Last night was the NFL opening night when the Green Bay Packers hosted the New Orleans Saints. You really couldn’t have orchestrated a more perfect match than having the  two previous Superbowl Champions facing off in Title Town. Even though this was one of the highest energy, nail-biting games I have ever seen; rookie wide receiver, Randall Cobb reminded me of a few simple lessons that everyone can apply in their everyday life.

Randall Cobb hails from Tennessee and played college football for the University of Kentucky. This dynamic wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers made is opening day debut just 17 days after his 21st birthday. He made his first “mistake” of the game by accidentally running the wrong route on a play in the first quarter which resulted in his first NFL career touchdown.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, he managed to screw up again during a kickoff return which happened to tie the all time NFL record for a kickoff return. This 108 yard return paved the way for a Packer victory. The Packer policy is to take a knee (thus moving the ball to the 20 yard line) if the ball goes too deep in the end zone after a kickoff. Our rookie of the day, Randall, evidently got a bit too excited and ignored policy, scoring a touchdown. The Saints did their best to stop him, including nearly tackling Cobb, forcing him into a barrel roll which flipped him upside down but didn’t stop him from his mission.

Here are a few things that Randall Cobb taught us during this game:

1. Mistakes are okay. While rules are there for a reason, and should be minded; don’t freak out if you break out of the norm and screw up…you just may score.

2. Listen to your instincts, not just policy. Randall Cobb wouldn’t be plastered across sports pages everywhere if he would have followed the kickoff return policy. While he said, “I think I might get chewed out for that one,” referring to his touchdown play; his instincts told him to kick everything into high gear and head for the goal line. Take a few chances in your world, and stick your neck out. You may just succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

3. You can’t be too young to succeed. So he is a rookie, so what? So he is 21 years old, so what? When you are trying to grow your business, succeed at a goal, or achieve a positive outcome, just remember that great ideas don’t care where they come from. If the dot-com era taught us anything, it was that the internet is a great equalizer with respect to demographics, age, and education. You could get a life changing idea from someone who you’d least expect it from. Keep your eyes open and embrace great ideas.

Whether you are a sports fan or not, you can surely glean some powerful lessons by looking for success clues everywhere you go.