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  But you know what? It’s hard to beat someone who never gives up. My inability to surrender my dreams has allowed me to do things I’d never imagined I’d get to do. I’ve starred in movies with NBA stars like Kevin Durant and traveled the world playing basketball alongside my idol Allen Iverson. I’ve played lead roles in TV shows, allowing me to travel the world in private planes and fancy yachts. I have gotten to sit down and interview some of the biggest celebrities and pro athletes on the planet in my own custom tour bus. I’ve shot commercials with Kobe Bryant and even spent an entire day being hand fed burgers by supermodel Heidi Klum. Today, I get to tour the country speaking, sharing my experiences with others and having an impact that has led to fulfillment in my life outweighing any sum of money. I often take a step back, scratch my head, and wonder, “How is this my life?”

  The answer: I didn’t quit.

  It really is that simple. You can’t fail if you never quit. Failure becomes just a temporary bump in the road that gives you time to reflect, analyze, and attack with a new and better thought-out game plan. Find the highest achievers in the world and there is one common theme among them. They refuse to quit. Take this quote from one of the most successful people in the world, Michael Jordan:

  “I’ve failed over and over again and that is why I succeed.”

  A wise person would argue that failure is a crucial step on the road to success. But that comes with a big IF. Failure is only beneficial IF you view it as such. You can look at it as defeat, or you can look at it as feedback. Failure is simply that, feedback. In every situation, you get to decide, are you going to get bitter or are you going to get better?

  Winners get better!

  I’ve failed over and over again in my own life and continue to do so to this day. I’ve had a lot of success as an athlete (probably more than most) and have lost a whole lot more games than I have ever won. But I learned from my father at an early age that sports are a beautiful illustration for life. “You can learn a whole lot more about a person when they lose than you can when they win,” my old man used to say. Boy, was he right. Anybody can have a good attitude when they are winning. It takes no guts and no grit. But having a good attitude and being resilient when you fail publicly isn’t for the faint of heart.

  My dad and I used to watch sports games growing up, and it quickly became obvious who was going to be successful in the most important game we’ll ever play: life.

  We would watch the response players would have when they failed. When they dropped the game-winning touchdown. Missed the big shot. Struck out. Made a bad pass. Did they hustle off the field? High five their teammate? Say “my bad” even though it wasn’t? Keep their head up and encourage somebody else?

  Or did they yell and cuss? Blame the refs? The weather? Their coach? Start pouting?

  Life is just like sports. You are going to mess up. It’s not going to be fair. Horrible things are going to happen to you. Other people are going to have all the advantages you don’t have, and when you try to do good, people are going to come and try to tear you down. That’s just the way it is. The big question is, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to play the victim game? Are you going to subscribe to outrage culture?

  Or are you going to throw away every excuse you could have, grab your dream, and wrestle that thing into submission until it’s yours?

  It’s that simple. The choice is yours.

  My whole life, I was told I wasn’t big enough to be a basketball player. They told me I couldn’t play in college. Then when I played in college, they told me I couldn’t make a career out of it. They laughed at me and said it wasn’t realistic for me to move to Hollywood and make it as an actor. They said that being a speaker wouldn’t work because I was too young and had no credibility. Then they said writing a bestselling book was out of my skill set.

  They were right.

  If I had listened, and I had quit.

  There’s a quote I love that goes like this:

  “One man thought he could. One man thought he couldn’t. They both were right.”

  Which one are you?

  This trend continues to this day. I’m still the underdog. Right now, I am chasing a new dream: my own TV show. I want a show that will allow me to inspire youth on a massive scale and help the kids that need it the most.

  Turns out, it’s not easy to get your own TV show. I’ve spent years and almost all my money trying to make it happen. I’ve taken hundreds of meetings, and I’ve been told no over and over again.

  The industry says things like:

  “You aren’t famous enough.”

  “You don’t have a big enough online following.”

  “America doesn’t want to watch shows that help people. They want drama like The Jersey Shore and The Kardashians .”

  But the industry doesn’t know I’ve been told what I can’t do my entire life. I’m seasoned and built for this. Every no gets me that much closer to the one yes that will change everything.

