Jamy Bechler

Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.

Choose to be better

“You either get bitter or you get better. It’s that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you.” (Josh Shipp)

🔊 Click here to listen to a 2-minute audio version of this story.

At 27 years of age, I was the youngest women’s basketball head coach at the NCAA level. Four years later, I was allowed to take my talents elsewhere.

I got resigned.

How kind of them to let me voluntarily resign.

No matter how you spin it, I was fired.

[Read more…]

Make This Week Great

I love Mondays!

Click here to listen to the 1-minute audio version of this article.

Not only is it great to see any day of the week because that means I’m alive, but it’s also a chance to have a fresh start. It’s a chance to set a new tone for the rest of the week. [Read more…]

Soar With The Eagles

The story is told of a farmer who grabbed his shotgun to shoot at a flock of pesky crows. Unfortunately, he didn’t see that the family’s sociable pet parrot had joined the flock of crows.

Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio version of this article.

After firing a few shots, he walked over to the fallen birds and was surprised to find the family parrot had been one of the casualties. The farmer’s children had heard the noise and came running. When they saw the parrot, they asked their father what had happened.

The farmer simply replied, “Bad Company.” [Read more…]

The Coffee Beans

“Life is 10% what happens to you, but 90% how you react to what happens to you.” (Charles Swindoll)

Once upon a time in a small Italian town, a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable.

Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio version of this article

She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed like life was one problem after the next.

The next day her father, who was a chef, took her to the kitchen. He boiled three pots of water. He placed potatoes in one, eggs in another, and ground coffee beans in the third.

Of course, the daughter waited impatiently, wondering what he was doing.

[Read more…]

The Lighthouse Keeper

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” (Dr. Seuss)

A lighthouse keeper received a new supply of oil once a month to keep the light burning.

Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio version of this article

Not being far from shore, he had frequent guests.

[Read more…]

Lost Luggage

While taking hundreds of flights throughout my life only once has my luggage gotten lost and that was on my honeymoon (fortunately, it wasn’t a sign of things to come)!

Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio of this article.

The second time occurred when traveling to speak at some high schools.

After speaking at a prestigious prep school in the Washington D.C. area, I was traveling to Charlotte, NC to speak at a large high school in that city. 

[Read more…]

Conference Champions

“The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.” (John C. Maxwell)
(editor’s note: Article originally written in March of 2022)

I had the pleasure of speaking with the boys basketball team at my old high school.

Please click here to listen to the 2-minute audio version of this article from the Success is a Choice podcast network.

I’m very proud of them and their coach Jeff Turner (he was my JV coach). In fact, they won the conference title this year. 

As I was talking to the guys, it hit me out of the blue that this was 2022 and my team won the championship in 1992.

[Read more…]

Hole in the Sidewalk

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we really are, far more than our abilities.” (J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

This week, I was reminded of a short little story by Portia Nelson entitled There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk: Autobiography in Five Chapters.

Click here to listen to the 2-minute version of this article on the “Success is a Choice” podcast network.

[Read more…]

The Carpenter

An elderly carpenter told his employer of his plans to leave the business and start a life of leisure with his wife and extended family.

Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio clip of this email

He would miss the money, but the time was right and he was ready to hang up his hammer. His boss was disappointed as the carpenter had been a loyal and diligent worker for many years, so he was sad to see him go.

[Read more…]

Sign Up For Leadership Insights

Join Thousands Of Others Who Follow Jamy On These Platforms: