Creating your ‘Steps to Significance’

In the latest session of my Hitting Lab with Jack Minutelli on Jan. 6, 2024, a profound moment unfolded early on. As we honed our skills using the Tanner Tee, Jack candidly expressed, “I’m struggling.”

To which I responded, “At least you aren’t stupid.”

This exchange brought to light the foundation of my mental model, “Steps to Significance,” which was crafted decades ago. The steps—Stupidity, Struggle, Success and Significance—lay the framework for personal and collective growth.

🥎 Stupidity – Defined as knowing the right thing to do and not doing it. To reach significance, one must navigate away from the pitfalls of stupidity.

🥎 Struggle – The process of striving toward a goal while grappling with setbacks due to ignorance or a lack of mental, emotional, and/or physical capacity.

🥎 Success – The achievement of a goal, a milestone in the journey toward significance.

🥎 Significance – Goes beyond personal success, encompassing the use of one’s achievements to serve others and uplift the community.

Jack, one of my esteemed Diamond Directors Baseball Development clients, has been under my guidance since July 2, 2021. He not only participates in my Hitting Lab, but also partners with my sports-based youth development organization, LEAD Center For Youth. This collaboration reflects his commitment to serving marginalized communities in Atlanta with excellence and dignity.

Jack has successfully traversed all four phases of my year-round programming, accumulating more than 10,000 meticulously tracked reps. The meticulous recording sets my Hitting Lab apart, ensuring progress is measured and improvements are noted.

During our Jan. 6 session, Jack shared a sentiment that resonated deeply, which expressed his desire to be successful not just for personal gain, but to serve others. He embodied the essence of significance.

A ninth-grader at The Lovett School in Atlanta, Jack embodies a rare combination of aptitude, athleticism, work ethic and character. His humility, defined as thinking of others more than oneself, mirrors the qualities I admired in Lovett greats like Brent Abernathy.

With Jack, the goal transcends individual success—it’s about grooming him for Major League Baseball stardom, aligning with the numerous teenagers I’ve helped develop. His aspiration to reach the Major Leagues is our benchmark for success, with significance defined by leveraging influence and affluence to uplift marginalized communities.

As a teenager, Jack faces the usual temptations that can derail dreams, emphasizing the importance of embracing struggle over succumbing to stupidity. He possesses the inherent qualities needed for greatness, and my role is to draw them out, ensuring he’s well-equipped to perform under stress. For Jack, the journey is more tactical than technical, and embracing struggle is the key to avoiding the pitfalls of stupidity.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

If you found this inspiring and thought-provoking, or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, add me on Discord and let’s go deeper.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.

Setting your sights on success in the new year

In the world of baseball, success isn’t merely a product of talent; it’s a culmination of talent, habit,  and skills meticulously crafted through dedication and repetition. Let’s dissect these components and explore the journey from raw ability to refined expertise.

Talent is the foundation. It’s the innate ability; the gift that sets you apart. But talent alone is not enough; it’s the starting point. In the realm of baseball, it could be the natural swing or an instinct for timing. Recognize your talents, embrace them, but understand they’re just the seeds waiting to sprout.

From November through January, baseball hitters engage in a ritual of repetition, building habits through tens of thousands of reps. Habits are what you do well repeatedly without conscious thought. Whether it’s perfecting the stance, mastering timing or honing the approach, each repetition contributes to the formation of habits.

February through April marks the transition from habits to skills. Training introduces positive stress or eustress, replicating the pressure of a game. Skills are the culmination of doing things well repeatedly without conscious thought, even under stress. It’s the refined execution of a perfect swing in the bottom of the ninth with the game on the line.

Reflecting on the journey, there is a profound irony in the compensation of skilled players. In the past, they had to wait until reaching the Major Leagues to get paid. Now, high school and college players in Georgia can earn from their name, image and likeness. A stark contrast to my own experience as a 14-year-old cutting grass and washing cars to afford the latest Michael Jordan shoes and Cross Colours Hip Hop gear.

