Unbreakable X- Marc Howland

I'm sure you've heard about all the great physical benefits you can get from playing football, but did you know that playing youth sports can make you a better adult?

It's true in life…and it's definitely true in business.

When you're involved with youth sports, you're strengthening more than just your muscles. You're strengthening your communication skills and leadership skills too.

And those characteristics will help you succeed in ways you may have never even imagined.

Whether you're applying to get into a great college or interviewing for your dream job, the life lessons you learn while playing football will set you up for success for the rest of your life.

Marc Howland is living proof.

Howland drew inspiration from football and serves as a powerful role model. He cultivated skills like teamwork, discipline, and goal setting and used those skills to help make the world a better place.

Not only did he achieve enormous professional success by becoming an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and private equity investor at the Carlyle Group, but he has helped execute more than $70 billion worth of global financing transactions in the tech, media, telecom, infrastructure, and sports facility finance markets.

Howland is known for his ability to execute highly complex monetary transactions. One of his proudest accomplishments was financing the San Francisco 49ers' new football stadium and Levi's Stadium. He also played an instrumental role in the impressive $67 billion sale of DirecTV to AT&T.

Today Marc Howland is the co-founder of the premium sandwich shop, Breadless. This innovative brand creates delicious sandwiches wrapped in nutritious greens- no bread included.

Howland founded the company after struggling to find healthy, on-the-go food options that fit into his clean eating regimen. Like so many people, Howland was too busy to make his own lunches, and the alternatives offered by other restaurants were not very transportable, sloppy, or tasteless. After becoming fed up with the lackluster options, Howland partnered with a celebrity chef who also had a background in restaurant development and operations, and Breadless was born.

This healthy dining alternative is the first black-owned healthy food enterprise based out of Detroit and Ann Arbor. They pride themselves on helping millions of people live healthier and happier lives by providing tasty, portable, low-carb, gluten-free food that's easy to eat on the go.

But all the success Howland enjoys today didn't come for free. He had to work hard for it.

Howland attended high school in Cleveland, OH, where he lettered in football, track, and basketball. He was named to the Cleveland Sun Times all-star team, was a leading scorer, track team captain, and state finalist in the all-Ohio track team. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Brown University, while also being a two-sport (football and track) all-ivy league athlete. He went on to receive his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School with honors.

What makes Howland's story so special is that he used his success for the greater good.

Everything he learned playing sports and, in the classroom, helped him make a positive difference in the world. And anyone that knows anything about him knows that what he does comes from the heart. Whether he's helping companies raise capital or introducing hungry customers to new food options that are healthy and taste good too- Howland is dedicated to being of service to others. A mentality that can be directly connected to what he learned on the football field.

Football instills important life lessons early on that stick with players far into their future.

Football teaches people to stick with it, even when things get tough. They overcome the temptation to quit and recognize the importance of resiliency in overcoming roadblocks. Whether it's a personal problem, financial setback, or job loss, people's ability to bounce back is important in every stage of life.

Football teaches people how to become good leaders. It enforces a "we" before "me" mentality that inspires greatness and rewards courage. It shows players how to build a team committed to achieving a common goal. A team is driven by passion, confidence and ambition, and a fundamental love of the game.

No matter who you are or where you’re from, football has a way of bringing out all of your best qualities. It helps form you into the best version of yourself. Just like Marc Howland drew from his experience playing sports to create an inspiring life for himself and the people around him, you can too.