It’s baseball season again and my Cards are at .500 (quite an improvement after their 3-9 start) – just 1½ games off the Cubs. While it’s still too early for them to forecast playoff contention, it’s OK to dream and keep trying for that goal. In fact, it’s good for all of us to dream – and dream big.
Baseball has given me many great memories. And its history and traditions, some of the greatest aspects of baseball in my opinion, help me to enjoy the beauty of the game and give me some welcome escapes from life now and then. I love that about baseball.
Another thing baseball gives us is the opportunity to find “heroes” early in our childhood who inspire us. I know this dates me, but I remember saying I was Mickey Mantle or Bob Gibson when I was a kid playing waffle ball with my brothers.
A Hero
As I got older, I still found heroes in the sport – but many for their roles outside of baseball. One of those heroes to me was Jack Buck. We all know Jack for many his countless days and nights broadcasting both baseball and football games for over five decades, including multiple World Series and Super Bowls.
What really inspired me about Jack, besides his excellence as a broadcaster, was his personal contributions to those in need, especially here in the St. Louis area. One of these stories of his heroics is the role he played in the life of a 9 year-old boy who suffered burns over 100% of his body from a fire. This young man’s name is John O’Leary (who grew up to be the author of the book, On Fire and a leading motivational speaker). You can visit John’s website to learn more about his story – it’s truly motivating.
A Circle
I wanted to pass on to you one of the posts that John published on his blog that I really enjoyed. What he writes here I have found to be true many times over in both my personal and business life. He talks about how life comes full circle – that seeds sown, deeds done, with patience and perseverance, come back around to us in many amazing and unpredictable ways.
A World
There may be 7.5 billion people in the world – but in many ways it is a small universe that I live in every day. My personal world consists of those who share like-minded activities/beliefs, those I work with, those that are geographically located close to me or those who are family. Because of this narrower universe that I call “my world”, I have had many opportunities to see things “come full circle” in those relationships.
Carrying this attitude into our business lives is a founding principle of our company. Our total existence is a direct result of the quality relationships that we’ve established along the way, that continually come back to serve us at unexpected times and in unexpected ways.
A Truth
I once heard a retired CEO from a major insurance firm speaking at a college commencement ceremony say that “Truth Travels”. I think that phrase says it all about how we need to conduct ourselves day to day in our jobs. And it also underscores how our truth, our actions, can propel our lives and our individual worlds to come full circle.
You never know where you’re going to find life’s lessons – and directions. Sometimes it’s a blog post from a survivor, sometimes it’s from something you hear at your nephew’s graduation and sometimes just watching the actions of your personal heroes will guide you. Regardless, I firmly believe that our dreams, our experiences and the steps that we take forward provide the Truth of us that will travel and come alive again – and bring our lives full circle.
Now back to dreaming of another Cardinals World Series victory….
