Every morning when my feet touch the ground, I reflect and meditate on two things:
- Thank you, Lord, for another day on this Earth.
- How can I help someone today?
This morning ritual started a few years ago after my family and I had experienced something I hope no family has to go through. It was a period in my life where I started to become less selfish and more grateful. During my transformation, I remember reading a quote from Neale Donald Walsch that said, “The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.”
I started to look at my life’s work through an entirely different lens.
As somebody who the pros look to for guidance both on and off the field, I understand that I am in a position of influence. My WHY is to help people and it’s my duty to be ready and willing to help others who are in search of guidance through their latest situation.
How Do We Define Success?
So many coaches today are in it for the wins and losses. They worry more about winning the 9U travel ball trophy than winning the hearts, minds and souls of our young people. Coaching is teaching. It’s lifting people up. It’s providing a path for success, not just base hits, and helping a player find his purpose and his WHY. It’s caring about the person first, and the player second. A true leader pours into others and always eats last.
So when I took on the job of helping professional hitters with their swings and approaches, I knew I was going to help them with much more than that. 10% of what I do relates to hitting a baseball. The other 90% is where “the magic happens.” At the highest level, if you truly want to succeed, your swing will only get you so far. There are so many other variables in play that need your care and attention. Such as, understanding and mastering your strengths, learning and implementing the mental game – approach, plan, purpose, intent, WHY. Knowing your role on the team and working daily to become the best version of yourself. And learning how to live two separate lives, one at the ballpark and one at home, so as not to intoxicate your family when you’re going through the ups and downs of your season.
Helping Others Find Their Success
When you are in charge of guiding, influencing and inspiring the best athletes in the world, communication is of the utmost importance. It’s not so much what you say, as it’s how you say it and the timing of your communication. I take my job very seriously. The words that come out of my mouth can potentially make an impact on a millionaire. But let’s make one thing clear, the players are millionaires because of their ability to hit. Not because I took any swings for them. They deserve all of the credit. However, they put me in charge of keeping them “in their lane,” being another set of eyes for them. motivating them, calming them and holding them accountable. Therefore, my words carry a tremendous amount of weight and I cannot just carelessly throw out terminology or phrases without any purpose behind them.
Part of being a leader is understanding the opportunities you have to maximize your influence. Pouring into the person first and the player second shows your players you understand the bigger picture. You’re playing the long game. The time you have with your players, is valuable and it requires you to be aware of the “teachable moment.”
All It Takes is Five Minutes
When I give keynote speeches I understand the impacts I can have with the platform that has been given to me. The most important message I try and convey to coaches and leaders is the idea that all it takes is five minutes to change someone’s life.
Think about the all of the “5 minutes” you have in the course of your day. Think about all of the 5-minute windows you have to make a difference in someone’s life. Now think about the times where you had an opportunity to take advantage of those 5 minutes, but you didn’t…
Life is full of choices. Much of life’s experiences are shaped by the choices that we make. As a leader, our legacy is created over time by the choices we make to influence others around us.
When you see someone who looks to be having a bad day, and you notice that no one else has taken the time to show that person you care about them, take advantage of those 5 minutes to say, “How are you feeling today?” When you watch one of your players make three errors in the game and proceed to have his head down the entire game, take five minutes after the game to pull him away from the team, lift him up and make sure he leaves the ballpark with a more positive outlook on his situation.
Sometimes we don’t think five minutes is enough time to make an impact on another human being. But the way I look at it is five minutes spent with another person will have lasting effects, just as much as not taking advantage of those 5 minutes.
Your days are filled with choices. What choice are you going to make today to maximize your influence?
Love,
KW
For more than a decade, Kevin Wilson has been one of the most respected hitting coaches in the game. He works behind the scenes as a private hitting consultant to some of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. In 2013, Kevin was the hitting coach for the USA Baseball 18U National Team. Team USA beat Japan for the Gold medal at the IBAF World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan.
He is the author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller The #GoodBatting Book and co-hosts a popular podcast, KWB Radio, that showcases unique conversations with the pros. If you want Kevin to speak at your next event or if you want take advantage of his popular 2-day KWB Experience for players and coaches, contact Kevin today!
Follow Kevin on twitter @KWBaseball and visit his website KWBaseball.com