SAX IN THE MORNING: Recent Episodes
Steve Sax
Steve Sax, known by many for his phenomenal 14 year career as a major league baseball player where he was a 5-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year and 2-time World Series champion, hosts his podcast with the familiarity and experience that comes from playing on such great teams as the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Oakland A’s. In addition, playing under such iconic coaches as Tony LaRussa and Tommy Lasorda, Steve gained invaluable life lessons through sports. After his playing career he found success not only as a coach and broadcaster but also as a financial consultant, author, motivational speaker and executive/life coach. Twice a month on his longform podcast “Sax in the Morning” he speaks with leaders in the world of sports, business and finance to find out what makes people successful, passionate and joyful in their lives. In addition to the full-length shows you’ll find “Sax in the Morning” shorts three days weekly that will focus on the motivation necessary to get your game plan for the day set with the right tone to accomplish those goals you have for success. Starting your day with the right mindset, making the shift to persevere through challenges and helping you to follow your emotional heart to reach your dreams.
Hey everybody, as you may have noticed we haven't posted episodes for a couple weeks and that's because after over 300 episodes I decided to take a little break to travel and do some relaxation.
We are also working on some new ideas for episodes to give you a shot in the arm three days a week in the morning and booking guests for our full length episodes.
I'm thinking about all of my loyal listeners out there and I hope you enjoy some time to play outside in the sun as we get this summer rolling.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wrap up our salute to the military with the story of Mo Berg who might be the most interesting man in the history of baseball.
Berg was fluent in seven languages and was familiar with another five. He played 16 years in the Major Leagues and traveled to Japan with a MLB All-Star team that included Babe Ruth and Lou Gerig. While there he snuck to the top of one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo and took pictures of the skyline, the harbor and a munitions facility.
That is because Mo Berg became a spy while still playing baseball and he continued after his career. Listen to today’s short to hear about Berg's exploits and how he played a role in winning WWII.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I want to continue to salute our military a day after Memorial Day and so today I am focusing on the famous flying squadron The Purple Foxes. This is the squadron that my son John was a part of.
The Purple Foxes are famous for flying in to rescue a platoon of Marines who were stuck under heavy fire during the Vietnam War. When they landed a soldier remarked “We thought you flyboys didn’t give a shit!” To which the crew chief said “We give a shit.”
That is the Purple Foxes motto and it is painted on all of their aircraft. They are the only squadron allowed to have a curse word on their aircrafts. My son was hand picked to be a part of The Purple Foxes and he couldn’t have been prouder and neither could I.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today on Memorial Day I wanted to give my thanks to all the men and women who have given their lives to defend this country. Since I love World War II history I wanted to focus a little bit on D-day and some of the other breakthroughs that helped us win that war.
What does D-day mean? How did code breaking help win the war and lead to the modern personal computer? I answer these questions and give my gratitude to anyone who has served our country, including my beloved son who also died protecting our freedom.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sometimes you hear people say things like “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” or “you had better have a back up plan.” The truth is that most people who accomplish difficult goals don’t have a “plan B.” I was going to play Major League baseball, period, end of story. If I failed I would have figured it out then but I didn’t need and I didn’t want to think about not achieving my goal.
Listen to interviews with actors, musicians or successful entrepreneurs, they often talk about how they HAD to do whatever they did. That there was no other option, no back-up plan. If there was a back-up plan they would have reverted to it when things got really hard, which they always do.
So if you want to do something truly great, you’ve got to go all in. Put all your eggs in that basket, if you fail then you’ll live with knowing you did everything you could and you’ll pick yourself up and try something new.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I have good news for you today and that is that if you have a lot of struggles and a lot of problems there's a good chance that a major part of the problem is YOU! And you are the only person, place or thing you really have any control over, which means you have more agency than you think to solve your problems.
You may have serious hardships and circumstances but that doesn’t change the fact that you are the only thing you can control and chances are that if you change, a lot about the world around you will seem to change as well.
Remember the old adage about the three jerks. If you run into one jerk in a day, that’s unfortunate. If you run into two jerks that is really an unlucky day. But if you run into a third jerk, chances are that you’re the jerk not the other people.
So stop worrying about other people you can’t control and start worrying about what you can control… yourself.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
It’s time for another MLB update where I give my thoughts on how the season is going and what the biggests surprises and disappointments are so far.
The Tampa Bay Rays just keep on rolling! Crummy stadium, low payroll and they cannot be stopped. Unlike the Oakland A’s who seem to have zero interest in putting a competitive team on the field.
The Dodgers continue to rein over the National League West despite the belief of many that the Padres may be the new favorite. Are the Padres the biggest disappointment? You’ll have to listen to find out!
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
You know I love to share inspirational sports stories with you and today is a whopper! It's about the Florida Athletic High School Hall of Famer Carl Joseph.
Joseph was a star athlete in high school in football, basketball and track and field. At 6’1” he could dunk the ball with authority, routinely blocked shots into the crowd, played on the defensive line in football, could throw a shot put 40 feet and won the high jump in a track meet clearing 5’10”.
Joseph then went on to play middle linebacker in college at Bethune-Cookman. He did all this, coming from a poor family on a tobacco farm with nine siblings and a single mother.
But that’s not what makes this story impressive. It's that Joseph did all of this on one leg. Joseph was born with one leg and he didn’t use a prosthetic leg for any sport. He literally hopped around on one leg, making tackles and blocking shots.
So what is holding you back?
Check out this video of Carl Joseph
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Jamie Moyer pitched in four different decades as a Major League pitcher and won 269 games. He was never the most talented guy, he didn’t throw hard and his “stuff” wasn’t impressive, but he got the very most out of his ability by knowing his strengths.
He knew he could use hitters' aggressiveness to his advantage and he did so for 25 seasons. But Moyer also knew he should get the most out of his influence and stature as a professional athlete and he did that as well.
He and his wife started a foundation which holds camps called Camp Erin, named after 15-year-old Erin Metcalf who died of liver cancer. The camps bring together children who have lost a family member to participate in fun outdoor activities and meet other kids who know what real loss feels like.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I’m talking about how working on a team creates a positive environment with better outcomes for everyone. It’s tempting to want to “go it alone” but the rewards of being backed up by a team bear out in the research and by people’s experiences.
Being on a team reduces stress, reduces mistakes and creates better decision making. I know that playing a team sport made our failures less painful and our successes way more fun.
So if you are starting out on a new dream or looking for a new career, build a team or look to join a team because you’ll be better off if you do.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
We all have negative thoughts sometimes that put us down or make us doubt ourselves. That’s normal, but when those thoughts become chronic and intrusive it can lead to a sad lonely life of blaming the world and other people for our problems.
Looking back over my own experience and reading how others have overcome negative thoughts I wanted to share with you some ways to overcome that pattern.
- Acknowledge the thoughts and know you will overcome them
- Use compassionate self-talk
- Talk to others to get a new perspective
- Take that thought, wrap it up in tissue and throw it away
Listen to today’s short to better understand what I mean and hear how I used these tactics to get over my throwing issue as a young player.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
We all do it. We all get a fear in our head that we know what someone is thinking about us, or we get a feeling and know that something terrible is going to happen, or we read a headline and we know the whole awful story. But do we? Or are we just jumping to conclusions based on feelings or false information?
Jumping to conclusions can cause us to act in irrational ways and upend our day or our lives because we reacted to situations that didn’t even exist. When it’s really bad we begin to always assume the worst and constantly live in a state of panic or sorrow over things that haven’t actually happened.
How do we combat this type of thinking, listen to today’s short to find out.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I’m talking about another pandemic that is happening in our world as the COVID-19 crisis winds down and that is the crisis of loneliness. It’s worse for you than smoking, it causes mental health problems, lifestyle disorders and all sorts of public health problems.
All this started even before COVID and it continues to get worse. So what can we do? Well, it's a big complex problem with simple solutions. We have to connect with other people. It’s vital! We are literally built to thrive on human connection and we wither and die without it. We have to engage with our community, our friends and neighbors.
Listen today to hear just how serious loneliness is and what you can do to help the problem.
Source: The surgeon general says loneliness is as deadly as smoking
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
There are many things in life which never get old. Jeans and a t-shirt, a good chocolate chip cookie and treating people with class and respect. That’s what today’s short is all about.
During my career many different people showed class, guiding me with their example of kindness and service. Acts of class and respect are experiences that have stuck with me for the rest of my life and they are reminders of how I should strive to treat others as well.
Listen to today’s short to hear how some of the great all-time players showed incredible class to me in my early career.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I’m taking a look at the baseball season again to see where things stand after the first month.
This is a time for players and teams to reevaluate where they are, how the season is going and what changes might need to be made. It’s a great example for our own lives. Every few months we should all be evaluating our lives and our performance to figure out where we can do better and what changes we could make to improve.
Donate to the Captain John J. Sax Foundation here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today we officially open the Captain John J. Sax foundation which will raise money to support people who want to pursue a passion for flying. Our foundation’s mission statement is:
In continuing to honor the life of a devoted flyer, the Capt. John J. Sax Foundation serves to support those who choose to further their education, exploration and passion for flight dwelling within the hearts of future aviators within the United States of America.
John had been passionate about flying since he was a little boy and he was lucky enough to spend every day of his 33 years chasing and living his dream of being a world class pilot.
If you’d like to donate to the foundation please follow the link below.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today on our full length episode I had the pleasure of talking with the great Nick Swisher. Nick is a ball of energy and positivity and he had so many great things to say about how to choose happiness and how to look forward and the future while living in the present moment.
Nick was a phenomenal baseball player playing 12 seasons in which he hit 20 or more home runs in nine straight seasons and won a world series with the New York Yankees in 2009. He was a first round pick by the Oakland A’s in 2002 and told me he learned how to switch hit playing home run derby with his friends in high school.
But Nick has always been known for his infectious personality. We talked about his career, we talked about fatherhood, and we talked about how with baseball behind him, the best years of his life lay ahead. So I hope you enjoy the fantastic, energizing conversation with Nick Swisher.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
To finish this week of people overcoming the odds to succeed in sports I wanted to highlight the great Muggsy Bogues, who played 14 years in the NBA despite being a mere 5’3”. That’s short for your average person but for professional basketball players that is unheard of. And he was one of a kind and still is, because he is the shortest NBA player ever.
And yet he wasn’t just a cute story, Muggsy Bogues was an outstanding player. Nobody took care of the ball better than Muggsy and that’s not my opinion, that’s according to career statistics. Muggsy used his height to his advantage, hugging the ball close to the ground and using his incredible quickness in space to make the right pass.
His “short”coming became his superpower.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Yesterday’s story was about a boy who almost lost his legs and today’s story is about a boy who lost his arms. Ibrahim Hamadtou lost his arms in a train accident as a little boy. Luckily in the village he grew up in in Egypt they loved soccer and table tennis.
Naturally, you would assume a kid with no arms would play soccer, which he did, but Ibrahim was also enamored with table tennis. Unfortunately, a prerequisite to play the sport is holding a paddle and to do that you need arms and hands right? Wrong, because Ibrahim started playing by holding the paddle in his mouth!
Today he competes in professional competitions for disabled athletes and he is incredible. Check out the video below to be inspired.
VIDEO: Ibrahim Hamadtou plays ping pong with no arms
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I share the story of Glenn Cunningham who was one of the best distance runners of all time. He held the world record in the mile for three years. He held several Olympic and NCAA records at one point. But as a child, doctors told him he would never walk.
Cunningham had both legs terribly burned in a fire, and he barely survived and nearly had his legs amputated. Doctors said he would never walk, but never underestimate the will of an 8-year-old. Cunningham taught himself how to walk in his yard holding the fence. As he got stronger he was in terrible pain when he walked, but when he ran the pain went away.
And that was the humblest of beginnings for one of the great athletes of the 1930’s. So let me ask you, what’s holding you back?
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I am talking a little bit about the rule changes and baseball and how they are working out so far. I’ll focus on the shift and the pick off rule.
What do these rules and changes have to do with our lives? Well, I think we will see that these rules are not going to change the game all that much because little tweaks to the rules aren’t the problem. It’s the underlying approach to the game. Sometimes the same could be said about our lives. If you are spinning your wheels constantly looking for ways to make little tweaks and changes maybe the problem is something deeper. Maybe the way you are approaching life is what is causing the problem.
So take stock of your life and try to find out if you need to make small adjustments or do you need to make some big changes to your approach.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This week I am talking about baseball and how it compares to life. Last weekend I was at my grandson’s little league game and saw a young kid get thrown out of a game because I ran into the catcher even though he tried to stop himself from running into him.
This type of over safety in youth sports and professional sports for that matter, are teaching people young and old that you should avoid pain. Avoid getting hurt at all costs and don’t ever hurt anyone else. The problem is that getting hurt is part of sports and part of the game of life. If you try to avoid getting hurt at all costs you won’t ever risk anything and you will end up lonely, bitter and frustrated.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
The Tampa Bay Rays kicked off the season with 13 straight wins, which is an astonishing feat but what’s even more amazing is they have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. They are a team that relied heavily on the shift and analytics to win games and yet they find new ways to innovate every year to be in the mix for the playoffs.
Simply put, the Rays don’t make ANY excuses. They see their challenges as opportunities to be creative and play the game in a way others would never even consider. Their poor stature in the baseball world is actually an asset for how they view the game.
So why not do the same thing in your life? Take your struggles, your lot in life and find ways to innovate that only you can see because of the unique position you are in. The people who have to struggle and be creative are the ones that find lasting success. And not just success, but more importantly, fulfillment.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
If you are a sports fan or even just a movie fan you undoubtedly know the movie Rudy. It’s the story of a young man who was determined to attend Notre Dame and play on the football team even though he stood a mere five foot six and a hundred and sixty five pounds.
He works tirelessly to earn the respect of his teammates and coaches, and repeatedly gets annihilated in practices, all while family and friends think he is out of his mind to chase such an outrageous dream.
But that perseverance leads him to spending two years on the practice team and getting to be in uniform for his last game where at the very end of the game he gets to play, makes a tackle and is carried off the field by his teammates.
The movie is based on a real story and today we have the man who lived that real story, Daniel Ruettiger, better known as Rudy.
He tells me all about his days at Notre Dame, how he earned his teammates respect and the other story of perseverance in his life which was the ten years he spent trying to get a movie about his life made so people could be inspired.
Rudy's website
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I’m talking about the ultimate walk-on player, Rudy Ruettiger. Rudy’s journey started after witnessing the horrific death of a co-worker at the coal plant where they worked. After seeing his friend die, Rudy was overwhelmed with the feeling that it was time to chase his dreams. He quit right away and set out to attend Notre Dame and play football.
He did just that and the story was turned into one of the greatest sports movies of all time. But the story of getting the movie made is even more impressive then the story told in the movie as Rudy spent 8 years trying to get his story told.
Today Rudy continues to inspire millions as he travels the country speaking to people about love, kindness and taking responsibilities for your dreams.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
I am continuing walk on week and today’s story is about Greg Camarillo, who caught one of the most famous touchdown passes in Miami Dolphins history. Though it was famous because it saved them from a potential 0-16 season.
But Greg was never meant to be in the NFL, that was never his plan when he finished high school and was trying to decide whether to attend Harvard or Stanford. He chose Stanford and walked onto the football team as a punter.
But he shanked his first two punt opportunities. Embarrassed but undeterred Greg continued to work and made the team as a wide receiver. After college Greg decided he wanted to try to continue to play football and he was signed by the San Diego Chargers after a tryout.
It was three years later when he made the famous catch with the Dolphins. His hard work and preparation led him to a solid 8 year NFL career and today he continues to teach others how to prepare whether it’s for college or for a life after sports.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This week I am talking all about improbable walk-on stories in college football. It takes immeasurable guts and passion to try and walk on to a top flight college football program but that’s exactly what Javien Elliot did when he joined Florida State the year after they won a National Championship.
And Javien wasn’t a walk-on with a dream to only play at Florida State, who turned down options to play for other schools. He was a junior college transfer who hadn’t played a snap of football since high school three years before.
He overcame major mistakes along the way but parlayed a great senior year at Florida State into a four year NFL career.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I tell the story of Rick Ankiel who was a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and who rocketed to stardom in 2000. But he fell into baseball ruin nearly as fast as he rose to stardom developing control problems and falling apart in the playoffs of that year.
Ankiel had years of injuries and attempts to solve his control problems before he gave up on his lifelong ambition of being a pitcher and decided to become an outfielder.
In 2007 he torched the minor leagues hitting 32 home runs by August and was called up to the majors where he spent the next seven seasons as an outfielder, having a fine career.
So if you are stuck in a rut or failing over and over at something you know isn’t right for you, have the courage to change your course and start something new.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This week I am telling great comeback stories and today’s story is about Jose Rijo of the Cincinnati Reds.
Rijo washed out of the Oakland A’s organization but had a great career with the Reds winning a World Series in which he won two games and went to an All-Star Game. But his career was cut short with shoulder and elbow injuries at age 31. He tried and tried to get back to the big leagues but injuries kept him out more than five years.
He even ended up on the Hall of Fame ballot which only happens for players who have not played for five years after retirement. But Rijo was not retired and his arm finally healed enough for him to begin pitching again. Listen to today’s short to hear how he made an improbable comeback all the way to the Major Leagues again after not pitching for half a decade.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This week I am talking about inspiring comeback stories, and I thought that I would highlight baseball comebacks in honor of the season just getting started.
Today is all about Tommy John. Yes if you didn’t know Tommy John was an actual pitcher, not just the name of a surgery, and he was a phenomenal pitcher to boot. He pitched for 26 seasons, 14 of which came after his groundbreaking elbow ligament replacement surgery in 1974. He went to three All-Star games and won 20 games three times after his surgery, all adding up to a career with 288 wins.
If he hadn’t worked so hard and bounced back so well from the surgery, who knows if it would have continued or just been chalked up as a failed experiment. Instead, because of his grit and determination (and a great surgeon) countless pitchers since have had amazing and prolonged careers due to Tommy John surgery.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I break down my picks for the World Series and talk a little bit about the new rules in baseball.
As part of the new rules I examine the idea that while these are mostly changes that I don’t like, I’m still excited about baseball and I recognize that the changes in the game are out of my control and that they might even bring good outcomes that I can’t see yet.
We can do the same with our lives. When change comes along, and it always does, you can fight it, or pout about it and try not to participate, or you can accept the change and have the healthy perspective that you may not know best and the change may lead you to an amazing path you never expected.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I look at the outlook for National League teams headed into the season. In doing so, two teams really stood out to me, the San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers. They have similar size media markets and similar size fan bases. They both don’t have a tremendous history of winning but have a moderate history of success. Yet the Padres are all in, spending every dollar they can find to try to win.
The Brewers on the other hand won’t even hand out decent extensions to their own young players. They have two of the top 10 pitchers in baseball and they won’t pony up. As a result, they will struggle and likely hit the abort button on their season and the next 5 seasons, at the All-Star break.
Live your life like the Padres, go all in and just go for it. And listen to today’s short for my outlook on the rest of the National League.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I am breaking down my predictions for the American League in baseball in each division. As much fun as that is, what I love about this time of year is that it reminds me of the optimism I should have about my life. Everyone on every team expects to have a great season and believes they can win. I felt that way when I went to spring training and it reminds me to find that attitude in my life today.
You’ve got to believe you are going to win and you’ve got to believe in the preparation to make it happen. So listen today for some thoughts on the baseball season and listen for some motivation on believing that your goals are going to come true.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today is the last day of me looking at how you can re-evaluate your life and start to refocus on what is most important to you. We make resolutions in January and then it is so easy to get trapped back in our day-to-day lives and forget about the goals we set and what we hoped to achieve.
This week was all about taking a pause to see what will make us happy and to prioritize our lives with these practical tips. Here are all 10 including the four from today.
- Do more of what you love
- Surround yourself with others who want to be happy (positive people!)
- Set smaller personal goals
- Stay present
- Practice forgiveness
- Get in charge of your health
- Delegate!
- Learn from setbacks
- Focus on what’s most important to you
- Schedule downtime
I hope this helps you make small steps towards the life you want for yourself and your loved ones.
Source: 10 priorities to re-evaluate to create more happiness in your life
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This week I am talking all about pausing and taking stock of your life and your happiness.
Today I give three more priorities for you to check in your life that will build more happiness if you focus on them. They are basic but that’s because the basic truths are the real truths.
Now is the time to check yourself and the direction you are headed so far this year, as we head into spring and are getting back to being outside, being active and enjoying some sunshine.
Listen to hear my three tips for today.
Source: 10 priorities to re-evaluate to create more happiness in your life
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This week I am going to suggest that you look at 10 priorities that can help you re-evaluate your life and make sure you are headed in a direction that you are happy with.
We are 3 months into the year and so often we pause at the end of the year but I want to encourage you to stop now and use these priorities to get your year back on track if you have fallen off.
Today’s tips are about how to create more happiness:
- Spend as much time as possible doing things you love
- Spend time with others who want to be happy
- Break big goals into smaller goals
Listen tomorrow for three more tips and get on the road to happiness.
Source: 10 priorities to re-evaluate to create more happiness in your life
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I talk about Madge Sayers. A name you might not know unless you love to get deep into Olympic history, but Madge Sayers was one of the first and best female figure skaters in the early 1900’s.
In fact, she was one of the best regardless of gender and proved that by winning the British Nationals in 1903 against men. She then saw a women’s division get created and won the first women’s singles gold medal in the 1908 games.
Sayers smashed down the doors for women, beating her own husband in competition and helped launch women’s figure skating, which is one of the most popular events in the Winter Olympics today.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Continuing my look back at some trailblazing women in the world of sports, today I look at Janet Guthrie who was the first woman to compete in a NASCAR Winston Cup race and the Indianapolis 500.
She went to college and graduated from Michigan University in 1960 and worked in research and development as an aeronautical engineer. She then became one of the four women chosen for the scientist astronaut program with NASA but was eventually not eligible to continue chasing that dream because she didn’t have a doctorate degree.
When that didn’t work out she jumped to car racing and had an amazing career that saw her break down barriers while struggling to secure sponsors as a woman. Despite that, she ended up being inducted into the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame (1980) and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2006).
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This week I am celebrating Women’s History Month by looking back at some of the greatest and most influential female athletes in history.
Today I’m talking about Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who was like the female Tiger Woods, except she also won three Olympic Medals in track and field, and struck out Major League baseball players.
