Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame kicker Nick Lowery told William Woods University students that he hopes their school becomes the "mistake university of the world."
"Sounds crazy, right?" he said Wednesday night during an inspirational lecture inside Cutlip Auditorium.
Lowery - someone who was cut 11 times by eight NFL teams - had reasons for his seemingly method of madness. Mistakes, he said, and humiliation give people opportunities for growth.
"The reason I'm here today is because of mistakes," he said.
After facing rejection, Lowery went on to play for the Chiefs and became the team's all-time leading scorer with 1,466 points. He's also established various philanthropic organizations, including Kick with Nick for Cerebral Palsy, Adult Role Models for Youth currently known as Youthfriends, Champions for the Homeless, Champions against Bullying and the Nick Lowery Youth Foundation, which provides leadership workshops for youth.
He outlined what he considers the four key factors for personal fulfillment and success - focus, passion, purpose and power.
As a kicker, focus was something Lowery said he needed to learn with each field goal, facing a wall of 11 large men with a 36-inch reach and an even higher vertical jump. Surrounding him were thousands of fans either cheering him on or wishing for his failure, depending on the stadium.
"I like to say you're naked and alone in front of 80,000 people," Lowery said.
Once he realized he couldn't control the "tormented and chaotic discord" around him, Lowery said he was able to let go and focus.
While Lowery may have impressive career statistics, he told the students it's still fine for them to "miss" in life and for them to end up in the wrong major, career, relationship, etc.
"You're going to miss and it's OK ... but you'll learn from it and it's the only way to get better," he said.
Lowery said relationships with family, friends and community create a support base and can perpetuate success in addition to having a group to celebrate with. After kicking the winning field goal in a Pro Bowl game, Lowery said reporters filled the locker room wanting to hear from the game's champion, but once they left, he felt an emptiness.
That realization caused him to invite his parents to more games so they could witness more game-winning field goals.
"The greatest thing we do is surrounding ourselves with people who bring out our best, and we bring out the best in them," Lowery said.
While relationships with others are important, Lowery said the one each person has with themselves is also critical. He gave the example of facing a football challenge - a 58-yard field goal with time running out in the game. While preparing for the task and with the pressure on, Lowery said he would ask himself, "Why did I sign up for this?"
"But there's some other part of that conversation we grow into as adults where we say, "I signed up for this because I'm here to do something special and I may not make every kick, but I'll get better by doing it,'" he said.
The key to having purpose in life, Lowery said, is to identify what provides fulfillment and combat anything that could sabotage that.
"Part of this quest is going back to the source of who you are," he said.