What constitutes "In Shape"??

I have come to really appreciate this question and over the years my attachment to it has evolved considerably.

For many of us, the relationship we have with our body image is one that we check-in to EVEryday of our lives multiple times a day...basically anytime we look in the mirror. We check-in with this idea or connection to "in-shape" that we see on the magazines in the grocery isles, the billboards and other advertisements, desperate housewives, and a number of other poisonous interruptions to our subconscious that tend to play way to big a part in answering this question of "am I in shape?" Our question towards our physical state should not be vain asking ourself, "do I look good?"...our question(s) need to be "do I feel good and do I feel strong?"

Our subconscious conditioning through these poisonous advertisements has unnaturally polluted our perception of what it is to be in shape to a detrimental degree. We really need to wake up to this. We are very backwards in our thinking when it comes to being in shape...we think in shape means physical  when in reality it should be rooted in mental. Obviously the physical aspect of "in-shape" matters but again it should be a question of strength and feel primarily and vanity(if we must acknowledge it) secondarily.

Our physical bodies are a product of our thoughts, actions, and most importantly our EVEryday habits. When we ask ourselves, "am I in shape,?" our first responsive thought to this should most definitely be, "well how is my mind working? Are my actions aligning with my words in my life and in my relationships? Currently, are my instincts strong towards being positive in crucial or character building situations or have they been strong towards being negative? Does my routine serve me or does it take away from my potential happiness? (And thennnn)....oh yeah, let me check on my stomach and make sure it looks good!" This should be the order...tailored to the individual and the questions that keep them on their desired path of life performance.

Our level of consciousness towards the physical benefits we receive when we focus on cultivating our mental as well as spiritual strength is as valuable a resource as any we have on this earth. It should be thought of as an equal to Water!! It is measurable in our EVEryday habits. It is measurable in our relationships. It is measurable in our own self reflections. Our level of consciousness is parallel to our level of life.

Athletes that desire to be at a state of consciousness in not only their physical routine but even more importantly their mental routines separate themselves from the pack infinitely before the baseball even begins. They desire to create championship habits EVERY SINGLE DAY. They are very in tune with the conceptual question of "WHAT'S IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW?" Is what I am doing right now making me work towards being not only the very best but my very best?

Sometimes when you look in the mirror you just have to allow yourself to get chills at the presence of blessings you have in your life. If that is hard for us to do then we need to figure out a way to create a habit that can help us achieve that goal of truly appreciating what we have. This is measured in not only our quality of athleticism, sportsmanship, training, physique, and endurance, but more importantly it is measured in our quality of life. This ruthless thankfulness and appreciation of all your blessings, again, is as valuable to your life as water.

Harnessing your appreciation of the game of baseball is the first step towards becoming an elite player and an elite person. That appreciation spills over into the mirror into consciousness and realization of self when asking "am I in shape?" When you appreciate everything you have the first question you will ask is "do I feel strong?" Second question.."how can I get stronger today in the game of life?" Third question..."what can I do to help others today?"

Next time you are feeling out of shape when you look in the mirror, tell your mind to focus NOW, on creating a couple of new tangible positive habits that can get you out of your current routine and on to one that will nurture your inner beast and help you to reach your maximum abilities. Tell your mind NOW to be so ridiculously thankful that you still have that person you almost lost. Check in with your appreciation of the mirror you have to look in and the bed you just got out of.

NOW get off your ass and do some push ups.

Much love to the world out there that desires to keep getting better and appreciates the game of life EVEryday you live and get to love.

Thanks for reading,

Isaac

Reminders and Positive Advertisements

I have found that coaching younger players helps me become a much better player myself. Every time I instruct a player to do something its like I'm telling myself to do the same. Many times I will tell one of my young pitchers to "check-in" on the mound before throwing a certain pitch. For example, what is the first thing we are going to think when we start throwing in the bullpen? Fastball command. This is easily the most important aspect of pitching at any level.

Command the fastball, work ahead, and work down. (We are thinking, just do the easy things we know we have to do) Those are three "check-in" points that we have to address before each and every single time we get on the mound. Curveball check-in points go as follows...try to hang the first couple and find your release point, don't try to do too much, throw through catchers left shoulder(for a lefty) to throw for a strike. Boom, boom, boom. These check in points help us to maintain a heightened level of focus, and I teach them to all my guys....yet somehow I still manage to make the same mistakes of missing some of those check in points when I pitch. Why? How?

