'Pitching Is Like Trading' And Other Thoughts From 2-Time World Series Champ Todd Stottlemyre

Todd Stottlemyre, two-time Major League Baseball World Series champion and author of the book, "The Observer: A Modern Fable on Mastering Your Thoughts & Emotions,” joined Benzinga’s "Peak Performance" earlier this week.

Stottylemyre discussed the techniques he uses to stay in a winning mindset and the importance of mental and physical health in work, investing and personal life.

Championship Hour: Stottylemyre detailed his morning routine and why he calls the first hour of every day the “championship hour.”

“I named it the championship hour because it’s all about building the champion that lives inside of you. I believe we’re all born with a seed of greatness,” he said.

Stottylemyre starts his day with 25 ounces of water to hydrate his body, and then heads to his office with a cup of coffee to write his new ideas in a journal.

“There’s power when you write your goals down every day. You keep sending it out there that’s what I want to achieve, that’s what I’m chasing, that’s what I’m pursuing,” Stottylemyre said.

He then moves on to his home gym and spends about an hour working out.

“At 9 a.m., I’m ready. I’m ready mentally, I’m ready physically, I’m ready emotionally. I have incredible energy,” he said.

“I’ve got to take care of me because I have no idea what’s going to come at me during the day. I don’t know what obstacles are going to come, I don’t know what opportunities are going to show up.”

Stottylemyre said many people don’t appreciate the impact physical fitness has on the rest of your life.

“I always say if you don’t take the time to be healthy, you’ll have to take the time to be sick. Who wants to take time to be sick?” he said.

Getting In The Zone: When it comes to investing, career, relationships or any other areas of life, Stottylemyre said one of the biggest battles everyone faces are psychological ones.

“Getting in the zone is like a state of flow where you’re so focused on the task at hand ... you can be in a stadium full of 50,000 people and you can feel like you’re in a room all by yourself,” he said.

“[Pitching] is a lot like trading. You’re not as good as your last game. You’re as good as your next one. The last trade, the last game, the last pitch is over with,” Stottylemyre said.

“If our thoughts are on our last trade or our thoughts are on our surroundings, we’re not getting laser focused.”

When he finds himself struggling, Stottylemyre said he uses his 180-degree mindset approach to get back into the zone.

“I literally just call time-out on myself and I say what is the opposite of that negative thought or that terrible thought? What’s 180 degrees from there? You’re going to land in positive territory,” he said.

Power Of People: One thing that is a particularly tough battle for people these days is separating work and personal time when working from home.

“When I leave my home office, I always close the door. And I always remind myself wherever my feet are, just be right there,” he said.

Stottylemyre said whether it be a sports team or a potential investment, people are the true difference-makers between a winner and a loser.

“You can take an average business plan with great people and create great success. We also know you can take a great business plan with the wrong people and end up bankrupt,” he said.

(Photo: Todd Stottlemyre, Twitter)