Listen to today’s short to hear the amazing achievements of a woman who was far ahead of her time and flat out, one of the best athletes ever.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Sky White is the keyboard player for the band Foxy Shazam as well as the founder of the Wendigo Tea Company. Sky has been playing piano since he was a child and played thousands of shows over a decade-long stretch from 2004-2014 where he would find time almost everyday to seek out a unique and exquisite cup of tea wherever he was.
He has turned that knowledge and love of tea into the Wendigo Tea Company, which sells amazing, high quality loose leaf tea. Sky and I talk about what makes someone successful and how important it is to be willing to slog through the hard work and difficult times that precede that success.
Hard work, perseverance, perspective, passion and joy are all themes the Sky and I hit in our wide ranging talk about his career as a musician and now, a business owner.
Wendigo Tea
Foxy Shazam Website
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
At times we probably all wish to be more productive at work. If you search out books and blogs on how to be more productive you will find any number of ideas. I did just that and I wanted to share five simple tips to make you more productive that come from the University of Alabama’s business school.
These tips are simple and straightforward and could make you more productive at your job the first day you start putting them into practice.
Listen to find out what they are.
Source: Top 5 tips to being more productive
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I’m talking about the importance of showing up for the jobs you agreed to do, whether that’s in your career or at home or with friends. There is nothing more important than showing your gratitude for the people and opportunities in your life than just showing up.
In the NBA and other sports this simple truth seems to have gotten lost to the sad trend of “load management.” Which really means “I make $50 million a year but back to back games that’s too much for me.”
But what about the parent who spends $300 to take their kid to see their favorite player only to find out that that player couldn’t be bothered to even put on a uniform that day.
Look, the world changes, I know that, we all know that. Things change and not everything is as it used to be and that’s a good thing, that’s as it should be. But some things are fundamental. They aren’t tied to a place or a time and showing up and working hard is one of those things.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I am talking about the importance of silence. There is now doubt that there are lots of amazing things about living in our modern world. Access to information, entertainment, tremendous conveniences, but one of the drawbacks is the noise!
Both literal noise from sirens, car horns, planes, tv, radio all of it and also the noise in our heads.
Humans weren’t meant to live with that level of noise and stimulus. So it’s vital that we find time to enjoy some silence, and I found a great article from the Harvard Business Review by Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz called, The busier you are the more you need quiet time.
It shows through studies just how important silence is for the brain to heal, learn and absorb new information. So take some time to embrace peace, quiet and solitude.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This week I am talking all about the practices and characteristics in life that can bring us peace and well being. I went through the 5 conditions to create well being or PERMA on Monday and Tuesday.
Positive emotions
Engagement
Relationships (healthy ones)
Meaning
Accomplishments
But there is more to do to maximize the effects of these factors in your life and that’s what I”m talking about today.
- You need to cultivate optimism
- Exercise
- Good nutrition
- Good sleep
Do that along with PERMA and you will be as joyful, well-adjusted and resilient as can be!
Source: Seligman’s PERMA+ Model Explained: A Theory of Wellbeing
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Yesterday I talked about some tips to well-being outlined in the field of positive psychology. Today I am covering the last three letters in the 5 conditions that lead to well-being known as PERMA.
Yesterday I talked about Positive emotions and Engagement.
Today I will cover the other three: the RMA in Perma.
What are they? Listen to today’s short to find out!
Source: Seligman’s PERMA+ Model Explained: A Theory of Wellbeing
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This week I’m talking about the secrets to a feeling of well-being. The good news about this is you can achieve it and it’s all based on psychological research.
The field of positive psychology is not only dedicated to helping those with mental health conditions but to anyone suffering from the human condition. So all of us can benefit from the 5 factors that create well-being.
Today I’m focusing on the first two which are positive emotions and engagement or “flow.”
Listen to today’s short to hear how you can put these into practice and begin a path to feeling content and fulfilled in your life.
Source: Seligman’s PERMA+ Model Explained: A Theory of Wellbeing
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Being stuck inside due to winter weather is a great time to take those extra hours and get yourself ready for new career opportunities.
Here are four tips for you to use to prepare for those future opportunities:
- Look back at missed opportunities and see where you went wrong and what you should have done instead.
- Keep your eyes peeled and your mind open
- Learn and study
- Build your resume and portfolio now
Do these four things and be ready to pounce on the promotion or that dream job opportunity.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I give three tips to use the downtime in the winter to get ready mentally and physically for positive changes in your life.
When you are stuck inside because of the cold and the snow there is a lot of mental preparation you can do to get ready for your life. Visualize opportunities, meditate or read inspirational books and readings.
Take the time to put together an exercise routine and build better eating habits. Nothing crazy, just little changes in a positive direction.
Build better habits, get up early, get off the computer an hour before bed, stop wasting time and start maximizing it!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Spring training is just getting started and many of us are still hunkered down from a winter of bad weather, so I thought this week would be a great time to talk about how to use down time to prepare ourselves for future opportunities.
When I look back at my spring training experiences it was a time to see what my deficiencies were and to listen to coaches and be open minded to change. I think winter is a great time for all of us to do the same with our lives. When I have been open to advice and change is when I have made the biggest gains in my career and my life.
So spend the rest of your winter looking for people and sources that can help make you better, and start learning how to prepare because forward-thinking and preparation is a vital skill from childhood all the way until our last days on earth.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
This Friday is National Random Acts of Kindness Day and so I wanted to talk about the importance of practicing acts of kindness in our lives.
And this isn’t something that you should just focus on one day, this should be a way of life for all of us. As I researched ideas for random acts of kindness I found some that irked me.
Be kind to a server at restaurant
Connect with a good conversation
Be a good listener
Write a positive comment online
Give someone the benefit of the doubt
These were just a few of the suggestions that bothered me when I read them, because isn’t this just sort of a base level decent human behavior? Have we sunk so low that just not being a jerk is the same as being kind? No, I don’t think we have, so let's set the bar a lot higher and let’s practice some radical acts of kindness.
Past episodes on kindness:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1816434/episodes/10590569
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1816434/episodes/10637763
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1816434/episodes/10113021
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1816434/episodes/10120343
Interview with Madison Keys
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
It’s Valentine’s Day and what a great opportunity to remind those in our lives how much we love them.
I thought today would be a great day to share some recent published findings about the world’s longest study on happiness. Dr. Robert Waldinger, who has been directing the Harvard study of adult development since 2005, has a new book he co-authored with Dr. Marc Schulz called it The Good life.
The clear message from the study and many other studies is that warm, loving relationships are the key to good health and happiness. We all need people to rely on in life to celebrate the great moments and survive the tough ones. Without other people the difficulties of life breed stress, hopelessness and misery.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
February is Heart Health Awareness Month and so given this is an issue that has touched me very personally I wanted to talk about the importance of heart health. You might have heard this before but heart disease is the number killer of men and women in America.
So let's just review really quickly the basics of heart health.
- Lifestyle - healthy eating and don’t smoke or drink too much
- Fitness - get exercise everyday
- See a doctor regularly
- Good attitude=good heart health
So take time this month to review your habits and see your doctor and work to make sure you don’t fall victim to this preventable disease. \
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Do you ever get that sense of peace and wonder while watching a sunset, or at a National Park or even just looking down over a city while on a plane? Well, it turns out that feeling of awe may actually be good for our physical and mental health.
Today I share some findings from the Greater Good Science Center about the importance of awe in our lives, including it creating more humility, generosity, lower levels of stress and increased well being.
Listen to today’s short to hear some fascinating studies, which reveal why experiencing more awe in your life could be very important to your health and happiness.
Source: 8 reasons why awe makes your life better
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
We all have negative thoughts sometimes, it’s natural, it’s human, it can even push us forward. But it’s also easy for a negative thought to breed another and another and before you know it you’re mired in a negative way of thinking about everything.
You can’t be positive all the time, but returning to positive thoughts, thinking about what you have done well and making lists to keep your goals on track are great ways to make sure negativity doesn’t snowball in your life.
Listen to today’s short for more on pushing out the negative and fostering the positive.
Source: Why negativity dominates your daily thoughts
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Today I am talking about that all too common evil in many of our lives and that’s procrastination. Some studies estimate that nearly 20% of adults suffer from chronic procrastination.
Procrastination affects all aspects of our lives whether it’s work or relationships. Constantly being late even falls into procrastination and is a clear sign of disrespect for those you make wait.
So today I’ll give some basic tips to get away from procrastination, they are simple and they are small which is a great way to take a step forward on a task and a step away from procrastination.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
I’ve talked about the power of laughter the last two days and today I am talking about how laughter can actually be good for your career. How? Well first the obvious. The person with a warm and funny sense of humor is going to be well liked and the person who is well liked is going to get ahead at work.
Not only that but research has shown that people who laugh and are funnier are more productive than people who are not happy. Laughter reduces stress and anxiety and can produce hyper focus on a task immediately afterward.
So, find ways to laugh everyday. It’s good for your health, your relationships and your career.
Source: Why laughter can make you more productive at work
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsor: Wendigo Tea
Yesterday I talked about the health benefits of laughter and today I want to talk about the its benefits to relationships. Wanna find a hot date? Make sure you have a sense of humor as most people rate that as more important than looks, money or sex drive.
Wanna have a long marriage? You’d better have laughter to get through the years of change. Studies of long term marriages show that laughter is key to their longevity.
Struggling through a personal tragedy? Laughter is a great way to ease the tension and build community with others who have suffered the same loss and connect to them as you heal.
Laughter is an incredibly power element of bonding with others, so find reasons and ways to laugh today!
Source: 10 things you may not know about laughter
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I am talking all about laughter. It may seem obvious that we all love to laugh but it’s also one of those things that you have to make sure you make happen regularly in your life. Sometimes you are just in situations which make you laugh but we all need to find space for laughter in our lives.
Today I focus on the many health benefits of laughter. Laughter may really be the best medicine, so listen to today’s short to hear how the Mayo Clinic says laughter affects your health.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
After two days of inspiring stories of people changing careers, today I give out some tips for how to prepare for that process yourself. I cover things like evaluating your values and skills and conducting informational interviews.
You can make a shift in your life starting today. People change careers all the time and with people living and working longer it’s about time you made the decision to switch to a career that you find fulfilling.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I am talking all about taking that scary step to change careers this week and today I wanted to flood you with hope by sharing some amazing stories of people’s success.
Did you know a famous actor once worked as the hair and makeup person at a funeral parlor? Another person took their love of paranormal investigating and turned it into a career in social media marketing.
Listen to today’s short and get inspired by hearing how a few famous people and a few unknown people made huge changes towards success in a new career.
Source: People changing careers from Buzzfeed
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I’m talking all about making big changes in your career. Today I wanted to share an amazing story of a guy going from world-class athlete to world-class doctor. A shift that not many people make but it’s an amazing story to get you motivated to make your own change.
Eric Heiden is best known for winning five gold medals in one Winter Olympics in speed skating. It was a feat never before seen. But many other people know him as the guy who fixed their terribly injured knee or shoulder because he runs a thriving orthopedic surgery practice.
That’s a pretty amazing change in career and identity and Eric says that being a doctor is truly his life's work. Listen to hear more of the story.
Eric Heiden website
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I sat down with Sean Salisbury to talk about many of our favorite Sax in the Morning themes, compassion, service, adversity and mentorship.
Sean played for five NFL teams, was a star at USC and became best known as an analyst of ESPN. But hard times came to Sean and his career and he found himself at a crossroads when he met someone on the side of the freeway who was even more down on his luck.
Sean tells the story of how that chance meeting changed both their lives and how he lives life today full of gratitude for the struggles he experienced and what he’s learned by getting through them. It’s a story you MUST believe.
Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanUnfiltered
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
There’s a quote by the management consultant W. Edwards Deming that goes like this:
“Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.”
Basically that means in our personal lives, in our homes and in our business lives, the results we are getting are the result of systems that we have set up either on purpose or by accident.
Listen to today’s short to hear more about how to analyze the systems in your life so you can make changes and start getting the results you want and take agency over your own life.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to talk a little bit about imposter syndrome and how one of the best sports stories going right now shows how amazing belief in yourself, your abilities and your success can be.
Brock Purdy, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers just won his first playoff game. This is a guy who started as the third string quarterback, was the very last pick in the draft, is only 23 years old and yet he is playing like one of the best quarterbacks in football.
So many of us struggle with feeling a bit like a fraud when we are successful at something. But not Brock Purdy. This guy oozes confidence and swagger, and why shouldn’t he? He’s in the NFL, that means he is supremely talented. No one achieves success by accident.
So take a page from Brock Purdy’s book and believe in yourself and believe that you are exactly where you should be in those moments of great success.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. day and so in lieu of our typical podcast I thought we would just take the time on today’s show to celebrate the contributions and sacrifice of M.L.K. and appreciate the improvements for all of us living in 2023 thanks to his talent, vision, courage and hard work.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I talk about how to seek out opportunities and take advantage of them when they come. When you get that chance you have to pull the trigger and be decisive, planning is for the times when you are waiting for an opportunity, so you can take action when it comes.
You also have to continue to raise your own bar of expectancy. If you are complacent, if you are not looking to grow and achieve more, opportunities will not find you. You also need to be clear on your vision, culture and values so that you don’t chase things that don’t fit your own goals and values.
Lastly, I give a reading from my favorite book. Listen to hear more about seeking opportunities.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I am talking about how to tell the difference between an opportunity or a distraction. This can be very tricky in life and in business because we never want to give up a good opportunity that comes our way but it is also so easy to chase an idea that doesn’t fit our goal. Or to accept someone’s suggestion or idea for change because it seems easy or beneficial.
Listen for some of my tips and experience of being bogged down by distractions or misreading situations as opportunities that turned out to be a waste of time. And don’t let opportunities pass you by but analyze them carefully first to make sure they aren’t fool’s gold.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I’m talking about opportunities. How to capitalize on them and recognize them when they come along. Sometimes opportunities come along that look like hardships and that was very true for the great Doris Day.
Doris Day was a famous actress, dancer and singer. When she was young all her focus was on dancing until a near fatal car accident caused her to suffer a broken leg. While in the hospital Doris started singing to pass the time, idolizing and imitating Ella Fitzgerald. She discovered she had an excellent voice and went on to have an amazing career as an actress and singer with numerous hits.
Without that terrible accident Doris Day may have solely focused on dancing, robbing herself and all of us of her beautiful voice. So if you are suffering through a hard time right now or the next time you are disappointed, try to see how you can turn that obstacle into an opportunity.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I give you the last four tips this week for starting a new goal or project. These four suggestions are for when you have begun your journey and you are hitting rough spots along the way.
- Be flexible: no matter how well laid out your plan is, things change, new information is revealed and you have to adapt to succeed.
- Accept that failure is part of the process.
- Make time to do things you love and are good at: taking time to continue with activities that give you confidence because you are proficient at them can help boost your confidence through a new learning process.
- Celebrate the milestones along the way.
Go back and listen to this week's shorts all in a row to hear all 12 tips again and best of luck on your new endeavor in the new year!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I go through four more tips when you are embarking on a new venture. These tips are mostly still part of the investigative phase of working on a new goal or project.
- Build your team: this can mean hiring people or just finding someone to work with who has the same goal.
- Try other new things: research shows that eating new food, reading new books, watching a new show can spark creativity in other areas of our lives.
- Write a personal mission statement: be clear and intentional about the purpose of your new goal.
- Use the experience of others: Someone has already achieved your goal. Find them and ask them how they got there.
Tomorrow I’ll finish the week with four more tips for when you have begun to work on your new goal so that you don’t burn out and can finish the job.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Happy New Year! What better time to talk about new beginnings than the first week of the new year. Lots of you out there may decide to make resolutions or make changes so I decided to spend this week talking about how to set yourself up for success when starting something new.
Today I give four of 12 tips on how to start something new and how to consider starting something new:
- Make a decision-consider if this change or goal is something you REALLY want
- You have to STOP doing things that will get in the way
- What will the cost be in money, time and education
- Don’t go out and over-invest in new equipment
Listen to hear why these four tips are a good place to start and listen to more tips the rest of the week!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I share a story about a young man who has overcome a seemingly impossible obstacle to play Division I basketball.
Hansel Emmanuel lost his arm in a terrible accident when he was 6 years old and it was AFTER that when he started playing basketball. He was lucky enough to get in contact with an old friend of his dad’s who was a high school basketball coach in Florida who invited him to leave his home in Puerto Rico and come play for his school.
Emmanuel led the team to a state championship, made his way to Northwestern State and has found fame and admiration with 500k Instagram followers.
His story is remarkable and I hope it inspires you not to let anything stand in your way.
One armed basketball recruit scores his first points
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Yesterday I talked about a man who went back to school to get a Bachelor’s degree at age 96 and a Master’s degree at 98! Today I'm going to the other end of the spectrum to share a story of two sisters who started a non-profit that has served over 40,000 meals to those in need in Florida and they did it before they could legally drive to drop off the meals.
Listen to hear how these young women didn’t let their age or concerns about what was going on in their own teenage lives stop them from having a huge impact in their community.
Feeding the Fosters website
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. This week in preparation for the new year I wanted to share some uplifting and inspiring stories of people who overcame obstacles to do great things in 2022.
Today’s story is about the oldest man to graduate with a Masters Degree. I won’t give away much of the story but it is incredibly inspiring, especially if you are someone who lets little obstacles get in the way of you chasing your dreams. So listen to this story about Guiseppe Paterno and get motivated!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Former big league baseball player, broadcaster and current radio host, F.P. Santangelo talked with me about leadership, authenticity and how failure and adversity build you into your best self.
F.P. spent seven years in the big leagues for the Expos, Giants, Dodgers and A’s. He came in 4th in the rookie of the year voting in 1996, but he is best known for his work in broadcasting in the Bay Area and with the Washington Nationals. I know him as a great guy and fellow Sacramento native.
After getting deep into our own experiences with adversity and the challenge of discovering who you are after life in baseball, F.P. and I talk a little about the changes in today’s game.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Yesterday I talked about loneliness and the importance of creating more social connection to others. Today I want to talk about how connection with something bigger than you has many mental health benefits.
A post on the National Alliance of Mental Illness talks about the benefits of religion or general spirituality in our lives. It can help combat loneliness, anxiety and many other daily struggles.
If you combine yesterday’s call to find more friends and community, with today’s call to reach out to God or a spirituality that suits you but connects you to a universe that is much bigger than you, then you will be well on your way to a joyful holiday season and a happy new year!
Source: The mental health benefits of religion and spirituality
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today as we approach Christmas and New Years I wanted to talk about the importance of social connection. As it turns out, chronic loneliness is more likely to lead to a premature death than smoking or many other chronic health conditions.
Worse than that and AARP study done over 10 years ago found that 42 million Americans over the age of 45 suffered from chronic loneliness.
So how do we confront this loneliness epidemic that has been slowing building and continues to get worse after COVID and as a result of the distractions of social media?
Well, simply put it takes work but it’s easy. Pick up the phone and call that friend you have been thinking about. Ask a coworker to go to coffee, join a book club or go back to church. There are endless ways to connect with other people but it needs to be face-to-face or at the very least on the phone TALKING.
It’s more important for your health than diet or exercise and the holidays are a time to get motivated to build new connections rather than be stuck feeling like you wish you had more of them.
Source: So lonely I could die
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to talk about the importance of maintaining energy in our lives. Sometimes people get afraid to make the wrong decision and they let their momentum stop and they lose all their energy. This same person would have been better off making the wrong decision and continuing to move forward and fix a mistake then get paralyzed and end up in a state of apathy.
Apathy is an incredibly dangerous and soul draining state of mind. Not caring about anything means you soon won’t care about yourself. People get lost in a state of apathy and it can be incredibly difficult to get out of.
So listen today to hear more from some great philosophical minds about the dangers of apathy and stay energetic and motivated through the holidays.
Sources: Ambition is Scary, But Apathy is Dangerous
As a man thinketh - James Allen
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I want to switch things around a bit and talk not just about mentors who help you but why you should help others. Being a mentor is great for your own fulfillment and a positive way to give back to others, but it is also really good for your development.
Listen as I break down the reasons why you should look to mentor someone and how it will help your own knowledge and understanding and help you move your own career forward.
Source:24 Reasons Why Mentorship Is Important for Mentee and Mentor
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I talk about what a mentor is and why it’s so important to find one to help you excell in your field. A mentor is someone with more knowledge and experience than you, who can not only show you how they got to where they are but also to show you what pitfalls to avoid.
Mentors should be good listeners, give freely of themselves, teach about the mistakes they make, keep you accountable and listen, listen, listen. DO NOT find a mentor who dictates to you how things must be done. A mentor should be a collaborator in your personal journey.
Listen to today’s short to hear more about how valuable finding a good mentor can be and what a good mentor should do.
Source: 10 Reasons Why a Mentor Is a Must
24 Reasons Why Mentorship Is Important for Mentee and Mentor
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I’m talking all about the importance of mentorship. Today I wanted to show some love to the men who have mentored me in my careers, whether it be Dusty Baker, Steve Garvey or Davey Lopes in baseball or Alexander Van Buren who taught me how to be a good public speaker.
Mentors are vital to our personal growth. Books and YouTube can teach you a lot, but nothing substitutes the value of one-on-one teaching from someone who has been where you want to go.
So listen today to hear about the men who changed my life in baseball and life after baseball.
Source: 10 Reasons Why a Mentor Is a Must
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Yesterday I talked about how small changes each day can lead to big time changes. But what if you have to take the leap and make a huge change? End a relationship, quit a job, choose a college, etc.
That’s what today’s short is all about and I give five things to consider before making a big change.
- Remember you always have a choice
- Watch out for fear
- Surrender and make the choice with your whole self
- Ask others for support or input
- Make sure it matches your values
Listen to today’s short to hear me run down exactly how to put these five checkpoints into place.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I don’t know about you but I can’t believe how fast this year went by. In fact, I find myself saying that at the end of most years. So I want to encourage you to really let that feeling sink in, really feel how fast a year goes by and then think…what if next year I spent a little time each day on something that will make my life better this time next year?
For example:
What if you bought one less coffee per week? How much extra cash would you have for Christmas presents next year?
What if you played piano for 15 min per day? How many songs could you learn in a year?
What if you walked 20 min per day and listened to a walking meditation? How far could you walk and how sound would your mind be?
The answers to these questions and more on today’s short.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
After talking all about motivation last week, this week I am following it up by talking about how to prepare for the new year and looking ahead to set and achieve goals.
Today I'll cover some basic changes or practices that I think are so important to have in place before working towards bigger goals in our lives. These are some basics of good living but so many of us struggle with these five things.
