Ricky Williams Quotations

There's more to life than success, and if you can try to be more well-rounded, you'll be able to enjoy your success more. It won't own you or control you.

I think if I were a college professor, no one would say I was uncomfortable about being shy because that might be expected. But I think because of people's stereotypes, they think of a football player as someone who is very outgoing and I'm not.

I allowed myself to think if I could be doing anything in the world, what would I be doing? And what came to mind is I'd be traveling a little bit, I'd be going to classes and I'd be going back to school.

I have no room in my life for any form of negativity or nonacceptance.

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 I've been able to actually peel off layers of trauma on my body and actually move better now than I did.

One thing I've learned about life is that if you really let go, it's just a joy ride.

I do feel like a loner but I think it's because I look at things differently than other people.

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

To talk about balance, it's easier to talk about what's 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 there's disease, you're out of balance, whether it's jealousy, anger, greed, anxiety, fear.

If you want to surf, move to Hawaii. If you like to shop, move to New York. If you like acting and Hollywood, move to California. But if you like college football, move to Texas.

Sometimes success will get in the way of maturity - at least temporarily.

I don't 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. It's just maturity. I've become a healthier, fuller expression of that essence.

There's nothing I miss about anything in the whole wide world. The idea of missing something means you're not living in the moment. Every moment is good for something.

I'm a huge gamer, everything from PC to Xbox to PS2.

As human beings we have a tendency when we like something to tie it up and make sure it's there for a long time. I've been working on being able to let things go. I don't think I ever want to buy property again.

The moment I started treating my social anxiety disorder, I started feeling better.

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.'

The more I pay attention to what's going on inside, the more I realize that how I feel, and how I react to what I feel, really creates my reality. And the more in touch I can be, the better chance I have to control what's happening in my life.

In therapy, I see myself in the mirror differently.

I've always been attracted to things that are taboo. I've never been afraid to go to that dark place.

People are hungry because they're eating empty foods. Mine are full, and so am I.

A team takes on the personality of the head coach.

I am an honest, God-fearing man who is intensely dedicated to being the best person I can be on and off the football field.

The NFL has been an amazing page in this chapter of my life. I pray that all successive adventures offer me the same potential for growth, success and most importantly fun.

I don't care what people think about me because I know I am more than all the pain and strife they hold inside.

I had this notion that everyone was staring at me and judging everything about me, from my appearance to the way I talk and everything.

I'm closer to being happy. I'm doing things that make me happy. In football I loved to practice and I loved to play, but I hated to be in meetings, hated to talk to the media, hated to have cameras in my face, hated to sign autographs. I hated to do all those things.

The people that I see on the street, they treat me more as a human being and not just an icon or a football player.

Growing up with two sisters, you either play by yourself or play Barbie with them. I played by myself.

I definitely have come out of my shell a lot more. When you question who you are, you can't be proud of who you are. Now that I'm trying to peel off those layers and really understand who I am, I don't have anything to be shy about.

I had a lot of friends in high school and in college, and we had a good time.

Well, I am now convinced there is no kind of fear or anxiety anyone has to live with.

When you make that crossover from life to real life, when you're 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 want to really start focusing on what I want to accomplish and what it is I want to achieve, but not micromanaging this or that and focusing on the little things.

I've let a lot of things go, and obviously football is one of them. I think the hardest thing to let go is your self-image. That's what I'm working on now.

I think it's very easy for people to stereotype athletes, good and bad.

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 I've grown as a person so much.

And I think if you look at any relationship, for the relationship to be productive and to move forward and to grow, sometimes things have to be said that one person or the other person is not going to like to hear.

There is no need to smear my name or to defame my character for the sake of news.

Texas was such a welcoming place, and with its unbelievable history and tradition, it's extra special to be a part of that.

Anytime you play a team sport, the success of the team really makes everything better. It's nice.

I think Ricky Williams had his time in the limelight. And I think it was good for what it was worth, and that was that.

I like to live in places that are kind of off in the cuts so people can't really find me even if they wanted to.

I think I have a tendency to look at things subjectively rather than objectively when I reflect on my experience.

Human beings aren't supposed to be controlled and told what to do.

If I was doing something for the money, I'd be quite miserable.

It's something that I had been pushing down my whole life. The search for meaning, I guess, the whispering of the soul.

Maybe I'm stupid or whatever, but to me if I got a concussion, if I could see straight and I could carry a football then I'm not telling anybody.

Now that I have conquered social anxiety disorder, I find pleasure in fans approaching me.

The money is what made me miserable. I want to be free of that stress.

What I would tell young players is that as you get older, the best thing you can do is try to have other interests and have opportunities.

