Indiana University Athletics
Mayberry Makes a Career of Helping Others, Speaks Monday
9/10/2015 10:38:00 AM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Terry Hoeppner's words still resonate in Matt Mayberry's mind.
"Football is what you do," Hoeppner would say. "It's not who you are."
Mayberry, a former standout linebacker at IU, now travels around the country sharing stories of his time as an athlete and life after sports with current athletes and company leaders alike.
He'll address IU student-athletes Monday as part of the IU Excellence Academy Speaker Series. He plans to share stories of his own life from overcoming teenage drug addiction, his brief stint as a Chicago Bear and finding an identity outside of sports.
"I absolutely loved my time at IU," Mayberry said. "I have unforgettable memories that will last a lifetime. I made lifelong friends there…Any chance to come back and help athletes, I'll gladly take."
Mayberry played at Indiana from 2006-2009, starting the final 24 games of his career at middle linebacker. He went undrafted after his senior year, eventually being picked up by the Chicago Bears.
In his first NFL game, Mayberry suffered an injury that effectively ended his football career. He said he felt loss and depressed weeks after the injury, struggling to come to grips with life after sports.
Stedman Graham, the longtime boyfriend of Oprah Winfrey, asked Mayberry to speak at a leadership conference during his recovery. Reluctantly, the former D-student in public speaking accepted the opportunity that he said redirected his life.
"I literally walked out knowing that was my purpose and passion and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life," Mayberry said. "I wanted to help people."
Mayberry's first speaking engagement launched a career. He's one of the most read columnists for Entrepreneur Magazine and regularly speaks in front of anyone from Fortune 500 companies, professional teams and university groups.
He's currently writing his first book, The Gift of Failure, which is scheduled to be released next summer.
Failure, Mayberry said, is a necessary part of life. He tries to convey that failures will help a person discover who they are, just as his failures to become an NFL football player helped him discover his career.
"Those hard times, the adversities, the failures, the hardships—they're there to help mold us into the person, into the team that we need to be in order to get to the next level," Mayberry said. "The greats, the best ever to do it in the world…they use their hardships and failures regularly to get better and to grow."
Mayberry's message to IU athletes, among other things, will be to find an identity outside of sports while also being able to use experiences from being an athlete in everyday life.
He said players can sometimes get into a funk of letting their sport define them. He said it's important to embrace athletics as being a part of a player's life, but not as their entire life.
"Athletes have to utilize those characteristics and everything they go through during their time at IU during their next stage in life, whatever that may be," Mayberry said.
Statistically, less than one percent of the athletes Mayberry talks to will manage to turn professional. He shares that number, emphasizing the importance of having other plans in life and taking advantage of their opportunities.
Mayberry said he's excited to return to IU and give back to the university he credits for shaping his life.
He said it's rare for a day to go by where he doesn't think back on his own time in Bloomington and the lessons he learned from Hoeppner—the very same lessons he continues to share with audiences around the country today.
"I can't stress enough just how much I learned from that man," Mayberry said. "One of the things he always said to me was 'Matt, you'll be was more successful outside of football than you'll ever be in football,' and I take that to heart. Every single day I wake up with a passion to get better and prove him right."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Terry Hoeppner's words still resonate in Matt Mayberry's mind.
"Football is what you do," Hoeppner would say. "It's not who you are."
Mayberry, a former standout linebacker at IU, now travels around the country sharing stories of his time as an athlete and life after sports with current athletes and company leaders alike.
He'll address IU student-athletes Monday as part of the IU Excellence Academy Speaker Series. He plans to share stories of his own life from overcoming teenage drug addiction, his brief stint as a Chicago Bear and finding an identity outside of sports.
"I absolutely loved my time at IU," Mayberry said. "I have unforgettable memories that will last a lifetime. I made lifelong friends there…Any chance to come back and help athletes, I'll gladly take."
Mayberry played at Indiana from 2006-2009, starting the final 24 games of his career at middle linebacker. He went undrafted after his senior year, eventually being picked up by the Chicago Bears.
In his first NFL game, Mayberry suffered an injury that effectively ended his football career. He said he felt loss and depressed weeks after the injury, struggling to come to grips with life after sports.
Stedman Graham, the longtime boyfriend of Oprah Winfrey, asked Mayberry to speak at a leadership conference during his recovery. Reluctantly, the former D-student in public speaking accepted the opportunity that he said redirected his life.
"I literally walked out knowing that was my purpose and passion and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life," Mayberry said. "I wanted to help people."
Mayberry's first speaking engagement launched a career. He's one of the most read columnists for Entrepreneur Magazine and regularly speaks in front of anyone from Fortune 500 companies, professional teams and university groups.
He's currently writing his first book, The Gift of Failure, which is scheduled to be released next summer.
Failure, Mayberry said, is a necessary part of life. He tries to convey that failures will help a person discover who they are, just as his failures to become an NFL football player helped him discover his career.
"Those hard times, the adversities, the failures, the hardships—they're there to help mold us into the person, into the team that we need to be in order to get to the next level," Mayberry said. "The greats, the best ever to do it in the world…they use their hardships and failures regularly to get better and to grow."
Mayberry's message to IU athletes, among other things, will be to find an identity outside of sports while also being able to use experiences from being an athlete in everyday life.
He said players can sometimes get into a funk of letting their sport define them. He said it's important to embrace athletics as being a part of a player's life, but not as their entire life.
"Athletes have to utilize those characteristics and everything they go through during their time at IU during their next stage in life, whatever that may be," Mayberry said.
Statistically, less than one percent of the athletes Mayberry talks to will manage to turn professional. He shares that number, emphasizing the importance of having other plans in life and taking advantage of their opportunities.
Mayberry said he's excited to return to IU and give back to the university he credits for shaping his life.
He said it's rare for a day to go by where he doesn't think back on his own time in Bloomington and the lessons he learned from Hoeppner—the very same lessons he continues to share with audiences around the country today.
"I can't stress enough just how much I learned from that man," Mayberry said. "One of the things he always said to me was 'Matt, you'll be was more successful outside of football than you'll ever be in football,' and I take that to heart. Every single day I wake up with a passion to get better and prove him right."
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