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Ep.164 | David Aardsma | 3 Keys to Keeping Your Priorities Straight

On a scale from 1 to 10, how straight are your priorities? 

1 = priorities, J.R.? What priorities?

10 = Straight as a laser

It’s a real question – real convicting, that is.

When you’re leading and pushing and striving to be your best, the whole kitchen sink of distractions are coming at you…ALL-THE-TIME.

Then next thing you know what you said was important is not so important anymore, right? 

Nah…it’s still important. You just let the non-important things overtake it, whatever that “it” is.  

On today’s episode of the Coming Up Clutch with J.R.™ show, I sit down with former 10-year MLB veteran, entrepreneur, and radio personality, David Aardsma.

David and I get real about priorities and then some. In this latest episode, we talk about…

  • David’s ultimate clutch moment and what his mentality was pitching against the best players in Major League Baseball
  • The key lessons David learned after experiencing both great success and failure at the highest level of baseball
  • What David did when he realized he didn’t have his priorities straight between his family and career

…and so much more.

If you want a better chance to thrive in all aspects of your life and career, then lock in to today’s episode.

[00:01 – 11:53] Introducing David to the show

  • David’s most embarrassing moment
  • David’s background, story, and professional journey

[11:54 – 21:48] David’s ultimate clutch moment and what his mentality was pitching against the best players in Major League Baseball

  • Key mentality: “How will I know what I have if I don’t face the best?”
  • Went out there with a purpose to find out who he was
  • Why it was so hard for Dave to transition from an active player to retired player: he was working so hard to be who I wanted to be that I lost sight of who I was

[21:49 – 29:00] The key lessons David learned after experiencing both great success and failure at the highest level of baseball

  • Most difficult part of the journey: Success
  • David struggled the most when he forgot what got him the success (for him, a big part of it was mindset)
  • He wished he would’ve kept the same mindset when he was having success
  • He said he was sabotaging his own success to get back to playing at the highest level after several failures
  • Biggest regret: I probably worked too hard – didn’t let his body and mind recover
  • It’s a delicate balance between the grind and when you must shut off

[29:01 – 40:55] What David did when he realized he didn’t have his priorities straight between his family and career

  • Context: talk with GM Ben Cherrington (told David he needed to learn how to say NO) and his wife constantly getting on him (made David realize his marriage was falling apart)
  • Started saying NO more often
  • Took responsibility
    • Starting asking the questions, “Who am I?” What can I do to self-improve?
    • You have choices: solve the problem, walk away from it, or just keep going along with it
    • David’s key question: what matters to you? And what are you actually doing about it? What are YOU doing to fix this?
  • Found an ally
    • It really clicked for David when his therapist and life coach said all of his marital problems were a result of HIS mindset issue.

[40:56 – 45:52] David’s advice for parents with kids in amateur sports

  • When your child is showing interest in a sport, support them, but don’t PUSH them. Show them a path, but make them aware of that path looks like and what type of dedication it will take
  • Make them aware and have THEM make a decision – the key is, show them there are choices

[45:53 – 50:21] Wrapping Up

  • David’s BIG domino
  • How to connect with David

KEY QUOTES

“How do you know what you have if you don’t face the best?” – David Aardsma

“An alpha isn’t just someone who believes in themselves. They’re open, honest, and looks for help.” – David Aardsma

“Know what you do and do it.” – David Aardsma

“No matter how successful you are, don’t forget where you came from and what you set out to achieve.” – David Aardsma

CONNECT WITH DAVID

CONNECT WITH J.R.

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