WHY Peyton Manning's Mindset Won the Game | 25 MINUTES

Remind your critics that an amateur built the ark, experts built the Titanic. I always loved the game. My dad loved to play. He just taught me to play the game for the love of the game, and that's really what I do. There were other players who were more talented, but there was no one who could out-prepare me. I mean, we all speak regular Gaelic, but Peyton's kind of into his own thing, you know. He's a former American football quarterback who played 18 seasons in the NFL. He's considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He's the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different different franchises. He's Peyton Manning, and here's my take on his top 10 rules for success. Rule number 1 is my personal favorite. I make sure to stick around all the way to the end for some special bonus clips. And as always, if Peyton says something that's really, really meaningful to you, please leave it in the comments below and put quotes around it as he's talking so that other people can be inspired as well. So don't let expertise silence you. Work to find new solutions to old problems. Think outside of the parameters that restrict other people's thoughts. Just because you're a novice on the job, just because you haven't faced the same challenges, just because you haven't climbed the same cliffs doesn't mean that you can't contribute to solutions in very significant ways. When you're chided for your naivete, and you will be, remind your critics that an amateur built the ark, experts built the Titanic. I think the fact that that injury occurred to me has just given me more of an appreciation for this journey that I'm on, and I have had fun this entire playoff run. I have tried to soak it up. I haven't just been so laser-focused and where I haven't enjoyed We've had 2 good post-playoff win celebrations. Gave it a good run after San Diego and a really good run after New England. And so I think that's some advice that some players in their older years gave to me, and I've really tried to follow that. And I plan to enjoy this week as well. We had a great week of preparation last week. That's important this week. But I do think it's important to soak it up and, as they say, enjoy the journey. Journey, not just the destination. I learned a valuable lesson when I was a freshman at Tennessee that I applied to my first year on the job in the NFL. It was the first time I ran into the huddle as a quarterback at Tennessee. We were playing up at UCLA in the Rose Bowl, 95,000 people in the stands, ABC broadcasting the game on national television, Keith Jackson and Bob Griese. Tennessee was ranked 9th in the country UCLA was unranked, expected to be a blowout. I was third team on the depth chart, not expecting to play the entire game, much less the entire season. On the 7th play of the game, our starting quarterback tears his knee, he's out for the year. Our backup quarterback was a guy named Todd Helton who went on to have an 18-year Major League Baseball career. Let's just say Todd was kind of thinking about that baseball signing bonus he was about to get. He wasn't real crazy about going into the game. So we're getting beat 21 to nothing. My coach turns to me and says, Peyton, you're going in. And boy, I didn't think I was nervous. I looked down and all the hair on my arms was just sticking straight up. So I'm jogging into that huddle, and I remember something that my dad had told me. He said, son, if you ever get into the huddle with the starters at any point in the season, it may be in the fourth quarter of a blowout, it may be just in practice, it doesn't matter. You be the leader and you take control of that huddle. That's your job as the quarterback. You're just 18 years old, most of these seniors are 21, 22, it doesn't matter. Be the leader and take control of that huddle. So I remembered old Dad's advice and I get into that huddle and I said, "All right guys, I know I'm just a freshman but I could take us down the field right now, get us a touchdown, get us back in this game. Let's go." Big left tackle, guy named Jason Lehman, about 6'5", 330 pounds, grabs me by the shoulder and says, "Hey freshman, shut the blank up and call the blank and play." And I said, yes, sir. That was really great advice from my dad. I really, I really appreciate that. Well, I've always had a passion for the game, but when you are out for a year, you certainly miss certain things. Being in that huddle, flying back on the plane after a big victory, the, the weight room and after-practice throwing sessions with your receivers, they're going to make a difference and help you win a game on Sunday. You just don't, you just don't get to participate in those activities when you're not playing and you're injured. So to get back out on the field, I have more of an appreciation for the little things. Everybody enjoys playing football in the games, but I have more of an appreciation for the small details, the things that you don't— that you won't get to do after you stop playing football. So those, those moments have been even more special. In my very first NFL game, I completed my first pass to Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk. I threw a touchdown in that same game to Marvin Harrison, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this August. The quarterback for our opponent, the Miami Dolphins, was, after my dad, my favorite player, Hall of Famer Dan Marino, who on the first third down of the game completed a 25-yard skinny post, and it was the damnedest throw I'd ever