If you identify yourself as a great football player, anytime anyone challenges that, you're going to have some kind of problem.

If you replace the word God in the Bible with the word Truth, it reads exactly right.

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

Nine in the box... that's a football term.

I don't feel like my speed or my power or my desire to play this game has diminished at all.

I don't think I'll ever be able to stay in one place for more than a year or two. It's not in my nature,

I feel no need and have no desire to give any attention to other people's opinion of me.

I've gotten to a point, where I realize that happiness doesn't come from the outside.

I've never been in trouble with the police.

It's good to do things slow in the bush. It makes you appreciate everything a lot more.

One of my biggest problems is that I'm always so influenced by what other people are thinking about me.

Well, I don't think I've necessarily ever been a passionate football player or a passionate person.

As an athlete, you figure you work your whole life to have what you have, and to be able to show the world what you have and how proud you are of it, that's always fun.

I would drive home and see people wearing my No. 34 jersey and wonder why, because I didn't feel worthy of that. And all the time I just knew people were staring at me, talking about me everywhere I went.

Playing in the National Football League, you're told, you know, where to be, when to be there, what to wear, how to be there. Being able to step away from that, I have an opportunity to look deeper into myself and look for what's real.

When I was in school, at the time he was the governor of Texas, ... Sometimes he would work out in our weight room. I had a chance to talk to him a couple of times. I was lifting, he was just riding a bike. I think he's a nice person.

When we face adversity, we don't crumble. That's what we should be excited about. Wins come when you deal with adversity well.

When he first got drafted, you heard people wonder why you'd take a No. 2 pick for a guy that didn't even start in college,

Lunch or dinner? Well, I work, so I'll say dinner, ... I have a job now.

Lunch or dinner? Well, I'm at work, so it'll have to be dinner. I have a job now.

My confidence got beat up pretty badly, and you can't lead without confidence. You almost have to be overconfident to lead, but when my body broke down, the rest of me did, too . . .

No, I don't talk to Leigh about money.

I was surprised, ... I thought there would be more boos.

I was sitting at home last night and thinking if there was anywhere in the world I'd rather be, or anything I'd rather be doing (than playing football),

I guess I haven't earned his respect yet, ... He feels like I have to earn it. That's something I can understand. I'm definitely looking forward to him calling me that.

But that has nothing to do with... well, I guess it does. That is the reason that I did come back.

I have neighbors, I have friends, and now I have to pick up and go. It's the off-season. I don't have to be here right now but I choose to. It's going to be hard to have to transplant somewhere else.

I did make my decision. But my concept of the truth expands on a daily basis. My loyalty is to the truth and not to consistency.

I can't say it didn't play into my decision,

I found a reason to apologize. We are all different ... If someone sees things differently than I do, I still have to respect them, therefore, if I hurt someone or if they felt what I did upset them, then out of respect for them, I owe them an apology.

Get out of yourself, get into the team.

I don't think we've had a long drive since I've been back, ... That makes it hard to get into any kind of rhythm.

We talked before the game and I wished him good luck, ... It was good to see him out there.

We talk about life, we talk about our philosophies. He always sends me books. It's a different kind of relationship.

He's got size, quickness, great feet. He's smart. He's strong. I mean, looking at him, I definitely see why they used the No. 2 pick on him.

He seems like a very open person. He was open to me. A lot of people would think that it would be hard to trust me in a situation, and he's been very trusting of me. So that definitely had a lot to do with me coming back.

He's going to be really good, ... He's big, he's fast, he's strong, and I think his best attribute is his mind is really sharp.

I talk to Ronnie two or three times a week,

I think it was good enough to help us win. We need to keep it in that frame of mind. I was able to get the ball a little more. The biggest thing for the running game is rhythm. When you convert third downs, you can sustain rhythm.

It gives the defense a problem covering both of us, ... I like it.

I was expecting to hear more boos. I was pleasantly surprised.

It felt great just to come out here and get a few more touches, being in pass situations, reading the defense and just feeling the tempo of the game. It felt real good. I am definitely comfortable with the offense. I feel like I'm coming along well. I'm looking forward to next week (against Houston).

It doesn't seem like I was gone, not even a week,

I tell people I was a caterpillar locked in a cocoon when I was in New Orleans, but now I feel like I finally have my wings.

went through 20 pounds on a vegetarian diet?

I was away for a year and I seem to be feeling all right, ... I think I should be all right.

might look complicated to others, but it's not complicated to me. Maybe it looks that way from the outside, but it isn't.

Yeah, we made a bet. I lost the bet. I lost the bet.

The problem wasn't 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 didn't realize it back then because I hadn't 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 didn't understand that some of the things that were holding me back were chemical.