A beautiful mind. Perhaps you’re now thinking of Russell Crowe; I’m thinking of Chris Archer. Too dramatic? Maybe, but it’s how I feel. Next time Arch is on TV or conducting a radio interview, listen closely. His thought processes, regardless of topic, are not typical for anyone, let alone an elite professional athlete. His mind is different. It’s beautiful. Read for yourself.
10 pages a day, 1 book a month, 12 books a year can change your life. A change in your life is a change in the world.
For me, life isn’t about getting your college degree and then going to work in whatever field you studied. Learning isn’t spending years in school and then never stretching your mind again. Take a step back and look at our education system. I’m not trying to knock it; it serves a purpose. However, it’s very bland, basic and, most importantly, limited. The things I learned in the public education system were barely the tip of the iceberg. There is a universe of truth, history, knowledge and wisdom that is actually out there.
My mentor always told me the only thing in life that is constant is change. I have found that to be true. Science and our worldly perspectives are evolving at a rapid pace. How can we stand still and never do further research, never crack open a book, never search for the latest articles, never watch documentaries?
I didn’t always find reading essential. I never had a desire to even step foot in book store. I despised reading and made any and every excuse not to read. “It makes me tired,” “I don’t have the attention span,” “I don’t have the time.” When I was 17, my mentor gave me a book. I’m not going to mention the book’s name; it’s irrelevant. What is relevant is how I suddenly fell in love with what reading has to offer. I discovered there was so much more than memorizing and regurgitating information for tests. I felt like I could add more to conversations after being exposed to other people’s experiences and ideas. I was sharper and more articulate when expressing my thoughts. Most importantly, I learned to look inward and recognize the difference between what my actual thoughts are versus what society tells me to think.
How are we supposed to know if we agree with the things we’ve been taught (or have been programmed to think) if we never delve into other philosophies, deeper into science or further into history? Some of your thoughts will be confirmed. A few (maybe significant, maybe not) will not be confirmed. It is essential to make sure your current thoughts are updated, but it’s also a challenge. It can be hard to accept when you come across something that contradicts what you’ve always believed to be true.
I’ll leave you with this: the physical side of human evolution is over. We are not going to develop extra limbs or new sensory organs to help us navigate the land. But we have only tapped into the slightest portion of the strongest muscle any of us possess, our brain. It’s our job to strengthen our brains as much as we can through reading, applying new thought patterns, discovering new experiences and passing those things to our next generation. The great thinkers and philosophers of the past did those things for us, and we can do them for others. All it takes is a little effort.
Thanks to all who took the time to read this and a special thanks to Gabe Kapler for the challenge of writing. You were right; it was a great experience to take the thoughts swimming through my mind and put them down on paper.
A beautiful mind. Perhaps you’re now thinking of Russell Crowe; I’m thinking of Chris Archer. Too dramatic? Maybe, but it’s how I feel. Next time Arch is on TV or conducting a radio interview, listen closely. His thought processes, regardless of topic, are not typical for anyone, let alone an elite professional athlete. His mind is different. It’s beautiful. Read for yourself.
10 pages a day, 1 book a month, 12 books a year can change your life. A change in your life is a change in the world.
For me, life isn’t about getting your college degree and then going to work in whatever field you studied. Learning isn’t spending years in school and then never stretching your mind again. Take a step back and look at our education system. I’m not trying to knock it; it serves a purpose. However, it’s very bland, basic and, most importantly, limited. The things I learned in the public education system were barely the tip of the iceberg. There is a universe of truth, history, knowledge and wisdom that is actually out there.
My mentor always told me the only thing in life that is constant is change. I have found that to be true. Science and our worldly perspectives are evolving at a rapid pace. How can we stand still and never do further research, never crack open a book, never search for the latest articles, never watch documentaries?
I didn’t always find reading essential. I never had a desire to even step foot in book store. I despised reading and made any and every excuse not to read. “It makes me tired,” “I don’t have the attention span,” “I don’t have the time.” When I was 17, my mentor gave me a book. I’m not going to mention the book’s name; it’s irrelevant. What is relevant is how I suddenly fell in love with what reading has to offer. I discovered there was so much more than memorizing and regurgitating information for tests. I felt like I could add more to conversations after being exposed to other people’s experiences and ideas. I was sharper and more articulate when expressing my thoughts. Most importantly, I learned to look inward and recognize the difference between what my actual thoughts are versus what society tells me to think.
