Desire, Discipline, & Faith - What I’ve Learned In the Pursuit of Greatness!

In 2001, after a short (two year) career bouncing around the minor leagues as an aspiring big league catcher (with a little bit of help from an injury) I decided to call it quits and join the Paychex sales team.?For the better part of last two decades, this wonderful company has been my home.?I built a family, moved a few times to take promotions and other roles, worked for some tremendous people ( Teresa Carroll Greg Peel Dan Seyler Terry Sukalski to name a few)…it has truly been a blessing to be raised in such a wonderful company.? So it may come as a surprise that I recently chose to resign.? Why?? I’ll come back to that question later in this article.??This article is about living a life of DESIRE, DISCIPLINE, & FAITH and how these impact our pursuits of greatness as individuals and coaches. Whether you’re an individual contributor or a leader…these characteristics are vital to achieving greatness!

After a life of excelling in baseball and then in corporate America, I’ve always felt somewhat uncomfortable receiving praise in the “public spotlight”.?Don’t get me wrong, I like being recognized for a job well done and enjoy my coach or boss privately acknowledging great work, but after the MVP’s, the All-American awards, Hall of Fames, professional baseball, and then numerous top accomplishments in the workplace for the past 22 years…I’ve come to feel more personal accomplishment in watching those that I coach get the credit (both on the field or in the office) and become the absolute BEST VERSION OF THEMSELVES.? For me, there is something euphoric about recognizing someone’s talent, inspiring them to see it in themselves, coaching them up, watching them relentlessly pursue their goals, and seeing them accomplish amazing results.?You can call it many things, but I recognize this character trait as being SELFLESS.?It’s something I learned from my mother, Dr. Pamela Kaye Gauch.?She’s the ultimate SELFLESS person in my life.?It’s from her that I learned the three life lessons that have carried me through my life journey - DESIRE, DISCIPLINE, & FAITH.

When I was in middle school, I tried out for my first baseball team.?I love baseball and wanted desperately to make the team.?Having played little league with many of the same boys trying out, I was positive that I was good enough to make the team, but it didn’t turn out that way.?I was cut….I didn’t make it.?The day the cut list was posted, I went home with my head down and hoped to get sympathy from my mother (at this time, she was just Pamela Gauch).?I got the exact opposite!? Somewhat defiantly, she told me “get your head up” and asked “Do you love it and is there anything else you’d rather do?”?I said “absolutely not…I can’t imagine not playing baseball…I wanna be a pro someday!”?I’m 12 years old at the time and she could’ve responded a ton of different ways like “focus your energy somewhere else”….or “throw yourself into your studies.?You’ll get to try again next year.”? Now a days…a parent call to the coach would happen.? That’s not momma Gauch.? She responded by telling me she “would spare no expense in getting me the coaching and opportunities to improve (this coming from a single mom raising 4 kids on a teachers salary in the 80’s)”…..“But you have to do one thing for me” she said.?“What’s that mom?” I replied. “You have to run TRACK!”?To which I responded “Come again?”?She continued with “son, the track is right next to the baseball field.?While you’re running, you will be able to watch the baseball team practice and play, imagining you’re on the field with them…let it BURN that you’re not out there on the team.? Making that team needs to be your ultimate DESIRE, a goal that is in front of you everyday.? If you don’t have 100% passion for it…you won’t work hard enough to achieve greatness!”? I’d come home from track and my mother would ask me about what the baseball team practiced that day. She would put on used catching gear so I could pitch in the space behind our row of townhomes in Woodbridge, VA. She arranged for lessons, had a net hung in our small backyard for tee work, and always passionately encouraged me along the way. This is LESSON #1. In order to become the very BEST at something, you have to have a burning DESIRE and PASSION for it…otherwise, you have no chance at becoming great!

