Remember back in January when I wrote about taking my Mindset Workshop to San Antonio, Texas? Well, this is the story of how that actually came about. Jodi Mann, a mom I met at the Storm Youth Championships last year (when we just happened to be sitting next to each other) invited me there. 

In retrospect, looking back at the serendipity of it, it also feels like one of those moments when you just know the universe was lining you up to be exactly where you were meant to be.

The truth is that she didn’t know who I was when I first met her. We were just two moms sitting beside each other, watching our kids bowl.

She confessed that she and her husband didn’t bowl at all, but her son Henry took to it when he was only 4 – after watching a Belmonte video on YouTube and deciding he wanted to bowl like Jason. Eventually, he decided to try competitive bowling and became tenaciously committed to “figuring it out.” I learned that her son, having only started bowling competitively in 2022,  had qualified for Junior Gold after making it his 2023 goal. Jodi said, “I definitely cried in the parking lot out of pride for him and relief that he was able to achieve his goal.”

They sounded like my kind of people. We became fast friends right there,  even before she learned anything at all about my bowling career. Later that day, her son’s bowling coach clued her in.

When she learned about my career and Elite Youth Tour, she told me she was also trying to start something like that herself. She explained that they didn’t have anything like that around San Antonio, where they lived. So, she was trying to “figure out how to make it happen.” Again – those magic words! She also asked a lot of questions – which I loved. She sounded so determined.

I was more than happy to mentor her in building her local youth tour because we don’t get to the top of anything alone.

Reflecting on my first years on Team USA, I had to push myself to learn and grow from those around me. Traveling to these world events with them, I was green. I had a lot to learn – about everything. So that’s what I did. I looked around me and learned from those who were much more experienced, like Kelly Kulick. They inspired me and taught me what it took to get there myself. If I wanted that success, I knew it meant I had to keep learning from others along the way. And years later, when I reached the top myself, I knew I didn’t just get there by myself. I got there because of all the people I learned from along the way.

Last year especially, I really began to view EYT and Beyond the Lanes as contributing to a bigger movement around empowering others. I started seeing it as so much more than a tour.

Last year, EYT reached new heights when I had the opportunity to send Landin and Gianna – a couple of my EYT stars – to a Major League Baseball White Sox game to throw out the first pitch. For me, it was a bit of a “wow” moment – for EYT to have brought Landin and Gianna onto that field.

And you know what? All of that has fueled my passion to keep inspiring others to new heights. It wasn’t just about Landin and Gianna’s success or the success of EYT. It was about showing others what is possible. I see it like a cycle. When we succeed, we can show others the way.

I define success by having impact.

I began thinking more and more about how I can do even more to empower people around me to have an impact, how what I am doing in the bowling community can lift up others and help them see how much potential they have to inspire others, and how an important element of success is learning from others…

At Junior Gold, Jodi also asked if I would be interested in traveling with my Beyond the Lanes Mindset Workshop, and it was an easy yes.

Jodi and many others have so much to offer to the bowling world. We just need to open our eyes wide while we are living our busy lives… so we don’t miss the next person ready to inspire and empower us. 

Jodi wrote to me saying this: “I think the universe puts lots of people in our path and some we catch and some we miss. I’m glad we caught each other that weekend… You’ve been a great sounding board for me as a mom to a bowler and also as a tournament director just starting out. I knew I wanted to have others witness your enthusiasm and passion – and that’s why I asked you to bring your Mindset training to San Antonio. It’s needed. Kids are craving it. And you have a natural ability to get it through to them…

“If we can build up to being half of what you’ve been to the kids [at EYT], I would be so totally grateful. In a very short time, our little tour has grown into something more than just me wanting to have a monthly tournament in our area.  It’s become a passion project as I see these kids showing up month after month, growing and developing, trying and succeeding – and feeling so proud of themselves.  It’s already much more than I thought it would be and I’m really excited to see what the future brings!”

If we look at our daily lives, we will see that life is just a series of moments inspired by other people. Sometimes, people come into our lives, and that’s all we need to feel empowered to take action, to do something new, or to take a risk.

There have been many people in my life who have inspired me, empowered me, and shown me the way. While I continue to be inspired by others every day, I’m also doing my part to pay that inspiration forward.