It's a difference of living your life for passion and not for a paycheck. I worked almost all the time, but it was something I loved so much as opposed to a job that I didn't love, where you're skating in at 8:59 A.M. or 9:10 A.M. and leaving the second it hits 5:00 P.M. If you're assigning a dollar value to what you're willing to put up with as opposed to doing what yields you in this world - I have been a whole lot happier when I've been a whole lot broker. Money doesn't define happiness; it's what you do every day that does.
Jennifer WelterCoaching in the NFL is very much a fraternity. It's about who you know and if you work with them well. Head coach Bruce Arians would give me the highest recommendation, and I've already had guys who said they would love to bring me with them to another team.
Jennifer WelterIn 2008, when I was wrapped up a very toxic relationship, I lived out of my car for about four months to get away. And what I learned about myself in the process is that sometimes a safety net isn't really that safe; it's what keeps you from flying. That year I went from playing football to being a football player. Football wasn't paying my bills, but people didn't really know how bad it was. That was the one place in the world that when everything else was chaos, I could be great. I think we all have that place where we experience greatness. Football definitely saved my life.
Jennifer WelterI was always told I couldn't do something. If you tell me that, there's no question I'd drop to my knee. What we have to get away from is that divisiveness - trying to make me have to choose between standing up or taking a knee for injustice, or having place in the NFL. That's why you saw so many displays of unity in different ways. I would be with my team, and they shouldn't be seen as anti-American, because we as Americans have a right to be free.
Jennifer WelterI knew I had to be in football, but I didn't know what that looked like. I made a pact with myself that I would stand up for that challenge. I had no idea how big that would be. There were no jobs for women in football, and my work was elsewhere, but I kept with my passion, and thankfully, it ended up opening up doors.
Jennifer Welter