I was looking through an old journal the other day and found an entry that caught my attention. It was dated October, 22, 2017. The entry was simple and straight to the point as it read:

“I want to start studying the lives of leaders when they were working in obscurity. I wonder what their journey looked like before they were successful. It’s easy to point at a success after the fact. How much struggle did they have on their journey?”

At the time I was over a year into my head coaching career and was slowly making progress in developing a stable NCAA baseball program out of a struggling enviornment. The work was slow and painful, both in the development of the program and in the development of my character and leadership potential. I was starving for encouragement.

What started in the fall of 2017 as an organized, deliberate practice of studying the lives of leaders, has evolved into more than a fun hobby. I have now trained my eyes and ears to scour for stories of leaders who stay the course on the journey of development. Over the last year through this newsletter I began to share, for the first time some of my findings. I hope that these articles were able to support your personal pursuit towards growth in 2020. In total, 51 articles were published on staythecourseleaders.com and here are some of the top reads from my research that began in a small office in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2017.

Here are some of the findings from articles from 2020 at staythecourseleaders.com:

• I found that the hall of fame coach Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers was so crushed and discouraged a few years into his career that he almost turned in his letter of resignation after consecutive losing seasons.

• I found that coach John Wooden planned to move to Minneapolis, Minnesota to become the head coach for the Minnesota Gophers before his plan was thwarted by events out of his control. He moved to UCLA instead and built a dynasty.

• I found that Super Bowl champion, Doug Pederson started his coaching career as a high school head coach at a very small private school called Calvary Baptist before climbing the ranks to Super Bowl Champion with the Philadelphia Eagles.

• My research found that Boston Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens left a well paying job in the business sector to take a volunteer position at Butler University to start his coaching career.

• I found that 2018 women’s Boston Marathon champion, Des Linden had never won a marathon in her illustrious racing career before winning the most prestigious marathon in the world on the toughest day in recent Boston Marathon memory.

• I found out from Jordan Burroughs that just because you are a late bloomer doesn’t mean you cannot become elite at your craft.

• I found that NFL hall of fame quarterback, Kurt Warner stocked shelves on the third shift while living in his in-laws basement as he tried to get his professional career going after college.

• I found that Tim Grover was rejected many times by the Chicago Bulls training staff before finally getting an opportunity to sit down with Michael Jordan and beg him for a 30 day trial period that turned into decades of private training.

• I found that UCLA center Swen Nater turned down better offers for playing time at other NCAA Division I programs to instead be a backup behind Bill Walton and train with Coach Wooden. Both Walton and Nater ended up being 1st round draft picks.

• I found that when Eliud Kipchoge broke the world record in the marathon in Berlin, the most memorable part of his day was the enthusiasm of the bottle handler named Claus Henning-Shulke.

• I learned how to stand up to a bully from former Iowa wrestler, Mark Perry.

• I found that the late Tony Robichaux has set the bar high for all leaders and coaches who come behind him. The language and motive of a transformational leader is clear. Build better people.

• I found that both Derek Jeter and Mickey Mantle had something in common during their rise through the minor leagues. They both called home crying a lot.

• I found that Mark Cuban slowly began to accumulate knowledge in what would become profitable businesses for him through the simple habit of reading books.

• I found that what could be considered by some to be a weakness, was actually the very thing that made former USA goalkeeper, Tim Howard world class at goalkeeping.

• I found out through Tim Corbin that to have a truly championship caliber team environment the leader must desire a transformational experience.

It has been a pleasure journeying together in the year 2020. Next week I will be sharing some big news for what is in store for 2021. Some great developments are on the way and I am very excited to share!

Stay The Course,

JB