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 am an honest, God-fearing man who is intensely dedicated to being the best person I can be on and off the football field.
I have no room in my life for any form of negativity or nonacceptance.
If you want to surf, move to Hawaii. If you like to shop, move to New York. If you like acting and Hollywood, move to California. But if you like college football, move to Texas.
There's nothing I miss about anything in the whole wide world. The idea of missing something means you're not living in the moment. Every moment is good for something.
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.
If you replace the word God in the Bible with the word Truth, it reads exactly right.
I do feel like a loner but I think it's because I look at things differently than other people.
I think if I were a college professor, no one would say I was uncomfortable about being shy because that might be expected. But I think because of people's stereotypes, they think of a football player as someone who is very outgoing and I'm not.
What I would tell young players is that as you get older, the best thing you can do is try to have other interests and have opportunities.
To talk about balance, it's easier to talk about what's out of balance. And I think anytime that you have any disease, and disease meaning lack of ease, lack of flow... dis-ease. So any time there's disease, you're out of balance, whether it's jealousy, anger, greed, anxiety, fear.
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.'
Playing in the National Football League, you're told, you know, where to be, when to be there, what to wear, how to be there. Being able to step away from that, I have an opportunity to look deeper into myself and look for what's real.
I don't care what people think about me because I know I am more than all the pain and strife they hold inside.
One thing I've learned about life is that if you really let go, it's just a joy ride.
In therapy, I see myself in the mirror differently.
A team takes on the personality of the head coach.
I'm a huge gamer, everything from PC to Xbox to PS2.
Now that I have conquered social anxiety disorder, I find pleasure in fans approaching me.
Texas was such a welcoming place, and with its unbelievable history and tradition, it's extra special to be a part of that.
It's something that I had been pushing down my whole life. The search for meaning, I guess, the whispering of the soul.
I started practicing yoga. I started learning some hands-on healing stuff. And I found really good chiropractors, really good massage therapists, and what I found is I've been able to actually peel off layers of trauma on my body and actually move better now than I did.
Maybe I'm stupid or whatever, but to me if I got a concussion, if I could see straight and I could carry a football then I'm not telling anybody.
I don't believe in regret.
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.
I think it's very easy for people to stereotype athletes, good and bad.
I've always been attracted to things that are taboo. I've never been afraid to go to that dark place.
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.
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.
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.
As human beings we have a tendency when we like something to tie it up and make sure it's there for a long time. I've been working on being able to let things go. I don't think I ever want to buy property again.
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.
Nine in the box... that's a football term.
Well, I don't think I've necessarily ever been a passionate football player or a passionate person.
I think Ricky Williams had his time in the limelight. And I think it was good for what it was worth, and that was that.
Tomorrow doesn't really exist.
There is no need to smear my name or to defame my character for the sake of news.
One of my biggest problems is that I'm always so influenced by what other people are thinking about me.
If you identify yourself as a great football player, anytime anyone challenges that, you're going to have some kind of problem.
If I was doing something for the money, I'd be quite miserable.
I want to thank all my fans, teammates, coaches and supporters for the strength they've given me to overcome so much.
The moment I started treating my social anxiety disorder, I started feeling better.
I had a lot of friends in high school and in college, and we had a good time.
Well, I am now convinced there is no kind of fear or anxiety anyone has to live with.
The money is what made me miserable. I want to be free of that stress.
I've gotten to a point, where I realize that happiness doesn't come from the outside.
Sometimes success will get in the way of maturity - at least temporarily.
I don't feel like my speed or my power or my desire to play this game has diminished at all.
The people that I see on the street, they treat me more as a human being and not just an icon or a football player.
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.