How are we supposed to know if we agree with the things we’ve been taught (or have been programmed to think) if we never delve into other philosophies, deeper into science or further into history? Some of your thoughts will be confirmed. A few (maybe significant, maybe not) will not be confirmed. It is essential to make sure your current thoughts are updated, but it’s also a challenge. It can be hard to accept when you come across something that contradicts what you’ve always believed to be true.
I’ll leave you with this: the physical side of human evolution is over. We are not going to develop extra limbs or new sensory organs to help us navigate the land. But we have only tapped into the slightest portion of the strongest muscle any of us possess, our brain. It’s our job to strengthen our brains as much as we can through reading, applying new thought patterns, discovering new experiences and passing those things to our next generation. The great thinkers and philosophers of the past did those things for us, and we can do them for others. All it takes is a little effort.
Thanks to all who took the time to read this and a special thanks to Gabe Kapler for the challenge of writing. You were right; it was a great experience to take the thoughts swimming through my mind and put them down on paper.
Lars Anderson was the most cerebrally unique member of the club I managed in 2007 in Greenville, South Carolina. He and I chatted about world topics with baseball sprinkled in. Even then, at just 19 years of age, he had conscientiousness unfamiliar in the pro sports world. His thoughtful post comes as no surprise to me. I was proud to call him a friend then, I’m even prouder now.
“How will my actions affect the generations to come?” This question was once asked regularly, but seems to have dissolved with the passing of time. As a culture, we dipped our hands into the fountain of the quick fix and drank deep. The high road is seldom taken and convenience is at a premium. Quick and easy takes over from reusable and sustainable.
There are some places taking steps to combat this. San Francisco is the first major U.S. city to ban plastic water bottles (it also banned single-use plastic bags in 2012). This example is often drowned out by people crying “Double bag that 3 oz. tube of tooth paste for me because that’s how I’ve always done it.” We can’t be bothered with disrupting our routine – the way we’ve always done things without second thought. And there isn’t a creature on planet earth more routine oriented than a professional baseball player.
Walking through a clubhouse looks like a house of horrors for someone in Greenpeace. Faucets are left running with no one near the sink, shower heads washing nothing but the floor. Finding recycling bins? You might as well be looking for a yeti.
Professional baseball has always been a bit behind the evolutionary curve, and we celebrate this. We love the tradition, the old time feel of it. We love, especially in this era of rapid development and growth, that it stays much the same. The shadow side to this, however, is that the game and its players miss the mark on many of 21st century’s positive aims.
Players come in after their at bat, grab some hydration in the branded paper Gatorade cup and throw it on the ground. On the way back out to the field, they repeat. After 9 innings of ball, that’s 18 single use paper or plastic cups on the dugout floor awaiting their fate in some landfill, possibly disintegrating sometime in the next millennium. 18 cups multiplied by 25 players and you’ve gone through 450 cups in a single game. At 162 games, your favorite team has just burned through 72,000 cups during their season. This doesn’t include batting practice or locker room activities – just games.
It is, quite simply, excessive waste. There’s only one planet for us to live on, only one planet to sustain us. There has to be a better way to treat your keeper.
In discussing this issue with teammates, I’m often surprised by the indifference I hear in return. Many range from uninterested to utterly opposed to cutting back on wastefulness. I find it odd that a group of such dedicated, focused, intelligent individuals won’t even play with the possibility that they could do better for our world. It seems so clear cut that the world would be better off if a plastic bottle is reused rather than buried in the earth. It appears obvious that turning off the faucet or shower after use is better than leaving it running. Time and time again, I hear “it’s not my problem” or “things won’t change, so why bother?” and it passes below our collective radar.
There is some good news on the horizon, and I’ve noticed some progress this year. Many players on my team are now using stainless steel canteens for their water. Our clubhouse manager bought reusable Gatorade bottles for each player. After eight years of drinking coffee out of styrofoam cups and eating off of paper plates, I’ve finally made the adjustment of bringing in my own coffee mug and dinner plate from home (like I said, baseball guys can be slow on the uptake).
This is how I see change taking root, with small steps that can be implemented with just a small amount of effort and awareness. I’m hoping to see a few more steps, like adding ceramic plates and silverware to the pre- and post-game spreads, a recycling bin in the dugout and clubhouse and replacing the individual bottles of water with 5 gallon jugs.
Like I said before, we are creatures of habit. Once a player falls into a routine, it becomes second nature, and that is powerful. Habits create momentum. All it takes is a little conscious effort to make an impact on both our baseball world and our planet.