- Good diet - I’m not a proponent of crazy dieting or being obsessive about what we eat, but keeping some basic ground rules for a good diet is really important.
- Get a little exercise each day
- Find things that make you passionate
- Declutter your life - Focus on both relationships that don’t serve you and your living space
- Make time for yourself
Get started on implementing any of these that you are falling short on and you will be well on your way to a successful 2023!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wrap up talking about how to get and stay motivated. I wanted to look back on my own life and analyze what kept me going all the way to the big leagues and through my career. I found that it was the love of the game, the satisfaction of improving and inching towards my dreams and accepting that along with the progress came parts of the process I didn’t like.
I also know that I never was motivated by money and that I found passions outside of baseball to keep me well-rounded and give me things to look forward to when baseball was a struggle.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I want to share something that I found while researching self-motivation. It is three simple questions to ask yourself AFTER you set a goal but BEFORE you start the work to achieve it. If you can answer “yes” to these questions you will be filled with the confidence and thus, the motivation to achieve your goal.
The questions are:
- Can you do it?
- Will it work?
- Is it worth it?
These are so simple and you might wonder what does this even mean? Listen to today’s short to understand why asking these questions is crucial to self-motivation and reaching your dreams.
Source: The psychology of self-motivation
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sometimes people ask me if I’m a motivational speaker and I am always quick to tell them that while I hope to inspire people, motivation is something that has to come from inside yourself.
That said there are some simple tips and tools you can use to try to get yourself jump started if you know you have a goal you want to reach but are struggling with the motivation to get there.
- Set clear goals and write them down
- Reward yourself along the way for achieving those small goals
- Break the goal into small steps to get out of ruts of procrastination
- Share your goals with others to create accountability
Listen today to hear me elaborate on how these simple steps can help get you moving towards your goal and to get that self-motivation mojo rolling.
Source: How to keep working when your just not feeling it
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
The last two days I’ve talked about how gratitude makes your career better, it makes you more joyful and content in your personal life and today we are going to talk about the power gratitude has on your physical health.
Heart trouble, kidney disease, cancer, aches and pains and willingness to exercise all are positively affected by gratitude.
If you’ve been listening this week I hope it’s become clear just how powerful gratitude is in your life if you practice it. So get started with a gratitude practice tomorrow on Thanksgiving where we all are supposed to pause and give thanks for the wonderful things in our lives and keep it going everyday thereafter.
Source:The Science of Gratitude - Greater Good Science Center
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Gratitude isn’t just a silly tool people in the world of self-improvement love to talk about. It is incredibly powerful for our mental, emotional and spiritual health. But don’t just take my word for it, listen to today’s short where I cover a number of studies that demonstrate the power of gratitude in creating joy and satisfaction in life.
The studies demonstrate that the contentment those who have gratitude feel comes from a practice of gratitude in some way. These people aren’t just happy and thus grateful. They are purposefully looking to acknowledge what they are grateful for and why, and that practice leads to joy and happiness.
Sources:
VIDEO: Brene Brown talks about gratitude
The Science of Gratitude - Greater Good Science Center
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
It’s the week of Thanksgiving and it’s a great time to talk about one of my favorite topics, which is also one of my favorite tools for a good life, and that’s gratitude.
Today I’m going to focus on the impact gratitude can have in our careers and how studies have shown that a practice of gratitude can turn an “OK” job into a great one.
Also, I’ll leave you with some simple practices of gratitude that can set you on the path to more appreciation in your life.
Sources:
The Science of Gratitude how thankfulness impacts our brains and business-Forbes.com
The Science of Gratitude - Greater Good Science Center
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Bucky Dent is famous for many things. He hit one of the most iconic home runs in baseball history against the Boston Red Sox in 1978 and he also posed shirtless for a poster that women still bring for him to sign today.
I talked with Bucky and his wife Angie about his career and the joy he is able to still bring people because of his baseball heroics and continued kindness he shows to people he meets.
The couple also talk about their keys to success in life, career and their relationship.
Bucky was just recently inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
To finish this week of “finishing strong,” I wanted to talk about how you can build momentum which is crucial to get you to the finish line of your big project or goal. Today I talk about some tips from author Darren Hardy about how to build regular habits that will build momentum.
- Establish a morning routine and do the most difficult tasks early in the day.
- Create an evening schedule where you can review your day to prepare for the next
- Change things up so they don’t get boring
- Log your new habits
- Keep the negative thoughts at bay
Do these things and you will feel the momentum build. Remember that old saying “You can have the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I continue to talk about finishing strong. There is a very famous acronym regarding goal setting that I think is really helpful to follow when it comes to finishing a project strong. That acronym is SMART.
S-Specific
M-Measurable
A-Achievable
R-Realistic
T-Time bound
Use these parameters when writing down your goals to finish the year. Most importantly, WRITE THEM DOWN. I talk in today’s short about why that is specifically so important.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
At the end of a season or year or project it is so important to finish strong. I looked back over my life to see when I had let up and slowed down and when I had run right through the finish line.
As we get into the holiday season and look to a new year I wanted to give you four tips on how to finish something strong.
- Keep doing what is working for you
- Stop an evaluate how to reach your end goal
- Get rid of what has been standing in your way
- Lean on others for support
Listen today as I elaborate on these four tips.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
May 16, 1980 was the day that perhaps the greatest single game playoff performance in any sport was put on by the great Magic Johnson. It wasn’t just that he put up 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. Or that he went 14-14 from the free throw line. Or that they won the game and the championship.
It was that he stepped in for the league MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and played center at just 6’8” after playing point guard all year. He improvised his entire game, as a guy not known for scoring and lifted his team to victory. He did it in maybe the most hostile environment in North American sports, Philadelphia. And he did it at just 20 years old.
I share this story for pure inspiration because Magic and the Lakers had a hundred reasons why they shouldn’t have won the series and why he shouldn’t have played so well. But Magic took the challenge head on and dominated for the win.
A lesson we can all take and be inspired by in our own lives.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I get more in-depth talking about some of the greatest playoff performances of all-time. What I love about drawing parallels to great athletes performing in the biggest moments is the fact that they all have lost, A LOT, in their careers on the way to those big moments. They all had moments of injury or turmoil that maybe had them doubting themselves. Yet they come through in those big moments for all of us to share.
So listen to these stories and think back to some of your favorite big time performances as you get ready to finish the year strong.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I am talking all about playoff performances and how you take examples from professional athletes and apply them big moments in your life and career.
Take Justin Verlander, who bowed his neck in game 5 after getting in some early trouble and dominated to get his first World Series win in seven starts. The Astros went on to win the series in six games in large part thanks to his performance.
What does that mean for you? Well, we all have to keep plugging away after disappointments, and trust that a great performance is right around the corner. If you give up or let past failures take hold of your confidence then the game is already over. So keep trying and know that you are ready and prepared for success, otherwise you never would have made it to that situation in the first place.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
What do Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Oprah and Michael Jordan have in common? They are all talented and worked incredibly hard to reach the very top of their fields. But hard work isn’t enough and talent isn’t enough. Mental toughness is what separates those who succeed at the highest level and those that don’t.
Meditation, visualization, mental coaches and exercises. These are just some of the tips that these elite professionals use to prepare for the big moments.
Listen today to hear more about how some of the best in the world in their fields mentally prepare for the big moments in their lives.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today we continue to talk about how to prepare for those big moments in life. While yesterday we talked about preparation in general terms, today I’ll give you some specific ways to prepare yourself mentally for those big moments.
Some of the tips include:
-Visualize your victory
-Meditate positive thoughts
-Share your goals with other people
And several more.
Listen to hear them all and to hear about how I got ready to play in the World Series.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
It’s World Series time! I thought I’d take this week to talk about one of my favorite subjects…preparation. Particularly, how you prepare for when major moments or opportunities come into your life.
I know what it’s like to have to perform on a huge stage with tons of pressure and what I learned is that I had to rely on the preparation I had done to that point. Knowing I had already done the work to get to the World Series helped me to be calm and focused in the big moments.
I also learned that when I was struggling it didn’t mean I had to change everything, it just meant I had to focus on a couple simple things. The same goes for struggles in our lives, they pass eventually and the best thing we can do is not overcomplicate them.
So as the year winds down remember how you have prepared to be your best, trust that preparation so you can relax and perform your best.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I'm wrapping up this week of football comeback stories with Rocky Bleier, who after his rookie year with the Pittsburgh Steelers was drafted into the Army and later shipped off to Viet Nam.
Bleier was shot in battle and while lying on the ground had a grenade land near him and a comrade. While attempting to cover the grenade he suffered major injuries to his leg and foot from the blast.
He tried returning to the NFL, but was in constant pain and was nearly 40 lbs under his playing weight. Finally, after four years and being released twice he made it into the Steelers starting lineup, rushing and blocking as the teams fullback and RB2. The next year in 1975, he and teammate Franco Harris both rushed for over 1000 yards.
Bleier remained with the Steelers winning four Super Bowls and retired as their 4th all-time leading rusher. Not bad for a guy playing on 1 ½ legs!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I want to talk about a different kind of comeback in Doug Flutie. After winning the Heisman Trophy in college and playing a year in the USFL and then a few years in the NFL, no one believed in Flutie so he went to Canada to play football.
There he won three championships and became a star before returning to the NFL after nearly 10 years. He helped the Buffalo Bills surge to the playoffs and was named to the Pro Bowl.
His short stature had teams and coaches continually doubting him yet he kept on winning and played in the NFL until he was 43 years old.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I have talked about a lot about great stories in baseball where players have come back from harrowing circumstances, but given football season is in full swing I thought I’d highlight some of the greatest personal comebacks from that great sport.
There are so many to choose from because, frankly, anyone who plays for 8-10 years in the NFL survives a lot of pain and setbacks.
Today I highlight Alex Smith who not only bounced back from being pushed out of the starting quarterback job on multiple teams and then suffered a terrible broken leg in 2018.
After surgery he developed an infection in the leg that spread through his bloodstream. He had to endure 16 more surgeries to save his leg and his life yet he came back for one more year and led the Redskins to the playoffs.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Patti Palamidessi has an absolutely amazing story to share with you today. She suffered from epilepsy her whole life, causing her to have to take cocktails of drugs for treatment that dramatically affected her quality of life.
Finally at age 38 she had a VERY experimental brain surgery, first to find out where her epilepsy was centered in her brain and then to remove the damaged portions. The surgery took 70% of her hippocampus, which controls memory, and 40% of her amygdala, which controls fear.
She was left full of fear and trying to relearn to read, write and struggling to recognize even close family members. Yet when you hear her today, none of that will seem evident which is why her story is so powerful.
Patti’s book The Other Four Letter Word
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Tomorrow you’ll hear my full interview with Patti Palamidessi, who has overcome epilepsy, major brain surgery and kidney cancer. So much of her message in our interview and in her book is about perseverance.
Today I share the five tips about how to survive difficult times in your life that I learned from talking to Patti and from reading her book.
Listen to find out what they are.
Patti’s book The Other Four Letter Word
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
On Thursday you will hear an amazing interview I did with my good friend Patti Palamidessi, who overcame epilepsy and major experimental brain surgery more than two decades ago. But in that interview you won’t hear the full scope of just how much Patti has overcome.
So today I wanted to share more of Patti's story and what she has been through, so that you can be lifted up today and Thursday be truly blown away by her strength and her courage.
Patti’s book The Other Four Letter Word
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
In our next full episode this week you’ll hear me talk to Patti Palamidessi who has an amazing story of how a brain surgery affected the fear center of her brain and caused her to live in constant fear. Yet she overcame that fear to live a rich and full life.
With that in mind I wanted to talk about some tips I’ve put together on overcoming fear as well as some I found while researching the topic.
Lastly, I’ll give you the ultimate antidote to fear, and the good news is, it’s actually something that is totally in your control!
Source: tonyrobbins.com
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Yesterday I shared the first two core beliefs out of eight that come from Lewis Howes who wrote a book called The School of Greatness about how to go from being good to great.
Lewis breaks down how to become great by focusing on these eight things and I loved it so much I thought I would share them with you.
So go back and listen to the first two from yesterday and then today I give you the final six tips to help you achieve your own greatness.
Source: 8 ways to achieve greatness
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Yesterday I shared my own thoughts on how you can achieve greatness if you focus on seven simple things. Today I share eight more tips that come from Lewis Howes who wrote a book called The School of Greatness.
Lewis breaks down how to become great by focusing on these eight things and I loved it so much I thought I would share them with you.
Listen to hear the first two and listen tomorrow to hear the remaining six.
Source: 8 ways to achieve greatness
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
There are many things that separate those who are merely good at something to those that are great. It’s easy to just say “work hard” and “never give up,” but after doing a lot of reading on the subject and reflecting on my own life I made a list of seven essential things you need to do if you want to become great.
Listen to find out what they are!
Sources: Science of greatness
What separates good from great
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
As I continue talking about Hispanic Heritage Month, I wanted to focus on the history of Latin American players in baseball and the boom of the last several decades.
I go back to some of the white Hispanic players early in baseball and talk about my old friend and the first Black Latino player, Minnie Miñoso, who joined Cleveland in 1949. Stars of the 1960’s gave a whole generation of kids Hispanic players to root for and led to the boom of the last 30 years where today, Latino players make up over 30% of the players and their passion for baseball has shaped the most exciting parts of the modern game.
So we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating all the great Hispanic players past and present.
Source: http://websites.umich.edu/~ac213/student_projects06/witaw/early%20years.html
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I talk about one of my favorite players of all time and one of the most important Latin American players to ever play in the big leagues: Roberto Clemente.
Clemente was the first Latino voted into the MLB Hall of Fame, he had over 3000 hits, 12 gold gloves and his lifetime average was .317. Most importantly he played with a relentless passion everyday he was on the field and he carried that passion into helping people off the field.
Listen to hear more about Clemente’s life and the impact he had on baseball and the world.
Check out these crazy Roberto Clemente highlights!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
We are right in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month and so I wanted to talk a little bit about how the month came to be and about Colonel Gil Coronado, the man who is responsible for getting it national recognition.
Listen to today’s short for a little history lesson on Hispanic Heritage Month and make sure to take time to go out and support Latino owned business and cultural celebrations over the next couple weeks or frankly anytime you get the chance.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
The other day I read an amazing story in Sports Illustrated about a man named Adam McKay who has been paralyzed from the neck down for 14 years and he recently set out to break the world record for most miles traveled in 24 hours in a motorized wheelchair.
But Adam didn’t just do this one feat in a vacuum, he has taken several long trips, many of them hundreds of miles with his good friend beside him on a road bike and his mom in a vehicle following close behind.
Listen to this amazing story of living life to the fullest under the most impossible circumstances and check out the written story in the link below.
Source: 8.5 miles per hour, on a road with no limits
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I talk about what Queen Elizabeth meant as a world leader and how she was an example of how a public person can act with dignity and class. In a time where everyone has to have an opinion, she showed that it’s ok to just nod and smile whether you agree with someone or not.
I think we can all take a little piece of her example into our own lives and consider whether the constant airing of grievances has made our lives any better, or whether we should practice a little more tolerance and restraint.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to pay tribute to a wonderful man, teacher, coach, musician and baseball player, the great Maury Wills. Maury played with the Dodgers from 1959 to 1966. In 1962 he won the MVP award when he stole 104 bases, breaking Ty Cobb’s single season record dating back to 1915.
Wills is still the Dodgers all-time steals leader with 490 stolen bases, he made 5 All-Star games and won three World Series Championships. He was also known for his musical talent and made extra money in the off season by performing in his band while singing and playing several instruments.
Many Dodgers like me remember Maury for his amazing lessons in spring training on bunting and stealing. I know I owe a lot of my success stealing bases to the lessons I learned from Maury. So rest in peace my friend and thank you for the example of a life well lived.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I talk with Carlos Baerga, the great switch hitting second baseman of the Cleveland Indians and many other teams. Carlos was one of the most feared hitters in the American League in the mid 90’s hitting for power, average and RBI from both sides of the plate.
We talk about the benefits of playing winter baseball in Puerto Rico, the legacy of Roberto Clemente and our hopes that the game will return to more speed and balls put in play.
He also shares the secret that Paul Molitor told him to get out of a slump.
Listen to Carlos’s podcast on YouTube here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I talk about where all the teams stand, which teams are looking to lock up a playoff spot or is already in. I talk about how Dusty Baker has the Houston Astros in a great position to have home field throughout the American League playoffs, how the Mets may be the most dangerous team in the National League despite the Dodgers dominance and I weigh in on the A.L. MVP race.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today we talk about the amazing comeback of Tony Conigliaro. “Tony C” burst on to the scene with the Red Sox when he was just a teenager hitting .290 with 24 homers in just 111 games in 1964. In 1965 his 32 home runs made him the youngest home run champion in American League history and by the age of 22 he became the youngest player to reach 100 home runs.
In 1967 he was struck in the face by a pitch. The damage was extensive including several fractures and permanent injury to his retina and vision. But Tony C would not be stopped, he came back in 1969 and hit 20 home runs with 82 RBI and the next year he had a career high 36 home runs despite struggling with the vision in his eye.
Unfortunately his amazing comeback came to an end in 1975 as his vision deteriorated. He succumbed to a number of other health problems and sadly died at the age of 45. But his impact is still felt today as the Tony Conigliaro Award has been given annually since 1990 to a player who has overcome great adversity.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
In 1944 Lou Brissie was hit with an artillery shell and his lower leg was shattered in 30 pieces. The doctors wanted to amputate his leg but he refused, telling them he was a pitcher with a shot to play in the majors.
After two years and 23 surgeries Brissie was signed by the Philadelphia A’s. He did make it to the majors where he pitched for seven years and even appeared in an All-Star Game.
What an amazing story of grit and determination that we can all learn from. If you have a dream, don’t give up!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today we talk to crypto currency and blockchain technology expert John Sarson. John is the co-founder and CEO of Sarson Funds, an investment firm that specializes in crypto investing and education.
We talk about the security of the bitcoin blockchain, the benefits of cryptocurrency and the future of a world that will increasingly operate on decentralized platforms that use blockchain technology for all sorts or peer to peer transactions and contracts.
Listen to get an insight into where this new and exciting world of investing is today and where it’s headed in the future.
Sarson funds website
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I have been talking about the amazing opportunity you have to advance your career in a time when there are more jobs than applicants and many people are doing the bare minimum to keep the jobs they have.
Today I wanted to get specific about the types of jobs that are available. U.S. News put out a list of the top 100 jobs in the U.S. in 2022 and I focus on the top 12. In those top12 there are a projected 1.3 million jobs available with an average pay of $113,000.
Listen to get an idea of the great challenging and rewarding opportunities there are for you out there with very little competition.
Source: https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I want to add to what I discussed yesterday about the amazing opportunity you have to get ahead or look to pursue your dream job. There are some disturbing numbers out there about how many people have left their jobs and don’t plan to return and even worse, how many people plan to quit in the next 3-6 months.
What does that mean for you? It means that employers are desperate for people who are hungry and hard working. It means you can apply for a job you want and don’t have the traditional qualifications for because employers are likely to train someone who they see as excited and driven. The competition is weak which means the opportunities are plentiful.
Do it now though, because companies will adapt, and quickly. There will be more A.I., more automation and more jobs sent overseas. If you don’t jump in now you may miss an opportunity of a lifetime.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I recently heard this term of “quiet quitting” and to be honest I was appalled. Quiet quitting refers to people who aren’t actually quitting their jobs, they aren’t having real conversations with their managers about performance expectations, they are simply deciding “I’m not going to do that” and then not doing it and not telling anyone.
This behavior is sad and pathetic not only because it’s dishonest and disrespectful but also because it means these people aren’t getting the good feeling that comes with a honest, hard day's work. It means they are avoiding tough conversations with their bosses about burnout or expectations and just doing a half-ass job on purpose and taking a paycheck instead.
The good news is employers are more desperate than ever for people who are driven and excited. There has never been a better time to advance your career, and with a workforce full of “quiet quitters” there has never been less competition. So work hard and rocket ahead of these people because you have the opportunity of a lifetime.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/quiet-quitting-half-of-american-workers-gallup/
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Corky Miller played parts of 17 years of professional baseball accruing just over 500 at bats in the big leagues. That type of longevity, especially with so many years in the minor leagues takes a special love of the game, though Corky might say it was really more about perspective.
That attitude got his number 8 jersey retired by the Louisville Bats and enabled him to step right into a coaching career after his playing days ended.
I talked to Corky about adapting to changes in the game, having the humility to help young players who pass you by and thrive in the majors and the special bonds you make with other players in the minor leagues.
I loved Corky’s message of humility and willingness to change and evolve with new ideas and information.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Sponsors:
https://www.alhendricksontoyota.com/
https://www.goya.com/en/
https://greekmoving.com/
Today I talk more about change in preparation for my full length episode tomorrow with former Cincinnati Reds catcher Corky Miller. Corky and I talked a lot about how the game has changed and how he has adapted to teach methods and techniques that he didn’t use in his playing days.
So today I thought I would talk more about how to embrace change in our own lives. One of the most powerful tools we have is our own past. We can all look back at our lives and see how tough situations worked themselves out. Things often turn out better than we planned or even worse, sometimes when we got what we wanted it turned out we didn’t want it at all.
So listen to today’s short for tips on keeping change in perspective and listen to our talk with Corky Miller of the Cincinnati Reds tomorrow.
Source: https://habitsbuzz.com/how-accept-change-life/
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
When it comes to making big changes in your life or walking through inevitable change, there is a part of the process that you cannot avoid. That part is fear. Fear is inescapable yet so many of us try to run from it. You hear people say “face your fear” but I think what’s even more important is to just accept it and lean into it as part of the process.
The more you accept fear as part of the process, the easier it becomes to ignore that voice that’s telling you to “stop,” “go back,” or “what if you fail.” Fear is unavoidable in the process of change and change is an important and beautiful part of your life growing and changing.
So embrace and accept that fear, because it’s a sign that things are changing, not a warning to make sure they stay the same.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Happy Labor Day everyone. I wanted to spend today looking back at the history of Labor Day and what this day really means beyond some silly idea that starting tomorrow you shouldn’t wear white pants.
Labor Day celebrates the formation of labor unions which helped bring an end to a time in America where most people worked over 80 hours a week and barely made a living. On top of that child labor was common and exploited.
So I think today is a great day to be grateful for the opportunities we have in our lives and our careers compared to 150 years ago. Instead of simply shopping and bar-b-queuing, maybe take some time today to consider if you are happy with your work choices and if your not, start taking a step towards taking advantage of all the opportunities available to you today.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
To me humility is all about not taking yourself too seriously but taking what you do very seriously. Humility is a quality that connects people. Humble people are quick to compliment and congratulate others and those others gravitate to those people as a result.