Simple human error always exists. The teacher must practice EVEryday if they are truly maintaining their peak level of expertise. Often times I find myself throwing a pitch and being like "really? did you seriously just do that?? What is this your 1,002,345 pitch of your career? Have you not learned by now??"...it has to make you laugh that you can still make mistakes in this game. It is the beauty of competition and the human element. And even though guys start getting to be what seems freakishly flawless as you move up the ranks, they still make the same errors all through out their careers.

Reminders help us check-in. They are tangible tools that help us propel through life zestfully opposed to just blandly. They give us jolts of happiness, even if subtle, as we see them in our paths. We can write reminders on our refrigerators, our mirrors, our car dashboards, our hats, our bodies(tattoos?), our notebooks, our calendars, our computer desktops, our computer cases, our phone screens, and anywhere else that our live's paths cross...it is our choice.

Here are a couple that I use that genuinely help me in my day to day, not just to be a better more conscious and thankful person, but to also elevate my focus so as to be a better competitor when it is time to go to war...

Refrigerator on a sticky note: "Reminder: Giving > Receiving"(because we often forget)

Car dashboard: "Attitude of Gratitude, EVEryday." and also "Breathe" (to remind me to take sets of quality and conscious breaths as I drive)

Bathroom mirror (I have 3 shorts statements on my bathroom mirror which I get to see EVEryday, why would we not advertise quality messages to ourselves?):

1) "Create" (because I am trying to create a company that will be providing quality baseball and mentorship services to youth ball players called www.madebaseball.com, even MADE itself stands for Motivation, Appreciation, Dedication...EVEryday...a brand that I believe will one day be massive shifter in lifestyles of many)
2) "NGU" (because I saw a story about 10 years ago about a guy that was determined to play football again after receiving a prosthetic leg! That dude had an impact on me! NGU = Never Give Up!
3) "TOOF" (because a great friend of mine just passed away, at his service his dad told everyone in an amazing speech that he always taught his children TOOF...or "Think of others First"....that one was new to me and will stay with me forever)

Normally, under the bill of my hat I write "GUAC"...it stands for "Give us a Chance." That means no matter what happens out on the mound that day that you go out and give every bit that you possibly have in your heart to keep your team in the game and give them a chance to win. You don't give up because of a bad inning, you stay focused on what you can control and trust that your team has your back.

These are just a few reminders that I currently use through out my day to stay on a clean and clear path to work towards what I am trying to achieve. Nothing ever goes to plan but we can still stay on a path that feels good and maintains an authentic appreciation for life. No matter what happens, if we wake up in the morning and remind ourselves to start our day with infinite thanks that we were granted the opportunity to open our eyes that day, then there is really nothing that can ever be that bad.

The key is practice, ruthlessness, and persistence....EVEryday.

Thanks for reading,
Isaac

Prioritizing Health

Our bodies are so capable of so much. They are wired to heal themselves at a rapid rate. EVEryday we create billions of new cells with new life that are meant to replace stagnant or old cells that were previously present. This cellular cycle is a fundamental process of our lives that parallels with baseball in so many ways.  Its funny that our natural bodily process is to constantly be undergoing this process of "Getting Better EVEryday," though yet so many of us have absolutely no connection or realization to the fact that this is actually happening. The systems in our body are ruthless about executing the necessary action it must undergo in order for it to perform as optimally as it can, they are relentless in their will to be optimal, they are hard wired to give everything they've got in order to keep us moving. How well do we aide our bodies in this process? Do we take it for granted that our bodies work so hard for us? Or do we heed what it tells us EVEryday and aspire to aide it in being efficient and optimal in order for it to remain at its highest performing level?

