The essence of resilience is getting up after you’ve been knocked down. But what happens when your job is literally knocking people down or being knocked down? And what happens when that lasts for more than ten years?

Ryan Harris is a 10-year veteran of the NFL. Before that, he played football in high school and at the University of Notre Dame. During his football career, he endured nine surgeries, including three back surgeries and a toe replacement. That’s right, the doctors had to rebuild his toe.

In 2015, Ryan was a key member of the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos. He also played for the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers before retiring in 2016.

Ryan captured his secrets in the best-selling book, Mindset for Mastery: An NFL Champion’s Guide to Reaching Your Greatness.

In this interview, Ryan talks about his mantra “I am. I will. I can.” He describes visualizing the prize. And he explains his advice to “Pick up a shovel and dig.”