Humility isn’t something you can fake but it is something you can work towards. It means having an open mind and a willingness to listen to others and consider where they are coming from. Those are certainly two qualities our world could use a lot more of today.
So listen to today's podcast for some insights on humility and a challenge for you to consider during your day.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
A few weeks ago many of you may have seen the image or the video of a little league player who was hit in the head with a pitch and got up and went to first base. At that point he noticed the pitcher was so distraught by hitting him, that he could barely prepare for the next pitch. In an astonishing display of empathy, the batter went and embraced the pitcher and told him he was fine and everything would be alright.
Empathy is the ability to sense what another person is feeling. It comes from the heart, the best part of ourselves. This young man's courage to put aside any ego or potential embarrassment, to lean into his empathetic instinct and console his opponent was incredible.
So today I want to talk about empathy and share in more detail this amazing display of it on a little league baseball field.
Source: Little league player who consoled the pitcher who hit him
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
People often talk about setting goals, which I believe is incredibly important. We also talk about steps to achieve those goals, but what questions should we ask ourselves as we seek to to set those goals in the first place? That is what today’s short is all about.
Is your goal for you or what someone else wants for you? Is your goal set high enough? Looking at your past, where are you likely to get stuck? These are just some of the questions in today’s short that could help you set some goals over the next decade and set out to achieve them.
Source: 11 questions to help you set meaningful goals for the next decade
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Ron Kittle had many setbacks in his 10 year professional baseball career. He was undrafted and signed right before spring training. Then, in his first game, after hitting a double in his first at bat, he suffered a serious neck injury sliding into home plate. How serious? When he finally saw a specialist several months later they were shocked that he was able to walk. Yet he had continued to play baseball that season!
Ron talks about how that injury shaped his career and his outlook on life. He tells how a massive home run he hit in a semi-pro game nearly caused a car accident when the ball landed on the freeway, but also led to him getting to the major leagues. He gives his thoughts on the game today and how he found his passions and purpose after baseball. Ron brings perspective, positivity and a tough mindset to his life and to today’s episode.
Ron’s website
Ron’s charity
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Tomorrow you will hear an incredible tale of perseverance, of never giving up, of not quitting. Today I wanted to share some experience of how Tommy Lasorda didn’t quit on me, how other successful people didn’t quit when they were shut down ,and I end with a beautiful poem I found all about not quitting.
Quitting when you still have passion, when you still have drive but because you have lost belief due to disappointment, will leave you feeling empty and full of regret. So keep trying until you breakthrough or until you have a desire to chase a new goal.
Poem: Don’t Quit
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to talk about not giving up, so I wrote down some thoughts I had and some quotes from some of the great athletes in modern history. All this stemmed from the story I heard from Ron Kittle, who will be our guest on Thursday, because his story of never giving up is absolutely incredible.
If you quit, you lose. It’s a hard no. There is no way for your goal to be reached, no way to learn from mistakes, no way to grow. So I want you to focus on how you can learn from whatever failure you suffered recently and pick yourself up and keep going. After all, you can’t get a hit if you don’t swing the bat, you can make a shot if you don’t shoot, you can’t make a sale without making a call and you can’t get a date without asking someone out.
So make a plan to keep trying or to take a risk and listen to my interview with former Chicago White Sox great Ron Kittle on Thursday.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to take some time to check in on the baseball season. I look at the tight races with several teams for the new third wild card spot, talk about who's having monster seasons and who has been a disappointment and give my picks for the MVPs in both leagues.
Listen to today's short for insight into what may happen the rest of the year and my hopes for the rest of the season as we charge towards September. And what do I think about Fernando Tatis Jr.?? Listen to find out!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to share an easy exercise that has been scientifically proven to boost your level of happiness and optimism. It’s called the best possible self exercise and it can improve how you feel about yourself and your life and the effects can last for several days.
All you do is simply imagine what your life would look like in the future if you achieved the things you wished for the most. This isn’t an act of thinking about your wildest fantasies but a REALISTIC look at how life would be if you reached your biggest goals.
This isn’t about manifesting your future or putting things out into the ether hoping they come back, it is about spending some time with hope and optimism and letting those positive thoughts and visions wash over you, leaving you feeling energized and happy.
So listen to today’s short for direction on this exercise and then give it a try!
Source: Best possible self exercise-Inc.com
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
On this podcast I am all about positivity. More than most things, I believe a positive attitude has a profound effect on your happiness and the happiness of those around you.
So today I wanted to share five tips I read about that I have tried and that you can try on a daily basis to boost your positivity and get out of a relentless negative headspace.
You can start now by taking five minutes and making sure you don’t miss this episode!
Source: 5 daily habits that made me a more positive person
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Too often we live our lives trying to please other people. We are always looking to impress, be helpful and never let anyone down. Living that way can be draining and unfulfilling, so it is imperative that we learn when to say “no.”
Today I want to share a great article by Lianne Martha Maiquez Laroya about why it’s so important to say “no.” Ms. Laroya takes us through five reasons we should consider whether we should say yes or no when people ask us to complete a task, show up to a party or any number of other requests.
So listen to today’s short to get some insight into whether you are saying “yes” too often, burning yourself out to where you are of no use to anyone.
Source: 5 Reasons Why It’s Okay to Say No
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
In sports they say it doesn’t take any talent to hustle. The same could be said for punctuality in our careers and everyday life. Being on time is such a simple act and yet it says so much about the type of person we are and how we are likely to treat others and our responsibilities.
It may seem so obvious and yet so many people don’t take punctuality seriously, so today I share why it is so important to simply show up on time in our lives and how it demonstrates respect, responsibility and consideration of others. Because unconsciously demonstrating the opposite of those traits to people by being late can have subtle but serious consequences in our lives.
Source: Punctuality, 5 reasons why it will always be relevant to your career
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Over the last year my schedule has gotten extremely hectic after starting this podcast, expanding my speaking engagements, announcing minor league baseball and lots of personal appearances. Without some tips and structures in place it would be very difficult to manage my time, especially when it comes to releasing this podcast.
So today I wanted to share some simple tips for time management in a day-in-age where many people work from home and find it so easy to get distracted and off track.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to talk about that very common and unhelpful emotion…worrying. When I was a kid I was full of worries all the time about everything. At one point I convinced myself that I had cancer and was afraid to tell anybody.
As adults we often get caught up in worrying and the problem is, what we worry about are usually imagined things that MIGHT happen in the future. It zaps us of our energy and productivity, and takes us out of living in the present.
So today I am passing along some tips to help reduce worry and anxiety so we can be focused and motivated to pursue life right here, right now.
Source: 7 ways to kick worrying to the curb
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
With the passing of the great Vin Scully on Tuesday, I wanted to jump on the podcast and share a couple of my favorite Vin stories with you.
Vin was and absolute legend but so kind and approachable. He left a mark on baseball that will live on forever.
Rest in peace Vin and thank you for everything you did for the game over 67 years.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
We all have those people in our lives who everyone seems to love. We often attribute it to charisma, personality or being outgoing. But really there are many things that “likable” people do that have nothing to do with how charismatic they are, it has to do with how they act and how they treat others.
So today I wanted to share an article from Inc. Magazine about 10 things likable people never do. I won’t give them all to you here but just a few hints, they aren’t whiners, they don’t interrupt you and they don’t let fear stand in their way.
So listen to today's short to find out how you can be more likable which will improve your life and your relationships.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to talk about the MLB trade deadline and how these superstar athletes getting moved from one team to another can give us insight into our own lives. So far we have seen some massive moves made by teams and it is often a shock to the players who are suddenly told to move to another city. But that change is a sign of something good, which is that they are wanted and valued by another organization.
This is true in our everyday lives also, when major change comes the best thing we can do is embrace it and expect good to come out of it. Losing one job and starting another is the beginning of a new opportunity. If you are at a place in life where you don’t feel valued, take the step to find the people and the organizations who will value you.
Because we all have value and deserve to be celebrated, wanted and utilized to our full potential.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
A couple weeks ago, when I was in Los Angeles for the All-Star break, I broke my wrist while I was lifting weights. After briefly feeling sorry for myself, I started to shift my perspective by thinking of how people all over the world overcome so many incredible challenges.
That led me to an article in Popular Mechanics about some of the craziest survival stories. Reading them immediately shifted my perspective on what real hardship is all about and put my focus back into gratitude.
Today I want to share three of the stories from that article so that you can also keep your life in perspective and to demonstrate how amazing the human spirit can be.
Source: 10 extreme survival stories
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I want to talk about resentment. It’s corrosive, it’s negative and it puts us in a personal prison, even though our frustration is directed at someone or something outside of ourselves.
In fact it’s been said that harboring resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.
So let's talk about the harm resentment causes us and more importantly give some tips on how they can be overcome.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I have talked before about the concept that happiness is a choice in our lives and today I wanted to talk about a study that was conducted with 700 men over 78 years.
The study found some really interesting trends in regards to happiness and contentment over time and not surprisingly themes such as connection, service and perseverance clearly came through.
So today I am sharing for of the key takeaways from this study so you can think about how the choices you are making today could help you long term health and happiness.
Source: 4 lessons from the world's longest happiness study
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I think we often don’t give ourselves enough credit and I think that is often why we fail. We don’t realize the immense power we have that is the human brain, which is more powerful than any supercomputer, can rewire itself and grow and expand in the areas we work at the most.
So today I wanted to share some amazing facts about the human brain in an effort for you to remember how much power you have. When you start to tell yourself “I can’t” or “I’m doing the best I can” hopefully these facts will motivate you to realize you have more power and strength than you know.
Source: How powerful is your brain?
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Yesterday was the MLB All-Star Game and the American League continued its dominance of the National League of late. It got me thinking about some of my own favorite All-Star Game memories from my career.
My first year Tommy Lasorda convinced me that he wasn’t allowed to pick me to go and that he had to take me off the team at the last minute. I also got to have the joy of donning the Yankee pinstripes as an All-Star, which was really special.
But the most impactful memory was what my mom told me the night before my second All-Star Game. My dad had just died and I was struggling with throwing the ball to first base.
Listen to today’s short to hear her simple and timeless wisdom and more about what it felt like to become a MLB All-Star.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today is the MLB All-Star Game. I am down here in Los Angeles to take in the festivities and it got me thinking, “When did the All-Star Game get started.” Well, that is what today’s short is focused on.
I’ll tell you the story of how the game was conceived by a sports writer and how it took on the responsibility to bring fans back to the sport and reignite excitement in the game at the tail end of the great depression.
So, give a listen to today’s short to hear how it all got started and then sit down and watch the All-Star Game tonight.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Tomorrow is the All-Star Game and so I wanted to talk about one of my favorite all-time All-Stars, Cal Ripken Jr.
Cal famously played in 2,632 consecutive games in his career, beating Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130. But Cal had such humility about his record and his place as a baseball player. I wanted to highlight three examples from his career that we can all apply to our own lives.
- Humility - Cal was famous for saying his streak wasn’t a big deal, if people could show up to steel mills and hospitals for 8-10 hours a day he could certainly show up and play baseball for three hours.
- Innovation - That humility also led Cal to innovate as a player. He drastically changed his batting approach many times in his career and switched from shortstop to third base. After all, to play in that many games is not just a novelty you also have to be really, really good for a long time.
- Just show up - That’s more than half the battle. Cal suited up and showed up no matter what and if we can all do that our lives will inevitably go much smoother.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to talk about how talk is cheap. In my experience, the best leaders have always been those who went about their business by showing up and working hard. Everyone could see their consistency, their professionalism and how they went about their business, they didn’t have to tell you about it.
My dad was one of those men in my life. He showed my siblings and me what was important in this world even though he wasn’t a man of many words. In fact, I just recently learned a story about how he took care of his entire eight-person household when he was 19 after his father died. He never boasted, bragged or even talked about stepping up because he was just doing what he felt he had to do.
So today I share some stories and quotes that demonstrate why it’s better to stop talking and start doing.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I have always known that the company you keep is extremely important in shaping how you act and what's important to you. But over the last month I have seen how powerful it is to be surrounded by kind, caring, self-sacrificing people.
My three sisters and my sister-in-law have shown up in such a powerful way since the passing of my son. They’ve cooked for me, stayed with me and given my home a complete makeover. My bathrooms look like something in a luxury hotel!
In the professional world, who you choose to associate with is also extremely important. Are you surrounded by people who challenge you and also lift you up? Or with people who only care about money, complain and don’t work hard?
In your personal life do you spend time with people who have good habits, are kind and thoughtful? Or people who are rude, selfish and negative?
Take some time today to think about who you surround yourself with and also consider are people are reaching out to you? Because spending time with good people is always important but when times are tough you’re really going to need good people in your corner and you want them to be able to count on you too.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to get back to some advice about how to communicate in your life and the workplace. I found this article, which I love, in Fast Company about the five phrases that will make people discount what you’re saying.
They are:
But
Respectfully
This may sound stupid
I’m busy
Try
Listen to today’s short to learn why these phrases are unnecessary and undermine your credibility.
Source: 5 phrases that will make people discount what you’re saying
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
A few weeks ago I got to go back to New York for a special alumni baseball game with player of the past. While I was there I sat down and talked with several former players and today I bring you a couple of great conversations with Hall of Famer Lee Smith and former utility man Craig Grebeck.
Smith had 478 saves in his career and those weren’t just one inning saves, he pitched back when guys pitched more than an inning. We talk about robot umpires, brushing guys off the plate and how a save doesn’t just come in the 9th inning.
Craig Grebeck went to Lakewood high school and had a solid 11 year career with 5 different teams, the first six years he was with the Chicago White Sox. We talk about how he learned by just observing and listening to veteran players and how his old hitting coach taught him to never give away an at bat or a hard day's work.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
You know that I love stories of innovation. And that’s because innovation is all about action and solving problems. So today I wanted to share a couple similar stories of innovation that are helping solve unique but serious problems in the environment.
Both of these stories are about invasive species. One is about turning the lionfish into a beautiful leather product and the other is about turning problem mussels into beautiful glass tiles for the facades of buildings.
Listen to today’s short to hear how engineers and artists are finding ways to help solve the expensive problem of these invasive species by finding new ways to use them once they are removed.
Sources:
This gorgeous leather is made from the hide of an invasive predatory fish
Glass tiles made from invasive mussel shells
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to continue to talk about gratitude and how it can change our hearts and the hearts of those around us.
This was the case with Dr. Kwane Stewart who stopped one day when he noticed a homeless man’s dog was suffering from a severe flea allergy. Stewart was a veterinarian and he offered to treat the man’s dog for free. A week later he checked back on the man and the dog and the man said the dog was finally sleeping through the night and he held back tears and said he was too.
Stewart was so moved by the man’s gratitude that he began to seek out other people experiencing homelessness who needed medical care for their pets. He does it for free and has treated over 400 pets in the last decade.
Stewart has founded a non-profit and continues to dedicate more and more time to helping those with pets in need and said that his experience has softened his own heart and his own judgements about people who are living on the streets.
Source:
Meet Dr. Kwane Stewart
projectstreetvet.org
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Happy 4th of July! Today I wanted to discuss the topic of gratitude. The 4th is a great time to reflect on how lucky we are to be citizens of this great country and to realize and marvel at the sacrifice and foresight of the founding fathers, who laid the foundation of the freedom and liberty we enjoy today.
On the 4th of July in 1939 Lou Gehrig spoke his message of gratitude, which is was I wanted to share today. A man who was facing a debilitating, fatal illness, stood in a packed stadium and called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
So let's listen and live by the message of the original iron man in baseball, whose heart was full of love and gratitude.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
A few weeks ago I got to go back to New York for a special alumni baseball game with players of the past. While I was there I sat down and talked with several former players.
Today I'm sharing with you a couple of great conversations with the Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and Fergie Jenkins.
Wade Boggs is a career .328 hitter, he had 3010 hits and a better lifetime batting average at Fenway Park than the great Ted Williams. Wade and I talk all about the art of hitting, why he didn’t like to know what pitch was coming and how the worst thing he could do is pop out to the pitcher.
Fergie Jenkins' career spanned three different decades where he won 284 games and had over 3000 strikeouts. We talk about his pitching philosophy, robot umpires and where the game is headed in the future.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Great leaders are much more than just a person in charge. Anyone with power over others can dictate to them what to do with no questions asked and demand that it be done. But that’s not good leadership.
Michael Abrashoff was a commander in the U.S. Navy and at age 36, took command of one of the worst ships in the Pacific Fleet. He demonstrated how empowering people under his command would create a culture where people felt valued and heard. As a result, they worked harder, promoted faster and built a team that worked so well together that they went from one of the worst ships in the Navy to one of the best in just 15 months.
Listen today to hear more about Captain Abrashoff's amazing achievements as a result of his leadership style that empowered people.
And ask yourself…Do your people follow you because they have to or because they want to?
Source links
https://www.mikeabrashoff.com/
We have all had our share of adversity during the last two years and this story gives us a lot to think about regarding how we handle ourselves when things get tough. It’s about what happens to the carrot, the egg and the coffee bean when subjected to boiling water.
Listen to today’s short to decide which item you think you are and how you can take your circumstances and transform them with grit and positivity.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Hello to all my fans, supporters and listeners. I came into the studio briefly to give you all a quick update and to express my appreciation for all your support in this extremely difficult time for me and my family.
As you know my son John passed away in a tragic accident. He died doing what he loved and he died protecting our country.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your messages, your prayers, your love and your support. It has meant a tremendous amount to me and my family.
I'll be back on July 4th with new episodes where I'll be present and engaged and full of passion as I know my son would want me to be.
As many of you are now aware, my son John, passed away in an aviation accident just over a week ago. We will continue to post episodes that are relevant and evergreen messages of positivity, faith and family until my return. Thank you all for the words of support, kindness and love.
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.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
As many of you are now aware, my son John, passed away in an aviation accident just over a week ago. We will continue to post episodes that are relevant and evergreen messages of positivity, faith and family until my return. Thank you all for the words of support, kindness and love.
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.
As many of you are now aware, my son John, passed away in an aviation accident just over a week ago. We will continue to post episodes that are relevant and evergreen messages of positivity, faith and family until my return. Thank you all for the words of support, kindness and love.
When Katie was 9 years old she took home a seedling from school and tended to it until it became a massive 40lb cabbage. Knowing it was way too much for her family to eat, she decided to donate it to a soup kitchen. That one act of generosity sparked a fire in young Katie and she realized she could grow food and donate to those in need.
She started her own garden at age 9 and as a teenager started a non-profit called Katie’s Krops that seeks to fund and educate kids all over the country to start their own gardens and donate the harvest to people who need it. Katie’s Krops now has over 100 gardens across the U.S. and has donated thousands of pounds of fresh produce.
Katie sheepishly says she hopes to solve world hunger and is a shining example of how generosity not only helps others but can create a positive movement, which can impact our world.
Today I wanted to share an episode from this past Veteran's Day where I expressed my gratitude and appreciation for my son and his service to our country along with all of the men and women of our armed forces who keep us all safe.
When you see a person in uniform please thank them for their service.
SAN DIEGO, CA - Former MLB player, Steve Sax announced the passing of his son, John Jeremy Sax on Wednesday in the recent military crash in Imperial County, California. John Sax, and four (4) fellow members of the Purple Fox family, died in the crash during a training mission near Glamis, California.
“It is with complete devastation that I announce that my precious son, Johnny was one of the five (5) US Marines that perished on Wednesday, June 8 in the Osprey Military crash near San Diego” said Sax. “For those of you that knew Johnny, you saw his huge smile, bright light, his love for his family, the Marines, the joy of flying airplanes and defending our country. He was my hero and the best man I know, there was no better person to defend our country.” said Sax.
John Sax was 33 at the time of his death and was a Captain in the US Marines flying the MV-22B Osprey and based in Camp Pendleton in Southern California. He served the Marine Corp for five years and eight months, awarded with the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a Letter of Appreciation.
The Sax family asks for privacy as they navigate this loss and thanks everyone for their support during this difficult time.
As many of you are now aware, my son John, passed away in an aviation accident this past week. Below is an excerpt of the information that has been shared with the media. We will continue to post episodes that are relevant and evergreen messages of positivity, faith and family until my return. Thank you all for the words of support, kindness and love.
In this episode I did several months ago, I tell the story of how John knew from age 7 that he wanted to be a pilot. He showed incredible determination and conviction as he grew into a man who graduated in the top 5% of his class at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I am re-posting this episode in tribute to my son, John Jeremy Sax.
SAN DIEGO, CA - Former MLB player, Steve Sax announced the passing of his son, John Jeremy Sax on Wednesday in the recent military crash in Imperial County, California. John Sax, and four (4) fellow members of the Purple Fox family, died in the crash during a training mission near Glamis, California.
“It is with complete devastation that I announce that my precious son, Johnny was one of the five (5) US Marines that perished on Wednesday, June 8 in the Osprey Military crash near San Diego” said Sax. “For those of you that knew Johnny, you saw his huge smile, bright light, his love for his family, the Marines, the joy of flying airplanes and defending our country. He was my hero and the best man I know, there was no better person to defend our country.” said Sax.
John Sax was 33 at the time of his death and was a Captain in the US Marines flying the MV-22B Osprey and based in Camp Pendleton in Southern California. He served the Marine Corp for five years and eight months, awarded with the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a Letter of Appreciation.
The Sax family asks for privacy as they navigate this loss and thanks everyone for their support during this difficult time.
As many of you are now aware, my son John, passed away in an aviation accident this past week. Below is an excerpt of the information that has been shared with the media. We will continue to post episodes that are relevant and evergreen messages of positivity, faith and family until my return. Thank you all for the words of support, kindness and love.
SAN DIEGO, CA - Former MLB player, Steve Sax announced the passing of his son, John Jeremy Sax on Wednesday in the recent military crash in Imperial County, California. John Sax, and four (4) fellow members of the Purple Fox family, died in the crash during a training mission near Glamis, California.
“It is with complete devastation that I announce that my precious son, Johnny was one of the five (5) US Marines that perished on Wednesday, June 8 in the Osprey Military crash near San Diego” said Sax. “For those of you that knew Johnny, you saw his huge smile, bright light, his love for his family, the Marines, the joy of flying airplanes and defending our country. He was my hero and the best man I know, there was no better person to defend our country.” said Sax.