Breaking down the swing into seven parts—Stance/Load, Timing, Tempo, Tracking, Approach, Contact, and Extension/Finish—reveals the intricacies. It takes 3,000 reps per part to build a habit, totaling 21,000 reps. Another 21,000 reps are then invested to transform that habit into a refined skill.

Lack of commitment and discipline is the Achilles’ heel. On and off the field, skill demands unwavering dedication. It’s the commitment to those 42,000 reps, the discipline to persevere through setbacks and the resilience to evolve into a skilled player.

In the end, the journey from talent to skill is a process, not an event. Embrace your talents, cultivate habits with diligence and elevate them into skills through intentional training. It’s not just about swinging a bat; it’s about mastering the art with a commitment that transcends talent and transforms habits into skills, both on and off the field.

Hitters, gear up for a transformative challenge.

In the days left this month, dive into my decade-old bat control drill. Aim for 500-1,000 reps to solidify those habits.

February to May – Take It Up a Notch

Ramp it up to 1,000 reps monthly. Challenge yourself to hit between the cones with your eyes closed, aiming for a 70% success rate.

Document your progress, share the highs and lows. Let the community witness your evolution from habit to skill.

The ball is in your court. Are you up for the challenge? Swing for the fences and let’s master this together.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

If you found this inspiring and thought-provoking, or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, add me on Discord and let’s go deeper.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.

Finding (and keeping) a tried and true routine

When I was a kid, I thought talent was the ceiling. And when I became a man, I realized it was the floor. Talent is what you do well. Habits are what you do well repeatedly without thought. Skills are what you do well repeatedly without thought while under stress.

In 2024, we need millions of boys in America to develop good habits.

A habit is divided into three parts:

  1. Cue – a signal for action
  2. Routine – a sequence of actions regularly followed
  3. Reward – a thing received for achievement

We have a generation of boys in America who can easily determine their value by their baseball ranking, Instagram likes and YouTube views. I get it because I was the same way back in the day.

Abhijit Naskar once said, “Those who focus on attention never attain ascension, those who live for ascension don’t have time for attention.” Boys seeking attention is the cue and they need a tried and true routine.

  • Excellence – meeting expectations
  • Humility – not thinking less of yourself while thinking of others more than yourself
  • Integrity – doing the right thing even when you can do the wrong thing
  • Loyalty – unwavering commitment
  • Stewardship – protection of values and beliefs
  • Teamwork – individuals working at a level of excellence for a specific goal

The reward for having these sacred six means you are not arrogant, selfish, greedy, egotistic, self-centered and self-regarding, and can be on track to becoming a benevolent Major League Baseball Player and/or a Major League Citizen.

Here are five questions you should answer each day using your written or voice memos on your mobile phone that can help you be the best you:

  1. How does it feel to be me?
  2. What do I need to do today?
  3. How will it help others?
  4. What is the negative voice in my head telling me about what I need to do today?
  5. Why won’t I give into that negative voice today?

In the words of former NFL wide receiver and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, “Today I will do what others won’t do so tomorrow I can do what others can’t.”

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

If you found this inspiring and thought-provoking, or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, add me on Discord and let’s go deeper.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.

The power of making each day count

(L-R) Kelli, Mackenzi, Mackenna and C.J. Stewart at the Dec. 12, 2023, inaugural evening with Michael Vick to kickoff the Achieving Vicktory Foundation.

Michael Josephson once said, “Approach the new year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.”

This past year has been really good to me. I have accomplished a lot with the support of so many people. Success, plus a commitment to serving others equals significance. Success is so important because you cannot give what you don’t have.

My life mission is to be significant by serving millions and bringing them into a relationship with Christ, starting with my wife, Kelli, and our daughters, Mackenzi and Mackenna.

