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. – Ricky Williams
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. – Ricky Williams
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. – Ricky Williams
One thing I’ve learned about life is that if you really let go, it’s just a joy ride. – Ricky Williams
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. – Ricky Williams
I want to thank all my fans, teammates, coaches and supporters for the strength they’ve given me to overcome so much. – Ricky Williams
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. – Ricky Williams
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. – Ricky Williams
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. – Ricky Williams
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. – Ricky Williams
Well, I am now convinced there is no kind of fear or anxiety anyone has to live with. – Ricky Williams
One of my biggest problems is that I’m always so influenced by what other people are thinking about me. – Ricky Williams
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. – Ricky Williams
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. – 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.’ – Ricky Williams
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. – Ricky Williams