Serve, Coach, Lead Newsletter #7: Living For a Transcendent Cause

In last week's newsletter, we discussed the three lies of masculinity outlined by Joe Ehrmann: athletic ability, sexual conquest, and economic success.

We also briefly outlined the two ways that people can truly live a life of purpose, a life for others:

1. Investing in their relationships with those around them

2. Living their lives for a transcendent cause

Today I'd like to dive into what it means to live for a transcendent cause. In order to do this, you must first realize and recognize what sort of cause you are living for. Many people in the world of athletics call this a person's "why." In order to determine your "why" you must first understand the underlying intent for what you do.

A transcendent cause is simply finding a purpose that goes beyond your own personal wants and desires.

As coaches, many of us get into coaching because we still have the competitive passion and fire that we did as an athlete. We base our worth on the skill of our players and how well we can develop them athletically in order to win.

While externally, this may look like it is benefitting the players, our work and effort stems from the internal motivation to prove that we are a competent coach.

However, if our mindset can shift from how well we can develop our players athletically to how well we can develop them personally, academically, emotionally, and spiritually, then we begin to find purpose beyond our own agenda.

I am still working on this every single day. My ego as a coach (and quite honestly my paycheck) depends on how well 18-22 year old young men throw, catch, and hit a baseball. However, my purpose for coaching them is to help them develop into so much more than great baseball players. If they can learn to commit to something bigger than themselves, dedicate to becoming excellent in all aspects of life, and become contributing members of their communities, then I believe that they will reach their full potential as baseball players. The lessons that they learn as a student-athlete will far surpass their playing career.

Remember that we are coaching our athletes for the forty after four. This means in essence that we are a part of our player's lives for about four years, but are tasked with preparing them for the next forty years after they leave our programs. This is not a responsibility to be taken lightly. Regardless of your position, remember that you will rarely work with someone their entire life. Even our children will one day go out on their own to face the world. I encourage you to make the days that you have with these people count!

In this new year, I invite you to begin to formulate your transcendent cause. What do you want to provide the people under your guidance each and every day? In what ways can you help prepare them for the next chapters of their life?

Next week, we will discuss purpose statements, and how they can help guide and direct our daily actions as leaders of our organizations.

Here is a link to Jeffrey Marx's website, the author of "Season of Life." If you desire, check out John McEnroe's interview with Marx and Joe Ehrmann. They discuss the background of the book, and offer more insight on the lies of masculinity, developing relationships, and living for a transcendent cause.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this week's newsletter. As mentioned before, I would love for this to be an interactive experience for each of us. Please share any comments, questions, or feedback that you may have. You can reply directly, or simply email me at harrison.stevens3@gmail.com. Also, if you know of anyone that would benefit from these emails, please send them this link to sign up.

Every Serve, Coach, Lead newsletter is available on my website, which can be found here. Feel free to share the website on social media to help reach more leaders!

If you would like to reread last week's newsletter, you can find it here.

Thank you for your support, and I look forward to connecting with you all next week.

God Bless!