A beautiful mind. Perhaps you’re now thinking of Russell Crowe; I’m thinking of Chris Archer. Too dramatic? Maybe, but it’s how I feel. Next time Arch is on TV or conducting a radio interview, listen closely. His thought processes, regardless of topic, are not typical for anyone, let alone an elite professional athlete. His mind is different. It’s beautiful. Read for yourself.
10 pages a day, 1 book a month, 12 books a year can change your life. A change in your life is a change in the world.
For me, life isn’t about getting your college degree and then going to work in whatever field you studied. Learning isn’t spending years in school and then never stretching your mind again. Take a step back and look at our education system. I’m not trying to knock it; it serves a purpose. However, it’s very bland, basic and, most importantly, limited. The things I learned in the public education system were barely the tip of the iceberg. There is a universe of truth, history, knowledge and wisdom that is actually out there.
My mentor always told me the only thing in life that is constant is change. I have found that to be true. Science and our worldly perspectives are evolving at a rapid pace. How can we stand still and never do further research, never crack open a book, never search for the latest articles, never watch documentaries?
I didn’t always find reading essential. I never had a desire to even step foot in book store. I despised reading and made any and every excuse not to read. “It makes me tired,” “I don’t have the attention span,” “I don’t have the time.” When I was 17, my mentor gave me a book. I’m not going to mention the book’s name; it’s irrelevant. What is relevant is how I suddenly fell in love with what reading has to offer. I discovered there was so much more than memorizing and regurgitating information for tests. I felt like I could add more to conversations after being exposed to other people’s experiences and ideas. I was sharper and more articulate when expressing my thoughts. Most importantly, I learned to look inward and recognize the difference between what my actual thoughts are versus what society tells me to think.
How are we supposed to know if we agree with the things we’ve been taught (or have been programmed to think) if we never delve into other philosophies, deeper into science or further into history? Some of your thoughts will be confirmed. A few (maybe significant, maybe not) will not be confirmed. It is essential to make sure your current thoughts are updated, but it’s also a challenge. It can be hard to accept when you come across something that contradicts what you’ve always believed to be true.
I’ll leave you with this: the physical side of human evolution is over. We are not going to develop extra limbs or new sensory organs to help us navigate the land. But we have only tapped into the slightest portion of the strongest muscle any of us possess, our brain. It’s our job to strengthen our brains as much as we can through reading, applying new thought patterns, discovering new experiences and passing those things to our next generation. The great thinkers and philosophers of the past did those things for us, and we can do them for others. All it takes is a little effort.
Thanks to all who took the time to read this and a special thanks to Gabe Kapler for the challenge of writing. You were right; it was a great experience to take the thoughts swimming through my mind and put them down on paper.
I’ll never forget the moment a hitting coach suggested that I “do it like Manny.” I was never Manny Ramirez, nor would I ever have that level of hitting talent. Trying to emulate him was not an efficient use of my time. I was much better served finding the best version of my own stroke. Additionally, comparing my offensive prowess to the best right-handed hitter of a generation was an act destined to make me feel inadequate.Chyna Bardarson is building her brand as an on air personality with a focus on sports, fitness, wellness and nutrition. As such, she has the daunting challenge of being compared to the established women in her industry. She’s ready. Her mind is strong. She’s been tested. I’ll let her tell you.
“Comparison is the thief of Joy.”
No quote inspires me more than this one.I’ve always been interested in and passionate about health and fitness. I may only be in my twenties, but I feel like I’ve learned so much about these goals. Growing up steeped in technology and then developing a career during the social media age, I have really observed and understood what drives people to improve their health and fitness. Unfortunately, most of those motivations come from comparing themselves to others. Analyzing why so many people struggle with maintaining proper health is a fairly simple exercise – they are exhausted from struggling to measure up to some external ideal.
The media splashes dozens of fad diets and workout trends across the airwaves and magazine covers within a year – scratch that, within a month. You could be pulled in several different directions when trying to follow what society tells deems as best for you at the time. Social media, when used improperly, floods your newsfeed with everyone’s perfectly edited and impeccably lighted photos of beach bodies.
During my college years, I experienced the freedom to become whoever I wanted to be. This also meant that I had the freedom to become whoever society wanted me to be instead. The trend at the time was baggy sweaters and leggings. The outfits looked cute on the models, but my athletic build didn’t look as good in those darn leggings. I was almost certainly stronger and healthier than those models, but I could only look in the mirror and see that I wasn’t good enough.
I felt the pressure to chase those trends. I ate a little less, ran a little more. I got to the point where those clothes fit the same on me. I only had to sacrifice 20 lbs. of healthy muscle, my endurance and my integrity. I gained even more insecurities. I didn’t like myself any more, not one bit. I was weak, mentally and physically. Shopping for clothes was even worse than before. Instead of draping my curves, they hung off of me. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. I would have done anything to get my old body back. Angry at myself for giving in to society’s lies, I worked hard on gaining the weight back in a healthy matter.
