Today is November 9 and the Navigate the Chaos question to consider is “How often do you allow an obstacle from getting in your way?”
People who navigate the chaos often have to overcome tremendous obstacles. Major League Baseball (MLB) player George Springer, who plays for the Houston Astros, is one such person.
Prior to being drafted by the Astros in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft, Springer played college baseball at the University of Connecticut, where he was named a First Team All-American. Springer made his MLB debut in 2014, and won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award as the Astros won the 2017 World Series, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.
To reach the pinnacle of his sport, however, Spring had to overcome a lifelong obstacle of stuttering.
He realized he could not hide his stutter when he was emerging as a major league baseball star and appeared as the cover subject of the famous 2014 Sports Illustrated that predicted the Astros would be World Series champs in 2017.
“I was talking to a group of kids in New York,’’ said Springer, a spokesman for SAY, the Stuttering Association for the Young, “and I kind of had an epiphany that I’m involved in this organization for one reason. And that’s to help anybody I can. I want kids or adults to see I’m a normal person. I just happen to stutter. Seeing these kids and the pain they go through because they feel bullied, and they feel isolated, is sad. “I decided right then and there, “You know what, I’m going to help people.’’ Springer did not allow his stutter obstacle to prevent him from becoming a professional baseball player.
As author Randy Pausch noted “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” Springer made the most out of the cards he was dealt and did not let his stutter get in the way of his baseball career.
What obstacles are you allowing to prevent you from translating your dreams into reality?