seen. Later, I completed a pass to tight end Marcus Pollard down the middle, and somebody hit me really hard. And after I got up, I told myself, I know I can play in this league. Later in that struggling season, we played in and lost to Baltimore. It was the first time that the Colts had returned to Baltimore since they had moved back in 1984. We didn't exactly get a warm reception that day. Fans were screaming at me, and I kept thinking, hey, I was only 8 years old then, get off of my back. I had met him once before, but when the game was over, I had a chance to shake Johnny Unitas's hand. He told me, Peyton, you stay at it. I'm pulling for you. Well, I have stayed at it. I've stayed at it for 18 years, and I hope that old number 19 is up there with his flat top and maybe his black high tops on, and I hope he knows that I have stayed at it and And maybe he's even a little proud of me. It was a tough— because now it's all about money. It's all, let's get out and play and make the millions now because, you know, you don't know what could happen in that final year, right? That's kind of the norm now. People take the money and go pro. But just growing up around college football, I always loved the game. My dad loved to play. He just taught me to play the game for the love of the game. And that's really what I do. I like to play the game and I want to come back and play another year of college football. Well, good for you. And I told our editors, Chris Stone and Paul Fichtenbaum, a story about last year after one of the most crushing defeats of your career right here in this stadium against the Baltimore Ravens, that you waited for about 15 minutes afterwards with your wife and with your son for Ray Lewis to come out. Why'd you do that? Well, uh, Ray Lewis has been the greatest defensive player that I've ever played against, and I knew that was going to be his last game. And you just don't cross paths with those players once they stop playing. So it was definitely a disappointing, uh, night, but I thought it was the appropriate thing to do to go over and pay respect to one of the greatest defensive players of all time and the best player of my era. And, uh, took the moment, and I was glad that I did it. You know, it's— I played the Ravens this year. It wasn't the same not seeing number 52 over there. I haven't seen him since that moment and realized that I won't see him quite as often. So, uh, I guess that was an example of sportsmanship. It certainly wasn't easy, I can promise you that. But I was glad that I did it because I thought he deserved my respects. When I look back on my NFL career, I'll know without a doubt that I gave everything I had to help my teams walk away with a win. There were other players who were more talented, but there was no one who could out-prepare me. And because of that, I have no regrets. There's a scripture reading, 2 Timothy 4:7: I have fought the good fight, and I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Well, I fought a good fight. I finished my football race, and after 18 years, it's time. God bless all of you, and God bless football. Hard hits or not, I don't believe there's any way to over-prepare for your future. Have a formidable plan, have a backup plan, and have a backup to your backup plan. My preparation begins by watching game tape of our team and competitors. It helps me put the pieces of the puzzle together. Years ago, I had a system put in my house where I could analyze every game, every competitor, without having to go into the team's practice facility. So if you ask me how long do I watch game film to prepare, I couldn't tell you because I've never kept a clock. I just watch until I feel ready. I watch and I prepare. I can actually get lost in the intense focus of figuring things out that others may never even look at. If you really want to be a game changer out there, become a master observer. Just the willingness to stop and look at things that no one else has even bothered to look at enables game changers to identify real points of meaning. The simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted can be a source of great power and creativity. I'm a naturally curious person. I want to know and thoroughly understand things. We learn, we observe, we pick up on clues, we figure things out. That is what preparation is all about. You're good. Manning uses a rare form of Gaelic at the line of scrimmage. I mean, we all speak regular Gaelic, but Peyton's kind of into his own thing, you know? Takes me forever to translate it. How do you decipher any of it? Well, he's been sticking his hand up my butt for 11 years, so we're pretty close. My brother Cooper actually is the one that taught me Gaelic. He's really into it. It's got a personalized license plate. What does it say, like Mr. Gaelic or something? Why are you making fun of my brother? This Gaelic stuff's awesome, but I like to mix it up every now and then. A lot of times I just say whatever comes to mind. Bacon, bacon, bacon, hot sauce, hot sauce, chick taco, taco. I don't know what that means. Bacon, bacon, bacon. I don't know what the guy's talking about most of the time. I just run an out route. I just hope he throws it to me. Chili, chili, chili. What? Taco. Chick taco, taco. A lot of times, Kenny, we have no idea what we're doing, but the defense doesn't know that we don't know what we're doing. And that's next level. Quack, quack, quack, quack. Hot sauce, hot sauce. Tree, tree, and gorm. Bacon, chili, chili, chili. 1 dice right, ice cream alert. 