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This story is part of Peak, The Athletics desk covering the mental side of sports.
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On Sunday, the three newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame were inducted into Cooperstown.
This years class included: - Carlos Beltran, a former center fielder and nine-time All-Star who played for 20 seasons.
- Andruw Jones, also a former center fielder who won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves.
- Jeff Kent, a former second baseman and the 2000 National League MVP.
During their speeches, each player revealed the insights they learned along the way.
Here is my favorite lesson from each of them: Jeff Kent: Simplicity is powerful As a teenager, Kent was passionate about motorcycle racing and wasnt fully committed to baseball.
But his father made him an offer: Earn a college baseball scholarship, and youll get a pickup truck.
Advertisement That challenge gave Kent one clear goal and he eventually earned a scholarship to play at Cal-Berkeley.
He received his truck, which he still has to this day.
It sits in my garage as a reminder that some of the simplest things can change the entire direction of your life, Kent said.
One time Kent asked future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray how he stayed so calm in bases-loaded situations, and Murray told him: Focus on the one, not the three RBIs sitting out there.
Just focus on the one on third base.
By keeping it simple and not trying to do everything at once, Kent was less overwhelmed, and the most important objective became clearer in most situations.
Carlos Beltran: Setbacks dont define us, how we respond to them does In his speech, Beltran shared a timeless reminder from Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett that stuck with him: Greatness is built long before anyone is watching.
Success, Beltran said, is never the absence of obstacles.
Instead, he said those obstacles are where our choices matter most.
While a setback is out of our control, our response to it is an active choice.
You cant live life thinking about the past, he said.
You have to live in the present.
Beltran emphasized the importance of choosing to slow down, whether taking the time to sit and listen to Willie Mays and Willie McCovey talk baseball, or absorbing Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggios advice to never shy away from difficult moments.
Ultimately, Beltran defined his legacy by how he responded to everything.
Never let success fool you into thinking youre better than everyone else, he said, and never let failure make you forget that you are good enough.
Andruw Jones: Focus on the team, not yourself This quote from Jones stood out as soon as he said it: The game is a lot easier when you focus on the team, not yourself.
Advertisement When Jones was in a slump, he said his manager with the Braves, Bobby Cox, would send him to the office of Hank Aaron, the Hall of Famer.
I felt like I was going to see somebody that I was in trouble with, Jones joked.
But even though Jones was there because of his performance on the field, Aaron never talked with him about baseball.
Instead, he asked Jones questions: Hows your family? Hows everything? How are your kids? He meant to try and relax your mind, Jones said.
In a roundabout way, Jones learned that focusing on others was actually a way to cure a slump in baseball.