John Sax was 33 at the time of his death and was a Captain in the US Marines flying the MV-22B Osprey and based in Camp Pendleton in Southern California. He served the Marine Corp for five years and eight months, awarded with the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a Letter of Appreciation.
The Sax family asks for privacy as they navigate this loss and thanks everyone for their support during this difficult time.
On June 3rd, 2021 Tyler Zombro was hit in the side of the head by a 104 mph line drive and rushed to a hospital. It took 16 plates and over 35 screws to stabilize his skull and save his life. Zombro spent more than two months in speech therapy and physical therapy.
A few weeks ago Tyler stepped on the mound against the very same team to record his first appearance back with the Durham Bulls after his harrowing experience. Zombro stared death in the face and has returned with a chance this year to be called up to the big leagues.
It’s a great story and a great lesson for all of us to never take life for granted and to get up and push forward, especially after great hardship.
Source: Tyler Zombro returns to the mound
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
If you haven’t heard of Kelsie Whitmore you might be hearing a lot about her soon. Earlier in May, she made history by becoming the first woman to start for a team in the Atlantic League, a Major League Baseball affiliated league.
Kelsie pitches and plays left field and she has her sights set on making it into a Major League organization. She played baseball her whole life and only played softball in college so she could get a scholarship. All she did there was have one of the best seasons ever at Cal State Fullerton.
Kelsie knows how important she is to young women everywhere and doesn’t shy away from that fact, but she is also very clear that she is playing because she loves the game and she plans to be in a Major League organization.
Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/kelsie-whitmore-making-history-in-atlantic-league
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I am going to share three uplifting and amazing stories from the game of baseball. The first is the story of Ron Kittle, who I played with in the minor leagues. Kittle broke his neck sliding into home plate in his very first minor league game, but he kept playing for over a year without knowing how serious the injury was until the pain caused his production to fall and he was released.
He was told by doctors that he would never play again but after surgery and a lot of rehab he began playing in an independent league. One day he hit a massive home run that landed on the freeway almost hitting White Sox executives who were driving down the road. They pulled over, offered him a tryout and a few years later he was Rookie of the Year.
Listen for the full story.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week we continue to talk about tips to get out of our own way so we can find what suits us and solve problems naturally. Today I want to talk about the concept of ‘flow.’
In baseball we called it “being in the zone.” Everyone knew what that meant and knew how hard it was to get there and stay there. But when you're in it, everything slows down and comes easy in a game that can often feel impossible.
Today I share some tips from an article that may help you achieve that flow state and I also talk about some of the neuroscience behind flow.
Most importantly, if there is something in your life that comes easy, gives you joy and makes the time fly…it might be the thing that puts you in that ‘flow’ and it’s probably something you should pay close attention to.
Source: What is a flow state?
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week we are talking about how to get out of our own way and allow our instincts, our preparation and our brains to lead the way out of a slump or a problem.
In baseball when a player slumps, it’s easy to start second guessing everything. They start trying to make changes to a swing, add a toe tap or move their hands. In reality no one gets to the big leagues without already knowing how to hit. Those that survive rely on their talent, their instincts and their prep work to just see the ball, feel their swing and hit it.
The same goes for our lives. Wherever we are, we got there for a reason and our brain knows the way out, we just have to trust that the answers will come and stop beating our heads against the wall. Because the human brain is the most powerful supercomputer in the world.
Source: What is the Memory Capacity of a Human Brain?
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I talk a lot about hard work, preparation and determination. But today I wanted to focus on the idea that sometimes you have to let go of the outcome and release the pressure of performing but just letting your instincts take over and having things come naturally.
This is an ancient idea that goes back to Daoism and was also coined “The law of reversed effort” by the writer Aldous Huxley.
The idea is that many things we know how to do (sleep, ride a bike) come to us naturally and when we try to force them, think about them, or focus on them, we become so busy in our minds that success becomes impossible.
So today I talk about those times when the solution is not to do more, but to relax and do less.
Source: The law of reversed effort
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This weekend I get to visit the baseball Hall of Fame to play in a classic veterans game celebrating baseball history and the most recent hall of fame honorees.
This trip gives me a chance to think about what it takes to be a hall of famer in anything. It takes a lot of hard work and living your life with purpose no matter what you do. If you do that, you may find yourself becoming a hall of famer because there is a hall of fame for just about everything.
So from inventions, to toys, to pinball, I wanted to celebrate some of the quirky halls of fame that are out there in America.
Source: 6 unusual halls of fame across America
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Why do some people bounce back from hardship quickly, learn from mistakes and come out on the other end stronger, while others wither and play the victim card? The answer is resilience and while some people may just be born with a more resilient attitude than others there are tips and perspectives that can help all of us build resilience for the next time we get knocked on our butts.
Today I share a list of 8 tools we can all use to build resilience and create a mindset that not only helps us bounce back but actually allows us to grow from struggles and become even stronger.
Source: Resilience: Build skills to endure hardship
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
How many times have you said yes to too many people and then find out you’re the one suffering because you’ve overloaded yourself? And the consequence of you saying yes to too many people is those closest are the ones who suffer the loss.
Also, when you say “yes” too much you can’t even get to all the people you over committed to. Then they’re not happy, those closest to you aren’t happy and you’re stressed out because you can’t fulfill your promises.
Most people would rather hear you say “no” than have the ball dropped and you fail on a promise. So next time somebody is asking for your help, really stop and think if you can support them, or take on that project.
It’s better to say “no” and feel better about it than to say “yes” and continue to be overwhelmed.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today on the podcast I talk to professional tennis player Madison Keys. Madison is the No. 23 ranked player in the world according to the World Tennis Association.
We talk about how a Venus Williams dress at Wimbledon was the inspiration for Madison deciding to play tennis, moving to Florida at 10 years old to join a tennis academy and coming full circle to play against her idols, Serena and Venus Williams.
We also talk about her starting the Kindness Wins Foundation, which seeks to shine a light on acts of kindness and sportsmanship all over the world as an antidote to our doom and gloom media cycle.
Links:
Kindness Wins Foundation website
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I talk a little bit more about the Kindness Wins Foundation, which will be the subject of our long form interview tomorrow with professional tennis player Madison Keys. Madison started Kindness Wins as a way to spread a message of the power of kindness in the world and to do so by giving recognition to regular people doing great things in the world.
Today I highlight three stories that the foundation recently recognized with medals of kindness.
Be sure to check out the podcast tomorrow for my interview with Madison Keys about her career and her efforts to make the world a safer, happier place.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Mikaela Shiffrin is another of the champions at the Kindness Wins Foundation who is working to spread the message of kindness and positivity across social media. She is currently the most decorated woman in downhill skiing with several Olympic medals and World Cup championships.
In 2020 she lost her father in a freak accident at home. She and her dad were incredibly close and she had to fly home from Italy to Colorado to lay in the hospital bed with him while he lay on life support.
Shiffrin recently shared her story of grief in The Players Tribune, giving anyone who cares to read it an insight into her world and a powerful message of how difficult grief can be. In this act of vulnerability she is allowing others to connect with her story and to bring healing to herself and others who might relate so I wanted to share a bit of her story on today’s short.
Read her article in The Players Tribune here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I am talking about three amazing female athletes who are delivering a message of kindness everyday through the Kindness Wins Foundation. They are also amazing examples of championship drive and overcoming adversity.
Oksana Masters was born with radiation induced birth defects that ultimately led her to having both her legs amputated above the knee and her hands operated on to make them more functional. After being abandoned by her parents in the Ukraine she spent 7 years in an orphanage before being adopted and moving to Kentucky.
She took up competitive rowing and set a world record and went to the paralympics. But after conquering rowing she decided to take up cross country skiing. She won a medal at the winter Paralympics in that event. Then she took up arm cycling and won a gold medal in the 2020 games.
When she is not dominating in endurance sports she is handing out medals of kindness and she is the subject of today’s short.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
Bethany Hamilton was just 13 years old when a 14 foot tiger shark nipped her arm off at the shoulder while she was surfing.
Just 26 days later she was back in the water surfing and six weeks after that she was competing in her first surfing competition. But that is not her only example of courage. Bethany wrote a book that became a movie, and as she got older she built more strength and resilience. Today she uses not only her horror story as a teenager but her love story with her husband and three boys to motivate and inspire women and couples all over the world.
Bethany speaks about her relationship with God and her family and holds retreats with couples to boost their connection to each other.
Bethany didn’t forget her accident, she didn’t ignore it and she didn’t wallow in it. She uses it everyday to make her life and the lives of others better.
That takes courage.
https://bethanyhamilton.com/
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to share some stories I found in Reader’s Digest. The publication reached out to their audience to ask for stories of kindness they witnessed and I found them so inspiring that I wanted to share a few with you.
Sometimes there is no better boost to the spirit than to just hear or read about people being kind in this world, so that's what today’s short is all about.
Enjoy!
Source:
35 Small Acts of Kindness to Brighten Someone’s Day Instantly
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I am talking about how mentally strong people take rejection and turn it into a net positive in their lives. People who are mentally strong know that rejection is inevitable and it is painful and that’s OK.
They also know that it doesn’t define them, it means they are pushing limits and they learn from their mistakes.
So the next time you are rejected from something, don’t run from the discomfort. Accept it and know that rejection is always going to happen to us at times and the best thing to do is to analyze what you could have done better and move forward stronger.
Source:
5 Ways mentally strong people deal with rejection
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Willie Mays put up some of the most impressive career statistics of anyone in the history of baseball. But he also lost two years in the prime of his career to the army during the Korean War.
He didn’t have to go to combat but he missed two years in the major leagues where he could have put up huge numbers, especially when you consider it was right after he won rookie of the year and the next two years he had over 95 home runs, and over 230 RBI.
But he never complained later in his career and he always appreciated the time he got to play in the big leagues. So raise a glass to Willie Mays on Friday as he turns 91 years old.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Willie Mays had a lot of great days in his career but one of his best was April 30, 1961. His teammate and one of my old coaches Joey Amalfitano told me his first hand account of the day Willie Mays hit 4 home runs.
Mays and Willie McCovey went out to dinner the night before and Mays came down with a nasty case of food poisoning. He knew he wouldn’t be able to play and took himself out of the game, but during batting practice Amalfitano asked him what percent he was feeling. Mays responded saying he felt about 70%. Amalfitano said, “70 percent of Willie Mays is still better than anybody else.”
Amalfitano also gave Mays his bat to use which was a little lighter and Mays took batting practice and started launching balls into the seats. He decided to play and hit 4 homers in 5 at-bats and now Amalfitano’s bat is in the Hall of Fame to commemorate that day.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
660 homers, over 3200 hits, style, flare, All-Star. These are just some of the statistics and attributes of the great Willie Mays, who turns 91 years old this week.
So I wanted to celebrate my personal baseball hero by talking about Willie in my shorts today. How incredible a player he was, some of his greatest feats and all he had to overcome to become one of a handful of the greatest players of all time.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Easter just past and spring is in the air, which means it’s a great time for change in our lives.
Today I wanted to give you three simple things you can do that will have a positive impact on your life and the lives of those around you.
1) Get a little bit of exercise, it’s as good for the mind as it is for the body.
2) Keep this thought in your head all day, “how can someone benefit from being around me today?”
3) Unplug and take some time for yourself outside and enjoy the springtime flowers and sun. No phone, no computer, just you and the earth.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I love stories of how entrepreneurs push through rejection and failure because they believe in the possibility of their idea or product and they overcome all odds. Sometimes they become a huge financial success and sometimes they change the world.
AirBNB is one of those cases where they became wildly successful and created an entire industry in the process. The story has rejection and failures, relaunches of their website and even some cereal based guerilla marketing.
It all started with two guys renting space on three air mattresses for $80 a night when a conference came to town. That idea grew into a world altering business where you can now find a home or condo to rent for a few days almost anywhere in the world with just a few clicks.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Ten days ago we watched games across all of baseball where every player wore number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. As a former Dodger it makes me proud to see the entire league celebrate a guy who loomed large in the Dodger organization ever since he broke in the league in 1947.
As Dodgers we were taught to work together with all of our teammates in honor of what Jackie and his teammates went through decades earlier and we were taught about the special relationship Jackie had with Branch Rickey, owner of the Dodgers who made him the first African American player in baseball.
So while Jackie Robinson Day was ten days ago I wanted to talk a little bit more about Jackie, because while that one day is a special celebration, every day is a day we feel the impact of his courage.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Debbie Neal is an entrepreneur, a coach, podcast host, motivational speaker and mother of four children. She started the Level Up with Debbie Nealpodcast a little over a year ago and has garnered a big following with her fiery, powerful advice and affirmations for her listeners.
Debbie and I share a lot of the same ideas about how to create self-empowered people, having no excuses on the road to success and how improving ourselves can help improve the world. We talk about ignoring the “odds,” the important role athletics played in our lives and how you should EXPECT to be a winner instead of hoping you might be one.
I loved talking with Debbie so much that she had me fired up and standing up out of my chair at times during our conversation. So put down that second cup of coffee and get your feet on solid ground because Debbie Neal is about to put a charge into your day.
Listen to: Level Up with Debbie Neal podcast
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
We all have a voice in our heads that tells us to stop what we are doing in our efforts to be successful or make a change. That voice is a bully called the inner critic and there are three ways to put that guy in his place and keep him quiet.
First, you have to shine a light on that voice and acknowledge it exists. Your inner critic loves to live in the shadows hiding and whispering, so acknowledge they are present and accounted for so you can tell them to quiet down.
Second you need a good support system of voices giving you positive reinforcement. The louder the support around you is the less you’ll hear that critic trying to slow you down.
Finally, figure out what your strengths are and build those up so they are even stronger. If you spend time toiling in areas where you are weakest, your critic will eat you alive and you will listen. So focus on your strengths and even those flaws will improve but most importantly, that critic will wither away and begin to give up.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
A study published just a few years ago showed some amazing results about the benefits of living with optimism. First, people who are optimistic live longer, plain and simple. They are more resilient and are less affected by stressful situations, which reduces their risk of heart disease, depression and chronic illness.
In an article published by NPR about the study quoted a clinical psychologist saying that optimism can be taught through therapy and can be useful in reducing depression and anxiety.
So pause and think, are you an optimistic or pessimistic person? If you tend to fear the worst, then look to find ways in which you can look for the good in your life. Start making a choice to assume things will work out and work hard with that expectation. If you do that, you may find yourself living a long, happy life.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here .
I love stories of entrepreneurs who have huge failures before huge successes. Today I wanted to share the story of Kathleen King, who founded Tate’s Bake Shop.
If you don’t know Tate's, they are the crispy, crunchy chocolate chip cookies in the green bag that you can buy at the grocery store. King started a cookie company called Kathleen’s Bake Shop when she was just a teenager and grew it into a large scale bakery. But after 20 years she partnered with two brothers who ran the company into the ground, took ownership and left her with just a small bakery and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.
King dusted herself off and kept on baking under a new name, Tate’s Bake Shop. She took all she learned from 20 years of business and grew her company so fast and so successfully that after just 10 years she sold her new brand for a whopping $500 million.
So just when you think your dream has died, pause and consider that maybe it’s just a point to gather yourself, gather all you have learned and launch the next chapter of your success story
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here .
Before wrapping up my week of baseball predictions I wanted to bring you an interview with the Houston Astros Manager Dusty Baker. I talked to Dusty while visiting Spring Training and we talked about how the universal designated hitter will affect not just Major League Baseball but youth baseball as well.
Dusty also talks about the pressure on the guys replacing Carlos Correa at shortstop after he left in free agency and I give my predictions for who will win the World Series!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Yesterday I gave you my predictions for the winners of each division in the American League and today we move on to the National League.
I make some picks that stray form conventional wisdom because I still go with my gut and I'm not running a bunch of predictions through a computer. Listen to hear my picks for the winners of each division.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
It’s springtime, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining and baseball is officially underway, so I thought I’d focus this week on talking about the season ahead.
Today is all about a little inside baseball as I give my predictions for who will win each division in the American League. Enjoy!
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I got called up to the big leagues on August 17, 1981. The next day I was in the starting lineup against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and I was facing Mike Griffin, who I faced in high school and he had owned me.
As fate would have it I got a hit off Mike in my first at bat and launched my big league career. That moment was so important for two reasons. The first is I was able to savor and enjoy how hard I had worked to get to the big leagues. It was an amazing feeling I can still remember today. The other thing I realized was that there was a game the next day, and the next and that this was my opportunity to grab onto my dream and not let go.
That’s exactly what I did and I went on to play for 14 years. So when you reach that first big mountain top, take a moment to pause and enjoy it and then recognize that the hard work must continue to stay there.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I’m sharing some of my favorite memories of my career and how they still impact my life.
In 1982 I was voted as an All-Star and I got to bring a guest with me. I decided to bring my dad and during the All-Star luncheon he sat between Pete Rose and Mike Schmidt with me next to Schmidt. He talked baseball with the two legends for a couple of hours.
The next day I got a hit in my first at bat and the camera panned to my dad celebrating in the stands. I have a still photo of him celebrating framed on my wall.
Seeing my dad's joy brought by bringing him to the game as a small thank you for all his sacrifice and support still stays with me today 40 years later.
So I hope all of you out there are finding moments to celebrate with the people you care about, because in 40 years those are the memories and the moments that are going to stick with you.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week, in honor of the regular season getting started in baseball, I wanted to share some stories of my favorite memories of my own career and how they have stuck with me.
Today I wanted to tell you about when I got that phone call telling me I won the 1982 National League Rookie of the Year. What was so powerful about that moment was remembering back to being a kid in Babe Ruth baseball. At I had an amazing season and they gave out trophies for end of year awards and my little 13 year old self was convinced the Rookie of the Year was mine, but I lost to Mike Gardner. Bitterly disappointed, I retreated to the bathroom and shed some tears.
Nine years later at the age of 22 I got a call in my hotel room telling me I was the Rookie of the Year in the big leagues, beating out the likes of Ryne Sandburg and Chili Davis. Those two moments feel forever connected and are a reminder for me to never give up on dreams even after major disappointments.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
My guests today are Eddy and Gaby Alvarez. Eddy is a Major League Baseball player who recently signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his major league debut with the Miami Marlins in 2020 but what he is best known for is being one of just six athletes ever to win Olympic medals in both the summer and winter games.
Eddy won a silver medal with the US baseball team in 2020 but his first Olympic sport was actually short track speed skating, where he won a silver medal in the 5000 meter relay at the Sochi games in 2014.
Gaby and Eddy talk about growing up a few blocks from each other, how Gaby has supported Eddy chasing his dream of making it to the big leagues and how a kid from Florida ended up medaling in the Winter Olympics and managing to later become a professional baseball player.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Jim Eisenreich was an all-star caliber player for over a decade in the majors. But just two months into his rookie season in 1982 he was taken out of three straight games due to fits of panic and anxiety. Doctors didn’t know what the cause was and Jim was forced to retire when his dream had barely started.
Three years later and after finally having his condition diagnosed as Tourette Syndrome, Jim returned to Major League Baseball. He went on to have an extremely productive career and hit home runs in two different World Series.
Today Jim speaks all over the country to bring awareness to a condition he had unknowingly struggled with since age 6 and is a great example of what we can overcome and how our struggles can be converted into assets.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I am talking about baseball players who overcame tremendous adversity. Yesterday it was a mangled hand but today it’s the loss of an entire arm.
In 1945 Pete Gray, who had just one arm, was called up to the big leagues. He spent the year as a fourth outfielder but managed to hit .218 with 51 base hits that season. He had hit .333 the year before in the minor leagues and stole 68 bases.
He undoubtedly was aided by an increased opportunity due to players being gone during the war but nonetheless, 51 base hits with one arm is a spectacular feat.
This story is a prime example of someone not letting anything stand in the way of doing something they love, something they dream about. No one would ever think that man with one arm would become a professional hitter. So what excuse are you making today about why you aren’t chasing your dreams? Maybe stop for a moment and marvel at Pete Gray’s accomplishment and then think about trying for that dream again.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week we are going to celebrate two of my favorite things: baseball and people who overcome adversity.
Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown was a hall of fame pitcher from the early 1900’s. When he was 7-years-old he got his hand stuck in a wheat shredder and lost his index finger. Just weeks later he tripped while running and broke the remaining fingers on his right hand. The injury never healed correctly and he was left with a badly bent middle finger and a paralyzed little finger.
The injury forced him as a kid to learn to hold the ball in an odd way using only three fingers. But with that he developed a devastating curveball that many still say is the best curveball in the history of baseball.
He went on to win two World Series and had a .206 career ERA. Feats he may never have accomplished without the unique throwing ability he developed as a result of major physical adversity.
It just goes to show you never know when the worst thing that happens to you might just end up becoming your greatest asset.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
I love to talk about the importance of having a purpose, so it was a joy for me to find an article and a study that showed how people with purpose are actually more level-headed and grounded then those who do not.
The study found that those who have a purpose actually get more blood flow to the part of the brain which controls decision making and also helps control an ancient part of our brain that signals fear and aggression. This means that purpose can help you better handle stress or difficult situations.
So in this world of war and chaos, make sure you take the time to find a purpose in your own life that can give you a sense of direction and fulfillment in a world where it is easy to become lost and angry.
Source: Can Purpose Help Us in Hard Times?
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Yesterday I talked about forgiveness and today I want to talk about second chances.
Shoeless Joe Jackson is known for being a part of the “Black Sox” scandal when a group of players agreed to throw the World Series in exchange for money. Jackson tried to warn the commissioner, he was found not guilty in court but he kept $5,000 that the mob gave him and he was banished from baseball forever, leaving behind a career .356 batting average.
Jackson carried the shame of his ban throughout his life as he went back to South Carolina and was a small business owner. I think if it were today he would have gotten a second chance and I think he deserved one. After all, the story of the bribery doesn’t tell the whole story of the corruption of the owners at the time.
The purpose of today’s story is to focus on the importance of second chances. If we were all judged by our worst mistake almost all of us would be ruined and tossed aside, yet most of us get second chances. So ask yourself if there is anyone in your life who you’ve been hesitant to give a second chance to and think about whether you should reconsider.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to tell the story of Louis Zamperini, who was an Olympic athlete, WWII pilot and prisoner of war.
Zamperini’s plane was shot down over the South Pacific and he survived 47 days at sea before being captured by the Japanese. Unfortunately his nightmare had only begun as he was mercilessly tortured by a guard nicknamed “The Bird.”
When Zamperini returned after the war he suffered from PTSD and nightmares. Then he became a born-again Christian and that path led him to being able to forgive his torturer. His nightmares ended and he even tried to meet with “The Bird” to forgive him and offer him a path of spirituality.