Experience is the greatest teacher, and boy did I learn my lesson. I thought being able to wear the latest fashion, forcing myself into the box society was shoving at me, would make me happy; all it did was make me unhealthy and miserable. Now, I am passionate about helping other people release their fears and negativity.
It all begins with these few simple questions: What is beauty and who has it? Where does our standard of beauty come from? Who gets the final say? Not only is it difficult to answer these questions, but quite frankly, it is impossible to begin to narrow down the answer. Is it even possible to determine something as “objectively beautiful” when the values of beauty are constantly shifting?
There is nothing wrong with showing off the hard work it takes to get those perfect bikini bodies or well-defined six pack. For the people in a vulnerable position seeing those pictures, however, it can be less than inspiring. Ever feel like an outcast for not looking the same way, for not following the same diet as others, for not training with the same workout plan as others? We live in a society where we are assaulted daily with unrealistic standards of beauty, trying to stay confident through constant attacks on our self-image. Why are we so focused on vanity rather than so many other positive attributes that health and fitness can bring someone?
This is where the problem originates. Rather than choosing to focus on what works best for our body, we focus on what our celebrity idols eat, sleep and breathe to achieve their bodies. Tips and advice can be extremely helpful, but it’s simply that, advice. Often, those same celebrities achieve the magazine covers through crash diets, dangerous drugs, plastic surgery and the biggest shortcut of them all – Photoshop. Ultimately, I have learned that my body is in its best shape and my health is at its prime when I simplify my thoughts. I do not focus on what others do. I focus on what makes me feel good rather than what society endorsed diets force down my throat. However, I realize it is not always that easy to block out what the media is screaming at your insecurities.
Everyone is searching for love and acceptance. It would be nice if our media used their position in society to inspire our best selves, but that doesn’t bring in the advertising dollars the way pushing make up, beauty products and diet pills does. Unfortunately, we’re on our own. But there are some things you can do.
Before paving your personal fitness journey, ask yourself a few questions. What am I looking to get out of my workouts? Is it solely vanity and self-image based? Are you searching for improved strength, coordination, self-confidence and overall well-being? These questions are important because success has a different definition for each individual. If you first define what your success is, you will have a much better chance of achieving it.
It is very liberating to let go of the expectations of others, to create your own path and to rewire your motives in your health and fitness journey. Both your body and your mind will thank you for it. Life becomes simple again and passion is reawakened. I leave you with this; do not limit your fitness workouts and your eating habits to what others tell you. You are in your own lane on the track. Trust me, you won’t finish the race any quicker by always checking over your shoulder to see how the others are doing. In fact, this will only slow you down or throw you off course. Find your success by discovering what you love, discovering what is effective and doing it. Being yourself when the world is trying to make you into someone else is one of the greatest accomplishments you can achieve.
At Kaplifestyle, we love spotlighting men and women who have handled adversity and are willing to talk about it. They can offer perspective and truly inspire us. Drew Stubbs is a well-accomplished man. He was drafted with the 8th overall pick in the 1st round in 2006. He’s in the midst of a long, productive professional baseball career, and yet he still admits to having struggled to maintain confidence at times. This struggle exists for every human being alive, but the openness Drew offers us is unique. He’s here to share how he thrives with discipline and routine. I’m taking notes.
If you aren’t able to place an importance on discipline and self-control, you have no chance of reaching the levels of success, confidence and happiness that you covet.
I’ve learned, through my years around the game, to prioritize and organize my life. Baseball players are forced to make a lot of decisions on the fly, like choosing between the convenient junk food or putting in the effort to eat decently on the road. With all the schedule changes, I sometimes have to force myself to rest, even when I’m not that tired. When I recognize something as being important to me, I make it a point to stay on top of it and not succumb to the easy way out.
The self-control I’ve cultivated has really aided my career. I get my off-season conditioning in, take care of personal matters even when I don’t really want to and prepare the right way for a game. One of my biggest challenges is monitoring my weight throughout the season. Some struggle to keep their weight down; I have a hard time maintaining where I start in March. I know most of you are rolling your eyes and thinking, “Wow, what a tough problem to have!” When you’re trying to stay healthy and maintain strength through 162 games, sometimes just getting enough calories to stay level can be a burden. Although I have to consume a lot of food throughout the day, I try to make sure the calories I’m ingesting are beneficial instead of ingesting meaningless or detrimental foods. The combination of making the right food choices and making sure I’m eating enough of them turns out to be a challenging display of discipline in itself.
