SOAL 15
SOAL 15: How Being Centered in Spiritual Values Leads to Success
SOAL 15: How Being Centered in Spiritual Values Leads to Success

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Tyler Harris is a team member of Unique Sports Management and an overseas professional basketball player. In this episode, Tyler opens up about his personal journey of growth and vision for the future. Tyler believes behind every authentic leader is a healthy focus on mind, body, and soul. Every one of us has a unique journey and purpose designed by God. Success comes from understanding our own unique value and being able to learn and flourish from our past mistakes. Dare to dream, set goals, and create a vision board. If you believe it, you can achieve it!

You have to be able to distinguish the positive voice and the negative.

I feel like people follow things that they want to have but not really what you need to really help you grow and move forward each day.

If you believe it, then you can achieve it.

Don’t let anybody try to take that light out that’s inside of you. Let it grow, let it push you, let it take you to new heights.

You’ll Learn

  • Be authentic and have confidence in what you believe in.
  • Focusing on the mind, body, and soul is essential for personal growth.
  • Sometimes what you want and what you actually need, are two completely different things.
  • God has a plan for you; sometimes our journey may not look like what we anticipated but in the end, we can look back and see the why.
  • Set goals, create vision boards, and believe it until you achieve it!

Resources

Transcript

Eileen:

Hello, and welcome to Soul of a Leader podcast, where we ignite soulful conversations with leaders. In today’s episode, Dr. Alicia and Dr. Eileen sit with a team member of Unique Sports Management and overseas professional basketball player, Tyler Harris to discuss how being centered in spiritual values leads to success.

Alicia:

Welcome to Soul of a Leader podcast. On today’s episode, we have Tyler Harris. Tyler Harris is a young man who is doing great things in the basketball industry. I’ve known Tyler and his family for over 20 years. Yes, it’s a very long time. Tyler was a little young man when I first met him, so I’m excited to have him on the podcast today to talk about spiritual leadership, servant leadership, and then just talk about his faith and his position in what’s going on in our world today. So welcome, Tyler Harris, to Soul of a Leader podcast.

Tyler:

How are you doing? Thank you for having me. Appreciate it. I appreciate you guys.

Eileen:

Welcome, Tyler. We are so happy to have you today here on the Soul of a Leader. How do you live and lead with your values today? And what are some of your core values that help guide you and keep you focused on the core of who you are and with your spirituality servant leadership and being authentic with yourself and others?

Tyler:

I think it is really what you said there, it’s just being authentic with myself. It’s really about just knowing who I am, knowing what I believe in, having the confidence of what I believe in, continue to want to grow myself, and develop myself. A few things I constantly focus on is the mind, body, and soul. All three of those intertwine together and I feel they’re essential for each person in their growth throughout whatever journey they have in life. So constantly I’m working on studying, reading, or different things that will help me improve that in my life, in my every day of going about what I want to achieve personally or in my career.

Tyler:

They all have taken time for me to realize things that I needed to change and through that time, I’ve seen the progress to help me grow and become a better man each day.

Alicia:

So when you think about the impact that you have with people mentoring you and leading you, how do you incorporate your faith and the vision that you have for your future?

Tyler:

I try to relate to the people who I try to help through their journey. As being a basketball player, trying to give it back to the community and to the youth. With many of them, it’s great for me to be able to do that, because I can relate to what they have been through, through my experiences. And I think that’s the best way for me to change, it is just through experiences and help grow through that.

Tyler:

And even though that, I just try to tell them to, like I said, to be themselves. Throughout your journey, so many people are going to try to change you, get different things in your head to change the way you thought. Just throughout your whole life, it’s going to happen and I just feel like just getting people to be able to think for themselves, be confident of whatever it is they believe in, confident of the words they speak, to speak with knowledge, to speak with power. Those are just the many things that I try to instill in the youth of what I teach them whenever I get that chance to do that.

Eileen:

And Tyler, at your level where you’re at, professional athlete, people are coming at you all the time and how do you stay centered in hearing the voice within and keeping that confidence and staying aligned to the God-light in you, or whatever is inside of you keeping you energized and solid? How do you practice or execute on keeping that core?

Tyler:

Well just like anything else, it comes with a lot of practice. For one, you have to know what that voice is. You have to be able to distinguish the positive voice and the negative. It’s like the two people on your shoulder trying to sway you which way and you got to understand which one it is and which one you need to listen to and which one is holding you back.

