Читать книгу Relentless Success - Todd Stottlemyre - Страница 7

INTRODUCTION TO LIVING WORLD CLASS

I WAS BORN the son of a Major League Baseball player. I was not born a major leaguer; that part was up to me. Growing up in Yankee Stadium where my father, Mel Stottlemyre, was a three-time, 20 game winner and a five-time All-Star for the New York Yankees, inspired me to dream big. I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and play Major League Baseball. My dream became a goal and turned into an obsession. I believed 100% that I was going to live out my dream. I fought against everything that tried to derail me. I never relented to the external pressures or opinions of others. I found that in every small and big success, the process was the same; get in the zone, reach my peak performance and live world-class. These terms became a part of who I am so let me define them for you:

In the Zone

The term “In the Zone” gets thrown around a lot, but for me it is a wholehearted pursuit toward a single, clear goal / task. All distractions are ignored in the zone. Every ounce of mental, physical, emotional, and intellectual strength and energy is 100% dedicated to the task at hand. Any distraction threatening any of these areas must be removed. When you are fully In The Zone, the world is completely silent. Every sense is heightened and tuned towards the task. The Zone is a place of extreme focus.

Peak Performance

Peak Performance is when you are as close to human potential as possible. You are performing at the top of your craft, setting the standards, exceeding expectations, and going beyond what you had believed was possible. My Peak Performance method, covered in this book, is a 9-step process of discipline, principles, and action that will get you to your Peak Performance. When you are at Peak Performance, you experience the immeasurable thrill of feeling and believing that anything you dream of can and will be accomplished.

Living World Class

Living World Class is the light at the end of the tunnel in your life’s pursuits. It is living to the highest standard of life that you have set and desired for yourself. It is living at the top of YOUR game, not somebody else’s. We each have unique dreams and levels of success we want to achieve to be living OUR personal world-class lives. Living World Class might look different for each person.

Here’s how those three concepts interacted in my successes: First, I learned how to be fully in the zone. When I was in the zone, the relentless focus and wholehearted pursuit of my clear vision would allow me to push aside all distractions. With the world around me silenced, I had the discipline and determination needed to work the 9 steps I had developed which empowered me to reach the peak performance of my craft. When I was performing at my peak and dedicated to my success, I began living world class. I was able to accomplish all that I had set before me and began to make new goals and craft new dreams that would take me even further.

The vision of becoming a Major League Baseball player was so clear that even during the toughest of times, I could “smell the hot dogs in the ballpark”. In 1985 my goal became a reality when I was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round! People who make big goals live big lives. You have to first envision what you want and then make it a goal. Actually write it down! You have one life to live; if you want to live it world class, you HAVE to start by getting in the zone.

It’s amazing how life-changing a short amount of time can be when you are fully in the zone. For me, it was 12 consecutive hours of being in the zone with a trusted mentor who permanently changed the trajectory of my life. At the end of our 12 hours I was issued a challenge: For seven days, my mentor challenged me to be aware of my emotions and recognize the challenges that each day brought. I needed to stay in control of my mind and emotions for each challenge I faced. Previously, I had a bad habit of allowing my emotions to control me, but for that one week, to be in my zone I purposed to pay attention to my emotions and reestablish my control over them.

The ultimate test of this life-changing challenge came on a night that began as a celebratory evening with my friend Dave Stewart. His mentorship was so invaluable in both my personal life and my career. Dave was my role-model, mentor, teammate, and friend. We both arrived at the 1994 spring training at the same time, a few days earlier than the start date. Since we had been in contact throughout the off-season and he had quickly become my good friend, I invited him to dinner to celebrate his 37^th birthday. I hired a limousine and booked a dinner at a five-star restaurant in Tampa Florida. I wanted to show Dave how much I appreciated him. We got off to a late start that night, not getting to dinner until after 9 p.m. One of my buddies who owned a law firm was also in Tampa that night, so we agreed to meet up after dinner and have a drink. It was a great night; we had a great dinner, and I was spending time with my mentor. We laughed, told stories, and talked a lot about our goals for the upcoming season. We were excited for spring training to start. After Dave and I met my friends for a drink, we jumped back into the limo to head home.

We decided to make one more stop on our way home. A nice bar to have a nightcap and Dave insisted on covering the charge to get in since I had covered the rest of the night to celebrate his birthday. I agreed and said I would go in and get a table while he was getting out arranging to cover the door charge for our group. Right as I was grabbing a table, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Dave’s friend who informed me that they wouldn’t let Dave inside. I headed for the door to see what was going on and Dave was nowhere in sight. As I walked outside, I saw Dave about thirty yards away standing on the sidewalk with three guys standing around him.

