ON GOING TO ‘WAR’: “In any war, you put your back to mine, I put my back to yours, and let’s do what we gotta do.”
WHAT IS YOUR LEGACY? “We get one opportunity in life, one chance at life to do whatever you’re going to do, and lay your foundation and make whatever mark you’re going to make. Whatever legacy you’re going to leave; leave your legacy!”
SACRIFICING FOR TEAM: “With the mindset that I give everything I’ve got for the man that’s next to me, not me, cause I know what I got while I’m by myself, but when I step on the field, when I step on the turf, what am I willing to sacrifice?”
THE WHOLE IS GREATER: You take five fingers. Individually, I can pin any one of them, but if I pin them together (makes a fist), it’s damn near impossible to turn this around.
EFFORT: “If tomorrow wasn’t promised, what would you give for today?”
SECOND CHANCES: “Let them see something they’ve never seen before, and when something goes wrong, smile, cause there’s always a next play.”
TO BE GREAT: “Greatness is a lot of small things done well, stacked up on each other.”
GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME: “I just came out of the gym from three hours this morning. I got five hours of sleep. That’s it. Every day of my life, I’m trying to find a different way to get better.”
DETERMINATION: “I ride my bicycle all the time. There’s one thing about my bicycle. I’m riding, I’m riding, I’m riding. And no matter how tired I start to get, it’s never about this pedal I’m pedaling, it’s about the next pedal, and if you can get to that next one, your bike will keep moving.”
THROUGH THICK AND THIN: “I’m willing to serve. Before I lead any other man into anything I’m willing to take the hard falls myself but also come back and share the pains that came from it. “
LIVING IN THE MOMENT: “The greatest opportunity in the world is found here today…We already know what yesterday has got for us. It’s already gone. Tomorrow, too far away. What about right now!”
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT RAY
LEADERSHIP: “Leadership isn’t given — it’s earned. Ray Lewis absolutely earned leadership, in a way that caused the coaches, staff members, teammates and everyone around him to say, ‘Oh my God.’ Ray Lewis would tell you to whip a bear with a switch, or that you could go fight Mike Tyson in his prime, and you’d believe it, because he worked harder than anyone, and more passionately.” ~ Former teammate Lorenzo Neal
PASSION & COMPASSION: “The biggest thing that goes unsaid about Ray is how much he invests in the relationships with his teammates. You see the antics. You see the enthusiasm, the passion on the field, but off the field he’s the first guy to go sit at a locker with someone that’s struggling with something, whether it’s football related or not football related. He has that personal touch. You trust everything about him and he makes everybody better.” Ravens Super Bowl Winning QB Trent Dilfer
A GLADIATOR: “Football is different than other sports. It’s a lifestyle game. But dude, that guy? It was everything. It was like, ‘There’s nothing else on this planet except this arena.’ It’s almost like Ray was born inside ‘Gladiator.’ And I know he loved that movie.” ~ Former Ravens T Tony Pashos
RELENTLESS: “I don’t understand it. It’s the most bizarre things I’ve ever seen. He can sprint to one sideline, make a tackle, go back to the huddle and sprint all the way to the other sideline on the next play. I never saw him get tired. He’s like a dog playing ‘fetch.’ He can play all day. There are 1,000 guys that are big, strong and fast. Some of them can’t even play in the league. But none of them can run sideline-to-sideline at full speed for 70-something plays.” ~ Former teammate Trevor Pryce
GETTING YOUR MONEY’S WORTH: More Pashos: “Here’s what happens with being such a badass: People start judging you against you. Well, great — he’s not what he once was. But you know what happens when Ray Lewis is in the locker room, and on the field? Guess what, you just maximized your entire salary cap, because everyone around him is playing at the highest level he can play.”
LAYERS: (More Dilfer) “There’s an intensity to him. That intensity is authentic. It’s genuine and it’s always directed at making the football organization better. … When I say he’s the best, really in my experience in the National Football League, I’ve never seen a person better than him at those three layers: preparation, leadership and play.”
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