Tyler:

Through your journey, you’re going to make mistakes, you might go the wrong way. It’s going to happen. But the idea is that if you don’t realize the mistakes you did make so that you won’t make them again, then you’re just going to constantly make the same mistakes over and over. I think it’s really about knowing yourself and it’s a feeling, for one, and it’s also just really knowing yourself and knowing what you need in life and not really what you want. Because sometimes I feel like people follow things that they want to have but not really what you need to really help you grow and move forward each day.

Alicia:

I’m smiling because you’re talking like you have all this wisdom and I know where it’s coming from, and then I’m smiling because I’m so proud of you because to hear young people say something like you just said, we follow people because we think that’s what we need and that’s not necessarily what we need. Instead, you should be following or getting input from people for things that you want out of life to help you grow, to help you flourish.

Alicia:

And so my next question for you is, what do you see as the most passionate … because we have value cards and passion is one of those values that we talk about with some of our clients. What would you see is the most passionate core value that you have that allows you to push forward to do what you want to do? What are you most passionate about?

Tyler:

Boy, that’s a good question, because there’s really a lot that I’m passionate about and I feel like the main thing is, for me in my life, is that I want to be somebody, somebody that people can look up to, somebody that people can follow, somebody that people can understand that even though that they struggle, that they can get through that adversity and become somebody in their lives.

Tyler:

When I was growing up, me and my brother, Tobias, we were so close in age but we have two completely different paths. My parents used to dress us alike as twins because we were only one year apart. And I always thought that I would have the same path as him, but it didn’t work out that way. And even though my path is going a different way, I still believe that I can still be just as successful as him.

Alicia:

Absolutely.

Tyler:

And I want people to understand that your dream might be … might want to be like my brother, like Tobias, but if it doesn’t work out that way, there’s always still options, there’s always still other routes that you can take and still be a successful person. Even if you put so much energy into basketball or whatever you do and it might not work out, it’s not the time to give up, because there’s always something there for you to … God has a plan for you. And if that wasn’t it, he has something for you to be successful in life, and it’s just a matter of having faith in him and continue to go on your journey.

Eileen:

And Tyler, and what I’m hearing is that sometimes you said want and need and you work so hard to get that goal of that level and it may not work out all the time and you may shift. And as I’m older and Dr. Alicia is older, we realize sometimes when you look back, when you’re going through it, you may not know why but later you look back and you understand what the journey or why God did that.

Eileen:

There’s a song, Unanswered Prayers, and sometimes you don’t realize that till you’re through it and I think you worded that very well on how you explained that, so thank you.

Alicia:

Yeah, you did an exceptionally great job in explaining. I think for the young people that will listen, you had a very key nugget. You have a brother that you were very close and he has one direction, you realized I have another direction, but it does not mean that you’re not going to be successful in the direction and the path you are going. You can still be as successful as the other person, as long as you understand your journey.

Alicia:

And so my other question would be, so what is your purpose? And I know I can hear it when you’re talking, and you may know it already, but what do you feel like your purpose is that God has given you on this earth? What is your purpose that one day when you leave, you know you have done what you have been called to do? So what’s your purpose?

 

Tyler:

That’s also a good one because even now, I’m still searching for that. Each and every day, I’m still trying to figure that out. It’s just like you said before, you’ll realize once you go through it all, your purpose, what your purpose really was at the end.

Tyler:

I look at my father and the family that we have and how he had dreams of being in the NBA when he was younger and then he goes and comes … owns an apparel company and becomes an agent and then has this big family and has all these successful kids. I’d even ask him, I was like, “Was this always what you wanted?” And I felt like he told me that he just followed God. He wanted to be in the NBA but he followed God, and I feel like this was his natural purpose that God had for him.

Tyler:

I don’t know if that was his initial plan, but I think he knew at some point as he came to the then and now, he realizes this is where his God-given purpose was to be, was to raise these kids, to be a father, and to guide us to be successful in life. And I think each day I’ll continue to search, I’ll continue to move forward and get closer to that purpose, and soon, once I get a little bit of light to what it is and then, then that’s when I know I can continue to follow that light that I see. It’s like coming out of a dark cave, you’ll see it’s full of beauty.

Tyler:

So I’m still searching for it and I’m writing every day to better myself. I think it’s just a matter of me continuing to grow and grow, and then it will come to me and it will just open up like a bright light.

Eileen:

Oh, I think that light’s there already.

Alicia:

Oh, yes. Absolutely.

Eileen:

We can see it. We talk to a lot of people, Tyler, on this show and we can see that the guidance that your father gave you, and the light’s there. And it always will be there if you believe that you have someone walking beside you all the time, which we all do. Oh, inside of us, God. So thank you for sharing that.