“Is everything ok?” I yelled over to Dave as I headed in his direction. He didn’t respond. At this point, I knew something wasn’t right. As I was walking towards Dave, there were police officers arriving on the scene, it seemed by the dozens. The night went from celebratory to out of control in a matter of seconds.

“Get back!” an officer yelled at me as he cut off my path to Dave.

“I was just getting my buddy and we were leaving” I replied calmly.

“It’s too late for him!” the officer shouted in my face, clearly hyped up and overreacting to the situation. He pushed me backward and my hands went up to let him know that I was not there to cause problems. As my hands went up, I was taken down from behind by another officer. I was now lying on the street face down. I had no idea what was going on with Dave. I had several officers on top of me trying to get me in handcuffs. I was face down with my arms outstretched. Then my left arm was ripped behind my back.

“Give us your right arm!” They screamed at me.

The rough pavement burned against my face as they grabbed my hair from behind and slammed my head into the pavement repeatedly. They were completely out of control, acting like they were in a war zone. I stayed calm, able to find the zone, keeping my emotions under control and not reacting with my usual tendency to fight back. I was also protecting my right arm, however, knowing that any damage could harm the way I made a living.

As I tried to push more into the zone and silence the chaos around me, I was jolted by a strong punch to my ribs. The officers had pulled out their metal clubs and were repeatedly beating me on my side trying to get me to roll over. The officers were slamming my forehead against the pavement and taking batting practice on my ribs. I was taking a beating in public on the streets of Tampa! They ripped my right arm behind my back and cuffed me. However, before sitting me in the back of the police car, they took one final blow and slammed my head against the car. I had no idea what was going on, but there I was, after what started out as a perfect night with my mentor, handcuffed in the back of a cop car. My shoulder ached as my pitching arm was tightly cuffed behind my back, warm blood dripping down my face after being smashed into the pavement and the side of car.

“What happened?” I asked the officer in the driver seat.

“I don’t know,” he replied.

“Why am I in the back of your car?” I continued, my hazy mind catching up to the shock my body was experiencing from the brutality.

“I don’t know,” he repeated.

Well I didn’t know either! I didn’t know where Dave was and didn’t know why I was in the back of a police car. But I did know that I had received a beating by some cops that were out of control, and that I had chosen not to fight back. Which of course was contrary to my normal mode of operation. A sense of relief washed over me as I realized I had won the ultimate challenge; I stayed in the zone, controlled my emotions and didn’t retaliate! The officer driving the car didn’t take me to the police station. He took me to a building in the middle of nowhere and locked me in a cage. It looked as if we were in an old school building. The cage was so small I couldn’t even stand all the way up, and my elbows were touching either side of the cage while my hands were still tightly cuffed behind me. I felt like an animal being caged and taunted. That’s when I saw Dave in the cage next to mine.

“What in the hell happened out there Dave?”

“The guy at the door wouldn’t let me in because I didn’t want to wear the wristband,” Dave said. “He got nasty and threatened me, and then he called the police.”

Internally I questioned if all of this could really be over a wrist band. The guy at the door saw us getting out of the limo. Was the guy at the door being a hard ass because he was jealous of Dave’s success? Was it because Dave was a massively successful athlete and the guy at the door was taking his shot at stardom? Was he discriminating? I had no idea what triggered it, I just knew there was no violence prior to the police arriving, and yet here we were, locked in cages after taking beating, totally unprovoked.

The Police kept us cuffed in the cages for around four hours. During that time, one after another showed up, about 25 in all. Dave and I sat in our cages watching them all collaborate and “get their stories straight.” It was ridiculous and sickening as we listened to the lies they were composing. Officers who hadn’t even been a part of the arrest were coming in and spinning a story about how Dave or I had thrown punches at them, even though we didn’t resist at all. They then unlocked us from the cages, keeping us cuffed, and transported us to the Tampa Police Department. As they walked us outside, there were cameras everywhere from various national media outlets. They booked us at the station, and we posted bail around 5:30 a.m.

We were both charged with battery on an officer, resisting arrest, and then they added one more charge to Dave, disturbing the peace. We were charged for hitting the police, even though it was really just the opposite! The news media went crazy. They took the police reports as fact and ran the stories making Dave and I look like crazy villains running wild in the streets of Tampa. The only comment that Dave and I were permitted to make to the media was, “No comment.” Our case was going to court, and we were coached to say nothing.