The whole story is chronicled in the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and it is a beautiful tale of courage, faith, healing and forgiveness.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I am sharing some great wisdom I found from some amazing female entrepreneurs. Their words on success come from a Forbes article and I wanted to share it with you.
They cover the importance of adaptability, dealing with rejection and how you should treat customers or clients as human beings with hopes, dreams and harms rather than just sales.
Listen to hear the great advice from these amazing current thriving women and happy Women’s History Month.
Sources:
The 11 Most Inspiring Female Entrepreneurs To Follow On Instagram
@libbycrow
@nataliemacneil
@alexipanos
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I am celebrating inspiring women for Women’s History Month. Today I wanted to highlight Suzyn Waldman. If you don’t know, Waldman has been the color commentator for the Yankees radio broadcast since 2005.
Waldman is the first woman to call a World Series game on the radio and has been a trailblazer as a female reporter and broadcaster in New York. She has dealt with everything from having cassettes stolen when she was a reporter to dealing with death threats as a female broadcaster.
She is an amazing woman and an inspiring role model for women looking to work in sports media and she has done it all in the toughest market in the country. So listen to today’s short as I tip my cap to Suzyn Waldman.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
It’s women’s history month so this week I thought we would celebrate the accomplishments and positive effects women have had on my life and on our world.
When thinking about women I admire I have to start with my mom. My dad called her the Italian princess. She saved my life when I was a little kid, she ran our family and she is even responsible for my brother getting signed to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Listen to today's short to hear how powerful a force she was and check out my Instagram for photos of us together.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Obsession is a word and a quality that people often look down on or misunderstand. No one should be so obsessed with something that it ruins their relationships or their lives but it takes a healthy level of obsession to be truly great.
I was obsessed with being a big league ball player and if I wasn’t I never would have made it. When I worked in finance, the people who were the best producers also happened to be the first ones in and the last ones to leave. It’s not a coincidence that those who work the hardest succeed the most.
Listen to today’s short to hear my experience with being obsessed and to hear some tips from Grant Cardone’s book Be Obsessed or be Average.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today, I talk about the importance of having a burning desire to achieve a goal or to make a change in your life. The term comes from an old war story when a general sailed his men into battle and had the boats burned after they landed so there was no opportunity for retreat. The only path was to fight and win.
That’s what cupcake queen Candace Nelsen did when she left an investment banking firm to start a cupcake only bakery. Now, Sprinkles has 24 locations and Candace is a TV star in addition to being a famous baker.
I have also followed my passions and boxed myself into situations where I had to succeed. I skipped college for the pros, I left the world of finance to write a book and give speeches and I just left a great job talking about baseball to further my public speaking career and start a podcast.
So if you have a burning desire, go for it and don’t look back. Because the best chance for success is when you have no choice BUT to succeed, because the boats are burned behind you.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to take some time to talk about having a backbone and no current example demonstrates this more than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He has stayed in his government’s center to help defend his country. He has survived assassination attempts, refused his own evacuation and is inspiring his people and the world with his courage and resolve in the face of a devastating force and poor odds of victory.
All this comes from a man who was a comedian, actor and satirist who is now leading his country's attempt to fight for their survival.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
What do Tony Robbins and the great Frederick Douglass have in common? Well, they both are/were fantastic speakers and motivators. And they both spoke about oppression and the fact that people will suffer as much as they allow for limits to be imposed on them. With Douglass, it was the much more real outside forces of slavery and inequality. When Tony Robbins speaks about oppression he refers to the negative stories we tell ourselves about why we aren’t who we want to be.
Listen to today’s short to hear some powerful quotes from these two powerful men, and learn what we can take away and apply to our own lives when it comes to the limits placed on ourselves and our lives.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
We are so good at telling ourselves stories that sometimes we don’t even know what our real limitations are and what are just fears we make up in our heads.
One way to tell is the language we use. Do you ever hear yourself saying “they” as in, “they will know I’m too young, too inexperienced, too old, too dumb, etc.” We make up this group of people judging us with no proof or feedback from others. It’s merely our own insecure fears. If you hear yourself saying “they” then it’s probably a limitation in your head.
Another way to overcome limitations is to take small steps each day to reach a larger goal. The size of a goal can be its own limitation. If you don’t break it into chunks it will swallow you up and seem impossible.
To hear other tips to help you push through your limitations listen to today’s short.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Source: 8 Steps To Push Past Your Limits When You Think You’ve Hit Them
This week we are going to talk all about overcoming limits. The funny thing about limits is that many of the ones that really stop us from achieving our dreams are limits we place on ourselves.
Take that little voice inside our heads that tells us to stop what we are doing. It tells us not to take a big risk because we might look foolish, or it’s too vulnerable or we’re too old or too young. In life-coaching we call this voice the saboteur. The saboteur is there to protect us but it often is more likely to hold us back and convince us not to take risks.
So listen to today's short for a practical, fun and a little silly way to get rid of that saboteur in your head for the day, so you can take a risk and move closer to the life you want.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
It’s time for another lockout update as the players and owners of Major League Baseball have met for two days to try to hash out a new collective bargaining agreement. The update is they are still very far apart on the major issues.
The players want a ton of money for pre-arbitration players and for a much larger percentage of players to be arbitration eligible after two years. Neither of those is going to happen. The owners may come up a little on the pre-arbitration pool but it’s never going to come close to $100 million and they are never going to relinquish arbitration control of more players. If that’s what the union wants they may as well cancel the season now.
The players have already gotten a lot done. They should push for just a tiny bit more money in the pool and get the deal done. Enough is enough.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to share another story of someone dedicating themselves to kindness and service to others. What is so remarkable about today’s subject is that it’s a 10-year-old boy.
Orion Jean from Dallas, Texas started his journey of kindness after winning a national speech competition where the subject was “kindness.” The grand prize was $500 and instead of spending the money on a Nintendo Swtich or a new bike, Orion started a “race to kindness” challenge where he donated his money, encouraged others to do the same and partnered with a non-profit to help raise money for 100,000 meals to those in need at Thanksgiving.
They easily reached that goal, so Orion has set a new goal of donating 500,000 books to kids who live in areas with minimal access to books. His story is beautiful and inspiring and a reminder that if we were all even a little bit more like Orion Jean, the world would be a better place.
Source:
10-year-old who helped donate 100,000 meals is on a mission to spread kindness
Race to kindness website
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Kindness and selflessness are things that can feel like they are in short supply these days, but there are so many people out there working to make their communities a better place.
One such man is Eliot Middleton. Middleton owns a BBQ restaurant in South Carolina and in 2020 at the nudging of friends entered a BBQ competition and won. Eliot decided to take half his prize money and put it towards Thanksgiving meals for those who needed them in his community. On the day of his food drive he noticed a lot of people showed up late because they had no reliable transportation.
Middleton realized that those without cars, who lived out of town were extremely limited in their ability to travel for better paying jobs and other services, so he put out a call on social media: give me your old broken-down car and I’ll give you some ribs. Middleton began to fix those cars and donate them to those in need. The idea has ballooned in that a non-profit organization has received 800 cars to be repaired and donated.
So today we celebrate people like Middleton who are working in their communities to make the lives of those around them better.
Source:
Man fixes cars and donates to people in need
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I wanted to talk about an important lesson I’ve learned over the course of my different careers. We talked about the importance of preparation and the importance of having some heart and some guts to believe you are the right person for the job.
Just as important as those are is the realization that you can’t always control the outcome. You increase your chances by being prepared and believing in yourself, but there are a million other little variables that could throw something off and you have to learn to live with them when they affect your outcome.
This is so key because it can be discouraging to not get the best outcome. Nathan Chen knew it in 2018 when he fell on three jumps in the Olympics and he came back four years later to win a gold medal. Meanwhile his biggest rival Yuzuru Hanyu, was trying to defend his Olympic title and he hit a tiny chunk of ice that threw off a big jump and threw off his chances of gold.
So don’t sweat what you can’t control, just prepare, believe and let the chips fall where they may.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Yesterday we talked about preparation being vital to success. But what happens when you have two people with the same natural talent, the same work ethic and the same drive to succeed? Who is going to win out?
It’s the person with the heart and the guts that make them fearless and confident who succeeds. When I stepped to the plate against Nolan Ryan, I legitimately thought, “bring it on man!” I didn’t care who it was, I believed I was going to win that battle. That belief comes from the heart and the guts…and perhaps even a few inches lower than that.
What is most important about belief is for you to know that if you are facing a challenge, a presentation, a new project or anything else in your life. It has been placed in front of you because you are the right person to handle it.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week I wanted to cover three lessons I have learned over the course of my life succeeding in several different careers.
The first is that preparation is where confidence is built. It didn’t matter if I was facing a Hall of Fame pitcher, preparing a presentation for a financial client or practicing a speech I had to do in front of thousands of people, preparation has been the most important component to my success.
It may seem obvious and yet so many people try to “wing it” in life and their career. It's as if they are almost afraid of the practice that could make them great. Maybe it seems too time consuming, maybe it seems tedious or maybe a fear of failure makes you want to not practice. But as the famous Ben Franklin quote goes, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week we have been talking about how failure is a necessary part of the process to being successful and today we need look no further for examples than the two teams in the Super Bowl.
The Rams had lost to the 49ers six straight times and it seemed as though the 49ers might have the upper hand in the NFC Championship Game. But the Rams’ failures lead to a solid game plan that shut down the 49ers running game and picked apart their secondary for a 20-17 win.
In the AFC the Cincinnati Bengals are quarterbacked by Joe Burrow. Burrow has his own story of failure leading to success. After spending three frustrating years at Ohio State and not being able to land the starting quarterback job, he transferred to LSU where he dominated and won a National Championship and the Heisman Trophy. Now he plays fearlessly and is one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL.
Listen to today's short to hear more analysis of the Super Bowl and to hear my prediction of who will take home the Lombardi Trophy.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week we are talking about how failing is just part of the process to being successful.
Take Tim Leatherman who created the Leatherman multi-tool. Tim had a simple idea of making a pair of pliers with a fold out knife. He spent two years in a garage trying to build a tool he thought people would use and finally, after one failed prototype after another, he finally made a tool he thought was worthy of selling. The problem was no one wanted to buy it.
He was rejected by every knife and tool company in the U.S. but he didn’t give up. Five years later he sold one knife to one person at a trade show. Soon after that he found a partner who liked his idea and could help with manufacturing. Eight years after he got to work in that garage he got an order for 500 tools. That order quickly turned into 1000, then 1500 and before he knew it, Tim’s business was doubling year over year for over a decade.
He stuck with his idea and never let up and today Leatherman is a private company based in the U.S. worth well north of $100 million.
Listen to my short today for a 5 min breakdown on where the two sides stand and I also give my thoughts on the frustrating lack of urgency being shown by both sides.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week on our shorts I wanted to focus on one of the most painful and necessary hurdles to success. That hurdle is failure.
It’s inevitable. We are all going to fail in little ways and spectacular ways. Right now is a great time to witness athletes who have overcome failure or who literally fall and have to get back up again in the Winter Olympics.
One great example of this is the U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen. Chen failed pretty brutally in 2018 when we fell on all his biggest jumps during the short program of his figure skating routine. In a matter of a minute he lost all hope of an Olympic medal. But he got back on the ice and nailed his long program later in the games.
He ended up winning 5th place but he won an even more valuable lesson. The freedom that failure gave him, catapulted him to the top of the skating world as he has won three straight world championships since and is headed into these games as a favorite.
Without that failure, Nathan Chen may have never reached the heights he is at today. So embrace your own failures because they might just mean you are just around the corner from success.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Shari Fitzpatrick always loved strawberries. Her dad even planted her a strawberry patch in their yard when she was a girl growing up in Oregon. In her early 20’s she began giving chocolate dipped strawberries to clients as a mortgage broker and the more people raved about them the more she thought she could turn her love of bringing joy with chocolate dipped berries into a business. So she took out a $1500 cash advance and started Shari’s Berries out of her apartment in Sacramento. Over the next 20 years Shari grew that company into a national brand and a multimillion-dollar company.
Today Steve talks to Shari about the rise and fall of Shari’s Berries. How she was eventually forced out of her own company when it was sold off and she was left with next to nothing after 22 years of blood, sweat and tears.
Shari talks about learning what’s most important in life: faith, family, love and joy. Today Shari is a nationally renowned motivational speaker, author, winemaker and is back to dipping everything in chocolate with her new brand Berried in Chocolate.
Notes:
Get chocolate dipped strawberries from the real Shari at berriedinchocolate.com
Book Shari to speak or learn about her book, berries and wine at sharifitzpatrick.com
Get the special baseball designed dipped strawberries made just for Sax in the Morning here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch here
You all know that baseball is still one of my passions, so today I wanted to give an update on where we stand with Major League Baseball coming to a new collective bargaining agreement with the players.
Both sides have made some concessions when finally meeting a couple times last week, but there has still been very little movement on a couple key issues and we are just two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training.
Listen to my short today for a 5 min breakdown on where the two sides stand and hear my thoughts on the frustrating lack of urgency being shown by both sides.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
It’s so easy today to flip on the news and get bombarded with negativity and to focus on all the things wrong with the world today. So today, I wanted to focus on the fact that 2022 might just be the best time ever to be alive.
Think about it. We have all the information we could ever want at our fingertips. You can order anything you want and have it delivered. You can deposit checks with your phone and the idea of a paper map is now laughable.
Not only that, we have radical surgeries and dialysis treatments, cancer treatments and better mental health care. It’s not perfect, sure, but 100-200 years ago so many diseases were death sentences and you probably wouldn’t have had electricity or running water or a shred of the opportunity for personal freedom that we have today.
So make the choice with me today to rejoice in all the amazing advantages we have to being alive in America today instead of being filled with disdain and negativity.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
So many of us spend too much time during our lives trying to fix what’s “wrong” with us. Many of you right now may be feeling down because of a failed new year's resolution.
But what if you focused on your strengths instead of your weaknesses? There has been a lot of research done on this idea of focusing on strengths and the results are clear. When people focus on their strengths they are more engaged, more joyful and are more productive in their lives.
The best years of my baseball career were when I had a hitting coach who didn’t try to fix what was wrong with me, but told me to lean into the things I did best.
So stop trying to fix yourself. Instead, celebrate what you do well and focus on growing that instead.
Sources:
https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/people/martin-ep-seligman
https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Today I talk with Al Jean, the longtime executive producer of The Simpsons. We talk about the iconic episode that I was part of 30 years ago when Mr. Burns hired me to be the second baseman of his nuclear power plant softball team along with eight other Major League Baseball All-Stars like Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey Jr.
We cover how Al went from studying for a math degree at Harvard to writing at the Harvard Lampoon. The joy he found in writing comedy led him to write for Johnny Carson, Gary Shandling and then become one of the original writers of The Simpsons.
Al and I also discuss Homer Simpson’s induction into the baseball Hall of Fame and the state of baseball today. Mostly, we talk all about The Simpsons and what makes the show so special and how it has managed to stay relevant and terrific for over 30 years and more than 700 episodes.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
We are in the middle of winter and we have been weathering yet another COVID surge that may have you wondering, “is this ever going to end?”
Well the short answer to that is, yes it will end. But in the meantime I wanted to share some tips that I have learned from long baseball seasons and grinding through tough times that have helped me to persevere in the past and have helped me to enjoy my life today.
Listen to today’s short to hear more about how passion, being a pro, curiosity and building a network of trusted loved ones are key components to perseverance in these unprecedented times.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
On today’s short I wanted to talk about a principle which I believe is vital for all of us to live a life free from resentment and anger. That principle is forgiveness.
I found this amazing story about a man named Rais Bhuiyan who was shot in the face and left for dead in a hate crime 10 days after 9/11. The man who shot Rais killed two other people that week as revenge for 9/11 and he was caught, convicted and sentenced to death.
Bhuiyan’s life was forever changed and for a time he was ruined, but during a trip to Mecca while deep in prayer he had a revelation about the shooter and forgave him right then and there. Bhuiyan went on to fight for the shooter not to be executed and his act of forgiveness had a massive impact on the shooter and the two even became friendly.
Listen to today’s short to hear how powerful forgiveness can be for both parties involved, and get inspired to move past your own resentments and to forgive the people in your life.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
We all have a ton of things which can distract us everyday and make us less productive which can lead to a feeling of emptiness and low energy. To combat this I found a tip that came partially from one of the greatest Americans ever, 26th President Teddy Roosevelt.
Roosevelt found that if he focused intensely on one task at a time he was more productive and more efficient. He discovered this practice while at Harvard. He would go to the library each afternoon and spend an intense hour or two studying. He wouldn't get up, talk to other students or distract himself with any reading material other than what he needed to study that day.
You can do the same thing in your life. Pick your next task and silence your phone, close all social media, make sure you have gone to the bathroom and that you’re not hungry and just work. If you do this regularly you will find that those tasks get done quicker and easier, freeing you up to live a rich and full life just like Teddy Roosevelt did.
Sources: Theodore Roosevelt used this productivity trick to get more done in a couple hours than most people do in a day
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
For our last story of people overcoming adversity this week, I found the beautiful story of Katie Cooke, a young woman who competes in long distance running races despite having epilepsy. And Katie doesn’t just a have a seizure every once in a while either, she suffers from 14 per day!
Yet she gets out on the trail and runs and runs. She’ll have a seizure, fall to the ground and when it’s over, she dusts herself off and keeps on running.
On top of all that she has an attitude of joy and gratitude. To her life is something to be enjoyed and experienced regardless of the obstacles.
So listen to today’s short, enjoy the link to the short video about Katie below, and gain some perspective on what overcoming obstacles really looks like.
Watch video of Katie Cooke here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week we look at stories of people who overcame difficult situations to make something of themselves. Today we talk about the famous poet and professor John Ciardi.
Born to Italian immigrants in 1916, Ciardi’s father was killed in a car accident when he was three. He was bullied by neighborhood kids and his mother who raised him could neither read nor write, yet he became a well known poet and etymologist.
Ciardi is also the author of one of my favorite poems called In Place of a Cursewhere he gives his stern thoughts on those in this world who play the role of victim.
In today’s short we talk about Ciardi’s life and I read that poem and give some thoughts on how it teaches us to focus on what we can change in ourselves rather than tearing down others to make ourselves feel better.
Source: Poetry Foundation
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
This week we are focusing on stories of people who have taken difficult circumstances they were born into and persevered to achieve something great. That doesn’t mean they became rich and famous necessarily but it means they overcame their situations to make more of themselves and their lives than you might think they could given those circumstances.
Today we talk about Alcindo Soares, who lives on a tiny island off the west coast of Africa. When he saw his local beach becoming polluted with trash and debris, he decided to not only clean it up but to take that trash and build something with it that could serve the whole community.
Listen to today’s short to hear what Mr. Soares did with all that trash and how it helps others.
Watch the video of Alcindo Soares here
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
Asking for advice or feedback is often a wise and prudent thing to do when you are unsure about the quality of your work or a decision you need to make. But we have to be very careful about who we ask advice from and we must be willing to hear the advice good, bad or otherwise.
Additionally, we shouldn’t run around asking for feedback from people who are unqualified to give it to us. Not only that, we should be aware that all advice is subjective and based on that person’s personal experience and background. An article in the Harvard Business Review points out this phenomenon, calling it the “idiosyncratic rater effect.”
The key here is two things: first, trust your gut and your experience. If you have honed a craft or an expertise and you know that the work you have done is solid and inspires you, then you don’t always need to run to someone for reassurance. And when you do need advice? That’s when you need a strong network of people you trust who will give you the truth so you can be confident that the feedback you're getting is grounded in that person's understanding of you and the issue.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: watch shorts here
We all know that change is inevitable and nothing lasts forever, yet so many of us are terrified of change. When I was a young ballplayer I foolishly thought that my career and the good times would last forever, but obviously they didn’t. After baseball I had some failures in investments and some of relationships didn’t work out the way I wanted.
What is important about change in our lives is how we handle it. Change gives us an opportunity to see things from a new perspective. There is almost always something good we can take out of changes and failures in our lives.
When it comes to making changes in our lives sometimes we have to keep putting one foot in front of the other until an inspiration or opportunity strikes us. Other times we may know we need to make a change and that’s when we need to be bold, make the decision and expect great things to happen.
So I encourage all of you to seek out change in your life, don’t avoid it. Because that is when great new things happen for us. Afterall, life is a crazy adventure filled with ups and downs but it is something to be cherished and enjoyed.
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: watch shorts here
It's still early in the new year and so I wanted to share a little parable I found to help you begin to ask yourself how you handle adversity.
We have all had our share of adversity during the last two years and this story gives us a lot to think about regarding how we handle ourselves when things get tough. It’s about what happens to the carrot, the egg and the coffee bean when subjected to boiling water.
Listen to today’s short to decide which item you think you are and how you can take your circumstances and transform them with grit and positivity.
For our last "best of shorts" for the week, we revisit the story of Don Mattingly and the lesson he taught me about always working and hard being consistent, regardless of the circumstance.
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.
Continuing our "best of shorts" this week, today is a short from September where I asked the question, "have you ever met a successful pessimist?"
I know I haven’t.
People who are successful ignore the odds, overcome the hardships and stay focused on the prize. Just take the story of Wilma Rudolph who contracted polio as a little girl, which left her with a brace on her leg and pessimistic doctors telling her she would probably never walk or run normally.
Well they were right, she didn’t walk or run normally because she grew up to become a 3-time Gold Medal Champion in the 1960 Olympics and was given the title at the time of the “fastest woman alive.” Listen to today’s short for the full story along with an old Cherokee story about the good, or positive wolf and bad , or negative and pessimistic wolf that lives inside all of us.
Last week I came down with a cold and was not able to go into the studio to record, so this week we decided to listen back to three of our favorite shorts from 2020.
Today we hear the story of my friend "John" who beat stage 4 cancer with an attitude of levity and positivity.
Enjoy this powerful story and Happy New Year!
So many of us spend too much time during our lives trying to fix what’s “wrong” with us. Many of you right now may be feeling down because of a failed new year's resolution.
But what if you focused on your strengths instead of your weaknesses? There has been a lot of research done on this idea of focusing on strengths and the results are clear. When people focus on their strengths they are more engaged, more joyful and are more productive in their lives.
The best years of my baseball career were when I had a hitting coach who didn’t try to fix what was wrong with me, but told me to lean into the things I did best.
So stop trying to fix yourself. Instead, celebrate what you do well and focus on growing that instead.
