Approximately a 2-minute read Good Morning! I remember my middle school teacher teaching us about blind spots in science class. It felt like a magic trick. I couldn't understand how my eyes couldn't pick up the dot right in front of my face! We have blind spots not only in our vision, but also in how we lead and interpret situations. They come in the form of the following: Believing that a player is "just not coachable." Thinking the team is aligned because nobody is saying otherwise....
25 days ago • 1 min read
Approximately a 2-minute read Good Morning! There's a moment that happens in almost every serious pursuit, regardless of whether you're in professional sports, a student, an executive, or even at home. It's when the path becomes seemingly too difficult to bear. It's when you realize you underestimated how hard the journey would actually be. I once spoke with a professional athlete who was in the middle of this exact part of his path. He said things had gotten tough, and he wondered how much...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Approximately a 2-minute read Good Morning! Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about ambiguity. Not in some abstract, philosophical sense, but in the way it quietly shows up in everyday life when we are not completely sure what we are doing, why we are doing it, or whether we should fully commit to it. One definition of ambiguity is "a lack of exactness, " and that word, exactness, has been sticking with me because I’ve noticed how much hesitation and indecision can come from simply not making...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Approximately a 3-minute read Hello! When someone you care about is struggling, it’s easy to overwhelm them with corrections. I know it's coming from a good place. You want to help. You want them to get better. So you point out the missed detail, the poor word choice, the gap in preparation, or the pattern that needs to change. Then the conversation ends, but neither of you is sure what happens next. As a leader, one of your principal roles is to direct attention to what's next. Feedback...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Approximately a 3-minute read Hello! In 2019, I was standing in the outfield at Dodger Stadium during batting practice, talking with a player who was navigating some difficulty, both on and off the field. I meant to help him, but I wasn’t doing a very good job. My recommendations and advice were falling on deaf ears. He rejected every single one. I remember thinking, "What’s the point of even talking about this if you don’t want to listen?" Then, as a last-ditch effort, I asked him a...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Approximately a 4-minute read Good Morning! In professional sports, there’s something you rarely see in the highlight reels: The years of adversity it took to make it to the top.I've had multiple conversations with many professional athletes, men and women who have clawed their way to the peak of their sport. Over and over again, one truth keeps coming up: The journey to the highest level is paved with moments when they could have quit. In fact, many almost did. But they didn’t because they...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Approximately a 3-minute read Hello! Recently, I was talking with an athlete who had a difficult decision to make. There were legitimate reasons to go in either direction. We talked through the situation and looked at the options. We considered what might happen if he chose one path versus the other, and eventually something became clear: There wasn’t a perfect option. Every path had a severe cost. I think we sometimes get stuck making decisions because we’re searching for the option where...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Approximately a 3-minute read If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed I've been doing a lot of walk-and-talks lately. I've been getting requests to share the transcripts with you, and I thought this newsletter would be the perfect place to do so. Here are the three transcripts from last week's walk-and-talks; I hope they are helpful! -Justin And if you want the videos, I post them regularly (for now) on Instagram: @justinsua The Power of Paying Attention As a leader, there's power...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Approximately a 2-minute read Happy Monday! I have been inside Major League clubhouses during the World Series, on NFL sidelines, and at golf and tennis majors. Across sports, I have noticed the same thing: the best in the world still get nervous. Their hearts race. Their stomachs churn. Their minds produce doubt. They are not immune to pressure. However, they have learned how to navigate it. Here are five things they do that you can apply to your life: 1. They Embrace the Nerves Elite...
3 months ago • 2 min read