In this episode of Pro Mindset® Podcast, host Craig Domann interviews Brandon Averill, Managing Partner of AWM Capital and Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) professional. Brandon played college baseball at UCLA and is a former professional baseball player for the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners organizations. His father played college baseball at the University of Redlands and they spent many family vacations visiting different professional ballparks. His brother, Erik Averill, played baseball at Arizona State University, so the brothers batted against each other when ASU and UCLA clashed. Brandon and Erik had a vision and a passion for providing financial advice to professional athletes. It was their experience as former professional athletes and their personal exposure to bad financial advice that inspired them to start AWM. During the podcast with Craig, Brandon shares his life-changing experiences and lessons that he learned during his athletic career. He talks about the grit and the self-belief that athletes need to be successful. He also explains how to know when you are done playing and how to move on to the next phase of your life. Brandon’s perspective from years within the baseball and wealth management industry will help you in finding your own Pro Mindset.
Brandon talks about his own “gutter experience” which took place during his second year of pro ball. It was at the end of his spring training and he felt like he was “done” playing. He had some personal issues going on in his life and he felt unsure about the future of his athletic career. He went to his manager and told him that he wanted to quit, however, something did not feel right.
“I actually just went home that night and I just had a feeling in my gut that it wasn't the right call. I couldn't just go out that way.”
He ended up going back to the manager and asking for another chance. Brandon knew in his heart that he was not finished playing baseball. Looking back now, he could not imagine how his life would have turned out if he had not finished out that year. He learned a lot from that experience and how to overcome his own mental blocks.
“It was just more of a reflection and getting over that mind space to say, I need to stick around and play this out and give it this one last shot.”
Brandon explains that it is important to know for sure that you are ready to end your career before you step away from the game. You do not want to have regrets later down the road. When Brandon finally did end his career, he knew for sure that it was the right decision. “I got to the point where I believed that God had a different path for me. I believed that I was going to have a bigger impact on this world, doing something other than playing baseball. That's what gave me the confidence to know that I was making the right decision.” If you know for sure that you are ready to move on to the next phase of your life, then you can be at peace with your decision.
Brandon talks about the “coconut mindset” and how talent is not the only key to a successful career. “Talent is one thing and you've got to have the talent to get there and be good. But at the end of the day it is what's between the ears.” Brandon uses Josh Tomlin, Jacob DeGrom, and Noah Snydergaard as examples of this mindset. “These guys that are at the elite levels, they all have one thing in common. They just have a different mindset. They show up and they expect to be good…that's the elite mindset to me. It's somebody that has self-belief and they have a competitive streak. To truly be great, you have to have that grit. You have to be able to overcome adversity.” Talent will take you where you want to go, but it will not keep you there. The intangible things are what makes the difference and separates the elite from the rest. Belief and grit are going to make a player stand out from the rest of the competition.
You must believe in yourself if you want to accomplish your goals. A player’s success depends on their confidence and will have a huge impact on their overall performance. Belief is the first building block of a Pro Mindset and is the starting point to developing your own Pro Mindset. To hear more about Brandon Averill, click here or search your favorite podcast platform, including Apple & Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and many more.