Sources:
https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/people/martin-ep-seligman
https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx
Visit my website: saxinthemorning.com for merchandise and other links.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @saxinthemorning_podcast
YouTube: subscribe and watch shorts here
It’s almost the new year and it’s a time of renewal and rebirth so I thought I would share one of the most amazing stories of transformation I read this last year. That is the story of Drew Robinson.
Drew is a minor league baseball player who survived a suicide attempt where he shot himself and lost his right eye. It took him 20 hours to decide he wanted to live and he called 911.
Drew came back to play a season for the Sacramento Rivercats, where he hit three home runs with one eye. He shared his story with Jeff Passan of ESPN and later with the San Francisco Giants major league club on Suicide Prevention Day. That has led him to retire and pursue a new calling as a speaker and mental health advocate.
Listen to hear more about Drew’s story and read Passan’s piece linked below.
Source: San Francisco Giants outfielder Drew Robinson's remarkable second act
Labor strife in Major League Baseball has been around forever and it’s even one of the reasons I decided to retire. I was tired of the squabbling back and forth between the players union and the owners.
Today I thought I’d unpack a little bit about what is going on in the current negotiations and give you my thoughts on when the lockout will end and if we will have baseball this year.
Listen to today’s short to hear more about why the players and owners are at odds and whether they can work it out to save the season.
The new year is coming and that is a time when lots of people look to try something new. I thought today would be a great day to talk about cryptocurrency since it’s something that many people are curious about. Some of you might even be saying your resolution is to “learn about cryptocurrency.”
I have been an investor in cryptocurrency for a while and I get questions all the time, so today we answer some of those basic questions including:
What is the blockchain?
Is it safe?
Is it too late for me to get some cryptocurrency?
Listen for the answers to these questions.
Today's short I dedicate to all those who lost loved ones and their homes and livelihoods in the horrible tornadoes 10 days ago in Kentucky and across the Midwest. As we all celebrate the holidays and enjoy time with friends and family take just a moment or two to appreciate what you have and your life and to say a prayer for those who lost everything.
If you can, maybe save a few dollars on Christmas presents and donate that money to the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. I donated and I know that every bit counts as many of those who were affected were already struggling and had no insurance to cover their devastating loses.
Enjoy every moment you have with your loved ones this Christmas and I'll talk to you next week.
Donate: Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund
Today we continue talking about generosity and I wanted to share a story I came across about a woman named Katie Stagliano.
When Katie was 9 years old she took home a seedling from school and tended to it until it became a massive 40lb cabbage. Knowing it was way too much for her family to eat, she decided to donate it to a soup kitchen. That one act of generosity sparked a fire in young Katie and she realized she could grow food and donate to those in need.
She started her own garden at age 9 and as a teenager started a non-profit called Katie’s Krops that seeks to fund and educate kids all over the country to start their own gardens and donate the harvest to people who need it. Katie’s Krops now has over 100 gardens across the U.S. and has donated thousands of pounds of fresh produce.
Katie sheepishly says she hopes to solve world hunger and is a shining example of how generosity not only helps others but can create a positive movement, which can impact our world.
It’s the season of giving, which is great news because not only is it a wonderful time of year but it turns out that giving to others is good for your physical and emotional well-being.
Today I look at the five ways that giving is actually good for you beyond just the fuzzy feeling of making someone smile. Giving promotes generosity in others, builds connection and community, boosts Oxytocin levels and much more.
Listen to today’s short to get into the giving spirit and to learn more about just how powerful generosity can be in all our lives.
Sources:
5 Ways Giving Is Good for You
Today I talk a little bit about the great John Wooden and how his philosophy off the court had everything to do with his success on it.
Wooden realized early on when he was teaching English that people should measure success not on the results of their efforts but on their efforts alone. Wooden led his student athletes with a humility and understanding that if you prepare and work as hard as you can, then you have already succeeded.
Wooden said his greatest pleasure was seeing players with mediocre talent become important contributors on championship teams. Even more important to Wooden was watching the young men he coached go on to be doctors, lawyers, teachers and husbands and fathers. Listen to today’s short as I talk more about Wooden's philosophy on life and leadership.
John Wooden links:
https://www.thewoodeneffect.com
https://www.ted.com/talks/john_wooden_the_difference_between_winning_and_succeeding?language=en
Great leaders are much more than just a person in charge. Anyone with power over others can dictate to them what to do with no questions asked and demand that it be done. But that’s not good leadership.
Michael Abrashoff was a commander in the U.S. Navy and at age 36, took command of one of the worst ships in the Pacific Fleet. He demonstrated how empowering people under his command would create a culture where people felt valued and heard. As a result, they worked harder, promoted faster and built a team that worked so well together that they went from one of the worst ships in the Navy to one of the best in just 15 months.
Listen today to hear more about Captain Abrashoff's amazing achievements as a result of his leadership style that empowered people.
And ask yourself…Do your people follow you because they have to or because they want to?
Source links
https://www.mikeabrashoff.com/
Today I wanted to take time to talk about one of the best coaches I ever had, Frank Howard. Frank was my hitting coach for the New York Yankees in 1989 and 1991 and both those years I hit over .300 and had massive hit totals.
What made Frank so great? Well, there were a lot of things.
First, while Frank was an amazing teacher of hitting, what made him great technically was that he could work with anyone and always encouraged them to stay with in their own strengths. He was a massive man and a power hitter but he wouldn’t try to make you something you weren’t as a hitter.
Second, Frank had complete humility as a coach. He would give you advice and then say “use if it helps and if it doesn’t don’t.” He didn’t have his ego wrapped up in you listening to him, he was just there to serve his players.
Third and most important, Frank was a pillar of positivity. In fact, I literally never heard him utter a negative word in the years I knew him. He was all positive and all smiles all the time and it was infectious.
Listen to today's short to hear more about they type of coach and man the great Frank Howard was.
Life is all about perspective. Certain things or situations in life seem inherently better and that might even be true. But the journey along the way between situations and circumstances is where our life and our growth actually happen.
When I was in the minor leagues we carried our own luggage, stayed in seedy motels and took 18 hours bus rides where we slept in the luggage racks.
When I got to the major leagues my luggage was always taken care of, the planes were chartered, I got meal money everyday that would cover the best meal you’ve ever had and the hotels were spectacular.
But when I was in the minors I never thought about how awful it was or what I was missing out on. I was just happy to be playing the game I loved. I wasn’t doing it in hopes of one day making a lot of money, it was all a continuum on the path to achieving a dream. I loved all of it, and how great I was treated in the majors was just an unexpected perk when I got there.
So find that thing in your life that you would be willing to do for free or to sleep in the luggage rack just to get a chance to do it another day. Do that and you will find happiness and maybe even success
People often ask me how I stay in shape and how I have so much energy. The answer is actually much simpler than people think, it’s because I always stay in motion physically and mentally.
I realized at a young age, being a professional athlete, that I had to stay in great shape. So I created a workout routine and I haven’t missed a workout since I was 18 years old. The same goes for having mental energy. I am always reading and learning and traveling. I love to learn new things and to talk to new people. That keeps my brain in motion and keeps me curious.
Now that I am in “retirement age” I believe keeping that physical and mental motion is vital to me living a happy and purposeful life.
Being a World Series Champion was amazing but I can honestly say that I enjoy my life today just as much and often more than I did then and it’s because I have never stopped moving and learning.
How powerful is the human spirit when directed towards your passion? It is inestimable. That passion and that spirit can catapult you to wherever you want to go.
I witnessed this in my son. When he was a little boy he went for a ride on a small plane with friends and from that moment on he wanted to be a jet pilot. So much so that one day in little league he missed a fly ball in left field with the bases loaded because he saw an army transport plane flying in the sky and he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
He studied and studied and paid for his own tutors until he graduated in the top 5% in his class at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
So if there is something you know deep down you want to do, the time is now and you must put the power of your own human spirit to work because if you do, you will be unstoppable.
There have been many times in my life where I was fortunate to have the presence of mind to pause and reflect in big moments so I could fully experience them and appreciate what had brought me to them.
After winning the 1988 World Series as we left the field and entered the locker room to pop the champagne, I found a little empty room with one chair. I sat down, took off my uniform and listened to the exuberance of my teammates and reflected on the fact that a kid from a farm in West Sacramento was now a world champion.
Another time when I was facing Hall of Famer Steve Carlton of the Phillies with the bases loaded I stepped out of the box. I looked around at the 55,000 cheering fans and felt the reality that, here I was, in the big leagues on a beautiful Sunday facing a Hall of Fame pitcher in a packed Dodger Stadium.
The holidays are a great time for you to do the same type of reflection, to pause in moments at work, with family at a big gathering, during a wedding or even just a quiet morning. Pause as you soak in the moment and appreciate the good feeling you have because if you do, those good moments will last forever.
CAVE people! I have talked about them before and how they should be feared and reviled. No, it’s not the small hairy guy carrying a club, it’s the Citizens Against Virtually Everything. We all know these people, they are always negative, they are always victims and nothing is ever their fault.
I’ve encouraged you all in past shows to surround yourselves with people who are positive and supportive. As we climb out of this pandemic with renewed hope and optimism I wanted to remind you of the other pitfalls with CAVE people. That pitfall is we all have a CAVE person inside us. So today I talk about ignoring the CAVE person in each of us who is trying to shut us down and keep us scared and instead dreaming big dreams and believing that every major innovation and success in this world started with a dream.
As we approach the end of the year I wanted to share with you some inspiration in the form of my own personal declaration. Every year I like to write a statement that I can reflect on to remind myself of my goals, my responsibilities and the power I have to effect change in my own life.
If you would like to write your own personal declaration to remind yourself of who you are at your best, then post it to Instagram and tag me or send us a message @saxinthemorning_podcast on Instagram and maybe we’ll share your declaration on a future show.
Have a great Monday and remember to follow your emotional heart.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and today I wrap up my shorts all about gratitude. First, as Thanksgiving approaches I always tend to think about my parents and the amazing foundation they laid for myself and my siblings so we could lead happy and productive lives.
As I spent the last couple weeks really focusing on gratitude I noticed that my awareness of all the great things in my life grew and the little annoyances started to disappear. That became crystal clear to me on the day of this recording when I walked into a hamburger joint before heading to the studio. My food was taking forever and I was running late and just as I started to feel agitated I noticed a young man in a wheelchair being fed by his mother.
Instantly, I was transported into gratitude for all that I have as I watched this young man and his mother intensely focus on his eating and nothing else. The awareness I had in that moment allowed me to see the beauty in his mother’s care and the blessings that I have in my life which are endless.
So enjoy your Thanksgiving and spend some time appreciating what you have rather than focusing on what you don’t.
Today I want to talk about a couple of simple tools that I use all the time to increase my own gratitude and to share that gratitude with others.
The first one is a simple list at the end of each day. Every night I write down three things I am grateful for in my life or from that day. It can be the big things like my children or my health, or it can be small things like hitting green lights on the way to work or something delicious I had to eat that day. If you do this everyday for even a week, you will see your mood and your gratitude increase.
The second thing is to spread gratitude with notes. Try grabbing a simple card and writing a short note to someone expressing how grateful you are to have them in your life. It’s such a small gesture but the effect can be huge.
Try these tools this week and keep on doing it to boost your gratitude and the gratitude of others and extend that great feeling way past this week of Thanksgiving.
It’s Thanksgiving week and I am getting into the spirit by sharing the importance of gratitude in our lives.
Today we talk about an article in Forbes that looks at the research behind why leaders who are grateful are more successful and create a fantastic culture for their employees. Gratitude from the top increases productivity, demonstrates humility and shows the leader has a growth mindset in themselves and the company.
I talk about my own experience with how important gratitude is in leadership and how it can bring people together for better success and happiness for everyone.
Sources: Research Reveals 3 Reasons Why Gratitude Is An Important Leadership Quality
Next week is Thanksgiving and so for our full-length episode this month I wanted to express my gratitude by sharing with you a conversation with one of the people I am most grateful for in my life and that is my daughter Lauren Boyd.
We talk about what it was like for Lauren growing up with a dad who played professional baseball, her All-American cheerleading career, the time I threw out her entire wardrobe as a teenager and how now, as adults, we are as close as can be.
Mostly, we talk about the importance of family and Lauren expresses how important it was to have a safe place to come back to whenever things got difficult in her life. It's a perfect time for reflection, for gratitude and appreciation for the people in your life. I hope you enjoy us sharing the stories and a little bit of who we are and how appreciative we are for all we've got. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday however it is you spend it!
One of the characteristics that human beings have that make us so special is intuition. Some people believe intuition is just “guessing” and that all decisions should be made based off the information available.
Having more information is great but sometimes you could have a spreadsheet in front of you with all numbers and statistics computers can generate and the answer still isn’t going to be clear.
What do you do then?
Sometimes something isn’t right in our personal lives or our jobs and we don’t have all the facts. All we have is a feeling that something needs to change. Honing your intuition is a vital tool because you can’t always have all the facts when you need to make a tough choice. If you don’t practice using your intuition it withers away like an unused muscle, leaving you lost and confused.
So get all the information you can about a decision but then run it through your gut, because intuition is a powerful thing and it should not be ignored.
Energy is hard to define when it comes to human beings. Some people seem to have boundless energy but can’t seem to make good use of it. Some have an aura that lights up a room without a word and others give off a sour negative vibe that you can feel even as they smile and tell you how great things are. Some believe that there are five layers of energy in the human body and that if we only tap into our physical energy we fall short of our potential. What is most important is whatever energy you have needs to be directed towards your goals and passions. As I have discussed before, the best energy is quiet and hardworking. Focus on the task at hand and the long term goal rather than the recognition. That is the best way to direct your energy to accomplish your dreams.
Sources: Five Layers of the Human Energy Field-Phylamena lila Desy
They say laughter is the best medicine and that seems to be true. It boosts endorphins, lowers stress hormones and improves your mood. My manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tommy Lasorda knew how important laughter was in the clubhouse. He used to say “contented cows give better milk,” and he always sought to make sure the clubhouse was light and people were laughing at each other and themselves. Knowing the importance of being able to laugh at yourself is a key component in leadership and in your own contentment. So take a minute today and find something to laugh at, and if it’s yourself, all the better.
Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day and I wanted to take today to talk about how important it is to recognize the tremendous sacrifices of those in the armed forces to keep us all safe. It is especially meaningful to me because my son, Captain John Sax, is a pilot and an officer in the Marine Corps.
My son has dedicated his life to becoming a spectacular pilot and leader in the Marines and I am immensely proud of the life he is living. We all know the sacrifice many soldiers face in combat, but what you may not know is how much hard work and sacrifice goes into just being in the armed forces. Everyone you see in a uniform has experienced unbelievably grueling training to prepare themselves to protect our country. So sleep well tonight and spend tomorrow in gratitude knowing that people like my son would give their lives to keep you safe, and if you see a veteran, sincerely thank them for their service.
We’ve all had a bad day or a bad week in our lives where it feels like we can’t do anything right. But how about a bad six months! That was the case with the Los Angeles Dodger’s Cody Bellinger, who hit .165 in the regular season. Yet when the season ended, he wiped the slate clean, started over in the postseason and hit .353. He got the series winning hit against the San Francisco Giants and became the Dodgers best player in the playoffs before they lost to the Atlanta Braves. Cody is an amazing sports example of how we can all wipe the slate clean, no matter how bad things have been and for how long. Each day is a new opportunity to begin to turn things around, but you have to clear your head, ask for help and keep showing up and working hard if you want something to change.
In executive coaching one of the things I always emphasize to my clients is the necessity of curiosity. This desire to learn and understand new ideas and concepts is key in leadership because it creates an open mind and thus a team that is willing and encouraged to bring new ideas to the table.
One amazing example of curiosity and a refusal to be stagnant in their profession was Captain Sullenberger when he landed that plane on the Hudson River. In an interview “Sully” credited his curiosity about how he could become a better pilot and better prepare before each flight was key to him quickly identifying options in the ultimate high pressure situation. He had trained himself to consider all options with an open mind and that training led him to choose the seemingly crazy option of landing the plane on water, which turned out to be a life saving decision.
Whether you are an executive or a parent, the best thing you can be is curious and open to the ideas of others, because you are then most likely to get hit with ideas that are new and innovative.
It’s my last day of looking at positivity and authentic happiness and today I found a study that was particularly important to me. A study by a researcher at Johns Hopkins University found that people with a positive outlook on life had a 13% decrease in their chances for a heart attack or other coronary event. This held true for those of different ethnicities and even those with a family history of heart disease or other risk factors. The study looked at many different groups and additional research and the data was clear, those with a cheery outlook on life had much fewer serious cardiac events. This study and the other two studies I looked at this week show that authentic happiness is something you cannot fake and it is vital to a long and healthy life. While some might think happiness comes from circumstance or is even innate, I happen to think that it's a choice. So choose to be happy and continue to strive for a life that has purpose and meaning for you.
As I continue our week of looking at authentic happiness I found a study that showed how happiness and a joyful sense of purpose actually dramatically increased life expectancy. The American nun study published by the University of Kentucky looked at the autobiographical essays written by 180 nuns in the 1930’s just before they took their final vows. The study found that those nuns who wrote with very positive language about their lives and their religious devotion in their early 20’s lived an average of 10 years longer than those who used more neutral language. So stop and think about your life and how you would describe it to a complete stranger. Would it be positive or would it be negative or even neutral? If it’s not positive you might want to stop and consider what you could do to live with more joy and contentment. Because life is short, but if you aren’t living with authentic happiness, it will be even shorter.
What does it mean to be authentically happy? That is going to be the subject of all three of our shorts this week as we look at three studies which show the positive long term effects of true happiness and contentment in people’s lives.
Today we take a look at the famous yearbook smile study, where researchers looked at over 140 pictures of women in their college yearbooks and analyzed their smiles. They found that there are two kinds of smiles: the Duchenne smile, which is involuntary and had been determined to be an authentic display of positivity in the moment, and the Pan Am smile, which is fake. Over the course of 30 years the researchers talked to the 140 women and found that those with Duchenne smiles were more likely to have long marriages in which they were still fulfilled and expressed more contentment about their lives in general than those who displayed fake smiles. The lesson here is that those who possess authentic happiness as young adults are more likely to continue experiencing joy and contentment in their lives over the long haul.
Once you set a goal, once you are on the path to a change in your life it can be easy to get distracted and fall back into old habits or get overwhelmed by everyday life. There is a very simple and practical tool you can use to combat this distraction and to remind you of the commitment you made to yourself. It’s called a structure. A structure is simply something that makes you stop and remember what you are trying to accomplish. The goal is to bring you back to the present moment and give you a pause to refocus. It could be anything, alarms set on your phone, an affirmation said each morning, listening to a certain song, these are all examples of structures. Find those things in your life that will remind you to stop and refocus your efforts on your commitments. It’s simple and effective.
There is a problem we see all too often in society, sports or business, it’s people doing things halfway. Doing things halfway might keep you from getting fired but it will never allow you to reach your goals and to thrive. To thrive you have to find those things you are passionate about and commit to them 100%, otherwise you’ll become just another person who joined the gym, went for three months and stopped or who started a creative project but never really got it off the ground and gave up. Success has many factors and many obstacles but the foundation must be built on hard work and sustained effort. Otherwise you’ll find yourself permanently stranded by the side of the road halfway to your destination.
It’s playoff season in baseball and people ask me all the time, “Were you ever nervous when you were out there?” or “How did you handle the pressure of those big moments?” Well, let me tell you, I always had butterflies in my stomach when I got up to bat, but butterflies aren’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, those signs of stress and pressure, when you reframe them positively in your mind, can heighten your focus and quiet your mind. A quiet mind is key to success under pressure. When we enter a pressure packed situation we have to trust our preparation and allow ourselves to flow and not overthink every little thing that can go wrong. This was my experience as a baseball player and now a public speaker and it’s even backed up from research by Sian Beilock in the Harvard Business Review.
Links: Why talented people fail under pressure
On today’s full-length podcast I talk with Jahon Jamali, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Sarson Funds. Sarson funds is an investment company that specializes in the education and investment of cryptocurrency and Jahon is on the front lines of educating the media, financial advisors and the public all about cryptocurrency. Jahon is a leading expert on emerging technologies, global risk management and international relations and is currently a renown digital assets and crypto educator and community influencer.
Every day you hear more news about Bitcoin, Ethereum and cryptocurrency. Just this week two exchange traded funds (ETFs) of Bitcoin launched (XBTF and BITO), sending the financial world into a frenzy, so it’s the perfect time to hear from a cryptocurrency expert and educator.
We talk about how crypto is empowering those who have been locked out of the traditional banking system, why blockchains are more efficient, secure and transparent than traditional banking methods and debunk some of the biggest myths about cryptocurrency. We also cover the basics, like what the heck is a blockchain and what is cryptocurrency? These questions and many others are answered on today’s episode!
For more information about Sarson Funds and the new book co-authored by Jahon titles "Deep Crypto" follow the links below:
Sarsonfunds.comdiscoverdeepcrypto.com
Balance is a popular buzzword when it comes to people improving how they feel about their lives. But so often people view the term “balance” as a need to do less or slow down, when that is not always the case. What balance really means is that each of us must analyze our lives to figure out what we need more of and where we might need to back off. Some people relax too much and don’t accomplish their goals and dreams because they can’t get up and get going. Others don’t take the time they need for themselves and burn out before they reach the finish line. Some people thrive on pressure and deadlines, others work better with time to plan and organize and don’t need those boundaries to stay on track. So stop and take a look at your life and figure out what is missing and what there is too much of, but do it without a preconception of what “balance” looks like, because it’s different for everyone.
There are lots of different kinds of leaders in life, but there’s one type whose credibility doesn’t even carry as far as their voice as they tell everyone how to live. I’m talking about the locker room lawyer. You all know this person, trying to pump people up with words backed with zero action. They lack the experience and knowledge to lead others yet try to do so anyway with boisterous speeches and high fives. Real leaders just show up, they shut up and they put up. If you listen closely when people are asked what makes a given person a good leader you will almost always hear them say something like “They lead by example. They just show up and work hard and show everyone how to get things done.” Obviously there are the rare spectacular leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. or Knute Rockne who combine their passion, knowledge and work ethic, with unparalleled eloquence. But for the rest of us, the best way to be a great leader is to suit up and show up and say only what needs to be said.