Many of us take our bodies and throw them up against a wall with brut force on a daily basis(figuratively speaking of course.) We do this by drinking soda religiously, eating fast food, neglecting to sleep enough, not exercising, and not consciously thinking positive thoughts, etc. The truth is that whether were being conscious or unconscious about the decisions we are making as we shake and move through out our days, that we still make tons of bad decisions. Many times this is due to a very busy life and an immense lack of time. So what is the priority then? At what point do we say, "I'm going to prioritize my health over my laziness or business today. I'm going to make the conscious good decisions today rather than the unconscious bad ones. I'm going to reach for water instead of soda, snack on vegetables instead of McDonalds, and I am going to use the stairs to get up to my office on the 3rd floor instead of taking the elevator...annnnnd I am actually going to skip every other step to make it just a little bit harder(skipping a step when you go up the stairs anywhere is such an awesome way to consciously check in to how can I get better today mentality!!!) I know that my body is an insanely powerful machine that is capable of infinite greatness that I am so thankful for and also in awe of its work ethic, therefore I'm going to actually show it some love and gratitude by being a little more ruthless myself." Well, unfortunately a large percentage of us never think thoughts like this once in our entire lives.

The reality of life is that too much of the world is based on the quest for the dollar, that time is limited, and that we must make our own choices rather than be swayed by the millions of marketing messages and bombardments that rip us off of our desired courses. We have to be RUTHLESS in prioritizing our health. Everything starts with our health! Without our health we have a world of problems...and with our health so many negative things that may otherwise exist in our lives disappear. We do not have to wait for a "wake-up call" or something tragic to happen in our lives before we can achieve the consciousness necessary to be thankful enough to appreciate the wonder of what our bodies do for us. It is not fair to neglect treating them with the respect they deserve as they always unconditionally attempt to treat you with the same respect by cleaning you out everyday, replenishing your cells, and by allowing you to see clearly and capture all the beauty that is present in the world.

Mental health and physical health both START WITH GREAT FOOD. If you ask me great food consists of green vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans/legumes, complex carbohydrates, lean properly raised meats, and WATER!!!!! I am leaving some great foods out, but as you can see, more basic is MORE BETTER! Your mental health starts with food also...because you are making the conscious positive decision to eat the stuff your body naturally yearns for! When you eat that tuna salad you should be consciously thinking about your body saying thank you to you and you smiling back at it and saying, "NO, thank YOU for all of your hard work for me today. And hey body, choosing to eat this delicious tuna salad is just a small token of my appreciation of you." Have you ever thought a thought so corny!?

Its not that corny, really. Its a strategy of consciousness and habitual practice. Its a positive tactic to use consistently to embed these natural little positive thoughts in to your head so you can continue to build on them EVEry single day that you are alive in order to accomplish all the things that you desire to accomplish. It is also a tangible way to lose your ego for a few moments. It is allowing yourself to step back from a situation, assess what decision will be best for the overall good of the whole(you+your body=the whole), and a confidence booster in knowing that you did something good for yourself. If you can't show love to yourself, it is much more difficult a task to show genuine love to anyone else...and we all know that our relationships are the basis of what drives us. We are all in it together so we have to be able to show love to one another the best way possible.

Why get so deep into this, Isaac? Who really cares? Who is to say what I should do on a daily basis? Well...I write this blog to speak to my young players who not only have hunger to make it to the next level but hunger to be better people. I write with a voice that assumes my players have a desire to get better...not just now, not just today, but EVEryday. I aim to instill a fundamental discipline into my players to such an extent that they take pride in the practices of their discipline. They reach for any and every way possible they can so as to separate themselves from the pack in every way imaginable...its nice because when you think like this you can really get creative. This attitude is rooted in thankfulness and appreciation for the life we are given. It is our foundation to the infinite bounds and quantum leaps that we are capable of. It is there because there is no other way. By consistently executing this discipline of prioritizing our health and staying ruthlessly positive towards any and everything that is thrown our way we become fiercer competitors, better sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends, and team mates. We go about our lives, trainings, work, school, and all the other things that make up our lives with an undeniable zest that is evident to anyone that encounters us...and it feels good.

Prioritize your health. Be steadfast in your positive attitude. Realize you will fail, but do not accept it. Focus on your response. Love. Compete. Win.

Thanks for reading,
Isaac

FOCUS: Strengthen Our Weaknesses

Again, its all in the title. It is so easy for us as athletes, professionals, parents, teachers, trainers, humans...to go in the direction of our strengths and/or stay in our comfort zone. The easiest way to associate this concept is by starting in the gym. At the gym we all have our basic routines, give or take depending on the experience of the person training. Comfort zone and working out are two concepts that don't go well together....we should always be expanding the zone that we feel comfortable in and have this thought process top of mind, before, during, and after our workout.

