There is a reason why, even almost four months after his retirement, fans are still begging Tom Brady to return to football. The man is a household name and holds a mythical status among football fans and even rival fan bases. Conquering the NFL world with seven Super Bowl championships was never the goal, but only part of the system he developed over his 23-year playing career. Tom Brady’s former life coach Greg Harden recently revealed a stunning aspect of Brady’s winning mindset that will blow fans away.

Harden’s book ‘Stay Sane in an Insane World: How to Control the Controllables and Thrive’ comes out on August 15. And guess who wrote the foreword for this book? His longtime friend and student, Tom Brady. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE recently, Harden recalled how Brady shunned stardom for something far most mystical during his career.

Tom Brady had his mind set on a different goal

When Greg Harden asked Brady to compose the foreword for his book, he didn’t expect the former Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star to hand in his finished write-up within three days. Harden talked about a lot more than just Brady’s penmanship as he reminisced about the time an 18-year-old “snot-nosed little brat” walked into his camp for help.

A young TB12 was desperately yearning for that starting QB spot. Having already worked with Heisman winner Desmond Howard, Harden had already built quite a reputation. And Brady wanted to know the secret formula. Back then, Harden quickly realized that Brady “wanted to be the absolute best, but he didn’t want to be a star.”

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Brady’s mission “was to be the absolute best competitor and teammate.” And “stardom was not his mission,” according to Harden. “Tom Brady is an 18-year-old who I met, who turned out to be ‘that’ dude,” he added with a grin.

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15x Pro Bowler Brady first found life coach and motivational speaker/ consultant Gregory Harden 27 years ago. The quarterback kept the work and association strong even after he joined the New England Patriots in the NFL. And over almost three decades, Harden has seen the incredible transformation of Brady. From being the 199th draft pick to owning almost every major quarterback record in the book, TB12 has done it all.

Brady’s foreword made his former coach visibly emotional

Besides getting the book foreword back on time, Greg Harden received an additional surprise when he read Brady’s preface for his book. “For him to still, after all these years, be willing to give me any credit for what the foundation was, it’s humbling,” Harden noted. What was the foundation? Well, Brady had to give in his all and believe in his journey. “If no one else believes in you, believe in yourself.”

Safe to say that Harden’s words played out like a storybook for Brady. The two are still close, despite the appointments going down ever since Brady’s retirement. Surely NFL fans will find many an interesting tidbit about Brady in Harden’s upcoming book.

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