Grounders
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Journey of Baseball, History, and Mentoring
By: Tom Slone
Published: October 7, 2011
Format: Paperback, 160 pages
ISBN-10: 1466357967
ISBN-13: 978-1466357969
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
"In every city, our travels provided the boys with opportunities to learn important lessons about life, baseball, and our wonderful country - and equally valuable opportunities for me and a few other adults to teach those lessons. We grown-ups learned a few things along the way, too", writes philanthropist and Chairman and CEO of Touchstone Communications, Tom Slone, in his inspirational and life lesson filled book Grounders: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Journey of Baseball, History, and Mentoring. The author describes his travels around America's baseball parks, mentoring underprivileged boys, and both sharing and learning life lessons along the way.
Tom Slone recognizes the importance of male role models for boys who lack any positive male influences in their lives. To break the cycle of broken homes, and of absentee fathers, the author and his colleagues took the at risk boys to baseball games around America. As the boys accompanied Tom Slone to the games, they were provided with an alternative form of mentoring. The author shared the lessons he learned from his decades in business, and those learned in his own life. He also offered the wisdom to be gleaned from the game of baseball itself, and how the actions of players, teams, and the events on the field teach valuable life changing behavior.
Tom Slone (photo left) understands how mentoring and coaching have proven beneficial to both the company and the employee. The author applies the same lessons to the lives of the boys being mentored, through personal experience and the tangible examples of baseball. Tom Slone points out that not all lessons are pleasant, and are often hard ones. If given with love, respect, and a genuine interest in helping the other person succeed in their career and life, they will be effective.
Tom Slone delivers thirty-three life lessons over the course of fourteen clear and concise chapters. The various baseball themed chapters, each with valuable wisdom, are as follows:
* Warmup
* Life's lessons begin early
* The value of H.O.P.E.
* The players and the game plan
* Opening day
* Prayers, hope, and Superman
* Early arrivals and bottomless bellies
* History 10, Baseball 6
* Our great Ohio meetup
* Charged with an error
* The World Champion of cities
* Good manners, clean clothes, and discipline
* Two oldies but goodies
* Rounding third and heading for home
Foe me, the power of the book is how Tom Slone shares so much timeless wisdom, through a journey to baseball stadiums, with some boys who needing some male guidance. While completely understanding that mentoring the boys, in an one on one manner is most effective, the same event is taking place with the reader. Tom Slone shares his philosophy of life, and of helping others, through the example of story.
With that fundamental principle of teaching in place, the author offers engaging and memorable truths about living a good life, and a successful life that is a blessing to other people as well. The stories are presented with good humor, and many wonderful black and white photographs of the people involved in the tours. The photos enrich the experience, and provide additional depth to the stories.
I highly recommend the engaging and wisdom filled book Grounders: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Journey of Baseball, History, and Mentoring by Tom Slone, to anyone seeking a remarkable story of mentoring, baseball, travel, and self discovery. Applying the lessons and personal attributes shared in this fine book will change not only your life, but the lives of those around you as well.
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