WESTERN PETROLEUM MARKETERS ASSOCIATION CONVENTION
MIRAGE HOTEL, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, FEBRUARY 23, 2006

I was never the best athlete when I grew up. So the fact that I am in the Hall of Fame — there's a huge gap.

You must be prepared to be a winner. You must be prepared to take advantage of opportunities presented to you in a competitive environment.

Not being that good, I was frustrated. I practiced. I kept working at it. Suddenly, the coach needed a wide receiver and I had another chance to play.

The attitude of preparing yourself and taking advantage of opportunity was there for me. So when the coach was looking for someone, I had done the work so I could be in position to be chosen. It was an opportunity I didn't see coming but I was prepared, anyway.

How do you win? I believe it comes down to attitude. Do you want to win? How much do you want to win? Do you want to put the effort in to win? Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe in your team? Being a winner sometimes means making the person next to you better than they were before. Sometimes it means giving up some of your talent so everyone can progress.

At Pittsburgh, we had an attitude of "we can make this happen." We all had one thing in common: all of us wanted to make the other guy better and make the team a winner.

It's not always about how much talent you have. Sometimes it's coming up with an idea that works for the team.

It's not about the play. It's about the preparation and attitude to make the play happen. It's about being flexible enough to be creative and improvise and understand what it takes to execute.

We all have to change if we want to win — or stay the same.

Every play you execute is about winning or getting better.

Give yourself small steps along the way to get adjusted to winning. Give yourself small goals to achieve so you can move forward.

You can't have success in the biggest goals unless you have a game plan that lets you win along the way.

[Key to success]: Standing on the laurels of what we achieve but taking advantage of opportunities to move forward for myself, my family, and my community.

I learn from mistakes. I learn from what other people do. But, at the end of the day, I have to be responsible for myself and what I do and the choices I make.