  At this moment I have three shows in development with major Hollywood names. My dream is slowly turning into reality. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but there is one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt.

  It’s hard to beat someone who never gives up. Don’t ever quit. You only fail if you give up.

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  TWEETABLE

  Failure is simply feedback. In every situation, you get to decide, are you going to get bitter or are you going to get better?

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  Jesse LeBeau, “The Celebrity Teen Coach,” is one of today’s most sought youth speakers, authors, and motivators. His underdog story has inspired millions of teens. He is one of the world’s premier basketball trick artists, regularly featured on TV, film, and international tours. Jesse stars on the new Emmy-nominated kids TV sitcom This Just In on Pop TV Saturday mornings and plays himself on the new reality series The LeBeau Show where viewers follow Jesse around the country to see the major impact he is having on youth and troubled teens. In 2017, Jesse started The Attitude Is Everything Foundation as a resource for young people to have on-going support throughout their teenage years particularly targeting self-esteem.

  https://www.jesselebeau.com / @JesseLeBeau

  CHAPTER 39

  Never Give Up

  by Todd Stottlemyre

  “Never, never, never give up.”

  – Winston Churchill

  I n times of difficulty we are given the opportunity to choose perseverance. Success is derived from continued progress through the lessons failure teaches.

  My story is no different.

  In 1989, I was in my second season as a Major League Baseball player with the Toronto Blue Jays. Our team was off to a slow start, and I was bouncing back and forth from the bullpen, being a relief pitcher, to the starting rotation. I wasn’t getting much playing time due to the inconsistency in my performance. It was early May, and before going to the ballpark, I got the news our manager Jimmy Williams had just been fired and our hitting coach Cito Gaston had been hired to take over as manager for the remainder of the year. I felt bad for Jimmy, but I thought the change might mean more playing time for me.

  I arrived early to the stadium that day, and in the dressing room, as I approached my locker, I was told our new manager wanted to see me in his office. Walking into the manager’s office, I had the vision that I was going to get promoted from the bullpen into the starting rotation. Cito asked me to take a seat opposite of him at his desk. The pitching coach was sitting to his left. Excitement and anxiety were pumping through my body at the same time. As Cito spoke, my excitement turned to fury in a nanosecond. Yes, I was going into the starting rotation, but not for the Blue Jays. I was being demoted back to the minor leagues for the second consecutive year.

  My childhood dream of following in my father’s footsteps was being challenged. This dream started in the majestic Yankee Stadium where my brothers and I roamed the field as toddlers while my father, Mel
Stottlemyre, was pursuing his dream. My father was a three-time 20 game winner and a five-time all-star as a starting pitcher with the New York Yankees in his career. He was a legend, and he played with legends such as Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer, and Yogi Berra, who was his first manager. Growing up with my father and his teammates inspired me to dream, and that dream was to play Major League Baseball.

  I stormed out of the manager’s office. I was furious, frustrated, and disappointed to say the least. I quickly packed up my baseball gear and headed to pack up my apartment in Toronto. I loaded my car and prepared for the long drive to Syracuse, New York. Before driving through the night to where I would meet up with my new teammates, I sat down to call my most trusted mentor, my father, who was currently the pitching coach for the New York Mets.

  Dad answered, and I immediately told him the Toronto Blue Jays had just sent me back to the minor leagues. Before he could say a word, I went on a verbal rampage pouring out my anger and frustration. I was playing victim. I was playing the blame game, and I’m sure I sounded like a spoiled baby to my father. When I finally took a breath, my father spoke.

  He said, “Todd, I would love to have you as a starting pitcher on my staff here in New York.” I was like YESSSSSSSS!!!

  Then my father followed with, “But not with the way you are pitching now.” He continued to say that I hadn’t even come close to pitching to my potential. He reminded me how good he thought I could be. Dad’s words were tough, but true. I was not ready to hear that I needed to get better. I was busy playing victim and feeling sorry for myself. Let’s face it. It’s always easier to blame others and play victim versus taking full responsibility for our own outcomes.