Many others don’t necessarily share this feeling with me. One case that resonated with me was of a pitcher drafted the same year as me. He was a high draft pick with a huge arm and a really high ceiling for potential. Being around him every day my first couple minor league seasons, I quickly realized that he and I were quite different. I would think that if you have tremendous ability to be a special pitcher at the major league level, you would go above and beyond to do whatever was necessary to get to the pinnacle of the sport. Discipline clearly was not his forte. He would constantly show up overweight to spring training, be late for team buses, miss mandatory weight workouts and not stick to his pitching program. This gave me the clear picture that he wasn’t willing to put in the work if wasn’t convenient. I was not surprised when he kicked around in the minors for a few years before being out of baseball.
I’ve chosen a challenging career, and when I struggle to maintain my confidence, I fall back on my discipline and my routine. When you’re able to develop a daily routine that puts you at a high level of comfort, you give yourself a much better opportunity to perform at your best. We are all creatures of habit, and baseball requires me to have a level of comfort and muscle memory that only comes from a repeated process. Like everyone, some days I feel locked in, others I feel completely lost. During the rough stretches, I fall back on my developed routine. I show up to the park, eat lunch, get any treatment I need for various ailments, head to the cage early for some regimented swings, watch video on the opposing pitcher, take practice and play the game. All of these things are time and effort-intensive, and it would be easy to omit steps in the process. I rely on my discipline to stick with it even when I don’t always feel like doing it.
Having the discipline to do most things in this day and age can often be difficult. Whether it is waking up in the morning on time to go to work, choosing the better of two food options, or even paying your bills, everyone faces a choice in which the right thing to do is generally not the easiest. Maybe it’s the way that I’m wired, but it’s always been second nature to me to push my limits of self-improvement. Every baseball player has been asked, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” when discussing the relationship between confidence and success. Is confidence the byproduct of success or is success the logical progression from confidence? Regardless of which comes first, sustaining both is important to feel fulfilled in life. Reminding myself to exercise self-control helps me to be confident, successful and, ultimately, happy.
A beautiful mind. Perhaps you’re now thinking of Russell Crowe; I’m thinking of Chris Archer. Too dramatic? Maybe, but it’s how I feel. Next time Arch is on TV or conducting a radio interview, listen closely. His thought processes, regardless of topic, are not typical for anyone, let alone an elite professional athlete. His mind is different. It’s beautiful. Read for yourself.
10 pages a day, 1 book a month, 12 books a year can change your life. A change in your life is a change in the world.
For me, life isn’t about getting your college degree and then going to work in whatever field you studied. Learning isn’t spending years in school and then never stretching your mind again. Take a step back and look at our education system. I’m not trying to knock it; it serves a purpose. However, it’s very bland, basic and, most importantly, limited. The things I learned in the public education system were barely the tip of the iceberg. There is a universe of truth, history, knowledge and wisdom that is actually out there.
My mentor always told me the only thing in life that is constant is change. I have found that to be true. Science and our worldly perspectives are evolving at a rapid pace. How can we stand still and never do further research, never crack open a book, never search for the latest articles, never watch documentaries?
I didn’t always find reading essential. I never had a desire to even step foot in book store. I despised reading and made any and every excuse not to read. “It makes me tired,” “I don’t have the attention span,” “I don’t have the time.” When I was 17, my mentor gave me a book. I’m not going to mention the book’s name; it’s irrelevant. What is relevant is how I suddenly fell in love with what reading has to offer. I discovered there was so much more than memorizing and regurgitating information for tests. I felt like I could add more to conversations after being exposed to other people’s experiences and ideas. I was sharper and more articulate when expressing my thoughts. Most importantly, I learned to look inward and recognize the difference between what my actual thoughts are versus what society tells me to think.
How are we supposed to know if we agree with the things we’ve been taught (or have been programmed to think) if we never delve into other philosophies, deeper into science or further into history? Some of your thoughts will be confirmed. A few (maybe significant, maybe not) will not be confirmed. It is essential to make sure your current thoughts are updated, but it’s also a challenge. It can be hard to accept when you come across something that contradicts what you’ve always believed to be true.
I’ll leave you with this: the physical side of human evolution is over. We are not going to develop extra limbs or new sensory organs to help us navigate the land. But we have only tapped into the slightest portion of the strongest muscle any of us possess, our brain. It’s our job to strengthen our brains as much as we can through reading, applying new thought patterns, discovering new experiences and passing those things to our next generation. The great thinkers and philosophers of the past did those things for us, and we can do them for others. All it takes is a little effort.
