Dana Cavalea - Habits Of A Champion: Nobody Becomes A Champion By Accident

Habits of a Champion

Nobody Becomes a Champion by Accident

#habitsofachampion

15 Lessons of Success By former New York Yankees Performance Coach,
Dana Cavalea

Copyright 2018 Dana Cavalea

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.

Hardback ISBN: 978-1-64184-953-1

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64184-038-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-64184-954-8

Contents

To all those future Champions out there. Becoming a Champion begins with a decision. A decision followed by great habits, A clear mission, and the desire to make magic happen. Lead with a purpose.

Always remember, championships start with you. All-in.

Foreword

I have been privileged and blessed to experience what it is like to become a World Champion, both as a player, and as a manager.

I have been asked which I value more, and to that question, my answer is always the same.

I love to win. I love to compete. Winning as a player took immense amounts of work, sacrifice, discipline, and commitment. Winning as a manager took immense amount of work, sacrifice, discipline, and commitment.

The lesson here is that winning takes work. Not just work for the sake of working. Planned, calculated, detail-oriented work. As a player, I worked very diligently to stay in the Majors. Every year, new talent came into the game, some of whom were looking to take my position. I always leaned on my work ethic for not only strength and confidence, but for survival.

Major League Baseball is a competitive place. If you sit back, take the easy way out, and expect nobody will take your job, you are mistaken.

As a player, I learned to play through pain, encouraged teammates who were struggling, and learned how to deal with the day to day failures that come with the sport of baseball.

It was not easy. In order to get through the grind, you rely heavily on your faith, your family, and your daily habits and routines.

When the waters get rough, you find stability and comfort in your daily routines.

As a player, you have routines that include strength training, conditioning, mental conditioning, nutritional planning, as well as skill training such as hitting, throwing, and defensive work. All are important and require daily attention.

As a catcher, I worried not only about myself, but also about that pitcher that stood sixty feet-six inches away from me each night. Did he have his A-Game tonight or was he struggling right out of the gate? Either way, we were going to struggle together or sail smoothly together. I embraced whatever came my way.

My habits and routines gave me the fortitude I needed to keep going.

Habits and routines also kept things in order for me, so I could find a balance between my professional life and personal life. When you have a routine, you know what time you leave for the park each day. You know when you are focusing on your personal health and fitness. You know what you are eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Routines provide structure. When you combine discipline and structure with solid habits and routines, your chances of winning and having success improve greatly.

As my journeyman career went from player to manager, I realized how many players struggled to find solid routines and habits to keep them grounded. It was my job as a manager to help develop players, which meant introducing them to routines that could help them improve their chances for success.

It was my job to show players I cared about them. I always made sure to lead with my heart and managed the game based on my gut instincts alongside my daily notes derived from hours of preparation.

In order to win, you must have great habits, routines, and buy-in to your process. But there is something above all of these things that can take you to places you only dream of.

Passion.

What I am most passionate about is the game of baseball, getting the most out of my players, and the daily competition that leads to winning.

Passion is the one thing that can make up for deficits that you may have in your plan. No matter how much time you spend on your plan, it may not be perfect. Your passion though, is what keeps you fighting for excellence every single day.

When you combine passion with discipline, work-ethic, a great plan, and solid routines, your chances of becoming a Champion not only on the field, but in life, goes way up.

Look to become a Champion in all that you do. Lead with your heart. Become a Champion in life and always remember your passion when times get tough.

If you honor that passion, you will always end up on the other side of all obstacles that stand between you and your goals.

Now go out and win today!

Joe Girardi,

MLB Network Host, MLB World Series Champion Manager, former MLB Player

Introduction

I wrote this book with one purpose: To share with you some of the people, lessons, and experiences that have shaped me into who I am today hoping they can do the same for you and those you lead, taking you from where you are today and forming the Habits of a Champion in all areas of your life.

These fifteen lessons have given me strength when I needed it, power when I didnt have it, and, most importantly, the guts to overcome the fears I face every single day. I wrote this book for each of you who embodies the person I am today: the athlete, the coach, the businessman, the entrepreneur, the husband, the father, and the rebellious dreamer who may have lost his way once or twice but refused to quit.

Read with an open mind; skip chapters if you like as they are in no particular order. Someone once told me that your life should turn like the pages in a book, one after the other, one chapter after the next, but I never agreed with that way of being.

I dont really like order so I decided to write a book that you can pick up wherever you desire. Kind of like the way I view life; There are no rules. Be a renegade. Challenge the status quo. Inspire those around you. And, always have fun!

Much like you, I struggle to balance life and time. I battle with myself and my emotions every day. Im challenged by the constant balance between acknowledging prior accomplishments and contentment with who I am today, along with the pursuit of excellence, satisfaction with my current state, and the constant desire for more in all categories of my life. The addiction of success in a world that no longer asks for it, but demands it.

How much is enough? A question I ask myself almost daily.

When will I know I have made it? Another daily ask.

How can I achieve more while still having a personal life, leverage over my career, and a family that is getting my focused attention, while still keeping my youthful, dreamer spirit?

These are the questions I ask myself.

Ive gotten lost several times along my journey as I copied the habits, words, and actions of others until it felt so wrong I had to stop. Other times, I forgot who I was, what I enjoyed in life, my preferences versus my dislikes. It made me sick. Sick in a way no doctor could understand. Emotionally sick. Sick of the noise in my head. The thoughts of others, posing as my own, every conscious minute of the day. Sick with stress. Sick with anxiety. Sick with fear. Sick of my constant lack of focus. Sick of my desire to be constantly looking at the highlight reels of others. The good old comparison game. The game where the one who decides to compare their life to that of others, always ends up the loser.