28 GUIDEPOSTS (^) | August 2019
He’s the most popular
motivational speaker of his
generation. But his success
began in failure
Your Greatest
BY TRENT SHELTON, Fort Worth, Texasi sat on the bed in my old room in
my parents’ house in Fort Worth, look-
ing at the pictures on the walls, the
trophies lining the shelves. Football. It
had always been about football. In high
school, in college at Baylor, where I’d
been a star wide receiver, dreaming of
making it big in the NFL. Now those
plaques and trophies seemed to taunt
me: “You’re a failure. You’re a loser.”
I didn’t get picked in the NFL draft.
So I’d started out as an undrafted free
agent with the Indianapolis Colts. They
were fresh off a Super Bowl title—this
was 2007. I figured I’d be there to help
them get another ring. Peyton Man-
ning and I would be making big plays
all over the field. Big plays.
In training camp, I turned heads,
balling out. I’m gonna make this team,
I told myself. Yet the Colts didn’t play
me. “They’re just trying to hide you,”
COVER STORYINFLUENCER Trent reaches more than 50
million people weekly through social media. TO
DDPLITT