“I’m cheering for your success.”
This positive statement is one we’ve heard at least a time or two – with any luck, more often than not. It’s also a statement that Sean Adams uses when signing the inside cover of his latest book. It’s one of the many statements he lives by and one of the many ideas he emphasizes in his book, “It’s Okay to be Crazy!” which was released in January 2010.
Adams is a writer, television and radio personality, motivator, business leader and cultural critic. Talk to him for five minutes, and he’ll find your catalyst – a spark that motivates you. Chat with him about sports, politics or his family, and you will find he is crazy, but in a positive way. He is motivated to inspire you. He doesn’t only cheer for his friends or his family; he cheers for his competitors, those who are going through hardships and those who are on the cusp of something special, but need a little push.
“We live in a country that will not only allow your ultimate success, but will assist you,” Adams said. “In the world of the home field advantage, individuals have never given themselves the advantage of surrounding themselves with folks [who] can encourage them and support them.”
Adams found his current destination to the motivational platform by means of an interesting path. He was a NCAA student-athlete and an all-star on the track and field team at Abilene Christian University. Following his undergraduate career, he earned his MBA and then jumped into the sea of the corporate world. He worked in executive positions in the financial industry with Spotless, Inc., and Dell.
After 10 years in corporate America, Adams decided to move on to a new venture – Orangebloods.com – where he partnered with Geoff Ketchum and took on the role of CFO for the interactive Web site. In 2007, he joined the ESPN-Austin team as one of the hosts in the afternoon line-up of sports talk radio. It sounds a little crazy to jump ship from a successful corporate position to dive into something that appeared to be a courageous, but risky next step. But according to Adams, crazy is what we are all supposed to be in life.
“I really do believe that life is simple – not easy, but simple,” Adams said. “We complicate it by getting in the way and essentially sabotaging our own efforts. I want people to get out their own way and experience the success that we all can have.”
The title of his latest book is not just a title; it’s a proclamation. The words on each of the book’s 121 pages are an outpouring of human experience and emotions, and if you take the time to read those words, the way you play the game of life is sure to change.
Are you crazy enough to have everything you’ve ever wanted?
You’d better be!
The premise of Adams’ book came from his childhood. His dad, Thomas Adams, frequently told Sean, “Every time somebody tries to lift their head to do something special, there’s somebody else there to call them crazy.”
And that became the basis of his book: “You have to be a little crazy to be successful. You have to be crazy enough to believe in yourself when nobody else does. You have to be crazy to do something you’ve never done.”
When Adams isn’t sharing his perspective on the way of the world in sports on ESPN-Austin’s 104.9 “The Horn,” he is traveling the country speaking to student-athletes, corporate executives and community groups. One of his main goals is to educate people on the fact that they control their own fate, and their dreams are too important to be tied up in the hands of another person.
“Once we realize that we are responsible for our own happiness regardless of our starting place, we can move forward from there,” Adams explained.
Adams is particularly good at observing the world around him and finding out how to make the best of it. He grew up in a home with parents who worked hard to support him, provided plenty of rules but very few boundaries and offered him advice that has stayed with him to this day. He found a great deal of inspiration along the way.
“What inspires me is the fact that life is happening every day, and my rent for the time I get to spend on this earth is my ability to affect the lives of the people around me,” Adams said. “I’m not too old, I’m not too young and I don’t make excuses because I’m responsible for my corner of the sand box that I have been blessed with. I’m inspired to see what I can accomplish today.”
Take a moment and tune into Adams’ afternoon radio show with Chip Brown. Attend the pre-game show he co-hosts at Scholz Garten every college gameday during football season for the University of Texas. Soak in his inspiring words, listen to the wisdom he has worked hard to achieve and allow him to share the blessings in his life with you. You will come away from the experience a better person, and you will learn, without a doubt, that it really is okay to be crazy.
Learn more about Sean Adams at www.seanadams.net. Listen to him daily on the radio on ESPN-Austin’s 104.9 “The Horn” from 2 to 4 p.m. on “The Bottom Line with Sean Adams and Chip Brown.” His books, “It’s Okay to be Crazy!” and “Sports for Life: Daily Sports Themes for Life Success,” are available for purchase on his Web site.
