Clayton Kershaw will be the starting pitcher in tonight’s Game 6 of the Los Angles Dodgers – Chicago Cubs National League Championship Series. The following is his resume”
- 3-time Cy Young Award winner
- 2014 NL Most Valuable Player
- six-time All-Star
- two-time NL leader in most wins
- four-time NL leader in ERA
- three-time NL strikeout leader
- 2012 Roberto Clemente winner
But the most important thing you need to know about Clayton Kershaw is he is a Christian. Kershaw is a man of great faith who deeply loves Jesus Christ. Shown above is a feature he did for the I Am Second series. As a pitcher, it makes sense control has always been a constant issue in his life.
As I listened to Kershaw speak, I gleaned the following 20 Lessons On Faith And Leadership From Clayton Kershaw:
- “The harder you want to control something the more it gets out of your control.”
- “The more you try to grip control of your life the more God’s gonna untangle that from you. He’s going to make things go where you have to rely on Him.”
- “I was so worried. I was so worried all the time. My parents got divorced when I was 10.” “
- I had so much anxiety about my own life. If there’s was something that was needing to get done, I’d rather do something myself than let other people do it for me.”
- “My mom and I were trying to figure out how college was going to be a feasible option for us.”
- “I didn’t know what to do on my own.”
- “It was amazing the providence God had in my life. God was there the whole time. I just didn’t bother to look.”
- “I never thought in a million years I’d get to play professional baseball.”
- “For me, it’s about the legacy you leave off the field. It’s about how many people I can affect through the platform He gave me.”
- “I got to go to Africa last year with my wife Ellen.”
- “Ellen gave the quickest version of the Good News that she possibly could. That’s all it takes for the people of Zambia. They’ve been waiting their whole lives for someone just to tell them. And it changed my life. “
- “We just started a home called Hope’s Home…It’s going to be an orphanage for 12 kids and we just bought the land for it.”
- “We’re just an avenue. We’re just doing the part God gave us.
- “You can’t think ‘we can change this whole country (Zambia) ourselves.’ But God can. It’s one more reason to let go of control.”
- “The prayer I say before I go and there and pitch is not ‘God, let me win today’ or ‘God, help me pitch good.’ It’s ‘God, be with me.'”
- “You’ve got to remind yourself you’re supposed to stand out. You’re supposed to be different. And you’re supposed to act boldly in your faith.”
- “It’s definitely not easy.”
- “It’s worth the fight.”
- “Whether it’s pitching on the baseball mound or living my life outside the baseball field, it’s giving up my life to God that really puts my life in control.”
- “My name is Clayton Kershaw and I Am Second.”
I also want to add four additional quotes from Molly Knight’s wonderful book The Best Team Money Can Buy: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle To Build A Baseball Powerhouse. In it, Kershaw said the following:
- Great Leaders Produce Great Results – After signing a $215 million contract, Kershaw said, “As far as on the field, nobody cares about how much money you’re making if you perform.”
- Great Leaders Have Great Focus – “At the end of the day it doesn’t change the fact that I have to go out and dominate.”
- Great Leaders Make A Big Deal About Little Things – “It might sound stupid, but it’s the little things that help me in baseball.”
- Great Parents Make Great Sacrifices For Their Children So They Can Succeed – “She (his mom) took on some pretty serious debt so I could play on the best sports teams. She did a great job making sure I never went without.”
What is one thing you learned from Kershaw’s leadership which will make you a better leader?
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