Life Lessons from Bill Madlock

A few years back my brothers and I were in a batting cage in Las Vegas. Coincidentally, former batting champ, World Series winner, and all-star Bill Madlock was there giving lessons. After that first encounter, we met up with him again and again. Last weekend, that was what we were doing. He gave me 6 tips. Swing early and often. If you can reach it, swing. Look for the first pitch and crush it. The best way to hit a curveball is to hit the fastball. Don’t put your at-bat in the hands of an ump. And finally, the problem with too many players is that they try to hit the ball 600 feet when they really have to hit it 400 feet.
Yes, these are great baseball tips, but they are also life lessons.

Swing early and often.

In life, we have to take the first shot in everything we get since we might not get another chance.

The best way to hit a curveball is to hit the fastball.

In life, there are a lot of curveballs. We have to get the easy things done to not deal with the hardships.

Don’t put the at-bat in the hand of an ump.

We can’t put our lives in the hands of a judge or a teacher. We have to capitalize when we can.

The problem with too many players today is that they try to hit the ball 550 feet when 402 feet will do.

In life, we do not want to do excess work that doesn’t mean anything. We do not want to mess up by doing something that doesn’t matter.

I hope one day I get to take another lesson with Bill.