Chasing Greatness Blog

Trash Talking At The Masters: Why Mental Strength Is The Key To Success

Don Yaeger April 11, 2018

I’m a huge fan of trash talking, gamesmanship, and head games. If you’ve ever played basketball with me, you know just how much I love trying to get inside someone’s…

Villanova Sprints To Help Teammates! How To Create A Culture Of Shared Purpose

Don Yaeger April 4, 2018

Congrats to the Villanova Wildcats on their second NCAA Championship in three years! What an amazing achievement. But, as impressive as their win over Michigan was in the title game,…

Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon: Great People Choose To Do Right No Matter What

Don Yaeger March 5, 2018

Put most of us in an empty field house, with complete quiet and nothing to disturb us, and almost none of us could make 34 straight free throws. Now, head…

Wins And Losses Aren’t The Only Measures That Matter

Don Yaeger March 5, 2018

I love to win. Love it. In most situations, I’m the most competitive guy in the room. I’m riveted by stories of victories, wins, and success. But, watching the unified…

What Your Team Chemistry And The Cleveland Cavs Have In Common

Don Yaeger February 16, 2018

Chemistry. It’s one of the most complex elements of a team’s success but it’s often ignored or marginalized in favor of talent. Great teams are more than just a collection…

How The Baseball Hall Of Fame Is Protecting Its Integrity From Cheaters

Don Yaeger January 30, 2018

The 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame class was announced on Wednesday of last week. Despite there being four players that were inducted into this year’s class, the newest Hall of…

Received Career Advice? Pause, And Consider Your Source, Underclassmen In The NFL Draft

Don Yaeger January 29, 2018

Dear Commissioner Goodell, I hereby declare myself available for the 2018 NFL Draft. I get it. I probably (ok, certainly) won’t hear my name called among the 250+ players picked…

Mentoring At Its Finest: Kirby Smart, Nick Saban And The College Football Championship

Don Yaeger January 8, 2018

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart has his work cut out for him in the national championship game tonight. His team faces the Alabama Crimson Tide, a team attempting to…

Leadership Lessons From John Wooden Laced Up With New Life

Don Yaeger December 27, 2017

I’ve gotten some meaningful gifts in my life, but few have captivated me quite like this one. Last year I heard a story about a company in its infancy, Fabled,…

We Need Coaches, Not Pimps: Investigation Exposes NCAA Basketball Corruption… Again

Don Yaeger September 28, 2017

The “sports” news over the last few days has had little to do, actually, with games. Opinions, discord, protest…and now a national scandal involving college basketball coaches and the FBI.…

What To Do When Your Career Path Isn’t Clear: A Lesson From College Football

Don Yaeger September 26, 2017

You never know how close your “Big Break” might be. So be patient. For evidence, look no further than last Saturday’s slate of major college football games. Entering the 2017…

How To Sustain Your Career: Become Reliable By Making Yourself Available

Don Yaeger September 19, 2017

Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas has seen a lot of praise this week following an accomplishment implausible to most in his profession. Not to be overshadowed by what would…

3 Steps To Smart Recruiting: What I Learned From NFL Combine Busts

Don Yaeger March 9, 2017

It must have seemed weird to the woman sitting next to me on the plane when I chuckled out loud as I read USA Today on a flight to San…

A Lesson From Donald Trump’s First 100 Days: Listen First, Implement Later

Don Yaeger March 2, 2017

I’ve always been fascinated by the intense focus placed on new political administrations during their first 100 days in office. Pundits, fans and critics are certainly already drawing up their…

Records Are Made To Be Broken: Lessons From UCONN Women’s Basketball

Don Yaeger February 21, 2017

The world of sports abounds with magical records that no-one-believed-would-ever-be-broken. Consider New York Yankee Lou Gehrig’s grueling mark of 2,130 consecutive baseball games played, which stood tall for 56 years:…

Four Ways To Make Your Team Meetings Matter

Don Yaeger February 15, 2017

In business, as in sports, there is nothing more frustrating than a poorly executed meeting. Whether you are stuck in an office conference room listening to a droning, directionless boss…

