This book is a step by step guide of mental training and stress management to assist you on your journey to success. This expert advice and guidance stems from many years of research and experience as a certified sport psychology coach, certified stress management coach, a former professional baseball general manager, a former college athlete, a motivational speaker, and a lifelong baseball coach.
Everyone has a different outlook on what success means to them. And many times your view of success will change as you grow and mature. When I was younger, my idea of success was signing autographs after games, winning championships, living in fancy homes, and driving expensive cars. By the time I was 26 years old, I was living my dream as a professional baseball coach. I was blessed with opportunities to live a life that other people could only dream about - autographs, getting VIP treatment at restaurants and clubs around town, living in a penthouse condo on the beach, nice vehicles, and league championships. For a moment, I was on top of the world. My goals were achieved, and my pursuit of success had been accomplished.
A few years later, I became a "Victim of Success". I was depressed, going through a divorce, and no longer had a sense of direction in life. The materialistic things that were once important to me, did not matter anymore. I quit coaching professional baseball and moved back to my home state to be close to my children. While coaching professional baseball, I missed several years of my children growing up. My initial pursuit of success made me miss out on more important things in life. My priorities were completely messed up. When I got out of professional baseball, I became incredibly stressed and depressed. I struggled to understand what my purpose in life was. In a matter of a few years, I went from being on top of the world to hitting rock bottom. I went from having goals and knowing exactly what I wanted to do with my life, to not knowing what to do next. I went from being extremely financially secure to being broke and nearly homeless. After sleeping in my car at a truck stop for a few days, I realized that I needed help. I started seeing a therapist and reestablished my relationship with God. That's when mental toughness and resilience kicked in and my challenging road to success really began.
Today, after years of research, continuing my education and establishing new goals, I have different views of success and feel happier and healthier in my life than ever before. This book will give you an inside look at the challenging road to success and give you some tips to develop your own road map to get there. Many of the examples and much of the content is sports-related because most of my experience has been as a professional baseball coach and scout. However, you do not have to be an athlete to benefit from the strategies throughout this book. Life, in general, is competitive so having a little guidance from an athletic mindset will only help you achieve whatever goals you set for yourself. The idea of this book is not to only make you successful in sports, business, or your personal life, but to help you become a better person mentally, physically, and spiritually.
