opportunity in everything they do.

Football is a game of zone blitzes, West Coast offenses and check-offs, sure, but it's really a game of field position: Even without a touchdown, a solid return game can quietly be the difference between an offense that's pinned against its own goal line and one that's in the driver's seat to score.

Special teams get the shaft when most people talk football. Unless a kicker's bombing a game-winner or a return man is going the distance, that important third of the game is all but forgotten.

Proving naysayers wrong is a powerful tool, and it can keep the fire burning for preparation that will keep you in the game of your choice for a long time.

Everyone knows that Tom Brady wasn't chosen until the sixth round of the NFL draft, after teams passed over him again and again.

There's a lot of power in handwriting a note, and business travelers have a ton of time to do that when they're sitting in airports or on flights.

When I was a player, I would always go out of my way to make my older daughter's lunches before I left in the morning.

I'm a pretty accommodating person, and I want to be the best I can at my job. So if someone asked me to do an interview or something that didn't fit into my schedule, I'd basically say yes to everybody.

If you want a piece of my time, the work I've put in has earned me the right to get paid for the work I'm being asked to do.

When I played, the offensive line was at the stadium 4 hours before kickoff. Most of the other guys got there about 3 hours before.

Even when I'm on the road, I know where I'm going to work out and which exercises I'll be doing.

You know it and I know it - if we tell ourselves we're going to get to our workout in later, it won't get done. If you don't plan for it, it's probably not going to get done.

If you can get to a gym before you have to get to work, chances are you're going to succeed in your fitness plan. You've banked that muscle before most people are even awake.

Treat exercise like a savings plan. Take that workout time off the top of your day. Ideally, you work out before your business day has even started. If you're able to get into that routine, you're golden.

But size isn't everything - effort and intensity is, especially in the fourth quarter.

I've always admired guys who can go hard from the opening series, right through crunch time. It tells me they probably work hard all year long, building strength and endurance.

I know I have a gigantic sweet tooth. I love candy, I love ice cream, I love anything sweet.

Taking time off if you're not banged up can be trouble. It can lead to bad habits - in your workouts and in your diet.

Baseball is an everyday sport if you want to stay sharp.

In any business, a manager wants to surround himself with guys he knows he can trust. Guys who share his work ethic and philosophy. Guys he can count on to execute his plan.

Preparation occurs in the week before the game, and continues during the game as you notice trends and talk to the coaches when you're on the sidelines. And it continues right up to the snap, putting yourself in a position to make plays.

Was I afraid before every game I played? Did I throw up before kickoff? You bet. But I didn't let that fear cripple me and keep me in the locker room.

To win a championship, you need an unselfish mindset.

One reason I've had success is that I try to think of everyone around me as more important than myself - teammates, coaches, equipment guys, everybody.

I think you'll be surprised at how much more production you can get out of employees if you respect them, befriend them, let them know they're crucial to the company - and then show by example how important it is to put their nose to the grindstone.

Everybody is blessed with different talents. You have to recognize those talents and treat those people right so they can come through when called upon.

A successful team, in sports or business, extends from the top of management down to the guys at the bottom of the roster or organizational chart.

When a team starts to win, the confidence filters down through the roster. Everyone gets pumped up about the success. Everyone works harder. Everyone wants to be part of the glory.

I love to see a guy who keeps plugging away make the most of his chance. You look at any successful team, and there's always a player or two who seems to come out of nowhere to help lift that team to new heights.

Like any offensive lineman worth his shoulder pads, I'm a mudder. Football's just not football without a healthy dose of slipping, sliding, snow, or rain.

Try to walk into the gym with the mindset that you're going to do a different thing every day. Whether that means a new exercise, a new order for your routine, a new pace, or more resistance, your body will help you get out of that rut.

Football players are constantly talking about their workouts, trading secrets, helping each other become the best players they can be. Now that I'm retired, it's no different.

Your mind wants to keep you in that rut, doing the same weight, same reps, and same exercises, never moving forward. But your body doesn't want to be stagnant.

For anyone who wants to tell me time of possession doesn't matter, you're a moron. It matters.

Sometimes it feels like I spend half my time in planes or airports.