It’s no secret Nick Foles’ NFL career has been a rocky one. The 29-year-old quarterback has endured his fair share of setbacks over the years, so much so that he almost retired from the league following the 2015 season. But despite the obstacles and disappointments, Foles didn’t give up. The backup QB persevered, worked hard, and was able to lead the Eagles to a 41-33 victory over the Patriots on Super Bowl Sunday. He is now an unlikely Philadelphia hero, but he hasn’t let any of the newfound glory get to his head.
While accepting the Super Bowl MVP trophy on Monday, Foles took the time to bless fans with some much-appreciated wisdom on failure. And what’s great about his statement is that it wasn’t strictly applicable to athletes, sports, or general competition; it was a universal message about resilience and, above all, humility.
“I think the big thing is don't be afraid to fail. I think, you know, in our society today, Instagram, Twitter, it's a highlight reel. It's all the good things,” he told reporters at the Super Bowl headquarters. “And then when you look at it, you know, you think like, wow, when you have a rough day or your life is not good as that, [you think] you're failing. Failure is a part of life. It's a part of building character and growing. Without failure, who would you be? I wouldn't be up here if I hadn't fallen thousands of times, made mistakes. We all are human, we all have weaknesses, and I think throughout this, just being able to share that and be transparent—I know when I listen to people speak and they share their weaknesses, I'm listening.”
"So I'm not perfect," he continued. "I'm not Superman. I might be in the NFL, I might have just won a Super Bowl, but, hey, we still have daily struggles, I still have daily struggles. And that's where my faith comes in, that's where my family comes in. I think when you look at a struggle in your life, just know that's just an opportunity for your character to grow. And that's just been the message. Simple. If something's going on in your life and you're struggling, embrace it. Because you're growing.”
We can see why he has aspirations to be a pastor one day. The man has a way with words and definitely knows how to inspire.
You can check out some of Twitter’s reactions to his message on failure below.
