“Everything they learned for the most part comes from you—how they treat people, how they look at the world, how they process things. I love being that example for them.\”—Michael Strahan
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Football players are tough.
Picture him on the field in aggressive play,
![\"\"](\"http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/blogs/fifthdown/posts/03strahan.533.jpg\")
(source: The New York Times)
and still in uniform with that tough look on his face!
![\"\"](\"http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/Sports/Getty_Images/201209271501540655934-p2.jpg\")
(source: Yahoo Sports)
They are also smart.
![\"\"](\"http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/02/03/fashion/03STRAHAN_SPAN/03STRAHAN-articleLarge.jpg\")
(source: The New York Times)
Toughness and smarts, along with an overweighted amount of being loving, make a good model. Michael Strahan has a call to leadership for all of us, on the \”field\” and off.
You are an example to your kids: how you treat a stranger at the dry-cleaners, if you jay walk, how you drive your kids to school. You are a model at work—how you treat other employees, what you wear, the joy and intellect you bring to each meeting (not the stress).
What we often forget is that you are also a model for yourself: how you treat yourself, and who you surround yourself with. This includes the state of your home: disheveled, or with flowers (sometimes it is disheveled AND with flowers, which can be okay sometimes, too!).
Being a model for our kids, for our world, and for ourselves, sends a message. Love the process of being a great leader for everyone, and you will change the world, this moment.
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Michael Strahan is a retired American football defensive end who spent his fifteen-year career with the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). During his tenure with the Giants, Strahan set a record for the most sacks in a single season in 2001 and won a Super Bowl in his final season in 2007. After retiring from the NFL, Strahan became a media personality. He is currently a football analyst on Fox NFL Sunday and also serves as co-host on the television morning talk show, Live! with Kelly and Michael, alongside Kelly Ripa. He starred in and produced the short-lived Fox sitcom Brothers and appeared as host for Pros vs. Joes alongside fellow Fox football analyst Jay Glazer. On February 1, 2014, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.