Steve Young is a Hall of Famer and the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history. And his success hasn’t been limited to his football career. In addition to Young’s current television football analyst duties, he is a co-founder and managing partner at HGGC, a private equity firm, and served as a co-founder at Sorenson Capital.

But just like many salespeople, Young’s career on the field had an uncertain start. During the 2014 Sales Acceleration Summit, Young spoke about three of his biggest football lessons he learned as a result, and how they’ve helped power his success as an entrepreneur.

1. Have the right perspective

Young shared that when he began replacing the legendary Joe Montana as the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback in 1991, his feelings about football changed. He was experiencing an enormous amount of pressure and stopped enjoying the game. During that time, he happened to be seated next to The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People author, Stephen R. Covey, on a flight. As Young detailed his struggles, Covey, who has since passed away, told him he had it all wrong. Instead of stressing over expectations, he should embrace being in an environment of excellence where he had all the tools to find out how good he really was. Young said the conversation totally changed his view on the situation. Instead of thinking of the spotlight as a negative thing, he saw it as an opportunity.

2. Remember it’s about people

At the start of his 49ers career, Young said he suddenly wished he didn’t play a team sport. He felt like having ten teammates on the field with him was too much and it was easy for mistakes to happen. During their conversation, Covey shared with him that his feelings were natural and that it’s scientifically proven that the largest group of people that can work “efficiently” together is seven. With that aside, Covey said that the more people Young interacted with, the more opportunities he had to learn, and that is the magic of the human dynamic. Young said he realized a similar lesson with all the stats that were poured over to better his and his team’s performance. While data certainly had value, football was still a game played by people.

3. Celebrate, then move on

The day after Young won the 1994 Super Bowl and the game’s Most Valuable Player award, a parade was thrown in his honor at Disneyland. For a few minutes, Young said he felt on top of the world as he rode a float thru the theme park while fans looked on and cheered. As the parade ended, and the float turned off of the route, two little boys were sitting on the curb watching. Young overheard one say hello to Mickey Mouse, who was also on the float, while the older of the kids said “that big guy” won’t let you near Mickey Mouse. Young said in a few minutes, he went from Super Bowl champ to “Mickey Mouse’s bodyguard.” For Young it was both comical and a good reminder that while it’s fun to celebrate, big wins are just part of the journey.

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