what fun it's awesome to be here what an honor I tell you what Wow listen you
know I have felt so fortunate over the last 20 years to have the opportunity to
work with some of the best athletes and coaches in the world it's been
fascinating and I've always been so interested in how they do what they do
and how they do it at such a high level consistently day after day after day and
what I believe is that us wherever we may be in our lives wherever we may be
in this wonderful world have so much that we can learn from these athletes
and coaches that execute so consistently at a high level so I think there's sort
of five things that I want to sort of walk through that I think are paramount
in sort of shifting your behavior in the absence of crisis so in other words we
hear the word potential so much right people talk about potential well why do
these athletes so often reach that potential how do they maximize it and
how do we take those processes that they capture each and every day and insert
that into our own lives to improve what we do and how we do it so I think at the
most basic level we have to believe in what we do and why we do it right so one
of the guys that I've worked with for years is an unbelievable guy John Smoltz
John Smoltz is a guy that I believe certainly believes in his ability to
execute as a pitcher John was a pitcher in the big leagues pitched for the
Braves for years a right-handed pitcher and had great success well for 10 of the
14 years that the Atlanta Braves went to the division series
John was a really big part of that process and he was a starting pitcher so
he would come out at the beginning of games right every four or five days and
he would pitch and he would start and he would throw 80 or 90 pitches right and
then four or five days later he would do it again John once I Yangtze had
incredible success was a part of the Braves success then in about 2001 he
struggled and had Tommy John surgery and had some some issues physically but then
in 2000 late in 2001 the organization came to us and to him and said hey
listen you know what he's an unbelievable star he has he's had great
success but we don't have a guy inside of our organization right now that we
want to close for us so we don't have a guy that can come in right and the
eighth or ninth inning and finish the games for us and we feel like John can
step up and do that role well nobody believed that he could
because John had had a lot of injuries he'd had to dealt with some issues but
John at the core belief that he could writers and folks in the media or saying
boy I don't know if this guy can actually handle this transition
physically mentally it's a whole different deal and that in many ways was
what motivated John to want to do it John said you know what everybody
doesn't think I can do this but I know I can close my so he accepted the
opportunity the closer and in in that very year he came out in 155 closed 55
games had 55 saves unbelievable set a new NL record so not only was he a shy
young winner as a starter but he also set records as a closer as well but what
it was was John didn't let the negative influences from the world from the media
from anything else come into his mind and tell him you can't make this change
you can't make this change from being a marathon runner right to a sprinter but
he couldn't he believed he could so I think when we think about unleashing our
potential when we think about maximizing our abilities in our own lives the first
step in that process is to send ourselves the right messages right to
send ourselves messages that allow us to believe that we can in fact execute at
the highest level that we have that potential the second thing that I
think's paramount is our ability to ensure that we discover who we are and
the gaps in the world in which we live and how in fact we can actually
potentially close those gaps for ourselves personally and for the world
that we live in to add value so I'll give you an example kind of a personal
story in 1993 I graduated from Michigan State and I had this passion to be in
the business of sports but like most of us right at 21 or 22 we're not sure
quite what that might look like but I got my honda accord in lansing michigan
where i grew up in a wonderful family and I packed up my Honda court and I had
about 2000 bucks in my back pocket because my folks were kind enough to let
me live at home after I'd graduated for a few months and teach tennis at a
little park nearby so I taught tennis made two grand put in my back pocket and
drove to Atlanta without a job and my college coach from Michigan State
I played tennis there was kind enough to give me three names of three coaches
that she said would be able to help me and I had this philosophy at 21 or 22
that if you ask for advice you get a job and if you ask for a job you get advice
right I think the same thing is true in business right if you ask for the
business sometimes you just get advice and if you ask for advice sometimes you
get the business so I get my car I Drive down to Atlanta my parents thought well
this will be about two to three weeks top she'll be back driving north on 75
back home to come back and live with us and find a job here well I got down to
Atlanta and I woke up and one of my friends from high school was kind enough
to let me live on the floor of her apartment for a couple weeks until I
could find a place to live and get a job and sort of start tapping into my two
grand which I didn't want to tap into too quick right so I get up that first
morning then this is before cellphone so I'm exposing my age a little bit but I
get up and I call from the landline there I thought you know the low
apartment and I call this one Pro who my coach had given me the name of and I
said hey listen I played tennis at Michigan State you know I want to teach
tennis and I'm trying to kind of get you know into my space in Atlanta I want to