Thanks to all who took the time to read this and a special thanks to Gabe Kapler for the challenge of writing. You were right; it was a great experience to take the thoughts swimming through my mind and put them down on paper.
Lars Anderson was the most cerebrally unique member of the club I managed in 2007 in Greenville, South Carolina. He and I chatted about world topics with baseball sprinkled in. Even then, at just 19 years of age, he had conscientiousness unfamiliar in the pro sports world. His thoughtful post comes as no surprise to me. I was proud to call him a friend then, I’m even prouder now.
“How will my actions affect the generations to come?” This question was once asked regularly, but seems to have dissolved with the passing of time. As a culture, we dipped our hands into the fountain of the quick fix and drank deep. The high road is seldom taken and convenience is at a premium. Quick and easy takes over from reusable and sustainable.
There are some places taking steps to combat this. San Francisco is the first major U.S. city to ban plastic water bottles (it also banned single-use plastic bags in 2012). This example is often drowned out by people crying “Double bag that 3 oz. tube of tooth paste for me because that’s how I’ve always done it.” We can’t be bothered with disrupting our routine – the way we’ve always done things without second thought. And there isn’t a creature on planet earth more routine oriented than a professional baseball player.
Walking through a clubhouse looks like a house of horrors for someone in Greenpeace. Faucets are left running with no one near the sink, shower heads washing nothing but the floor. Finding recycling bins? You might as well be looking for a yeti.
Professional baseball has always been a bit behind the evolutionary curve, and we celebrate this. We love the tradition, the old time feel of it. We love, especially in this era of rapid development and growth, that it stays much the same. The shadow side to this, however, is that the game and its players miss the mark on many of 21st century’s positive aims.
Players come in after their at bat, grab some hydration in the branded paper Gatorade cup and throw it on the ground. On the way back out to the field, they repeat. After 9 innings of ball, that’s 18 single use paper or plastic cups on the dugout floor awaiting their fate in some landfill, possibly disintegrating sometime in the next millennium. 18 cups multiplied by 25 players and you’ve gone through 450 cups in a single game. At 162 games, your favorite team has just burned through 72,000 cups during their season. This doesn’t include batting practice or locker room activities – just games.
It is, quite simply, excessive waste. There’s only one planet for us to live on, only one planet to sustain us. There has to be a better way to treat your keeper.
In discussing this issue with teammates, I’m often surprised by the indifference I hear in return. Many range from uninterested to utterly opposed to cutting back on wastefulness. I find it odd that a group of such dedicated, focused, intelligent individuals won’t even play with the possibility that they could do better for our world. It seems so clear cut that the world would be better off if a plastic bottle is reused rather than buried in the earth. It appears obvious that turning off the faucet or shower after use is better than leaving it running. Time and time again, I hear “it’s not my problem” or “things won’t change, so why bother?” and it passes below our collective radar.
There is some good news on the horizon, and I’ve noticed some progress this year. Many players on my team are now using stainless steel canteens for their water. Our clubhouse manager bought reusable Gatorade bottles for each player. After eight years of drinking coffee out of styrofoam cups and eating off of paper plates, I’ve finally made the adjustment of bringing in my own coffee mug and dinner plate from home (like I said, baseball guys can be slow on the uptake).
This is how I see change taking root, with small steps that can be implemented with just a small amount of effort and awareness. I’m hoping to see a few more steps, like adding ceramic plates and silverware to the pre- and post-game spreads, a recycling bin in the dugout and clubhouse and replacing the individual bottles of water with 5 gallon jugs.
Like I said before, we are creatures of habit. Once a player falls into a routine, it becomes second nature, and that is powerful. Habits create momentum. All it takes is a little conscious effort to make an impact on both our baseball world and our planet.
Lars Anderson was the most cerebrally unique member of the club I managed in 2007 in Greenville, South Carolina. He and I chatted about world topics with baseball sprinkled in. Even then, at just 19 years of age, he had conscientiousness unfamiliar in the pro sports world. His thoughtful post comes as no surprise to me. I was proud to call him a friend then, I’m even prouder now.
“How will my actions affect the generations to come?” This question was once asked regularly, but seems to have dissolved with the passing of time. As a culture, we dipped our hands into the fountain of the quick fix and drank deep. The high road is seldom taken and convenience is at a premium. Quick and easy takes over from reusable and sustainable.
