SAX IN THE MORNING

Vulnerability, transparency, empathy. These are not words people often associate with strength and personal growth. But I have found that these qualities are absolutely key to connecting with other people and fellowship with others is the foundation of personal growth. I discovered this by accident when after my divorce everyone in my family was told to go to 10 counseling sessions by the judge in our case. I ended up going to a men’s group for my 10 sessions. I showed up with a closed mind not wanting to share or even listen, but over time I found myself connecting to the men there. The vulnerability and transparency I experienced there created fellowship with others and ultimately the experience was so transformative that I stayed in that group for 12 years.

Sometimes people see others who are successful and think to themselves, “Oh they got lucky,” or “They must have had it easy.” What they don’t see is the patience, hard work and relentless effort these people put in to achieve those results. I remember in 1989 when I was playing for the New York Yankees we were out of the playoff hunt by early September but our first baseman Don Mattingly had put up great numbers that year. On the last day of the year I showed up early to stretch and get ready and under the bleachers was Don Mattingly. The game meant nothing in the standings but listen to today’s short to hear how Mattingly showed me how he ignored those circumstances and created his own.
Today's podcast was brought to you by Sarson Funds. Real. Clear. Crypto. For more information, visit www.sarsonfunds.com. For more information about Steve Sax or to hire Steve to speak, visit www.saxinthemorning.com.

So many of us spend time worrying about the things in life we can’t control. Today I am going to give you four tips that I used when stealing bases that will make you a better employee, spouse, parent or whatever other role you have in your life. The first three (preparation, attention to details, and developing nuance) are all things you can control. The fourth is your reaction to the outcome. You can’t control the results but you can control your reaction to the results and what you are going to do next. Listen today to hear how these things factor into your life and how they factored into me stealing over 400 bases in my career.

All of us face obstacles and challenges in our lives. Sometimes we face sudden huge, devastating changes that we never saw coming and that throw us completely off track. When this happens it’s easy to wonder how something so terrible could happen TO us, but oftentimes these big changes happen FOR us. One example is Frank Pastore, a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds. In 1984 I hit a line drive back up the middle and that hit Frank right in the elbow, shattering his pitching arm and ending his career just as it got started. Frank wallowed in pity wondering why this happened to him. But over time, as he began to turn to a new found faith in God, Frank went back to school and found his real calling as a minister and radio talk show host. He inspired hundreds of thousands of people for decades before passing away in 2012. Frank said that had he not had his baseball career suddenly ended, he never would have had a life filled with joy and service to others. He said he was grateful for the opportunity he was given by God even though at the time he thought he had suffered a devastating loss.

Most things in life are not black or white, on or off, they are nuanced and have lots of room for interpretation. But to me commitment is not one of those things. When it comes to commitment you either are or you aren’t. Think about it this way, would you accept wedding vows from someone who said they would love and cherish you 99% of the time? Of course not! So why do so many of us settle for less than a 100% commitment from ourselves when we are trying to achieve our goals and dreams. I never would have become a Major League Baseball player if I wasn’t 100% committed to making that dream happen and if you want the same for your life then stop settling and commit to your goal like you really mean it.