be in the sports marketing business what I'm thinking you know maybe you might
have some nice people in Atlanta they'd be kind enough to give me some advice
because I really want to pursue my passion of sports and he said wow you
know that's interesting and we got to chatting for a minute he said you know
you may not know this but in Atlanta you can teach tennis in exchange for your
rent and I said wow man I got to get one of those deals right that sounds like a
sweet situation I said what do you mean and he goes well people teach tennis at
apartment complexes in exchange or further adue straight on their rent and
he said in fact there's this property great location in Atlanta where the pro
is actually leaving he's been teaching at the property for a long time but he's
actually leaving the property and I don't even think he's told the manager
yet and I said you got to be kidding me where is this place right I got to go
over there so I get my car I Drive over to this place and I walk in and I said
hey how are you I played tennis in college do I see of a court I wanted to
fight any chance you know I could talk to you about teaching tennis to your
residents and she said oh well I appreciate you stopping by you know we
have a pro and he's amazing he's doing a great job you know and we've had him
forever and we're good and you know when you're like 21 how you
go to Kinko's or wherever and you make your little business cards and
and they're super bootleg right and they're sort of paper thin but you're so
pumped because you actually have a business card now so I had my business
card that I had made right that had nothing on it but my name and I walk in
and I said well hey I said here's my card and why don't you keep this and if
anything changes you know let me know and and we can stay connected she said
oh yeah I appreciate it but you know like I said he's been here he's awesome
I said great so I Drive out I drive across street and I see this little
pizza place called perros pizza and I see this little place and I thought to
myself man I wonder if that place sells a lot of pizza to that apartment complex
because boy they should you know a bunch of folks 21 years old 22 whatever it is
they probably love a $15.00 dinner and it's right across the street so the best
way to figure that out right is just go over this pizza place so I walk in and I
said hi is uh mr. pear out there thinking that was a pretty good guest
right mr. poirot as mr. pero here and they said oh as a matter of fact he is
she said just a minute is everything okay I said you know I just had a quick
question for him so out walks this guy in all black he'd been back there
throwing dough making pizzas right and he comes walking out and I said hey I
said mr. Perry said yes I said can I ask you a quick question he said sure I said
do you sell out a pizza to that apartment complex across the street
because it feels like you should I mean they're right there man and he goes you
know that's it that's a great point he said you know we sell a little bit he's
sort of looking around at the folks in there kind of getting hot you know like
why don't we sell a lot of pizza to that apartment complex and I said yeah I mean
it feels like you should he said no question and I said well listen what if
we work something out we're like you gave me 1523 pizzas a month and I gave
them to the apartment complex to all the residents at the tennis clinic and we
could maybe put a little coupon from perros pizza in the newsletter that the
residents get at the first of every month you know and you just give me the
free pizzas and he said Wow we said so 15 20 free pizzas a month and you'll put
a little coupon in the newsletter that the residents get Iced exactly he goes
done I love it I said okay but listen man I don't have the deal yet but when I
get it I'll be back and we'll work it out and he goes love it let me know so I
go back over to my friend's apartment and I pick up the phone and I call my
buddies at Wilson Sporting Goods that gave me rackets when I played in college
and I said hey can I ask you a huge favor I said listen we
you hooked me up and like send me a box of like tennis racquets you know
keychains water bottle t-shirts I mean just anything good stuff I'm trying to
get this deal to teach tennis for a reduced rate on my rent
and he goes Wow mile he said yeah you know I'll do that for you I'd be happy
to and I said okay great but like I need it tomorrow so he go stunt so I get this
box the next day and meanwhile I run over to Kinkos actually again and and I
print off these little articles that I'd written in the in this little paper and
Lansing you know on how to hit a forehand and a backhand like little
tennis steps so I print that off like 15 of them cuz I'm thinking these would be
really cool to put in the newsletter to all the residents right so I'm thinking
I've gotta wait a couple days cuz I've got to make sure right that the pro has
told the lady cuz you know how you only have so many shots to walk back in
before somebody sort of politely escort you out of that place right so I wait
about a day or so and then I go back over the property and I said hey how are
you I you know I'm Molly I play tennis and she goes oh my gosh I am so glad
you're back she said it's unbelievable she said I
couldn't find your card she said but our pro came in and he's leaving the
property I go no you gotta be joking me this is incredible he goes yeah he said
it's incredible timing this is amazing I said unbelievable I said well you know I
was actually just coming by to bring you this box of stuff cuz I called my buddy
so Wilson and I tell her about these little articles that I'd written I said
and by the way you know I talked to his pizza place across the street I said
they're gonna give us free pizza to give to all the residents and she goes well
this is fantastic and I said well how did it work with a
pro you know what was the deal and she said he just