Having the PASSION isn’t enough though…enter life lesson #2…DISCIPLINE.?I mentioned my mother was an educator.? She started out as a French and English teacher, but had the desire to lead and coach teachers to become their very best, so that they could pay it forward to the kids of the future.? What I saw in her, was this relentless DISCIPLINE to put herself back through school to earn her Masters Degree and PHD.?Years of additional night schooling and studying, promotions to Assistant Principal, then Principal….led her to a career that culminated in becoming the Associate Superintendent of Instruction for Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia.?Over 30 years to reach the pinnacle, to become the very best version of herself.?This is lesson #2. Becoming the best version of yourself at what you are most PASSIONATE in pursuing…doesn’t happen over night.?It requires RELENTLESS SELF-DISCIPLINE.? I’ve applied this lesson to everything I’ve passionately pursued and it’s paid off! I wasn’t the most talented baseball player…but I outworked people. I was more disciplined than others. I’ve not been the most talented sales person or leader…but I outwork people! I make more calls, stay longer at the office, and am 1000% committed to developing/helping others achieve their goals!

I see many posts and articles about “TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE” and “YOU’RE IN CHARGE OF YOU” self help type stuff….and they’re great!? If you’re NOT PASSIONATE about what you’re doing in life, then these concepts absolutely apply and will help you.? But if you have the DESIRE/PASSION for something and are willing to be RELENTLESSLY DISCIPLINED in pursuing greatness in that field, the last piece needed is FAITH.?This is lesson #3.?

NO ONE (and I mean NO ONE!) can become the best at what they do without help.?Having FAITH in the people around you to help (coaches, teachers, family), as well as, that which you worship, might be the greatest lesson I learned from Dr. Pamela Kaye Gauch.?She surrounded me with great men and women as coaches, teachers, and spiritual leaders that served as great examples of what I wanted to grow up to be…who taught that having FAITH in people, as well as yourself, is the most fulfilling way to live your life and inspire others.?It means living a life “half full” versus “half empty”.? Seeing the strength in others. Having gratitude, treating people with kindness, and being honest.?When you have FAITH in other people that you coach (and that coach you), teach (and that teach you), and have good people around you to pick you up when you fall….it propels you back into having the DESIRE to be DISCIPLINED and become the best at what you choose to do.? It’s your support system…the people you can count on the most!

DESIRE, DISCIPLINE, & FAITH are what silently spoke to me when I prayed over the decision to resign.

Dr. Pamela Kaye Gauch is my hero.?Two years ago she was diagnosed with Lewy-Body Dementia and in October of this past year, my family and I recognized that she could no longer safely live alone.? She required constant supervision and ultimately needed to be moved into a memory care community, which she moved into March 2nd.? The people that work in these communities are absolutely doing God’s work and I’m so grateful to have found a great place for my mother.? I wouldn’t wish this disease on anyone.? It is ravaging both her body and brain, and it’s fast moving.? Some days she doesn’t recognize me, others she does.? She has hallucinations of her old dogs and friends long gone. Articulating basic sentences and walking correctly is no longer possible.?I tried coping with this stage of her life by myself for a couple months, balancing a heavy workload, my four kids hectic schedule, and my marriage to a wonderful woman, but realized it wasn’t possible. What it got me was a ton of built up stress, half assed work, and a loss of passion for people and the world. What I learned, was that mom needed 100% of my focus to get her the proper care….and that with no cure, I needed to face the tasks of getting her affairs in order.? This is what I HAVE A TRUE DESIRE TO DO RIGHT NOW. All involved in helping me throughout my life, played a vital role in my decision to focus on mom 100% and I have NO REGRETS. For all that my mother has done for me….she has taken care of, supported, and coached me in ways only the most selfless person could….it was time for me to return the favor and take care of her (and be with) as much as possible.??

Her examples of DESIRE, DISCIPLINE, but most of all her FAITH, have been my greatest teachers and serve as lessons for people and organizations in the pursuit of GREATNESS!? If they are not part of your DNA, the journey will prove to be more difficult and may never lead to the desired result.

Whenever and wherever I end up, on a ball field or back in an office, I’ll be an asset to those I’m responsible for and the team I’m on.?It’s what I do…it’s how I was raised, thanks to Dr. Pamela Kaye Gauch.

I love you mom!