Whether we are a gym rat or a rookie that feels lost amongst all the machines, we often gravitate immediately towards what makes us feel comfortable, be it hopping on the bike, walking or jogging on the treadmill, or maybe starting with our normal EVEryday stretch routine. All of these things are great and they should stay prevalent in our routine, but in order to keep getting better everyday we must not let the comfort of these beginning workouts allow us to get complacent. Consciousness of this aspect of working out is crucial. When we continually maintain our focus only on what makes us feel comfortable it is very difficult to truly excel, be excellent, and ultimately...accelerate like an EVEryday Champ.

Simply by making an effort to step in the direction of our weaknesses even if it just mentally, we will quickly see ourselves begin to conquer and achieve things we absolutely knew we couldn't do or things that we knew that we weren't good at. It all starts with laying the foundation...the mental process of how we decide to go about our business in the gym.

So, next time you are throwing your bullpen and all you want to do is work on the pitches that you throw the best...do it. Work on them and continue to master your strengths...but DO NOT avoid your weaknesses...ATTACK THEM until they become strengths.

Thanks for reading,
Isaac

Pursuit of presence

To be a premier pitcher you must have the "it" factor when it comes to your presence on the mound. Everyone on the field is looking directly at you before and during every pitch you throw. This means you can hide nothing. You can use this aspect of the game to your advantage, or you can allow it to crush you. No matter what level you play at, youth to professional, you can always control your mound presence.

Any pitcher that works with me knows their priorities when they are on the mound...

#1- "This mound is MY home." I am the one that is lucky enough to be on it and while I am on it, EVEryone will know that it is MINE! This means that I will make it my home immediately. I will do so by fixing t exactly the way I want it. I will take my time, because everyone can just wait until I have done what I need to do with it before I throw a pitch.

#2- "GUAC...give us a chance." What does that mean? It means compete as hard as you can with as much as you can for as long as you possibly can in order to always give your team a chance to win. Generally GUAC or "giving us a chance" would be relative to a quality start or at least a near quality start. A quality start is pitching at least 6 innings and giving up 3 runs or less. Obviously, anything better than that would also be considered a quality start. But, GUAC doesn't have to be thought of as only in terms of a "quality start" because in reality anytime you leave the game with pitching at least 5 innings, and giving up less runs than the other pitcher...that means that you have given the team a chance to win. Sometimes pitching is a straight up grind and things just do not go right, even on days where our bodies feel recovered, strong, flexible, and in-tune for our job for the day. GUAC means staying present throughout the game and knowing that I am going to use everything I have, mentally and physically, to compete and do my part in working towards a win. The key is to stay even keil and realizing that you are always GUACing as long as you are competing like the champion you should know that you are.

#3- "Here it comes, lets see how far you can hit it." This is attack mode, beast mode, clutch mode, compete mode, bulldog mode, champion, winner, competitor, confident, cocky, I KNOW I AM BETTER THAN YOU...MODE. I do not care who you are, where you stand in the box, how many homeruns you have hit in your life, how many people think you are cool, how big you are....none of that concerns me in the slightest. Instead I'm actually pissed off that you think you can step foot near my home plate, because the audicity that you have for doing that is just enough to make me come at you with a conviction that you can't top or even hope to possibly match.

*Note: Your work ethic will always be relative to your ability to harness this attitude. If you don't work hard on all aspects of your game then you have absolutely no business and no right to think this way.

But for those that are committed to Getting Better EVEryday, this attitude is not only justifiable, but 100% necessary and will ultimately be the main factor in how you can separate yourself from the pack.

Teaching you how to have Mound Presence is the main point of this article. Mound Presence is the #1 first and most important factor to being a GREAT pitcher...this blog is not geared towards those who just want to be good.

These concepts have helped me to succeed on the field, but I apply these same thought processes to almost every aspect of my life when it concerns accomplishing something or working towards what I know I can achieve. I encourage those that read this blog to try to apply some of these thoughts as you shake and move through your day and throw them at the obstacles that throw themselves at you.

Thanks for reading.

Respectfully,
Isaac Hess
www.isaachessbaseball.com
www.fb.com/isaachessbaseball

The Power of Positive Language

Our ability to be conscious as humans is directly related to the quality of our lives. Cultivating our awareness as a practice on a day to day and decision to decision basis is crucial to our progress, and the level at which we are able to execute this acute consciousness is proportionate to the depth that we can show love to one another. Using positive language willingly and consistently is not only greatly noticed by the people that we surround ourselves with, but it is also deeply affecting to those people as well, on a subconscious level. Consciously using positive language on a regular basis is one of the best strategies that we can use to look at things on the bright side, to put it simply.