Success doesn’t happen overnight, and it almost never happens with the first idea you have or on your first attempt to create something new. Just about every wildly successful person you can think of went through some failures and often lots of failures. Stephen King had his first book “Carrie” rejected 30 times, Bill Gates failed with a business of traffic data analysis software that hardly worked and Sir James Dyson designed over 5,000 vacuum prototypes before landing on the famous Dyson bagless vacuum design. If you are going to succeed you’ve got to be tough minded, you have to be willing to fail and you must be able to have people tell you “no” and still keep trying.
What does it mean to lead with a servant's heart? Certainly it means to think of others in your life or organization first. It means sacrificing personal time and even personal gain for the betterment of those around you. But maybe the most important action a good leader can take is to shoulder the blame when something goes wrong. Taking full responsibility will squash dissension and resentment but it also creates good will and teamwork with those around you. Today I give you a peek into what it was like dealing with the notorious New York sports media and how my teammates and I would work together to make sure they couldn’t twist our words or allow blame and conflict to get whispered around our clubhouse and in the press.
One of the most basic tools used by successful and organized people is the “to do list.” Every night I make a “to do list” for the next day and I’ve done this for decades. It gives me a clear plan for my day from the moment I wake up. The reason to get in this habit is simple, if you don’t make a shopping list before going to the store you will always forget something you needed and you are likely to buy a bunch of stuff you didn't need. It’s exactly the same with your life, if you don’t have a list you will forget things you need to do and waste time on things you don’t need to be doing. So make daily lists as well as lists for what you need to do to achieve long term goals, because we all have thoughts in our head of what we need to do, they’re good intentions. But once you write them down, they become tasks you can complete.
How many of you are stuck feeling unmotivated or even defeated in parts of your life? We’ve all felt this way at times and that feeling can perpetuate itself and keep us down. The antidote to this feeling is taking a small positive action right now, today. If you make the choice to do one positive thing for a goal in your life today, and then do it again tomorrow, and the next day. Before you know it you will create what I like to call an inertia of positivity. When this happens, taking those positive actions becomes second nature and you can start hurtling towards your dreams. You just have to find something that motivates you and brings out your passion, then all it takes is one small action today and again tomorrow and you will be on your way.
Balance in our lives is very important in the long run, but sometimes it takes a burning desire and a relentless, almost stubborn belief that we are going to succeed to achieve our goals. When I was young my only focus was being a Major Leaguer. There was no plan b, no other option and I knew that I wasn’t the most talented player out there. When you put those things together you get someone with a big heart who is willing to do more than everyone else to make it. Listen to my short today to learn about the sacrifices I made (literally sacrificing my teeth) to succeed and ask yourself what are you willing to sacrifice to achieve your dreams?
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.
Something I have found to be true in my life and in the lives of the people I have coached is that what you focus on expands. What do I mean by that? Well, whatever you put your attention to is going to be the thing that drives you decisions, your mood and your successes or failures. You can use this to your advantage or it can completely handicap your life. By focusing on the positive aspects of your life, those will become what you see the most and be a larger part of your daily experience. Conversely, if you focus on the negative things in life, you will be led down a trail of misery and self-pity. So make a choice today to focus on the positive parts of your day and your life, and stay focused your goals.
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.
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.
Making big changes and setting big goals can be daunting. Too often the goal seems unattainable, the steps to get there are unclear and we begin to be fearful and doubt if we can succeed. When we do that we begin the process of failing before we even get started. A big part of success is believing that we will succeed from the very beginning. We don’t have to know exactly how we are going to get there and we don’t have to be cocky and our goals are easy, but we do have to make those changes and decisions with the conviction that we will win in the end. Listen to today’s short to hear how Muhammad Ali approached his goals and how he said he won his first big fight against Sonny Liston three weeks before he even stepped in the ring.
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.
Have you ever met a successful pessimist? I know I haven’t. People who are successful ignore the odds, overcome the hardships and stay focused on the prize. Just take the story of Wilma Rudolph who contracted polio as a little girl, which left her with a brace on her leg and pessimistic doctors telling her she would probably never walk or run normally. Well they were right, she didn’t walk or run normally because she grew up to become a 3-time Gold Medal Champion in the 1960 Olympics and was given the title at the time of the “fastest woman alive.” Listen to today’s short for the full story along with an old Cherokee story about the good, or positive wolf and bad , or negative and pessimistic wolf that lives inside all of us.
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.
Today I talk with Mike Kowalski who spent 39 years playing a variety of instruments for The Beach Boys, touring with them as a second percussionist starting in 1968 and taking over as their full time drummer for 23 years after the unfortunate death of Dennis Wilson in 1983. Mike was given his first set of drums by the famous actor Jack Webb after Webb witnessed him banging along to a record with two hair brushes and two small drums at the age of 10. Mike went on to play drums at a young age for acts such as Redbone, Sonny and Cher and Etta James before landing a touring gig with The Beach Boys.
I met Mike after he heard Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully mention that I played drums on a broadcast. Mike was a huge Dodger fan and said he had to meet the new second baseman who also played drums. We met in a hotel lobby at spring training and have been good friends ever since.
We talk about Mike’s long career with The Beach Boys, the genius of Brian Wilson, playing in a jam session with Jimi Hendrix and Mike’s longtime love of baseball. His knowledge of baseball is darn near as impressive as his knowledge of music. This is a wonderful conversation I know baseball fans and music fans alike are going to enjoy listening to.
Being a parent is one of the greatest joys we get to experience in our lives. Most of us say we would give anything for the good of our children. Well, today I want to tell you a story about a man who did just that over 80 years ago. This is the story of Easy Eddie, the man who helped make the notorious gangster Al Capone rich and kept him out of jail. Later, riddled with guilt about helping a mobster stay clean, Eddie flipped on Capone and helped put him in jail for tax evasion. Listen to today's short to hear Easy Eddie’s story and his connection with the WWII hero who had an airport in Chicago named after him.
So many of us are concerned about how much money we are going to get paid to do something, but when you are doing something you love you don’t do it for money or recognition. A prime example of this was Ted Williams who not only played at a time when players weren’t paid a lot of money but “Teddy Ballgame” also wasn’t worried about records or accolades, he was worried about one thing...hitting. Today is the story, told directly to me by Ted Williams, about his final day of the season in 1941 where he ended the year hitting .400.
Chivalry is a quality that seems to be waning in our society today. When I think of chivalry I don’t just think about how men treat women, I think about how we all treat each other. To me another word for chivalry is simply class. The spirit of chivalry is being attuned to the needs of others instead of thinking only of ourselves. In sports we see constant showboating and disrespect under the guise of “celebrating individuality.” In schools students use curse words and text in the middle of class. We need a return to chivalry, which is more than just pulling out a chair for a lady or giving up your seat on the bus for a senior citizen. It’s treating all people with respect and pausing to think how you can help the person next to you.
There’s a scourge in life that affects all of us on the path to our dreams. They go by many names: doubters, haters, Debbie downers or naysayers. Every brilliant idea, every new product, every “crazy” dream has run into people who try to say it’s impossible, stupid, wrong or unnecessary. It’s at these times that we have to listen to our hearts, because only we know what kind of passion and belief is beating in there. I had a coach when I was in high school who told me I would be back in Sacramento driving a truck in two years if I signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Instead, three years later I was playing in the World Series at Yankee Stadium at 21-years-old. So take others advice when it’s warranted but tune out those who tell you that you can’t do something when your heart is telling you that you can.
We all are going to face hardships in our lives. It may be something we have no control over or it may be personal demons that we are grappling with, but one thing that we have some control over is our attitude. Just take my friend John, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and had tumors riddled throughout his body. When he told me about his cancer he just smiled and said, “Steve, this is just a nine month inconvenience.” I believe that John’s positive attitude and his refusal to feel like a victim went a long way towards his eventual recovery. Twenty years later John is still alive and thriving and he still has that positive attitude. That’s not to say he cured himself or that all you need to beat cancer is a positive attitude, but his outlook certainly allowed him to better deal with the struggle in front of him. So next time you hit hard times remember that those difficulties are unavoidable, but misery?...That’s optional.
Today on Labor Day as many of us enjoy a day off, it’s the perfect time to stop and consider what kind of effort we are putting into our lives and careers. All of us are blessed with special abilities and special talents and putting those God-given gifts to good use in our lives is very important. But there are also many, many things we can do that contribute to our success that don’t require any special talent. I saw this list going around social media called “the 10 things you can do that require zero talent” and I really like the message it sends about the positive actions we can take to reach our goals that don’t take any special abilities. Listen to today’s short to hear the 10 things you can start doing right now to make you a better employee, friend and family member.
All of us are on teams in our lives. Whether it’s in sports or business or in our personal lives, we all have to work together. The better we work together to create a positive culture and mindset the more successful we will be. When I was on the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers we were picked 4th to start the year and we won the World Series. When I was on the New York Yankees my teammates made me the best second baseman in the league. Choosing who you work with and who you connect with on your teams is so important for your happiness and productivity, so make sure that you don’t surround yourself with CAVE people. What is a CAVE person? Well, it’s not a guy with a fur speedo with a club, but you’ll have to listen to today’s short to find out.
One of the primary attributes to being secure and successful in this world is patience. Patience to stay the course and trust the process when things aren’t going well, but also patience to avoid distractions and temptations along the way. People who frequently succumb to instant gratification are rarely successful. This was even shown to be true of young children during a famous study back in 1972. Find out what happened when psychologists gave kids a marshmallow and told them not to eat it and how the outcome of their decision helped predict their outcomes for success decades later. I love telling the story and you'll hear it on today's podcast.
We are living in times of great uncertainty and turmoil, but during times of turmoil are when there can be great opportunities for us to make changes in our lives. Now is the best time for you to set yourself on a new path to big dreams. In order to highlight someone who set a goal and made the most of an opportunity, You've got to hear the story of Edwin C. Barnes. This is the story of a man who hopped on a rickety old train car and showed up on the doorstep of Thomas Edison with the intention of making himself a partner with the greatest inventor of his time. Today’s story outlines the amazing outcome that anyone can mimic...if you want to create the opportunity for yourself.
One of the biggest struggles facing our society today is a lack of humility. We see it everywhere, in sports, in politics, even in people’s day-to-day lives. Humility is a quality that we must teach to our kids and that we must have in our leaders. Because true leaders lead with humility, they build others up, bring them along and give them credit for a job well done. Instead we are living in a society where everyone is a star in their own mind and everyone is looking for personal recognition. Let's instead, strive to see how we can help others and celebrate their successes... and not just our own.
Did you know that when it comes to first impressions what you say is far less important than how you present yourself? Body language is vital to making a good first impression. Whether you are giving a presentation, trying to make a sale or meeting your girlfriend or boyfriend’s parents for the first time, how you present yourself before you even start talking is key to your success. Listen today to hear my five keys to positive body language so you can nail your next first impression.
What gets you out of bed in the morning? What gets you excited for the day ahead? What are the goals and desires that cause you to work hard and persevere through hardship? What's your “why"? We are all going to experience difficulties, failure, self-loathing and doubt, but if your “why” is big enough, your “how to” doesn’t matter. I've got some tips on how to take that motivation and to push through the doubt and the hard times to achieve your dreams in today's podcast.
Wow! It's not often you get to interview your idol and mentor, not to mention, your teammate. I get to do that today with a MLB MVP, 4 time Gold Glove winner, 2 time All-Star game MVP, 10 time All-Star, World Series Champion and on and on. Steve Garvey joins me on today's show and we talk baseball with some great stories from his time as a player. We talk after baseball about what he's been able to build into a sustaining, successful and continually growing business and finally, we touch on life and family and his commitment to community and giving back thru non-profits and mens health programs. It's such an honor to be able to have a casual conversation with another Los Angeles Dodger and a great businessman but more importantly, a leader in showing us how to give back. I felt like the proverbial kid in a candy store being able to sit with a gentleman whom I have admired most of my life. I hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I did. For more information about Fans for the Cure visit www.fansforthecure.org.
Our next full-length podcast is going to be with Mike Kowalski, drummer with the Beach Boys and huge baseball fan. Mark your calendar to be sure to listen on 9-16-21 for some insight into the world of hugely successful bands and some great shared stories of being on the road.
As always, you can visit the website for more information. www.saxinthemorning.com. Thanks for listening and do us a favor by subscribing, sharing and leaving a comment.
What does it mean to be magnanimous? It means being a person who has no vanity, no jealousy. Someone who lives with honesty, integrity and forgiveness. Magnanimity is an incredibly powerful trait in the people who possess it. In fact, a magnanimous act at the surrender of the Civil War was one of the most important moments in the history of our country. This act created unity at a time of historic division. Today’s message explains a magnanimous act in our country's history between two opposing leaders and the surprise at surrender. Could you have been that magnanimous?
All of us have to make big changes and often reinvent ourselves and our careers during the course of our lives. With so much changing in the world today with COVID, maybe now is a time for you to make a change. I had to do it when I retired from baseball, went into media and then became a public speaker and now a podcast host. The Milwaukee Brewers’ Bob Uecker did it going from a baseball player to a comedic actor and then a Hall of Fame broadcaster. I’m sure Mohammad Ali could have been a great athlete in any sport if he had put his mind to it. If you are thinking about making your own changes, I give you three tips in today's podcast. Hint: Passion and Strengths.
Be sure to check out my next longform interview with Los Angeles Dodger great Steve Garvey! That episode releases Thursday, Aug. 19.
When people are trying to chase a dream and achieve something great, naysayers love to say “the odds are against you.” But the odds are only against you if you believe you are average in your pursuit of that greatness. The odds of a given outcome are based on the average chance it happens but just like I never thought I was an average baseball player and eventually reached the major leagues playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, you cannot think you are average if you are trying to be great in your own pursuits. So forget about the odds because when you know you are better than the average Joe when it comes to whatever passion you are trying to pursue, the odds don't matter.
Be sure to check out my next longform interview with Los Angeles Dodger great Steve Garvey! That episode will be available on Thursday, Aug. 19. You'll love what he has to say.
We all experience pressure in our lives. I experienced it everyday on the field as a Major League Baseball player and I experience it as a public speaker. The key to overcoming pressure is not simply ignoring it or pretending it isn’t there. The key is to not make it worse by creating undo pressure. Pressure becomes paralyzing when we start worrying about how terrible failing will be when in reality the worst case scenario usually isn’t that bad. So work hard, trust your preparation and have perspective about the potential outcomes of your situation.
When I was younger I used to have a recurring dream about a large rectangular facade that came to a point. I had this vivid image as part of dreams three or four times when I was a kid. Then, on my first day at Dodger Stadium as I walked up to the park and...BAM! There was the facade I had seen in my dreams. I knew right then that I was on the right path and that chasing my dream of being a professional baseball player had been the right decision. These signs can be all around us, given to us by the divine. The message of today’s short is to stay attuned to your heart. Because if you are paying close attention to your heart and have faith, the signs that you are on the right path will be revealed to you.
What does it take to become truly great at something? It's said 10,000 hours of practice is how long it takes to become an expert at something. What is so important about that number is the hard work it represents. Many of us want success right away when we start something new but just like with a skyscraper, we have to put a lot of work into the foundation of a new endeavor before we ever see the results we want. So put in the time to build a strong foundation and know that when you start something new it will take time to become that expert and all that comes with it.
Let's talk about the wimpification of the American sportsman and how this phenomenon is evident throughout society today. It makes me crazy. In 2015 Ruben Tejada of the New York Mets turned a lazy double play and had his leg broken by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chase Utley. Instead of focusing on Tejada’s poor fundamentals, they just changed the rule so you can’t run into the fielder and worse yet, they called it the Chase Utley rule. Chase did what he was supposed to do properly. Tejada didn't! In football you can’t even tackle the quarterback anymore or knock a kick returner out of bounds. The war of attrition was and still should be an important part of competition. How does this wimping out in sports translate to society today? I have my opinion on today's podcast.
Did you know that 70% of 35 year olds haven’t even thought about retirement? If that wasn’t bad enough, they think the best way to bank $500,000 for old age is to win the lottery! That’s probably not going to happen, and even many young athletes I’ve seen who had tons of money ended up broke anyway. So today I give three pieces of sound advice for planning for your financial future. Here are two of the three: Have a budget, pay down your debt and the third one? I guess you're just going to have to listen now, aren't you? You're worth every penny.
Smoking, substance abuse, weight loss...the demons exist within all of us. Let's talk about that a little today. Let's bite that thing in the face, set up some time to practice around it and be sure to celebrate the successes with every little bit of progress. Don't get stuck in the land of mediocrity, be the best version of yourself and recognize you'll have setbacks and victories. Above all, do something to beat those demons!
Let's talk about change. Gallup polling has shown that 70% of people were unsatisfied with their job. That means that seven out of 10 people are working just hard enough to not get fired. It also means that many people are looking for a change. Oftentimes people think about change coming from these big “a-ha" moments, but real change comes when we begin to make small repetitive changes in our lives that can build momentum and eventually create an inertia of positivity. When you can do that, like stacking one brick at a time, when you can commit to taking responsibility for your own future and your own actions and you begin to make small changes in your life everyday, you will soon find yourself in the fast lane to a life of positivity and fulfillment.
Throughout my career as a baseball player, financial planner and executive coach, I have seen firsthand the importance of treating people with kindness and respect. Not just because it’s the right way to be but because others are always watching us and our actions follow us forever. This was never more true than when a former teammate of mine I’ll call “George” was denied a trade late in his career to a team I was playing on because I, and several other veteran players told management that he was a bad fit and would be terrible for the locker room. The player we traded for instead wound up with a $30 million contract and “George” was soon out of baseball. People see what you do and don't care what you say. "George" cost himself $30 million dollars by his actions.
We all have times when life isn’t going well and in those times adapting and listening to the wisdom of others is often key to getting out of those ruts. In 1991 I was hitting a lowly .210 halfway through the season and my agent, who never played a lick of baseball, sat me down and gave me hitting advice. Yeah, right, but then I decided to drop my ego guess what happened? I tried what he suggested and I wound up having one of the best hitting years of my career. I learned a lesson that the most expensive things I owned were a closed mind and a big ego. How about you?
For our very first episode I wanted to go back to how my career started. So who better to talk about that than my older brother and former Los Angeles Dodgers teammate David Sax. David and I recount our childhood playing hours of two man baseball with one of us hitting and the other pitching with an old pump house shed as a backstop. That simple childhood game honed the hitting skills and perseverance that would carry us both to the big leagues. We talk about how our mom was responsible for both of us ending up on the Dodgers, the painful loss of our father and how David persevered through 13 years in the minor leagues, never giving up on his dream of being a full time Major League Baseball player. And it all came to fruition. You'll hear stories few have heard us talk about so I hope you'll enjoy this introduction to what we'll be doing going forward. We followed our dreams and our hearts to success. So can you!
Did you know that the fear of failure is one of the biggest obstacles to your success? Failure is inevitable. In fact, it's the fastest way to learn in what you need to improve and how to get better. No one goes through life without failing, so why do most of us try so hard to avoid it? Why do we see it as embarrassing, even shameful? I think the secret to success is not only to embrace failure but to celebrate it. We should strive to charge headlong with conviction towards the lives we want, knowing that we are likely to have some failures along the way and celebrating the fact that with each failure we are learning and getting closer to the goals we want to achieve.
Are you stuck in a circumstance which you don’t enjoy? We can’t always choose our circumstances in life and we will surely all go through struggles, but the best way to develop a path towards the life we want to live is through positive thought. If we work to focus on positive thoughts about the circumstances we want for ourselves then those thoughts create habits and those habits create new circumstances. As the great writer James Allen wrote in his book As a Man Thinketh “Thought allied fearlessly to a purpose becomes a creative force.” Positive thinking can help you find the starting point to your path of success, because people don’t attract what they want into their lives, people attract that which they are. I used this tool to get out of major slumps in my baseball career and I'll share with you how in today's episode of Sax in the Morning.
What does it mean to be truly fulfilled? A lot of people think that with fulfillment comes happiness, but that isn’t always the case. Fulfillment is really about feeling deeply and living with passion and purpose regardless of what we are experiencing in our lives. Joy, sorrow, heartbreak are all feelings that will be present when we are living a full life. I learned this lesson from an amazing business coach who tells a story about how in her deepest moment of sorrow she could feel grateful that she was capable of that type of emotion, however painful it was. So whether you are feeling happy and excited or feeling heartache and sadness, consider how you are living each day and whether you are living with a sense of purpose and being of service to others, because that will bring you the fulfillment we all seek.
We've all been there. Working for someone we don't respect, don't want to listen to or simply can't stand them. You know what I mean? And then we've all probably experienced somebody we loved working for, even if the job wasn't our favorite. That difference most likely could have been working for a manager versus a leader. Funny thing is, in my experience, I've had some great leaders I've worked for but in baseball, they're all called managers. I'll talk about that difference in today's program and give you a few examples of what that looked like for me and how it made a difference in my career. Could the same be true for you?
We all have stories of the little things people do in our lives that can make a big impact. One person who made an impact on me was the Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton.
In the first year of my career I broke-up Sutton’s bid for his 56th career shutout which would have been a National League record with a two out home run in the ninth inning. After the game Sutton hunted me down and tapped me on the shoulder. Did he scream at me? Did he punch me in the face? Or did he do something kind and unexpected? Don showed me mentorship by his actions. It wasn't in words but something he did that really took some thought. That translated into me paying it forward. Hear what Don did for me that led me to do for others and the unexpected tragedy with Tim Crews, my former teammate on the Dodgers and later a Cleveland Indian, that demonstrated just how special the little things you do can be some of the best mentorship to those you support. Often, you may not even ever know how your action influenced many, many others. That's mentorship.
Hey all, this is just a brief introduction to give you some idea of what I've got coming, what you can expect and to let you know what's motivating me to share my stories. Bottom line is I can't wait to talk with you and hopefully have something you hear on the show, change a behavior for the better, change your life for the better. I can promise you that it's my intent to have each and every episode leave you with something personal, something motivational and something to help you get closer to your goals. For our morning shorts, they'll be me simply sharing an experience or support to keep you going in a positive direction. The long form episodes will often include guests sharing their stories of personal challenge and triumph whether it be an athlete, or business leader or a little of both.
Why is it "Sax in the morning" I've been getting asked. Because starting your day out with the right mindset is the best way to begin your day, don't you agree? I can't wait for you to join me and the Sax in the Morning team!
You know the feeling. You're a little rattled. Not 100% sure you can get whatever it is done you need to do. Could be a work project, could be something personal like loosing a few pounds or improving a relationship. I know that problem too. There was a period in my career where I couldn't throw the ball to first base! How I solved that problem and went on to play another 13 years, become an All-Star and World Series victor is what I'll share today.