Catch: Don't miss an opportunity for greatness!

For whatever reason, my coaching clients and my consulting clients have all been talking about baseball lately. I love the game having played it for over 20 years and coached for equally as many years. There are a lot of similarities between coaching a baseball team and coaching a client. In fact, there are a number of lessons learned in baseball that are transferable to business and life in general.

Last weekend was a huge baseball tournament in the Minneapolis area. My oldest grandson and his team played in it. I also had an opportunity to catch my youngest grandson's game. I have spent a lot of time at youth baseball fields with my sons and now I am doing it all over again! I am not complaining, I love it! This winter it was basketball, gymnastics and dance. I enjoy cheering for my grandchildren and their friends as they give their best and have fun.

But watching baseball is unique. Players can go a whole game and not have a ball hit their way. Or, they can be a magnet—good or bad. A guy that I used to coach with used to say (quietly and privately, about one of our players) "That kid is like a magnet, wherever I put him on the field, the ball finds him.” Thus, we were constantly telling that boy to be ready.

But the problem is that due to the lack of consistent action on a baseball field, it means that we are telling kids to be ready without being able to tell them when the ball will show up. The ball is coming, be ready because you just don’t know when and you don’t want to get caught sleeping when it happens. The same is true of us in life. We are assured by scripture that God will come again, but we just don’t know when.

A ball player can sort of tell when the ball might come their way by the swing. Or they might be clued in by the batters’ previous swings or the pitch being thrown. But the younger players like those on my youngest grandson’s team might not. It is impossible to do so if you are kicking dirt, picking dandelions, putting your glove on your head or staring at what is going on in the playground—common occurrences for over half of the team!

But is it all that unusual for us as adults? I am not talking about our baseball skills; I am talking about our life skills. God is with us to show us His love. He is here to offer life to the full. Why wouldn’t we be ready to receive that? There is a play to be made every day. We won’t know when, but we can be ready when it happens.

I am reminded of the baseball life lessons that I taught when I coached baseball for over 20 years. I decided to share them with my grandsons this weekend. I thought that they were both ready to hear these truths. Here they are:

Always be ready. Anticipate, don’t react.

You’ve got what it takes, but it will take everything you got.

Be humble when you are victorious.

Your character is more important than how good you are.

Communication is crucial to succeed.

You play how you practice.

Celebrate the wins, but learn from the losses.

Being disciplined pays off.

You are part of something bigger than yourself.

Believe in yourself.

It takes no talent to hustle.

Teamwork is the best work.

As I thought about how these life lessons apply in baseball, life and in business, I looked at the boys and I thought, "But the most important lesson is to put your faith in God today and anticipate the glory of His return." Experience His full presence every day not just on game day.