Drew Brees just entered the NFL Hall of Fame, but there was a time when his ability to even keep playing was in doubt.
In the spring of 2006, Brees was coming off shoulder surgery on his throwing arm, and he was a free agent. The Miami Dolphins passed on Brees because he only had a 25% chance of playing again. The New Orleans Saints, coming off a 3-13 season and the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, swooped in and signed Brees.
In an interview with Fox 8, Brees explained his reasoning for coming to New Orleans. “I never felt any doubt from the Saints that I wasn’t gonna come back and be able to help lead this franchise and this community. I certainly felt those doubts from the Dolphins side.”
Although the Saints understood that there was no guarantee that Brees would return to form, they were still willing to gamble on him to be their quarterback. The Saints coach, Sean Payton, explained why. “We bet strongly on the makeup and the grit.”
The Saints gave Brees something more than just a contract to play football; they gave him confidence that was lost after the injury occurred. Brees explained, “It was kind of hard for me to believe in myself, you know, coming off that injury, but it was those guys who saw something in me, believed in me, and it equipped and empowered me.”
Brees spoke with humility when discussing the opportunity that the Saints gave him. He stated, “I promise you I needed New Orleans more than New Orleans needed me.” It was this attitude of gratitude for the opportunity to play football that provided Brees with the purpose to repay the Saints for their belief in him.
Purpose is important because it can create a clear north star to point toward, which allows you to avoid distractions and to stay focused on the goal at hand. Here are three key ways that purpose can help you to achieve your goals.
Decision Making: Having purpose provides clarity when making choices because those decisions are guided by your core values and the ultimate goal.
Prioritizing: Having purpose helps you to align your daily tasks with your long-term goal and avoid the trap of doing things that stray from that.
Avoid Distractions: Having purpose helps define your “why” and ignore other exciting opportunities that can distract you from your goal.
Brees set out to help the Saints reach their goals as payback for their confidence in him when he needed it most. But Brees was not the only one in New Orleans lacking confidence. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the entire city found itself awash in despair, with many doubting if New Orleans would ever recover.
In his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Brees reflected on the city he arrived in. He said, “New Orleans has been through a lot, to the point where, in some cases, the feeling was we might have lost everything. It may never come back the same.” He added, “Storms teach us that our greatest treasures aren’t the things that we own. They’re the people we love and the way we show up for one another.”
Brees definitely showed up. He didn’t just come to New Orleans and play football. He became a part of the community. He and his wife, Brittany, donated tens of millions of dollars to the city through their Brees Dream Foundation. They rebuilt schools, community centers, and athletic fields that were damaged by the hurricane, and they also funded the expansion of health care and youth empowerment programs.
Simply put, Brees fell in love with New Orleans. In his speech, Brees exclaimed. “New Orleans, you accepted me, you embraced me, you believed in me, but more importantly, you trusted me with the soul of the city, and I would have died to protect that calling.”
The purpose that Brees found when arriving in New Orleans went far beyond winning games for himself or the organization that gave him an opportunity. It had grown into much, much more. His purpose was to help heal a city that desperately needed hope.
Having purpose to help others is a powerful force that transcends all others. This deeper level of being drives us to be the best version of ourselves. Here are some more examples of how purpose makes us better.
Grit: Having purpose for something greater than ourselves allows us to use our adversity as fuel to provide the emotional energy that is required to push through failures. It gives us grit.
Courage: Research has shown that having purpose calms the brain by taking the focus off of ourselves and onto others. This reduces stress responses in the brain’s fear centers, lowering self-doubt and procrastination. It gives us courage.
Drive: Having purpose keeps us motivated for the long haul. It transforms work from a short-term chore into a consistent, long-term mission. It gives us drive.
This grit, courage, and drive can belong to an individual or a team. Brees spoke about how he and his teammates took their commitment to playing for New Orleans. Speaking to the Saints fans at the Hall of Fame ceremony, Brees stated, “The greatest teams in sports are the ones who accept the responsibility of being true representatives of their city, country, community. I speak for all of my Saints teammates when I say that’s what we were inspired to do every day for you.”
In the magical year when the Saints returned to the Superdome, which was badly damaged during the hurricane, the team went from the dismal 3-13 record of the previous season all the way to the NFC championship game. This was followed three seasons later when Brees led the Saints to the only Super Bowl championship in the team’s history.
Signing with the Saints gave Brees purpose. To repay a team that believed in him and help rebuild a city that was still drowning in despair. It’s pretty fair to say the debt has been repaid many times over, but if you ask Brees, he will tell you he is the lucky one. He said, “I had a chance to be a part of something so special that most guys don’t get a chance to be a part of. Most people don’t get a chance to be a part of something that’s just so much bigger than them, and we’re all so much better for it.”
Amen.