  After hanging up the phone, it was time to hit the road. It was getting late in the evening, and I had a long drive ahead of me. I drove through the night, and it was long and quiet. My mind was racing with uncertainty. A dream that started back in Yankee stadium when I had just learned to walk was now in jeopardy. I was told by the world through my entire childhood that I was not like my father. I was asked thousands of times what was I going to do if or when I didn’t make it.

  I was starting to wonder if the world was right. What was I going to do? Playing Major League Baseball was all I ever thought of. I had practiced tens of thousands of hours preparing for my dream, and now, for the first time in my life, doubt started to creep in. Actually, doubt was taking over my whole body. I found myself planning to go back to school to get an education and get on with my life.

  But then I would recall the conversation with my father. He still believed in me even though my belief in myself was running on empty. Even if I made it back to the major leagues, was I good enough to stay and make a career out of it? My mind was a see-saw battle. My dream was on shaky ground.

  Early in the morning, I pulled into McArthur Stadium, the home of the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. I parked my car near the clubhouse as I watched the sunrise. I was tired and emotionally worn out. I had questioned my dream over the last six hours driving from Toronto to Syracuse. I leaned my seat back, closed my eyes, and my mind took me back to my childhood of roaming the grounds of Yankee Stadium: the birthplace of my dream. It was so real back then. I had inherited my father’s environment. His teammates were not just my heroes, they were our family friends. I thought again on the conversation with my father. He believed that I was so much better than how I was currently performing. It all came together for me. It was not time to throw in the towel. It was time to persevere. My mindset had just turned 180 degrees. I could once again tap into the vision of my childhood dream. Hell, I could even smell the hotdogs in the ballpark. I had just decided that I was going all in. I was going to pursue the potential that my dad believed I had. I was going to become the hardest worker on the team. If I was going to fail, I was going to fail in front of the world. But if I was going to succeed. I was going to succeed in front of the world.

  With my renewed mindset, every day was an opportunity to get better. I dominated Triple-A hitters. I was a man on a mission. I was obsessed to live out my dream.

  Thirty days later, I got the call back to the big leagues. Once again, I packed my bags, but this time I was going where I belonged, Major League Baseball. As I pulled out of the stadium in Syracuse, New York I made a vow that I was never coming back to the minor leagues.

  The Blue Jays inserted me into the starting rotation, and I never looked back. I started game two of the American League Championship Series that year. I had the honor of playing with some incredible teams in Toronto where we became world champions in 1992 and 1993. I went on to play 15 years in Major League Baseball on three world championship teams. I amassed tens of millions of dollars. I played with some of the greatest athletes in all of sports. Many of my teammates are now in The Hall of Fame.

  WHAT IF I WOULD HAVE QUIT?

  I was inches from calling my career on that lonely drive from Toronto to Syracuse. My dream faced its darkest hour. I was vulnerable, and I had lost belief for the first time in my life.

  WHAT IF I WOULD HAVE QUIT?

  Yes, I would have missed out on 15 years of living my dream and three world championships. Yes, I would have missed out on tens of millions of dollars. Yes, I would have missed out on playing with some of the most gifted athletes in the world who I now call family.

  The most important thing I would have missed out on is the belief that DREAMS do come TRUE.

  When my dream faced its darkest hour, I could not see around the corner. Most give up when they are the closest to success, and I almost did too. I had no idea when I was ready to walk away that I was 30 days from not only living out my childhood dream but also living out a baseball career that accomplished three world championships.

  If you get to your darkest hour, just remember you are getting close. That’s the time to persevere. EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE FOR THOSE THAT NEVER QUIT!

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  TWEETABLE

  Everything is possible for those that never quit.

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  Todd Stottlemyre is a global entrepreneur, speaker, high-performance business coach, and a former professional athlete who played Major League Baseball for 15 seasons with three world championship teams.

  Todd earned the prestigious Branch Rickey Award and the Lou Gehrig Award in the year 2000. In addition to authoring Relentless Success, he has spoken to audiences up to 20,000 people and is truly inspiring others to dream big, teaching hopefuls to create goals, and providing a strategic roadmap through his online performance academy. It is Todd’s mission to inspire others to live a life without limits. Follow Todd at www.toddofficial.com .

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