There are 11 days until the new year hits, so that means there are at least 11 things I am in prayer about for 2024:

  1. Launch a worldwide baseball coaching certification with an emphasis on the development of Black boys and Black coaches in baseball
  2. Run my first Atlanta Track Club PNC Atlanta 10 Miler
  3. Raise more than $3 million for LEAD Center For Youth
  4. Travel to more than 25 of the 159 Georgia counties to be inspired for the innovative work required of me
  5. Witness our youngest daughter, Mackenna, sign a collegiate tennis scholarship
  6. Witness our oldest daughter, Mackenzi, lead our inaugural cohort of “LEAD Center For Youth Lady Ambassador Tennis Program” participants
  7. Purchase a home in the Atlanta city limits
  8. Vacation on the continent of Africa with my wife, Kelli, and daughters
  9. Watch the Atlanta Braves win the World Series
  10. Journal daily
  11. Be a committed and faithful spiritual agriculturalist by way of Elizabeth Baptist Church

This is just a short list of things I want to do. The key is it getting done because God has ordained it.

If it is His will, it is His bill.

I know that it is from God if it passes the fruit of the Spirit test: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

When all nine of these things are in place, I know that I am in the right place for the right purpose and the right people. Then I need to make sure that I am competent and care about and have the capacity for the task at hand.

All things and all people are important, but nobody and, I mean nobody, has the capacity to care about everybody and everything to the point of making things happen.

In the end, whatever I do, I want the credit so that my God can get the glory.

“I want the credit if I’m losing or I’m winning.” — Kendrick Lamar

  • What are you in prayer about for 2024?
  • What do you care about to the point that you feel the need to make sacrifices of your time, talent and treasure?
  • Who do you care about to the point that you feel the need to make sacrifices of your time, talent and treasure?

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

If you found this inspiring and thought-provoking, or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, add me on Discord and let’s go deeper.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.

The transformation from good to great

L-R: André Paris, Roy Cogdell and Tre’ Hampton

Iris Murdoch once said, “We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality.”

I have been coaching for more than 25 years and can attest, like millions of others, that coaching is rewarding. It often starts with helping players discover reality through hard work, success, failure and sacrifice.

Coaching is about being transformed, and transformation doesn’t always feel good to me as an adult. And I know it doesn’t always feel good to my young hitters.

I have discovered that when transformation leads to triumph for those I have coached, it is because I have accepted the task, and I have the tools and the time.

I recently fulfilled a task of cleaning the yard and putting up Christmas lights for an Atlanta Grove Park Community resident. I had the help of L.E.A.D. coaches Andre Paris and Tre’ Hampton, Grove Park Foundation Executive Director Gavin McGuire, and Grove Park Foundation Volunteer and Community Engagement Manager, Roy Cogdell.

The yard had more leaves than I’ve seen in a long time. It took us three hours. We needed three leaf blowers, two push brooms, one leaf vacuum and several bags.

What if the task allotted three-hours, but we only had a couple rakes, two people, love in our hearts and a don’t quit attitude.

Task. Tools. Time.

Transformation takes time. November through January is the time of year my hitters commit and discipline themselves to build habits and strength.

Talent is what you do well. Habits are what you do well repeatedly without thought. Skills are what you do well repeatedly without thought while under stress.

There are seven parts of the swing and it takes 3,000 reps to build a habit. That’s 21,000 reps to build a habit each year and another 21,000 reps to convert the habit to a skill.

  1. Stance/Load
  2. Timing
  3. Tempo
  4. Tracking
  5. Approach
  6. Contact
  7. Extension/Finish
Do you want to be elite?

February through April is the time we convert habits to skills, while May through July is the time to maintain skills during national/international competition.

Here are a few tools that I use to develop my hitters.

Tanner Tees 
Duraband 
Dartfish 

As Jeff Duntemann says, “A good tool improves the way you work. A great tool improves the way you think.”

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

If you found this inspiring and thought-provoking, or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, add me on Discord and let’s go deeper.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.