I took care of my body. Your body is your business in the NFL. Thomas Jones More Quotes by Thomas Jones More Quotes From Thomas Jones Friends may come and go, but barbecues accumulate. Thomas Jones barbecue comes-and-goes may Many do with opportunities as children do at the seashore; they fill their little hands with sand, and then let the grains fall through, one by one, till all are gone. Thomas Jones opportunity children fall The common perception is it only happens to people who aren't paying attention. Thomas Jones perception attention people I feel like there's no such thing as failure. Thomas Jones feels My inspiration is my hometown. Thomas Jones hometown inspiration The hardest thing I've had to overcome was being from my small coal-mining town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. My mother was a coal miner for nineteen years, and the expectations of making it out of my town were slim to none. Thomas Jones coal-miners virginia mother No one had ever made it big from my town until I was able to make it to the NFL and now the big screen. The journey from my town to where I am now has taught me how to be resilient and fearless, and for that I will forever be grateful. Thomas Jones nfl grateful journey My inspiration is my hometown. I feel that because I'm representing my very overlooked region of Virginia, I have to keep accomplishing my goals to show everyone there that you can truly become whatever you believe with hard work and dedication. Thomas Jones hard-work inspiration believe I'm a gym rat, I have to admit. I live in the gym, and now that I don't have to get beat up for a living, I can truly enjoy taking care of myself without worrying about breaking my leg or getting paralyzed. Thomas Jones gym-rats legs worry While I was in the NFL, I would eat five times a day. I only eat twice a day now, and I box and play basketball every day. I'm extremely happy with my body and mind... Thomas Jones nfl basketball play I feel like there's no such thing as failure. When something doesn't go the way I want it to, I learn from it, and I accomplish more than I initially expected to. Thomas Jones accomplish want way I look at failure as the fertilizer to success. Thomas Jones fertilizer looks Everybody dismissed athletes as being purely physical, but when you retire, you go from such an intense brain time - study of defense, audibles, hand signals, plays, adjustments - to a level of mental inactivity that's hard to comprehend. It's a big reason why I stay so active. Creating, evolving. Thomas Jones athlete play hands Acting has helped me detox in football. Getting lost in a character and a scene, it's awesome. Thomas Jones acting football character When I'm 75 years old, I want to say that I chased my dream. I didn't let other people's opinions dictate what I have in my book of my life. Thomas Jones dream book years When you see a black guy on TV, he's always a thug or always portrayed as someone that's in trouble. It spreads the message to everyone else that that's who we are. People often don't try to understand black men as a whole. We're creative, strong and influential. Thomas Jones thug strong men There are a lot of black men doing really well, taking care of their families, taking care of their wives, being successful, doing the right thing, promoting the right thing. There needs to be an evolution in our portrayal. We have to come together, pool our resources and tell our own stories. People won't respect us unless we make them. Thomas Jones successful men people My father played in high school. My uncles played. From age five or six, I remember watching all the games. And I remember saying to my mom and dad even then that I was going to play in the NFL, and buy them a house and a car. Thomas Jones uncles dad mom I had a great family. My father was in the Air Force, so we were always disciplined, goal oriented. Thomas Jones goal air father Football was everything to me. There was the physical aspect, sure. I did pushups and sit-ups every night, even as a kid. But I also just studied the game constantly. It was my life. Thomas Jones football night kids
