KEY PRINCIPLES FROM TWO TIME MLB WORLD CHAMPION TODD STOTTLEMYRE’S NEW BOOK
In his new book, The Observer, Todd Stottlemyre, 2x World Series champion turned accomplished Wall Street asset manager and founder of a private equity fund, dives into the idea of 180-degree thinking and the power of turning a negative into a positive. This book offers readers a look into many life changing principles for success along with personal and professional growth strategies. The Observer will challenge readers to utilize the strategies given to alter their trajectory and take initiative in achieving their goals, even if they seem unattainable. I sat down with Todd and we talked about the most important lessons from the book. Here are three potentially key life-changing lessons:
1) Forgive yourself and others, and learn to let go:
In a fast-paced, ever-evolving world, we must be capable of moving on. In order to change as an individual, it is imperative to master the art of letting go. If we let ourselves carry yesterday’s baggage into today’s environment, it will hinder our growth and drag us down. Instead, we must learn to forgive ourselves and others, accept the reality of a situation, and allow ourselves to move on in order to capitalize on the moment rather than dwell on the past.
2) Observe your thoughts and emotions in the moment:
While our innate instincts tell us to react to stimuli in the moment, what sets apart successful people, both personally and professionally, is their ability to take a step back and analyze a situation before reacting. This pause allows us to take our immediate emotions out of the situation in order to better assess it, and later try to turn a negative into a positive. Because of this, Todd challenges individuals to document, rather than respond, to situations for 7 days, something he learned from Harvey Dorfman, a professional mental skills coach. This action helps individuals alter their thought processes in order to maximize positive outcomes.
3) Embrace failure and use it to alter your trajectory through LSGT:
Embracing failure, and using the power of learning, studying, growing, and training (LSGT) allow us to completely alter our life path. While most see failure as a hindrance to success, the reality is that failure becomes the teacher that allows us to succeed. Failure sheds light on exactly what we need to work on in order to improve. We can learn from our experiences, and our failures. We can study them and reflect on past performances in order to deepen our understanding. Then, we can grow. We can alter our strategies for future performance. And finally, we can train– we can put what we have learned and studied to good use, and use our growth to take action for future success.
Once individuals master the LSGT strategy, they will be prepared to embrace failures as teachable moments on the pathway to success. This 180-degree mindset gives people the ability to alter their thoughts and emotions in order to change their state of mind, which is imperative because thoughts drive our emotions, and emotions drive our lives.
Todd Stottlemyre’s The Observer expands on many other life-lessons that foster personal and professional growth, and it is a valuable read on the pathway to greatness. Todd uses these lessons in his daily life as he has accepted that his past does not define him. Instead he takes each experience as a learning lesson that yields growth. He reached a place of peace in his life with the notion that he must only focus on what he can control. His life experiences and passion for impacting others has lead to a worthy read for anyone seeking happiness and excellence and looking to alter their life trajectory.
