Former Philadelphia Eagles kicker David Akers made a career out of kicking footballs in the NFL, but Akers certainly showed that he has a knack at scoring in public speaking too.

Akers spoke for nearly 45 minutes to a large group of Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce members last Friday afternoon at the Holiday Inn Conference center in Breinigsville about more than just football.

His speech was structured for the business minds in attendance toward Perseverance, Attitude and Teamwork, forming the clever acronym (PAT), which was something Akers was used to in his playing days for nailing points after touchdowns.

Akers animated and engaging nature made him a natural on stage as he highlighted the trials and tribulations he went through as a kicker in the NFL, where he became a mainstay in the minds and hearts of Eagles fans, playing in the most games in team history (188) and eventually becoming the team's all-time leading scorer with 1,323 points.

But all the glory didn't come easy and that's where Akers tried to nail his point home to those in attendance.

"You can be at the pinnacle one day and at the bottom the next," Akers said, "but when things get tough, you have to keep pushing forward."

Akers spoke about his journey in the NFL, which started with him getting cut by the Carolina Panthers his rookie year, followed by getting axed by the Atlanta Falcons the following season.

After finally making the Washington Redskins roster his third year of the NFL, Akers first professional kickoff was returned 90-yards for a touchdown by the Seahawks and he missed his first two field goal attempts, prompting the Redskins to cut him shortly after.

Despite those early struggles, Akers found a way in the league, latching on with the Eagles in 1999 and spending the next 12 seasons with the team, followed by two years in San Francisco and one in Detroit.

Through it all, he played in seven NFC championship games, two Super Bowls, while getting selected to six Pro Bowls and getting named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team.

Still, the journey of an NFL player rarely comes without the price of hardship and Akers faced plenty.

"I went from being in the Pro Bowl to out of a job for 12 months because of three surgeries I had to go through," he said. "I had undercover police follow me on the road because of death threats. So to all the people out there that play fantasy football, don't take it so seriously. I'm not trying to miss the kick."

The biggest kick in the gut Akers had to go through was the revelation of losing $3.7 million he invested in a financial firm that eventually was prosecuted for being a Ponzi Scheme.

That happened in 2009 and Akers reflected on how it weighed on his conscious.

"I was scared to tell my wife we lost all our money because I wasn't sure how she'd react," said Akers. "When I told her, it was almost a relief. She thought I was cheating on her and was going to leave her. I learned pretty quickly that she was my teammate during that ordeal."

And with that perseverance, a great attitude and teamwork of his wife, Akers has done quite fine moving along in his post-NFL days, but he knew he couldn't do any of it alone.

"Nobody is self-made," he said. "I didn't get to six Pro Bowls by myself. I needed my teammates. You have to view hardship as an opportunity for growth."