I've followed freedom for a long time and I finally feel I've got more of it. People talk about the money that I've given up and the money that I've lost. But the knowledge and the wisdom that I've gotten from this experience is priceless.

I had this notion that everyone was staring at me and judging everything about me, from my appearance to the way I talk and everything.

I'm closer to being happy. I'm doing things that make me happy. In football I loved to practice and I loved to play, but I hated to be in meetings, hated to talk to the media, hated to have cameras in my face, hated to sign autographs. I hated to do all those things.

I think Ricky Williams had his time in the limelight. And I think it was good for what it was worth, and that was that.

I think it's very easy for people to stereotype athletes, good and bad.

I've let a lot of things go, and obviously football is one of them. I think the hardest thing to let go is your self-image. That's what I'm working on now.

I stepped away to find out more about myself, which I was having difficulty doing as a football player. I got a chance to travel the world. I studied Eastern philosophy, and I've grown as a person so much.