“My dad worked as a plumber, and my mom was a PE teacher, and it didn’t matter what kind of day they had. They were always there for me and my sister,” Darnold just said The Athletic. “(It) didn’t matter what happened at work; my father always played catch me afterwards.

Darnold is riding a long career; the athlete not only walked away from the night with a shiny Super Bowl ring, and a whopping $178,000 league bonus payment. This result was not visible just a few years ago, but he remained consistent, and in less than a year in the Washington state team, he lifted the Lombardi Trophy in the air. He couldn’t have done it without his friends, of course—but also the mindset his parents instilled in him.

“I just naturally learned to be tough,” Darnold said The Athletic. “I would say my family is a big part of my ability to get through things when they’re bad, and they do a good job of keeping me grounded when things are good.”

“Even if I have a bad game or a bad rep or a bad series of games, I can always wake up the next day and keep going,” he continued.. “Early in my career, I was very hard on myself.”

Darnold’s Super Bowl victory marked a career comeback

The Seahawks captured the Super Bowl LX trophy thanks to a Heraclean defensive effort from the Seattle team—and the victory marked a remarkable career achievement for the quarterback, who has bounced between teams for the past eight years.

The first blow came when Darnold was traded to the Jets after being the number three pick in the 2018 NFL draft. He had to restart again when he went from the Panthers to the 49ers as the backup quarterback in 2023 — before the end of his sixth season — and again when he signed with the Seahawks in 2025.

“It’s unbelievable…Everything that’s happened in my career, but to do it with this team—I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. SPOKE NBC, after winning the Super Bowl. “As long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible.”

Through good and bad, he was able to pick himself up, dust himself off, and be there for his teammates: like his parents were for him.

Mike Darnold, the father of the Seahawks quarterback, said reliability was paramount in his 30-year career as a medical gas plumber. Passing that lesson on to his son at a young age set him up for a successful career—and he advises all new workers to do the same.

“I pride myself on my reliability—being early, willing to stay late, do whatever it takes to get the job done right,” the athlete’s father. SPOKE Lowe’s SkillsUSA students last year. “This mindset makes me a valuable contributor for my company and customers, becoming an example to our two children, as we have witnessed Sam’s athletic career over the years.”

“One day you open your eyes and it’s, ‘Holy cow, your child is in this position,'” she also SPOKE Bleacher Report in 2017. “I mean, crazy, right? Crazy, crazy, crazy—one in a million.”

Leaders who learned valuable lessons from their parents

People often first learn about the world of work and money from their parents—and that early advice lasts a lifetime. Julie Sweet, CEO of AccentureHe was only 15 years old when his father taught him an important lesson in life.

Raised in a middle-class family, Sweet would participate in local debate tournaments and speech contests as a teenager in hopes of winning cash prizes. He always wins—but one time he lost a Lions Club tournament to the club president’s daughter, and complained to his dad about the result. His answer fueled his drive to be a successful leader.

“My father looked at me, and he said, ‘First of all, Julie, you will never be the daughter of the president of the Lions Club. That’s not the family you were born into,'” Sweet SPOKE luck last year. “‘And I believe you can do anything, but…you have to be so much better than anyone that they have to give it to you.”

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky also credited to his father’s tough love to try his hardest to run his $74 billion rental company.

“My father never told me I was talented or smart, and he probably served me,” Chesky told Simon Sinek’s A little optimism podcast last year. “He just rewards effort … if you reward a kid who does well, they’re afraid to try because they don’t want to prove you.