Daily we are bombarded by advertisements, messages, news, and situations that can make us feel angst and/or bitterness to our surroundings. The subliminal messages that are constantly thrown at us like 100 mph fastballs at our heads day in and day out really makes it tough to have a foundationally positive attitude towards our EVEryday decision making processes. It's a battle to remain positive though the ups and downs of the roller coaster that we call life.

Using conscious positive language strengthens us from the inside out. It helps to remind us of the good that we need to recognize EVEryday. There is so much beauty in the world and when it is blanketed by negative news, mindless time wasting and thoughtlessness it can be easily overlooked. The words we use dictate the feel, sound and make up of how we communicate. When we make it a point to use positive verbiage with a purpose we feel better about ourselves. This is a practice that I was essentially forced into implementing into my own life in order keep moving forward after I was faced with some very negative cards dealt to me at the age of 19. I had to make a decision to move forward or else I would have plummeted in a downward spiral quickly. I chose to be aware of the language and words that I began to use on a regular basis. Starting to harness the power of words like positive, amazing, champion, CAN, cultivate, nourish, desire, passion, ruthlessness, tenacious, achieve, appreciation, infinite, foundation, focus, health, healthy, inspiration, willingness, yes, attitude, accountable, and of course the mother of all(if you will)...EVEryday, has been a practice and tool that has helped my life more than I can ever put into words.

Approaching the day with this ammunition in my back pocket made and makes me better not only as a person, but as an athlete and for me more importantly a pitcher. Stepping on the mound after constantly brainwashing myself to the idea that I CAN no matter what by using these reinforcing words ALL THE TIME made me a better pitcher, competitor, athlete, and teammate.

For the young players that may read my blog, I suggest you write down the positive language words that can most help you, as a person first and as a ball player second. Use them EVEryday, on purpose. Begin to brainwash yourself into not thinking, but knowing, that no matter what, who, when, or why happens...that YOU CAN. Try it...and get back to me with how it affects not just you, but also notice how other people begin to be influenced by your positive language. Then, do your thing on the mound or in the field and stay a winner...EVEryday.

Thanks for reading,
Isaac

Music matters.

Music is a driver. I'm actually on the bike right now blog posting from my phone and I felt compelled to share what music does for me. I'm thankful for this crazy alien technology we have been blessed to have in our generation. Our ability to connect with many and spread positive messages with each other is something I value highly.

So, Music. For a young athlete I can't express the value of music enough. Music mattering is applicable and directed to everyone, but I believe it's purpose in athletics is vital and should be held higher. I really think that all young athletes should be encouraged to listen to music that they connect with in order to help them nurture the ability to dig as deep as they can when they are going after something. This is most relative to being in the gym for me.

Music that I connect with allows me to tap into adrenaline that I don't believe I would sometimes other wise have. Regardless, it makes me go so much harder in a workout and helps me to greatly increase my ability to focus on the reason I am here in the first place. It's presence is undeniably necessary for me to feel fulfilled during a Get Better session.

My goal in this life is to stay driven to improve EVEryday. Prioritizing my health as much as I can and staying on a quest to continually optimize what I put into it and how I treat it has been the most valuable skill I have acquired since becoming a baseball player.

Music's integration into my routines has propelled me greatly in states of sluggishness and laziness. Not only that it has made me feel amazing at times during workouts when I would have felt like quitting. When a beat drops or a certain lyric comes on that I connect with deeply it almost feels like electricity suddenly pumps in my blood and no matter what I will push as hard as I can and finish whatever I set out to finish. Sometimes it's the lyrics and sometimes it's just a ridiculous beat that hits you...either way it is like fuel...and if you desire to get stronger, faster, more passionate, and more focused...mentally and physically...get some great music that you connect with; make it a priority now.

Thanks for reading.

-Isaac

www.isaachessbaseball.com

Slow Down

It is amazing how much the game of baseball parallels with our EVEryday lives. The comparisons are infinite and quite significant. I am thankful for the game's presence in my life and what it has taught me and continues to residually teach me as I shake and move through my journey.

