Quotes by Ricky Williams

“I realized a while back that I have an innate ability to be compassionate, and I saw that the strength of compassion is something that healers have and healers use.”

“I definitely have come out of my shell a lot more. When you question who you are, you cant be proud of who you are. Now that Im trying to peel off those layers and really understand who I am, I dont have anything to be shy about.”

“I loved playing football, but the reasons I loved football were just to feed my ego. And any time you feed your ego, its a one-way street. There were so many things I had to deal with that erased the positives I got from playing the game that it wasnt worth it. Its like eating a Big Mac and drinking a Diet Coke.”

“Ive had a lot of clouds in my life since I got into pro football -- too many -- but now I feel like I can see really clearly for the first time. And I can see the Super Bowl from here.”

“Im a beast in the second half. . . .”

“The biggest plus for me is Im coming into a situation where they already have a good team. Theyre just adding a good player. Im going to be surrounded with talent. Im not going to feel like its my job to win games. I just have to do my part.”

“This is the ultimate team game, but I make everyone else on my team better by making myself better.”

“The biggest thing is Im going to a place where were going to win right away, and Im going to be a part of that. Thats all you can really ask for.”

“The problem wasnt with the city, the sport, my teammates or my coach, even though I blamed all of them at one time or another. The problem was with me. But I didnt realize it back then because I hadnt been told that there was a clinical reason -- social anxiety disorder -- for everything odd I was feeling, everything from the depression to the shyness. I didnt understand that some of the things that were holding me back were chemical.”

I think sometimes when it comes to sports, and especially relationships between players and coaches, that people lose track, lose a sense of reality.

I realized a while back that I have an innate ability to be compassionate, and I saw that the strength of compassion is something that healers have and healers use.

I want to thank all my fans, teammates, coaches and supporters for the strength theyve given me to overcome so much.

I started practicing yoga. I started learning some hands-on healing stuff. And I found really good chiropractors, really good massage therapists, and what I found is Ive been able to actually peel off layers of trauma on my body and actually move better now than I did.

To talk about balance, its easier to talk about whats out of balance. And I think anytime that you have any disease, and disease meaning lack of ease, lack of flow... dis-ease. So any time theres disease, youre out of balance, whether its jealousy, anger, greed, anxiety, fear.

When you make that crossover from life to real life, when youre not treated as a child anymore but as a man, and you are no longer given the benefit of the doubt, it takes some courage to face that.

I stepped away to find out more about myself, which I was having difficulty doing as a football player. I got a chance to travel the world. I studied Eastern philosophy, and Ive grown as a person so much.

Theres more to life than success, and if you can try to be more well-rounded, youll be able to enjoy your success more. It wont own you or control you.

I dont think people change. I think they definitely mature. But I think the essence of what I am today is the same as when I was five years old. Its just maturity. Ive become a healthier, fuller expression of that essence.