654 Jose. Okay, 1-nothing. Peyton Manning and the Colts run the NFL's most sophisticated offense. Each play can be called or changed at the line. That forces the Colts linemen to wait and wait until Peyton finally makes up his mind. I wonder if they ever think, just snap the damn ball. 96 double! Check! Oh, what a flare! What a flare! His goal is not to get the perfect play, it's to get out of a bad play. And more times than not, they do that. Peyton drops, looks, fires, touchdown Reggie Wayne! It's a ballet that drives people crazy. You know, as you say, just snap the damn ball. They'll do it when they're damn well pleased. Check, check! One last! One last! Fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake! One last! One last fake! It started way back, you know, kind of, I guess, around my second year with Tom Moore, we kind of sat down and just put some, some code words together and things that kind of made sense. But it has taken off from that. That's right, Short Ox, Short Ox, Short Ox, Richmond, Florida, Buffalo, 97 double, Louisville Soul Train, Louisville Soul Train, the purple, purple Buddha Raiders. It's not about trickery. Purple Buddha Raiders. But it does take constant communication because when you do change a pass play to a run, 56 is Mike, a run play to a pass play, it's not easy as just, hey, let's throw it. It's I say something and then you tell the offensive line and they have an entirely different language that really nobody else understands. It's unbelievable what these guys go through. And by the way, go ahead and block. If you don't have linemen that are smart, they can, like I said, comprehend an audible with 5 seconds, make their calls, call east, west, slug, dumbo, you name it. These words that, you know, where do these words come from? What other business requires using words like lunch, blatant, thick, pickle, shaky, demolish, hype, Mike, okay, shut up, Jake. Go get Bonanza! Bonanza? I mean, that really doesn't mean anything, but could be a call that we use. I don't know. Could be. Maybe not. Not sure. Hold Brett and let him slug it. You're the anchor to the slide. It's not so much the coach that needs to know what we're talking about, it's the players that need to talk to one another. So we leave a lot of their code words and calls and that sort of thing up to them. That means that you may have to duel a scat right. 255. Scoop it. Hold on, before you go there, we had to call bogus on Howard Mudd saying he's not involved. I said don't talk, let me talk. I'm glad somebody spoke up. That man is involved in every part of every call we will ever make. 51 made the play, you know why? Because— oh wait, 93 made the play. 51 made the play. Look at the 7, what happened? I was right there. They need to be smart and they need to be tough-minded. Tough-minded in that, you know, they may only get a piece of the information or they didn't get any of the information. I remember in Kansas City in the playoff game, the left guard and I, neither of us knew the play and we couldn't hear. We just kind of ran out. Everything turned out great. Gives Edgerton off the left side, cuts it up the middle and gets to the end zone. Touchdown! The way we talk about it is you have to hear. That is not an option. I didn't hear you. If somebody doesn't hear, I really feel responsible. And so that's why I always kind of go back for a second time, go down the line just to make sure everybody knows what to do. Because, you know, one guy done here, that guy misses the block and you have a bad play. What a green light. You want a green light? Let's go. Green light. Green light. You can read through it in your playbook as much as you want, but you're not going to understand it until you're out there on the field actually hearing it come out of the quarterback's mouth. Check, check. Flood left. Flood left. 50 spike. 50 spike. There are times when he calls a real play and then changes it. Japan, Japan, Japan, Japan, Japan. There are times when he calls a phony play to extract a reaction before we call a real play. Jake Mock, Mock Buffalo, Mock Buffalo, 14. Then we have the fake play, real play, and then change the real play. Sally, 19, 19, Sally, 19, 19, Sally. I like that he's changing the play because when he changes the play, the defense sees us, you know, looking at him or looking at Jeff or whoever, and they're just as confused. I mean, they don't know when the ball is going to be snapped, so a lot of times they kind of relax a little bit and wait for us to get, you know, done communicating. You get a lot of guessing. I mean, they're trying to guess what play we're running. Listening to our calls. Oh, when they do this, this is what they do. And whenever he hike his leg, he's giving the finger first. Yeah, he's giving them how many times he gonna do it. Yeah, when his leg go down, that ball is coming. If I were a defender, listening to our calls wouldn't be one of the big things for me because he's just one of those guys that he'll fake it or he does his, his little gymnastics back there. And, you know, defenses bite, so a little whole listen to the words hasn't worked yet. Take flood left, flood left, 50's Mike, flood left. Really, we don't get to see a lot of them because he's orchestrating behind us. Behind the Buffalo, behind the Buffalo. But we hear from other people, like family and friends, are like, you know, what is that? Apple, apple, inside, 54, 54, 54, 54. I think about quarterbacks and their defining legacy. You think about Dan Marino, it's just the quick release. And Elway, it's the sprint right, throw back across left. Back to throw, Montana. Montana, just the classic throwing