Slow down. Its so hard to remember to do. We have to do lists that pile up and knock us down so often when we can't keep up with them. We have our families, jobs, hobbies, chores, etc that fulfill our lives so much, and often times it is feels impossible to think that we can ever align them all and truly balance them out to the degree that we desire. Slowing everything down is so necessary. Literally taking 5-10 minutes to just breath and be thankful for all the blessings that we have is one of the best tactics we can use to maintain a better balance. I myself even find it hard to take that 5-10 minutes to just breath, unless I am fortunate enough to get in a hot yoga class. I actually even got a job at the yoga studio that I just linked to in order to make sure that I take class at least once a week. 

For me, yoga is so much more than physical. I used to practice yoga because I knew it was good for my replaced hip and the continued EVEryday rehab and strengthening I needed to uphold in order to stay in the game...and now I appreciate my practice for the mental and meditational aspect more than ever. It allots me 80 minutes of myself time to check back in to all that I am thankful for and all that I genuinely appreciate. I think of taking class as a refueling station; my body, mind, and spirit are the car with the gas tank. When I give myself that time to slow down and focus on nothing else except giving back to my body and spirit, my everything thanks myself and the powers that be that got me to get up and go to class that day. 

This is not a sales pitch on yoga! Although, anyone who really knows me knows that I am a big advocate of it and it is a key element of not only my physical training regimen, but even more importantly my mentality and balance regimen. Once I am in class and the door is closed I have already succeeded because I simply made the decision to show up. Showing up is literally 98% of the battle. Then 1% is just staying present, and finally the last 1% is the actual physical movement.

Now, lets associate that with the game of baseball. As young ball players, what often happens when we make an error? We get flustered and try to move too quickly to make up for it and then we compound the error because the game speeds up on us! Its hard sometimes! We just want to make up for what we just did so we rush and then before we know it that simple routine ground ball to the 3rd basemen with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd just resulted in an overthrow to first base because we bobbled it and tried to rush our throw. Now we have runners on 2nd and 3rd and the tying run just scored. Sometimes we just have to cut our losses and know that we will get another shot! We will get another shot...that is inevitable.

We must slow down. We must play one pitch at a time. One moment at a time. One breath at a time. All with an attitude of thankfulness that we are even lucky enough to be on the field in the first place. This is something that is ever completely LEARNED. It is something that is PRACTICED, just like yoga. There is no peak you can reach, you simply reach. Beyond the talent, beyond the size, beyond the God given ability, we have the opportunity to make the decision to simply slow it all down and stay in the moment...and separate ourselves from the pack. 

Practicing the physical aspect of the game and life is the easy part. Deciding to incorporate and truly value the mental side of the game is what differentiates us player to player, person to person. There sometimes is simply no way to be better than the guy next to you when it comes to physical ability...but the mind has infinite room for growth and maturation no matter what age we are or how big we are or how talented we are. Make the decision to slow down the game and your life, appreciate whats around you, and Practice your mind...and see what it does for your game. Remember, it is not learned, it is practiced, EVEryday.

Thanks for reading.

Respectfully,

Isaac Hess

Invest in Yourself

It was about 7 years ago when I found a book that helped re shape my life, my thoughts, my routine, and my concept of value about how important it is to invest in myself. It's called core performance and it is written by Mark Verstegen of Athletes Performance Inc. It stood out to me so much and I decided I was reading the whole book as fast as I could once I read the following paragraph from the book...
(In summation) "I find it ironic that so many people, especially Americans, will take such great care of their cars. They'll change the oil right at 3000miles, fix a dent or a scratch, rotate the tires every 30k miles, etc...but when it comes to their bodies, care and maintenance are just to big of an inconvenience." I thought about that and felt it had a lot of truth to it. That paragraph literally changed my life.

Investing in yourself means more than just realizing it is important to be healthy, it is the willingness to consistently use your resources (ie; money, time, effort) to optimize the decisions you make regarding your performance, be it in athletics or in a more traditional setting like an office or work place. Health is not something that should ever be looked at as secondary if you aspire to soak up every bit of beauty, fulfillment, and smile that you can while you are on your journey around this small tiny little planet called Earth. I repeat, health should never be considered secondary. Even when we know we make a bad choice about something we do to or put into our bodies, when we recognize it consciously and make that decision with a preemptive intention to counter the action or to just plain allow yourself a little bit of lee way. Your level of discipline will always be proportionate and relative to your desire to get better and get the most out of whatever it is that you do.

