How do you keep fear from holding back your career? Between his batting skills, gymnastics training, and content creation know-how, RobertAnthony Cruz is exceptionally well-suited to his job with the Savannah Bananas — the barnstorming exhibition team that is selling out stadiums across the country with its whimsical take on baseball. Known as Coach RAC to millions of fans across social media, Cruz had to overcome an almost-paralyzing fear of what others think, in order to achieve this career home run. He said, “Everything changed when I stopped seeking the approval of other people.” Cruz initially found viral fame with a TikTok of the emotional moment he told his father he got signed by a Major League Baseball team — his childhood dream.? As his followers grew, so did the pressure. He recalled, “I literally was nervous showing up to the field every single day… Just knowing that my coaches were there watching, knowing that there were people keeping up with my career, made that fear stronger.” Cruz developed the yips — a sudden inability to perform due to a psychological block. After he got cut from the team, he explained, “I initially waited to post on social media just in case it would work out with another team, so I don’t have to tell people and have that perceived failure.” When he finally did share what happened, he said, “People actually took better to that than even my initial video of my success.” That inspired him to put his efforts into creating content to educate “the next generation of ballplayers.” ? At the urging of a friend, Cruz went to a Savannah Bananas tryout, where it dawned on him, “I have so many skills that have prepared me for this. I do video, I did gymnastics growing up and can still do back handsprings and back tucks.” ?“I was made to do exactly what I’m doing right now,” Cruz declared. He also shared this pro tip: “When you get yourself wrapped up in what other people might think of you, you might get paralyzed by fear, as I was at several different parts of my career. But if you have your self-worth and you’re not seeking that affirmation, then you are freed up to do what you were maybe made to do.” Have you ever let fear paralyze your career progress? Tell us what you learned from the experience in the comments. And subscribe to the newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e-RYcKD5
The fear of failure and its best friend fear of judgement cruise along creating paralysis of action for so many people. For most avoidance is the acceptable reaction leaving behind missed opportunities and lost dreams. The only way to overcome is through, to face the fears and do it anyway. One must realize and accept that failure is a step to success, it is not to be avoided as it is necessary. It is not to be feared, but understood that it is growth. When you can change your perspective on failure you can approach each new obstacle and each new challenge with a different energy knowing that regardless of outcome you are moving forward on your path to success.
I have no fear, when you’ve been abandoned at the age of 2 to live with strangers, molested at 6yrs old by the family friend, then sent on holiday to stay with your aunt, for a month in summer then find out your aunt is actually your mother at the age of 8, then was homeless at the age of 11 due to your mother and her selfish behaviour. You don’t carry fear you carry perseverance. I am now 51 years old. Turn your fear into your power.
I love this! I am so inspired to teach the next generation how to truly value their gifts. I have pivoted my career from banker to educator to entrepreneur and each time it has been terrifying! But, I have always followed my truth and the calling that is emerging deep within my soul. I love the Savannah Bananas! They came to my child's school and she was talking about them all night after that visit. When we follow our calling and live in our highest truth, others will follow. It becomes contagious and and this is how we change the world, one person at a time. One is a million! Thank you for such an inspirational story.
People achieve their best when they are true to themselves. Here are my two cents on how to overcome fear and advance your career: 1) Stop seeking approval Focus on your self-worth, not on external validation. This frees you from fear. 2) Embrace vulnerability Share your setbacks, not just your successes. This builds deeper connections and resilience. 3) Leverage your unique skills Identify and combine your strengths to create opportunities aligned with your purpose.
Success cannot be achieved without failure - lots and lots of failure. The first few times can be debilitating, but the more you fail, the more you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move on. Treat every failure as a learning experience and pretty soon you become stronger, wiser, and able to cope with the mistakes. I was fortunate to be a ski racer which is different from baseball (or other team sports). Every failure is totally "on you" - every single time. Just like Robert Cruz, I couldn't get over that bridge to the big time, but all the failures and disappointments gave me the ability to turn my career into coaching. Always having to figure out how to get to the top vs. always being there, gave me the chops to become a highly successful World Cup and Olympic Team coach. Failure is invaluable and it should be embraced as an integral part of your journey. You just never give up, and eventually, you'll become someone even better.
Unfortunately, this is a subject that hits home for me. I got hit with it HARD my final year of undergrad (2016) when we had to give a presentation to the local United Way on our research into the Population dynamics that affect their service area to better help them direct their funding where it would be most impactful. I knew my data. I was confident in my research abilities and findings. However, I also suffer from imposter syndrome sometimes, as a 1st gen college student from a working poor family, which often leads to performance paralysis when I think someone is more familiar with my subject matter than I am, regardless of how untrue that is. In this case it was triggered, not by our guests from the United Way, but by the presence of my professors.
WOW! This was a moving telling of RobertAnthony’s story that I hadn’t heard - or seen - quite in that way before!?? This is so inspiring!
This is so good. It reminds me of my time coaching in the NFL. I would tell my players it begins with, "an audience of 1." And by that, I meant that you have to first first lean into the craft because your desire for excellence outweighs any external motivation. It comes from the inside. I applaud Cruz for his vulnerability. His testament will move the needle for people who want to be better at their chosen craft.
After going through my fair share of trials and tribulations, I got to know myself pretty well. For me, knowing yourself is the ultimate form of knowledge. Having that knowledge allowed me to realize that life is not a straight line but has in fact many ups and downs. One day, you might be on top and the next day, you might be on the bottom. Truth is, you're not always going to win, and things won't always go your way. It's always going to be something that will test your spirit: your boss gave you a hard time, you don't get along with your partner or you didn't make your numbers this month. Nevertheless, I realized that I need to get up every morning and attack the day regardless of the ups and downs in my life. I need to do at least one thing every day that will move the needle and will get me closer to where I need to be. Another thing that helped me a lot was not basing my whole sense of identity on my job, the numbers in my bank account, the house where I live, my relationship status or the car that I drive. For example, I love what I do, but that's not who I am. It's just an aspect of my life, so if for whatever reason, things are not great at work or whatever, it's not the end of the world.
Interactive Keynote Speaker ? Leadership Activist ? Corporate Consultant ? Executive Coach ? Author ? TheHumanCentricLeader.org
5 个月I'm glad the focus here is on self-worth, not self-confidence. These are two different things. I had to learn about self-worth in order to end a period of self-destruction and drug addiction. To be blunt, few addicts have a true sense of self-worth. Part of my way forward, maybe the most important part, was to discover some degree of self-worth. When I was an addict, I believed that my life meant nothing. And I believed that my life had no value to anyone else. Later, I discovered, most fortunately, that this was not the case. I did have people who cared about me, I did bring some value to their lives, even at my worst, and I would be missed if I continued to destroy myself. At the time, however, you would not have been able to convince me of that. Self-worth is understanding that your life has value. This is intrinsically tied to the value, or worth, your life brings others. You develop self-worth by doing things that improve the lives of the people around you. In this way, you see your life as having value. It cannot happen in a vacuum. It's simple, not easy. Share your worth with others, and you will feel more worthy.