AS A STAR PITCHER I MADE A ROOKIE MISTAKE THAT KILLED MY PERFORMANCE AND COST ME DEARLY.

  • Wylie-McGraw
  • Hey!

    My name is Wylie McGraw and I’m not a Coach; I’m a Performance Accelerator.

  • And most leaders are doing the exact same thing!
    What makes you great is costing you more than you’re aware of.
    Reading this short story will wake you up to that truth.

    The first time I ever handled a baseball, I blew away my dad and his friends. The speed, accuracy, and distance I was capable of at 3 years old caused jaws to drop. 

    That started my baseball career. 

    Born to a semi-pro baseball player, I grew up around professionals like Rod Carew, Bo Jackson, and many others. As a sought-after player myself, I developed extreme self-discipline and focused intently on how to be a top performer in my position. 

    This hard work eventually paid off. My pitching arm became worthy of the big leagues while I was still a young teenager, something my father realized could take me all the way. 

    My days were consumed with intense training by the pros, specifically the California Angels pitching staff, which helped me diversify and perfect my arsenal. 

    Performing as a star pitcher carried enormous pressure. My arm delivered speeds in the mid-80s, and my pro coaches pushed every ounce of my talent to the brink, year after year. It led to conversations with college and pro scouts, and at one point gave me hope for a bright future in the game. 

    But that on-the-field pressure was nothing compared to the chaotic stress I endured outside of sports.

    It began to wear me down, breaking my spirits instead of lifting them. 

    This abnormal and overwhelming pressure had nothing to do with baseball, but everything to do with family relationships. My father’s incessant push for my perfection through repetitive action began to kill my focus and performance. 

    I began questioning myself and whether baseball was the right path for me. I began feeling limited by sports, hindered by the idea of who I thought I was and who I could really be. 

    All this stress led to a path of coping, often with unhealthy substances like alcohol, cigarettes, and fist fighting. Not the ideal choices for an aspiring pro athlete. 

    But this also made me keenly aware of the impact that abnormal stress has on performance. 

    I quickly realized that “coping” was itself abnormal for dealing with stress and strained my progress. It was imperative that I find my true self. This wasn’t my fullest potential, and I knew I was being stifled rather than being recognized for who I truly was. 

    So, I abandoned everything that was my life and went after something grittier and more challenging in every regard.

    What Was This Rookie Mistake and Why It Matters For You:

    Hyper-focusing on one skill – it’s the Band-aid on the bullet hole. 

    It may produce results in the moment, but in the end it destroys you and all you care about. 

    1.   Because of this strenuous era of my life, I intimately understand the innate coping mechanism related to stress and why it NEVER solves the underlying cause of the stress itself. 

    Coping is not your solution. It’s the proverbial “Band-Aid” on a bullet hole. What you need is to ERUPT so that you stop coping and fully engage all your power and potential. 

    You need a new type of transformation. 

    1.   This part of my life also taught me that being hyper-focused on one skill, even if it’s producing results now, will kill your overall performance capability and leave you searching for more. Which is why I veered off into the challenging world of bull riding.

    Much like sports, today’s professional culture teaches us that total focus on one specific skill set is necessary for success. But nothing could be further from the truth. It limits you and sabotages your ability to reach your FULL potential.

    I will expose why you’re so laser-focused on one aspect of your life, ignoring or overlooking every other area to your own detriment. We will eradicate the imbalance. And with that awareness and subsequent transformation, you will revive your performance and accelerate your results.

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