DON YAEGER AND CAL RIPKEN

Thanks to Coach Bob Starkey for steering me to Don Yaeger's website. He is a master of success and has written some great books and articles. You can sign up for his free newsletter on his website at http://www.donyaeger.com/

One of the articles that I enjoyed the most was on Cal Ripken Jr. and it is titled, "Showing Up to Work" He says, "If Albert Einstein was right, Cal Ripken should have been a CEO or politician rather than a shortstop, because Ripken led by example over and over… and over again." The article goes on to describe Ripken's unbelievable work ethic and dedication to his craft. “I think the numbers will back me up,” Ripken says. “I worked at my game, worked on my weaknesses. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t just on the field, but that I was a contributor every time I was out there.”

“I think it’s important, especially in this economy, to see that you can’t stay around if you’re not getting better,” Ripken says. “No business or baseball team is going to keep people just because they show up. You have to constantly be looking for ways to get better, looking for ways to improve your value to the organization. You have to develop strong fundamentals—no matter what you do—and you have to make yourself indispensable. That requires you to constantly be evaluating what you’re doing and what needs to be done.”

You can read the entire article at http://www.donyaeger.com/uploads/success/Lessons%20From%20Sports_APR.pdf