Baseball has helped me so much to realize the immense value of my health and how much I want to treat my body as well as I can as often as I can. The power of the idea of making it to the big leagues for a young baseball player equips that player/person with strong mental tools. These mental tools are rooted in the foundation of the mental willingness to do whatever it takes to get us to the place we want to be...the major leagues. Baseball is a portal that enables us who love to play the game so much to maintain such a focus...some have laser-locked focus and some have a blurred focus. The beauty is in the battle, in the dance, it's in the process. Once we make that decision to invest in our dreams and go for them with an extreme vigor EVEryday, we have already achieved success. The rest is inconsequential, it's just details. The thoughts that we have as soon as our eyes open in the morning are the fuel that keep us strapped in...we get to decide what those thoughts will be. We can use it to our advantage and harness it in a way that shapes all the decisions we make.

This aspect of our make up as human beings is not "figured out." It is only achieved by deciding to change the way you think, then executing, and refining your routine, all the time. It's achieved by falling in love with the process and choosing to find all the things you appreciate and love in your process. This positivity will serve your life unmeasurably. It will shine when you are around others. It will carry you through anything. But, again, it is not achieved...it is practiced.

"Baseball" can be interchanged with any other activity that is specific to you. Invest in yourself so you can show the universe that you are thankful for this one body and one life.

3 simple ways you can invest in yourself are:
1) surround yourself with positive and like minded people, consciously invest your time in cultivating these relationships and appreciating them to your best ability
2) buy the things and foods that are going to put you in a position to make the more optimal decision, for example: you know you love ice cream, but maybe this time instead of buying ice cream, you buy strawberries and eat those for your dessert. (Be conscious of how great of an effect this what seemingly minuscule decision can have once you make start making this decision consistently...you will inevitably gain momentum in this state of mind and making the right decision will continue to get easier and more and more gratifiying as well)
3) buy a dry erase board, put it right by your bedrooms doorway, refrigerator, or any place that is consistently visible. Use it to put positive words in front of your eyes constantly, for example I like to write "Get better EVERyday" or "Sweat equity" or even just a reminder to do my push ups and pull-ups and squats, I write a ton of different things! This reinforcement on a non stop basis is like a positive commercial for your subconscious every time you see it when you open the fridge or walk thru your doorway.

Try different things and see if you would feel like they would signify investing in yourself. Just by asking yourself the question of "is this good for me to be eating/doing/thinking right now?" Or should I be making an alternative decision? You will find that your ability to pin point things that you want to have happen will increase their likelyhood of happening ten fold.

Thanks for reading. Stay ruthless.

Balance in the Baseball Life

As for anything in this life, balance is the key to success. Balance is something that takes consistent consciousness and effort to achieve, and it is something that is never reached, only sought after. One can not be enlightened once they believe they have reached a pinnacle, because reaching is part of the beauty and grace in the movement. I believe that too much contentment can be distracting, and that appreciation of focus is a much better approach. That all being said, balance in Europe is something that has not been so easy for me to achieve. It has been brand new territory for me out here, not only geographically, but metaphorically as well. I chose to explore the opportunity out here in the Czech Republic not because I was giving up on my endeavors to continue reaching for a major league career, but more so to step outside of the box for a summer and see if I couldn't find some new and untapped opportunities out here. I decided that I would make a decision for me instead of making it based solely on the hopes and dreams of making it to the big leagues. Its like you want it so bad that you become a slave to it, so I just chose to look at it differently this summer. I don't know what next season has in store, let alone the next few months of my life. It always swirls around and goes up and down, I'm just here for the ride now. My hunger seemed to fade out here a bit with regards to my work ethic and some decisions I have made, but I know that was part of the learning experience so I allowed myself a bit of lee way for a couple months. I am really looking forward to the next phase when and where ever that will be. I am hoping to play in Venezuela or Australia...two entirely different places for baseball, but nevertheless I would be happy ending up at either place.

