Throughout his Hall of Fame career, Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw mastered the art of making the best out of the worst possible situations.

“I made my living by putting my hands on another man’s butt,” Bradshaw exclaimed to the sea of early morning attendees at the 18th annual Bakersfield Business Conference. “Before you are through today and head off to watch one of your favorite college football teams, everybody pair up. Let’s do it right now. Flex those knees, flex those hands down there, hut, hut!”

Under the enormous, American flag-covered tent at California State University, Bakersfield, Bradshaw, the first speaker of the conference, kept the audience in stiches with his humble approach to everyday life while expressing the ideas and values he learned growing up.

“It’s awfully early to be up here inspiring all you people,” he said.

Before taking the stage, a video montage of Bradshaw’s career highlights as a Steeler was broadcast on countless screens all over the conference grounds.

Staying true to his Louisiana heritage, the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Born on the Bayou” accompanied the montage.

As an added bonus, one of Bradshaw’s broadcast colleagues from Fox Sports also made an appearance. James Brown, who is the host of “Fox NFL Sunday,” took the stage to a thunderous ovation, as Bradshaw jokingly introduced him as “his driver.”

“The place is going crazy, J.B.,” Bradshaw yelled over the cheers. “Big ‘ol Cadillac you drove me over here in.”

Bradshaw said he has learned to be very humble with the gifts and accolades he has received during his life. He said his mother taught him at an early age about the importance of family as a way to overcome whatever life throws at you, including a divorce.

“They told me to come out here and talk about fame, adversity, sacrifice, competition and that’s just talking about my marriages,” he said. “My mother told me, ‘Baby, I warned you, if you marry outside the family, you’re gonna have problems.’ ”

As Bradshaw attempted to become a bit more serious, he wanted everyone to realize that true success only comes when you can turn around and thank someone else.

In the world of business, like in the world of sports, there will be problems but it is how people approach those problems which determine if they become bigger ones.

The most effective way to solve those problems, according to Bradshaw, is to “keep it simple,”which just happens to be the title of his new book, which he plugged whenever possible.

“New book I got coming out this week, very in-depth, very technical reading,” Bradshaw said sarcastically as he counted his fingers, “It debuted No. 21 on the best seller list. Fifteen more spots and I’m No. 1!”

Tom Landry, who was the coach of the Dallas Cowboys during Bradshaw’s playing career in the 1970s, was confronted with the problem of his quarterback not wanting to touch his center when the ball was snapped.

“God didn’t intend man to make his living placing his hands on another man’s butt,” Bradshaw said.

Landry came up with the simplest solution he could think of at the time — the shotgun formation. This is when the quarterback is about 3 to 5 yards behind the center when the ball is snapped. This formation is used extensively in the NFL today as well as college and high school.

Bradshaw also emphasized that people need to thank others, since no one accomplishes much without the help of others.

“Ladies and gentleman,we truly accomplish nothing if we don’t say thank you to somebody. When I think about Pittsburgh, the only things that were cared about was that we were winning championships, but I just don’t see here in Bakersfield a lot of Steeler fans,” Bradshaw said as the Steeler fans in the audience started to cheer. “All those that just got out of the old halfway house, huh?”

According to Bradshaw, the state of the world has become very serious and troubling. However, it is equally important to take time out to hug your kids, call your parents, enjoy yourself, have fun and just laugh once in a while.

“You gotta be careful when you marry a lawyer. I should have known I was in trouble because the minute we got back from the honeymoon, she billed me for 15 hours.”