Remembering Willie Mays
No matter how old you are, it is exponentially easier to learn about a topic you are interested in.
When I was a kid, the only topic I was really interested in learning about was baseball.
Through my deep interest in baseball, I learned about a lot of other topics - from math to history to journalism.
The best player in baseball when I was a kid through my 20s was Barry Bonds. There were a lot of great players of that era, but he was the best.
Before I understood what the word mentorship meant, I understood that Barry Bonds' godfather was Willie Mays, considered then by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. That Barry Bonds became such a great player not only due to his incredible talent (and later on, assistance from BALCO) but also because of the close guidance he received from Willie Mays throughout his entire life.
Willie Mays's playing career was well before my time, but his numbers always spoke for themselves (and like every baseball fan, I've watched the famous catch hundreds of times). It is sad to see baseball and America lose one of its greatest ambassadors, but through his legacy - and his mentorship - Willie Mays's impact will endure.
Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.
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