I called my parents immediately, to let them know I was ok. I told them that everything on the news was a lie. They trusted me. They knew that every time I made a mistake, I was the first to take full responsibility for my actions. This time, I was letting them know that the media and police department were all lying, and there was nothing we could do about it until the case went to court. But that was one of the main problems; the case was set to go to court in November after the baseball season ended! Basically, that meant that Dave and I were going to be slated as criminals the entire season. “Jailbird! Jailbird! Jailbird!” The taunting chants of the opposing teams’ fans still ring through my memory.

The bombardment of slander and our legal situation continually sent me back into the zone, silencing the undeserved jeers and ignorant opinions Dave and I received during that season. I remember warming up in opposing stadiums’ bullpens and having their fans chant “jailbird” over and over. It was brutal, but with every challenge, I was building my new mindset. I was constantly challenged to not give my mind over to my circumstances, stay in the zone, and be secure in what I knew to be the truth. Everyone knew how fiery I was on the field while competing, so they all assumed that the news coming out of Tampa was true. They didn’t know about my life-changing mentality shift just the week prior. It was a long season with all the distractions. After the 1994 season was cut short, it was time to prepare to go to court.

We were up against the city of Tampa and two dozen police officers who had carefully constructed their stories. It was a jury trial so we were counting on honest citizens to see the truth and decide in our favor. We were up against some serious charges, and if we lost, we could both be facing up to five years in prison. Both Dave and I had our own attorneys, but the case was tried together. The city of Tampa had two attorneys plus the state’s District Attorney. It was crazy that the District Attorney was a part of this case. Typically, the District Attorney would be more focused on hardcore criminals rather than a couple of professional athletes, but that shows how seriously the city was looking at our case. My parents and my older brother Mel Jr. came to support me during the trial. I felt bad dragging my family through the mess with me. We hired a private detective to “get the word on the street” inside the police force. We learned that the running joke inside the Tampa police was that when they won the case, they were going to sue Dave and me so they could all buy boats and name them the Blue Jays. The things that came out in the courtroom were unbelievable.

Every officer testified on the stand under oath, but one of the officers was caught in a lie on the stand. The courtroom went wild. The judge immediately called for order and removed the jury from the courtroom before calling all the attorneys to the stand. The judge told our attorneys that we had a case for a mistrial because the officer had committed perjury on the stand. Our attorneys let both Dave and I know that we could walk from this now on a mistrial. We both said “No way!” We were going pursue this case to prove our innocence. We didn’t hit any officers; we were caught up in a serious police brutality case. We had been through hell, and we wanted to see this through so the truth could come out. We couldn’t win our reputations back on a mistrial.

The trial was tough on my parents and my brother. It was very emotional for them listening to the police tell lie after lie. I stayed calm. I was focused and in control of my mind. I owned it. We spent seven long days in the courtroom. Every day, after leaving the courtroom, a Tampa police car would follow me to the city limits. It was like they were trying to intimidate me. All the attorneys involved in the case made their closing arguments and the judge then dismissed the jury for deliberation. I remember being with my brother and my parents in the hallway while we waited for the jury to make their decision. It was nerve wracking. I knew that we were right, but we were counting on people, like you and me, to make the final decision.

They called us back into the courtroom quickly. The jury had decided: NOT GUILTY on all counts. Every officer was in the courtroom. It was so satisfying to watch the officers leave the courtroom, one-by-one after the decision. The same people who had beaten us physically on the streets earlier in the year had taken a moral beating in the courtroom. It was over. Dave and I were free, and our names were cleared!

It was crazy how many letters I received over the next couple of months from attorneys who wanted me to sue the City of Tampa and the police department. I never once even gave it a thought. I was tired, and they knew they were wrong. My suing them wasn’t going to change anything. It was time to move on with my life and my baseball career, but not without the experiences and lessons learned that I would be applying to the rest of my life.

One week of focusing on staying in the zone and not giving my mind away served me in a real-life situation. It could have had devastating consequences for both Dave and I, had I reacted with my prior habits. My resolve to immediately and relentlessly apply the lessons I’ve learned from my mentors in baseball, business, and life is what has brought me the successes that I’ve had. Other challenges came up as the years went on, but my mindset was where it needed to be. When I faced challenges in the future, I learned different lessons from each one, but being mentally in the zone permeated all that I did. I was back in control. The game-changing aspects came from the fact that I applied the lessons immediately during that police brutality case.

Learning the Peak Performance method and learning how to live in the zone is essential. Resolving to commit relentlessly to this system saved my life, career, and future that night. Fully committing to the Peak Performance method will launch you into your dreams and goals as well. You can succeed, and you deserve to live out your dreams to their fullest potential. Yes, there are going to be plenty of obstacles and many things that are out of your control. I am going to help you focus on the things that you can control so you can climb to the peak of your success.