A 3 Step Comeback For You And Super Bowl Losing Coach Dan Quinn

Don Yaeger February 7, 2017

As the curtain closed on the most dramatic denouement in Super Bowl history last Sunday, offering us so many indelible images—a tearful Tom Brady hoisting his fifth Vince Lombardi trophy,…

Apply The 60-Minute Rule To Avoid Getting Fired… Or Embarrassing Your Team

Don Yaeger January 26, 2017

It took all of fifteen minutes for sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson to bring up Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown’s Facebook Live locker room fiasco during CBS’s nationally televised broadcast…

What Saturday’s Belichick – O’Brien Showdown Taught Me About Winning

Don Yaeger January 19, 2017

As Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien trudged across the field through a postgame swarm of players, coaches, photographers and security guards to congratulate Bill Belichick, who had just dealt…

What Nick Saban Taught Me About Greatness And It’s Worst Nemesis: Complacency

Don Yaeger January 11, 2017

As I sat in my living room watching the final seconds tick away—and the Clemson Tigers posted a dramatic come-from behind victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide to claim the…

A Lesson From Ronda Rousey: Don’t Let Your Job Define You

Don Yaeger January 5, 2017

Not that long ago, UFC star Ronda Rousey was billed as “the world’s most dangerous woman” and with commercial endorsements and movie appearances seemed poised to make a major impact…

A New Year’s Challenge: Share Your Dreams

Don Yaeger January 3, 2017

In a couple of days some of us will make New Year’s Resolutions and some of us will share them with others as a way to hold ourselves accountable. But…

4 Lessons On Managing Sudden Leadership Transitions From One Of The Best

Don Yaeger December 20, 2016

In the final seconds of a loss at the hands of Illinois State in October 2005, the Southern Illinois University football team experienced what appeared to be a nightmare. Coach…

We Can All Be Better: The Wooden Effect

Don Yaeger November 15, 2016

Pam Hendrickson isn’t a sports fan but she’s been impacted by the greatest coach of all time. After working with Tony Robbins for 18 years, rising to serve as his…

Chasing Greatness Blog

Weekly leadership lessons learned from the world of sports.

Trash Talking At The Masters: Why Mental Strength Is The Key To Success

Villanova Sprints To Help Teammates! How To Create A Culture Of Shared Purpose

Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon: Great People Choose To Do Right No Matter What

Wins And Losses Aren’t The Only Measures That Matter

What Your Team Chemistry And The Cleveland Cavs Have In Common

How The Baseball Hall Of Fame Is Protecting Its Integrity From Cheaters

Received Career Advice? Pause, And Consider Your Source, Underclassmen In The NFL Draft

Mentoring At Its Finest: Kirby Smart, Nick Saban And The College Football Championship

Leadership Lessons From John Wooden Laced Up With New Life

We Need Coaches, Not Pimps: Investigation Exposes NCAA Basketball Corruption… Again

What To Do When Your Career Path Isn’t Clear: A Lesson From College Football

How To Sustain Your Career: Become Reliable By Making Yourself Available

3 Steps To Smart Recruiting: What I Learned From NFL Combine Busts

A Lesson From Donald Trump’s First 100 Days: Listen First, Implement Later

Records Are Made To Be Broken: Lessons From UCONN Women’s Basketball

Four Ways To Make Your Team Meetings Matter

A 3 Step Comeback For You And Super Bowl Losing Coach Dan Quinn

Apply The 60-Minute Rule To Avoid Getting Fired… Or Embarrassing Your Team

What Saturday’s Belichick – O’Brien Showdown Taught Me About Winning

What Nick Saban Taught Me About Greatness And It’s Worst Nemesis: Complacency

A Lesson From Ronda Rousey: Don’t Let Your Job Define You

A New Year’s Challenge: Share Your Dreams

4 Lessons On Managing Sudden Leadership Transitions From One Of The Best

We Can All Be Better: The Wooden Effect

Contact Don Yaeger