Michael Strahan has become one of the most successful celebrities in the industry. From his days as an NFL star to his current job as television personality on ‘Live! With Kelly and Michael,’ the athlete-turned-host has proven that life after major league football is not a downhill journey. Although he has put a lot of time and energy into his career, Michael says that his father is to thank for his success.

“My father is the most influential person in my career in [terms of] attitude,” says Strahan. “[He gave me] the understanding that nobody gives you anything in life, you have to earn it. My dad wanted to be an army officer, and to do that he needed to go to college. He had five kids and I was on the way, but he took a chance on himself. He graduated magna cum laude at 30-some years old and [became] an officer. So you can’t tell him what you ‘can’t’ do. His whole thing was, ‘I don’t want to hear about the problem, I want to see the solution.’ There’s always a solution.”

This ‘can-do’ attitude is  developing in Michael’s children, and is evident in his son, Michael, and daughter, Tanita. “With college kids, it’s usually, ‘I need this, I need that,’ but with Tanita and Michael, I’m the one who’s like, ‘Do you need anything?’ They’re the lowest-maintenance kids,” explains Strahan. “They want to make their own way, which I love.”

In addition to using his father’s wisdom to progress career-wise, Michael also puts his dad’s golden nuggets about hard work and perseverance into action when rearing his kids. “My dad was always about when you’re going to do something, not if. I believe in my kids 100 percent. When you have confidence in them, they have confidence in themselves.”

Michael Strahan has four kids -Tanita, Michael, Sophia, and Isabella- in all.

Photo: Parade