Alicia:

So before we end, I want to ask you what is your next biggest goal or dream that you have in the back of your mind and you want to do it? What would that be? If this is the opportunity to bring it to life, what would be your next biggest goal or dream?

Tyler:

Well, I’ve been doing a lot of goal writing lately and I have a lot of goals for my career in basketball that I’m ready to really expand my game and my career. And it’s really time for me to flourish in my game. I’m also learning about different things, like real estate and ready to get-

Alicia:

Good.

Tyler:

…. like that, so I’ve been really focusing on that. And having goals of during the summer to really buy my first property and get my portfolio going, start different things outside of basketball. That’s been my goal as what I’ve been learning through this quarantine process, being stuck inside. And alongside that, I created my first vision board, so-

Alicia:

Great!

Eileen:

Wonderful.

Tyler:

… [crosstalk 00:14:30] right in front of me, so I’ve been really excited about that and that’s been my goal of just continue to manifest, meditate on what I have up there to keep instilling it in my mind so that down the road, these things will come true with God, with God and constantly growing and focus on these things. I know they’ll come true.

Eileen:

Thank you so much for sharing it. And when you say vision board, Dr. Alicia has one and I have one and we always share about vision boards. So when you said that, I kind of had a little giggle.

Alicia:

Yeah, me too. And every time I put stuff on that vision board or something I accomplish, you’ll have to tell me, I know how I feel. It’s like, “Oh, wow. God did that. Okay, got to take that off.” And then by the time you’ve taken two or things off, really, you’re putting two or three or four more things back on it, because now you see the faith or the evolution of what you envision or praying for or what you set your mind to. So how do you feel when you accomplish things that you placed on that vision board? What is that real natural feeling that comes when you say, “Oh, wow? Okay, I got that done”? Express how you feel about it.

Tyler:

It’s like a relieving feeling, it’s like a relief. That it was all worth it of what you did. And it even could be something small, like something materialistic or something. I remember I had this gold little watch that probably cost like $20 and I used to wear it all the time. I used to tell people, “This is my Rolex. This is my Rolex,” I’d tell them all the time. And I was like, “This is going to be a Rolex one day. I’m going to get me a Rolex.”

Tyler:

And then I wasn’t expecting it, I ended up getting one for my birthday and I wasn’t even expecting to get anything like that. So I just felt like sometimes you really don’t even have to do too much. Sometimes it’s things that you may want come to you. People said, “Be careful what you wish for,” and so it’s also when I look at these vision boards, I make sure the detail is exactly what I want in them.

Tyler:

If it’s a house I want, I want to make sure when I’m in that house mentally stable, I’m happy. I have happiness and it’s not just I want the house, I want to be happy. I want to feel good about it. All the things I have on my board, I want to make sure at the same time I feel good, I’m in a good place when I have those types of things. And I think that’s just … when those things do come, it makes the feeling even better. It’s a better relief of having it for me.

Eileen:

Well, thank you so much, Tyler for that. And now as we wrap up, the question that we ask all our guests is, leave us with some words of wisdom, for us and for the listeners.

Tyler:

Some words of wisdom that I have for you guys is … it’s been something I’m working on my vision board is, if you believe it, then you can achieve it. As long as you desire and it burns in you and it’s something that you want, it’s yours. It’s all about you believing in that, holding that desire for what you want in your life, whether it be your career, relationship, personally, something personal about you that you want to grow.

Tyler:

If you want to do it, it’s going to happen. Just continue to let that fire burn inside of you to continue to feed on that desire that’s inside of you, to continue to focus on it, and don’t let anybody try to take that light out that’s inside of you. Let it grow, let it push you, let it take you to new heights. Let it grow. Be yourself and continue to want to achieve whatever you have, that’s something that’s your desire.

Tyler:

And I promise you in the end, it’s going to make everything worth it. It’s going to be worth your while. That’s my advice. I got for you my words of wisdom, and I hope you guys will take that and apply it to whatever you have in your life.

Eileen:

Thank you for joining us on the Soul of a Leader podcast. We are igniting a new way of leading with your soul and interviewing ordinary people with extraordinary impact. Thank you for listening to the stories of our leaders who will help and guide you on your leadership journey. For more information on our podcast, please visit our website at www.soulofaleader.com. Thank you for listening.

 

With Dr. Eileen & Dr. Alicia

Conversations with ordinary people, with extraordinary impact on strategies, success stories, spirituality and leadership.

With Dr. Eileen & Dr. Alicia

Conversations with ordinary people, with extraordinary impact on strategies, success stories, spirituality and leadership.