motion in the 2-minute drives. For me, I think it's going to be, you know, this, you know, you know, pick my nose, ear, you know, this, all these different things that I do. I don't know if I'll I want that to be my legacy, but that is what we have to do. And you're constantly having to do something, either tell the center something, tell the tight ends, tell the receiver, tell the back. It's what is required of the quarterback to get things communicated. It's an amazing compilation of people and schemes, and it works. People say just snap the damn ball, but again, if you look at the track record since Peyton's been here, it's been a great orchestration that's worked because the Colts can be more reactive at the line than other teams. Peyton may be changing the play. They take fewer risks and score more touchdowns. And perhaps that will be the legacy of Peyton Manning and his offensive line. Boy, the Colts' line looked tremendous. Protection was excellent. Good job, man. Nice job. Way to play. Thank you guys so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed. I made this video because Arturo Medja asked me to. So if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave it down in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know what did you learn from Payton today? What was your favorite clip? What message was most meaningful to you? What are you going to apply to your business? Leave it in the comments below and I'm going to join in the discussion. Finally, I want to give a quick shout out to Ben Stuck. Ben, thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book. It really, really, really means a lot to me. So thank you guys again for watching. I believe in you. I hope you continue to believe in yourselves and whatever your one word is. Much love. I'll see you soon. I thought it was very interesting when I saw you here at training camp this summer. One of the things I said to you, I asked you a question, what do you think you'll be doing in 15 years? And you wouldn't answer the question. And I thought it was so interesting. Why wouldn't you answer that question? Well, I think maybe had you asked me 2 years ago, I might have had more of an idea. But like I said, these past 2 years have truly changed my life. And so I'm really in a new place and kind of in the second chapter of my football career, and I'm taking that chapter one page at a time. And so it feels so good to be back out onto the field playing this great game. And I realize after that injury— I think I always have realized this, but it was sort reinforce that next year certainly is not promised. And so I am all in for 2013, and I'm certainly enjoying this year. Crawfish shorts, I like your style. Hooked it just a little bit. Don't open that cellar door. Epic comeback starts right here. Lucky shot. He wore the number 18, but he is the number 1 in all-time passing yards, the number 1 in all-time passing touchdowns, and the number 1 in— The smoke machine is really cool. Yeah, it's, uh, Pretty great. Can I get some more smoke? Perfect. Shall we say grace? Heavenly Father, she had the perfect family, an adoring husband. Why are you smiling? I don't know, I'm just happy and an ideal life. But she also had a dark secret. She liked to collect— hey— football players. Do you have any place to stay tonight? Yes, I have a place to stay. Don't you dare lie to me. Lady, I'm not lying. I'm Peyton Manning. I have a couple of homes. Come on. Fine, but only because you're freaking me out. And now this quarterback— oh, and Sean says all the pro athletes use futons if they can't find a bed big enough, but I got you something nicer— he's in a game of life and death. I've never had one before. What, a room to yourself? No, a crazy lady holding me against my will. Starring Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock. Mike, Eli, this is serious. And 4-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning. It's a crazy lady is holding me prisoner in her house. Big Mike, she keeps calling me Big Mike. Stop laughing, it's not funny. Was she crazy about football or just crazy? It's another thing. We need to find out more about his past. He won't talk about it. He's like an onion, you have to peel him back a layer at a time. Not if you use a knife. She wouldn't let anyone get in her way. Michael needs a B. What does he have to do to deserve that? First of all, His name's not Michael. He's very clearly NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. That would be him. And second of all, I can't give him a B because of how badly he's doing in class. Let me read you his essay about A Tale of Two Cities. Help! Please help me! Call the police! I'm Peyton Manning and I've been kidnapped by the lady from Speed. That's it. We're sunk. We're sunk? No, you're sunk. Because you see, I have contacted the authorities and they are— Oh my God, you poisoned my coffee? See the film Archie Manning called terrifying. Tony Dungy says it's spine-tingling, and Bill Belichick raves it's hilarious. We want to know if you would like to become part of this family. Let me ask you kids something. Should I kidnap you as well? And if I say no, something terrible is going to happen to me. So I guess my best bet is just to pretend I'm a teenager, even though I'm 34. All right, I'm in. Let's do it. You okay, kid? Everything okay in there? The Dark Side. How's he doing? Haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. That's cuz I'm playing offensive line. I'm a quarterback. Sorry, Mama. In theaters never. Hey, you're paying Manny. Her name's Michael. Michael. The Dark Side.