When you are in such a new place I think you have to let go for a while and disconnect from your norm and discover some newness. I did that while I was here and it has put me into a new norm for some time. I am ready to get back to balance. Out here I have such minimal obligation of responsibility...its pretty much show up twice a week for practice and once a weekend for games, and then chill and have free time the rest of your week. Of course you can go practice every day if you choose, which I tried to do at least 4-5 days a week. Regardless, that is what the job here consists of, and you don't make too much money, but its enough to enjoy yourself.

We just had our last game of the season here in Czech and unfortunately we took the loss in the first round of playoffs. I will be heading back home here with a couple weeks, although home is such a relative term these days. For the last few weeks here I am looking forward to getting back into a more balanced routine, and a great foundation of this for me is to revisit my yoga practice. I just went to hot yoga here in Brno last Thursday, and I plan to go tonight as well. Its just a chill little bus and tram ride away from my flat. Every time I am in a consistent practice everything else is falling into place all the time. Yoga is a huge part of my ability to achieve balance. In addition to all the benefits I have received from it physically, the consciousness and appreciation it helps me gain is infinitely strengthening. I always thank myself every time I get into class.

I tend to go on tangents from time to time. The point of this blog is to help young ball players that are curious and want to learn about the lifestyle of baseball in order to help them become better pitchers,  players, and people. I give my perspective on this life and stay positive about things regardless of my situation, because if it helps any one player decide to keep going then its worth it to me. Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading,
Isaac

PS. This is a sweet song I have been digging. Music is necessary.

European baseball

I am now in the Czech Republic playing baseball. I have been here just over a month and it is quite an experience to be here playing the game that I love. Many people are not aware that there are places to play baseball through out Europe if you know the right people. Through out my career I have been lucky enough to play with many different guys that have played all over the world, and I was able to connect with one of them in order to get me the opportunity to come out to the Czech and play this summer.

European baseball is different to say the least. I am big on staying focused on getting better EVEryday and never slowing down or halting my progress. Regardless of where my career takes me I always try to keep this state of mind at the forefront of all that I do, whether it is baseball or anything else I set out to accomplish, getting better is a rooted way of thinking for me and its evolution in my life continues to strengthen me as a person. With that said, it is tough out here to stay on the normal grind that I would in the states. That is because here in Czech we only play on the weekends, usually just one double header, and then we practice a couple times a week. You see, out here in Europe, or at least Czech, they love baseball but from what I have gathered in my experience thus far is that it is not about being a professional baseball player(they don't get paid to play here, only the imports get paid), it is about playing and trying to be the best team in the country. There are only 8 teams in the whole country! It almost feels like it is more for pride than anything else.

As you may be able to imagine, the level of competition out here is not even close to that of the states. It is easy to see why considering the circumstances of the frequency of practice and games; they just don't play as much here so they improve their game at a much slower pace. There are still a couple pretty decent players around the league, but the majority of the guys here wouldn't be able to even sniff making an independent ball club in the states let alone get an affiliated job. Nevertheless, this experience is great and I am very thankful to be here. I feel quite fortunate to have gotten this opportunity to come to the Czech Republic and get a taste of what European Baseball is about. It is not exactly the same level of play in all countries out here, but the model of play as well as the scheduling are similar throughout the baseball playing countries of Europe.

In this blog, I always try to come back to and write about "Being a Better Pitcher"  as well as a better person. I enjoy sharing how my state of mind evolves in real time as I see new places and experience this game in different capacities. I aspire to give back to young players that want to continue playing the game for as long as they can and use it to experience more of the world. Baseball has been a means of travel currency for me over my now 6 pro seasons playing the game, and I plan on continuing to use it to help me soak up the world. There is so much more in this world to offer us baseball players that goes far beyond just making it to the big leagues. The big leagues is still my pinnacle and it is still where I would like to be someday, but given my circumstances in my career I have allowed myself to detach from making every possible decision I can in order to fulfill that goal. My new goal is to use baseball to help me expand my global knowledge, culture, diversity, and experience. My heart told me it was right to leave the Atlantic League in order to pursue this opportunity and it has yet to waiver.

I love this game and I love the intangibles that it has provided me in my life. Even with all that I have had to sacrifice in order to keep playing, everything I have worked for to get to this point has been so worth it and I am full of gratitude for the universe. It continues to watch over me so I will continue to give back to it and for that I will continue to do all that I can to give back to young players so they can get better and hopefully get to experience some of the things the world has shown me.

Til next time, thanks for reading.

Respectfully,
Isaac Hess