Today I heard Adam Wainwright give his personal testimony at the Missouri Governor’s Prayer Breakfast event in Jefferson City, MO. For those of you who have no idea who Adam Wainwright is, he is the all-star pitcher and should-be 2009 Cy Young award winner for the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball Team, a pretty accomplished young man.
He spoke about a number of things, not the least of which was his love for his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which was incredibly encouraging coming from a stud Major League Baseball player. He had an incredible testimony on how the Lord pursued his heart in a relationship and how He finally got through to Adam at a christian conference for athletes in 2002. He decided to give his life over to the Lord and his life changed dramatically. Just an awesome story.
So, after telling his awesome story about being saved by the grace of God, Adam began to tell the story of his baseball success (which he obviously attributed to the Lord), but I want to point out one part of the story that really stuck out to me. He mentioned that before he even got to the “Bigs” he struggled mightily. He didn’t have any self confidence even though he was rated one of the best prospects in Minor League ball.
When he was asked to join the U.S. baseball team, he met Hall of Fame pitcher Dave Stewart who asked him the question, “So, do you think you’re good?” And, Adam responded by saying, “Yeah, I guess I’m good.” Which swiftly received this return response from Dave Stewart, (And I paraphrase as I can’t recall word for word what he said) “You’re only as good as you think you are!”
See, until Adam realized that his mental toughness and belief in his ability was what had held him back for his first few years in minor league ball, he struggled mightily and couldn’t achieve the success everyone expected of him. When he realized how important his mindset was and how dominant he could be if he just believed in himself, he turned into one of the best pitchers in baseball. He wound up making the final pitches in the National League Championship Series and World Series in 2006. Also, in 2009 he had an incredible season almost winning the most coveted pitcher’s award in baseball, the Cy Young Award.
So, for life and business success, we must understand that until we have the mindset that we can accomplish whatever it is we desire to accomplish, we will continue to sputter in mediocrity.
God bless,
Travis
P.S. Tomorrow, tune into the blog to hear an industry leader speak about freedom in the industry as well as vision and opportunity. Want to know how to win in Network Marketing? Check back here for this exclusive interview!