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🧭 From Pizza Delivery Boy to 3X Defensive Player of the Year

The mindset of a champion and the biggest fear and sentence that drove him to success.

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The Growth Compass
August 03, 2025

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Here’s where we are headed today:

  • JJ Watt on success⚡

  • JJ Watt’s story from walk-on to Defensive Player of the Year🥇

  • Favorite posts I found this week 🏆

  • Free mental fitness links 👇

This week on The Growth Compass Premium →

  • The research on how to motivate the youth of today (Saturday)

  • 4 techniques on how to deal with pressure (Thursday)

  • How to implement the compound effect (Monday)

Let’s dive in…

JJ Watt on Success

JJ Watt’s Story from Pizza Delivery and Walk-On to 3x Defensive Player of the Year

In 2007, JJ Watt wasn't a highly recruited prospect coming out of high school. He was a 2-star Tight End/Defensive End that chose to go to Central Michigan. After one season of catching just eight passes, he knew something wasn't right.

JJ talked to his parents about doing something unthinkable: leaving Central Michigan and his scholarship behind to become a walk-on DE at Wisconsin. "I wanted to play in the NFL and I only caught 8 balls as a TE and that isn't going to get you to the NFL," he said.

His family supported him, but with conditions. They would financially support him for one year as a walk-on, but he would really need to commit. Essentially every day from that point forward would be his Super Bowl. "It was a gamble on myself," JJ said.

He talked to Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema and made the transfer official. But first came the grind behind the dream.

The Pizza Hut Reality Check

From January to June, JJ worked at Pizza Hut to make money while studying at a local college before enrolling at Wisconsin. He used this time to bulk up, work hard, and commit to his craft. For six months, he delivered pizzas in Wisconsin winters, eating pizza on breaks because he needed to gain weight.

Then came the moment that changed everything. He knocked on a door, pizza boxes in hand. A young boy answered and recognized him from local sports coverage. "Mom, JJ Watt's here!" the boy called back into the house.

The confusion on the kid's face said it all. This was supposed to be the guy who made it out. Why was he delivering their dinner?

"That kid's not supposed to look at me and think how did this football player fall from grace," Watt would later say. "He's supposed to look at me like that's JJ Watt, that's my idol. I wanted that feeling back."

The Mindset that Changes Everything

JJ joined Wisconsin as a walk-on and practiced on the scout team. He played every day that year like it was his Super Bowl. After being a scout team all-star in 2008, he earned a scholarship. During his first year as a starter in 2009, he recorded 4.5 sacks.

But what separated Watt from everyone else who thought he was crazy wasn't just work ethic - it was his philosophy: "My biggest fear is that one day the man I became will meet the man I could have become."

He wasn't afraid of failing; he was terrified of settling. When asked if he really wanted to be the greatest football player ever to live, his response was immediate: "Shouldn't everybody? Why would I not want that?"

The Payoff

That was just the beginning for JJ, and the rest was him making history. He became a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and one of the most dominant defensive players in NFL history.

The real victory wasn't the accolades - it was that he never had to meet the man he could have become. JJ Watt's story reveals that betting on yourself isn't just about confidence. It means being more afraid of settling than you are of failing.

❓Questions to Ask Others You’re Leading

  • If you're a coach: Are you teaching your athletes to be comfortable with discomfort? Do they understand the difference between settling and strategic patience?

  • If you're a parent: Are you modeling the courage to bet on yourself, or are you always choosing the safe path? What message does that send about pursuing dreams?

  • If you're a leader: Are you hiring people who chose security over possibility, or those who've proven they'll bet on themselves when it matters?

  • If you're an athlete: What "sure thing" are you clinging to that might be keeping you from your potential? What would betting on yourself actually look like?

Final Takeaway: Betting on yourself isn't about confidence - it's about being more terrified of settling than you are of failing. JJ Watt delivered pizzas because he knew the man he could become was worth more than the scholarship he had. That's the mindset that changes everything.

Sources:

Favorite Posts I Found This Week

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