There are some places taking steps to combat this. San Francisco is the first major U.S. city to ban plastic water bottles (it also banned single-use plastic bags in 2012). This example is often drowned out by people crying “Double bag that 3 oz. tube of tooth paste for me because that’s how I’ve always done it.” We can’t be bothered with disrupting our routine – the way we’ve always done things without second thought. And there isn’t a creature on planet earth more routine oriented than a professional baseball player.
Walking through a clubhouse looks like a house of horrors for someone in Greenpeace. Faucets are left running with no one near the sink, shower heads washing nothing but the floor. Finding recycling bins? You might as well be looking for a yeti.
Professional baseball has always been a bit behind the evolutionary curve, and we celebrate this. We love the tradition, the old time feel of it. We love, especially in this era of rapid development and growth, that it stays much the same. The shadow side to this, however, is that the game and its players miss the mark on many of 21st century’s positive aims.
Players come in after their at bat, grab some hydration in the branded paper Gatorade cup and throw it on the ground. On the way back out to the field, they repeat. After 9 innings of ball, that’s 18 single use paper or plastic cups on the dugout floor awaiting their fate in some landfill, possibly disintegrating sometime in the next millennium. 18 cups multiplied by 25 players and you’ve gone through 450 cups in a single game. At 162 games, your favorite team has just burned through 72,000 cups during their season. This doesn’t include batting practice or locker room activities – just games.
It is, quite simply, excessive waste. There’s only one planet for us to live on, only one planet to sustain us. There has to be a better way to treat your keeper.
In discussing this issue with teammates, I’m often surprised by the indifference I hear in return. Many range from uninterested to utterly opposed to cutting back on wastefulness. I find it odd that a group of such dedicated, focused, intelligent individuals won’t even play with the possibility that they could do better for our world. It seems so clear cut that the world would be better off if a plastic bottle is reused rather than buried in the earth. It appears obvious that turning off the faucet or shower after use is better than leaving it running. Time and time again, I hear “it’s not my problem” or “things won’t change, so why bother?” and it passes below our collective radar.
There is some good news on the horizon, and I’ve noticed some progress this year. Many players on my team are now using stainless steel canteens for their water. Our clubhouse manager bought reusable Gatorade bottles for each player. After eight years of drinking coffee out of styrofoam cups and eating off of paper plates, I’ve finally made the adjustment of bringing in my own coffee mug and dinner plate from home (like I said, baseball guys can be slow on the uptake).
This is how I see change taking root, with small steps that can be implemented with just a small amount of effort and awareness. I’m hoping to see a few more steps, like adding ceramic plates and silverware to the pre- and post-game spreads, a recycling bin in the dugout and clubhouse and replacing the individual bottles of water with 5 gallon jugs.
Like I said before, we are creatures of habit. Once a player falls into a routine, it becomes second nature, and that is powerful. Habits create momentum. All it takes is a little conscious effort to make an impact on both our baseball world and our planet.
Peter was bold and brave. He must have, at some point, heard the words of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Tell your story, brother.
In mid-May, I was in the library at Santa Clara University, studying for midterms. I paused to check my twitter feed and saw this tweet.
Summer internship for Kaplifestyle: Interested in promoting a health & earning school credit? Submit resume to [email protected]
— gabe kapler (@gabekapler) May 12, 2014
My initial reaction was that there was no way Gabe would see my reply or respond, since he has nearly 40,000 followers. I decided to take that first step anyway. Sure enough the stars aligned, and Gabe bridged the communication with Stephanie. I sent my resume in to Stephanie.
A phone interview soon followed, and I didn’t know what to expect. I knew little about Stephanie, beyond her work with Kaplifestyle and Gabe. I began by focusing on my background and what I could bring to the table. Being a Division I baseball player for 4 years and getting a Finance degree as well actually played well in my interview. I explained I have the business background and also can relate as well as anyone when it comes to baseball, working out, and fitness in general. I asked a bunch of questions about how Kaplifestyle operated and what the short and long term goals were. Stephanie answered those questions very thoroughly and thoughtfully for me. After that interviews can have an awkward ending if there was not a lot of mutual ground. However, if I recall, I talked to Steph for at least 10 minutes after. Steph and I continue to have these great conversations, but I believe it all started with that interview.
After my first phone call with Gabe, I truly began to feel like a part of the Kaplifestyle family. Though just a brief call to welcome me on board, he spoke of how I could be a part of the Kaplifestyle vision. Being a part of the team and having Gabe’s support was very important.
My internship started with a standard slate of tasks like responding to readers, company research, social media research, etc. However, I began to really think about how I can make an impact on the Kaplifestyle community. I wanted to make it grow while maintaining the community feel. I still look at the site multiple times of day and see how we can make it even better in every aspect. While I still respond to the contact form and handle any small tasks, I really reach out to Gabe and Steph with ideas for growth and how to increase our presence online.
Fast forward 4 months, I am driving (from San Francisco) to Palm Springs to spend some time with family for the weekend. During that drive, an idea popped in my head like the cartoons when the light bulbs go off. Perhaps I could find a way to get a coffee with Gabe or breakfast over the weekend. I sent him a text about the situation. Within minutes, he responded to say, “Saturday I am busy all day, Sunday morning you could do breakfast at 8 or sprints at 10.” My eyes were wide open, and I knew I was going to make it work no matter how far I had to drive or hoops I had to jump through. For those who are familiar with the outlay of Southern California, Palm Springs is about a 3 plus hour drive to Malibu (where Gabe lives). Sunday morning sure enough, alarm goes off at 4:00AM or so, and I am off to Malibu. I literally had no idea what to expect or if I could even find his house. I arrived on time (if you know Gabe he is about as efficient with his time as anyone I have ever met). I can vouch for anyone in the KL community; Gabe talks the talk, but also walks the walk. My breakfast was precisely organized with some fruit, spinach, 2 slices of toast, and then about 4 eggs with mushrooms. Oh and, of course, the coffee! We chatted about my life for a bit, chatted about Kaplifestyle for a little bit, and, of course, I had to ask some baseball questions! I learned a lot about Gabe and how he operates that morning, and to this day I will remember that and it continues to motivate me and I am sure motivates others in this community as well. Next time I might have to bring some steak over.
When you are nearing your end at college, you obviously are trying to figure out what your next career move will be and what you want to do. It can be a stressful time. I had plenty of stress going because I love Kaplifestyle and will do anything to help, but realistically, I did not see myself being an intern for my entire life. I wanted to combine my business background with my baseball background (my family is pretty invested in baseball, since I played 4 years in college and my brother just started his freshman year playing ball at Stanford). I thought about things like working for an MLB team’s front office and working my way up, but that was really my only idea.
A few months ago, I received a text from Gabe asking, “Can you chat this afternoon for a bit?” Immediately, I begin preparing all my documents that I have worked on for Kaplifestyle and was prepared for just about anything he was going to ask (you should have seen the set up with the documents on my desk).
It wasn’t Kaplifestyle related, however. He wanted to know about my potential interest in the GM position of one of the largest baseball facilities in the San Fernando Valley called Diamond Star Sports. Gabe is a big part of that facility and its growth over the last couple years. My immediate reaction was to explain how I am still in school and this and that and didn’t think much of it. I hung up the phone and sat down for literally less than 5 minutes before I fired off a text to Gabe saying, “Wow, actually I think I would really be interested.”
Gabe warned me that I lacked experience. I believe his exact words were, “I am essentially throwing you to the wolves with this one, but I think you have a shot.”
Just like my original experience, I sent off my resume, followed by an initial phone interview. Next thing you know, I’m asked to come down for an in-person interview. I’m juggling school, coaching a 13u travel ball team, Kaplifestyle and working out. Of course, I told them I’d be there any time that they would like. I ended up making an 11 hour round trip one Saturday (had to get back for coaching Sunday morning!). The interview went well. After one further trip down to LA, I received the call – I had been offered the job.
I have now sent in my petition to graduate, and I am finishing up my finals and last term papers. I have picked out a place to live and am in the process of relocating to Southern California.
The takeaway from this entire story is that it all began with one tweet and a little bit of follow up. It has become so much more. I will be starting my first “real” job out of college and have plans to make a big impact and be a great leader for Diamond Star. It’s a new job, in a new city, with new people. This will be an adventure and a journey, and I look forward to it every night leading up to it.
I really appreciate Gabe, his support and recommendation to throw me in for consideration. I have already learned a tremendous amount about how to live an enjoyable, healthy life while working my ass off and not wasting time. Seeing what he does motivates me daily whether it is Kaplifestyle related, school related, family related, or sports related.
I look forward to the possibility of continuing that relationship with Gabe as I begin at Diamond Star and still assist with Kaplifestyle, because both are extremely important to me and have helped me discover what I want in my post-baseball career.
The moral of the story is to never leave a stone unturned, always follow up, continue searching, relentlessly persevere and eventually something will present itself and give you your next chapter in life.
Maybe I can get my sprints or lift in with Gabe now that I moving down there? (I love to compete no matter what it is!)
Gotta go pack my bags into my car! The journey begins.
