Coach Tab Baldwin Talks About Success, Life Lessons in "Off the Record" with Migs Bustos

If there's one important sentence that viewers should remember from yesterday's episode of "Off the Record" with Migs Bustos, it's that "Success is probably an overrated term" That is according to Coach Tab Baldwin of the four-peat seeking Ateneo Blue Eagles in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

That was what Tab Baldwin said right off the bat when Migs Bustos asked the former Gilas Pilipinas coach on what his definition of success is. For the now 62-year old Baldwin who is also serving as the project director of Gilas Pilipinas, people are thriving too hard just to be labeled as successful regardless if it's in their career or in life in general. Baldwin also said that he believes that "Life is a journey and not a destination," and that at the end of our lifetime here on Earth, it will be up to the people we will be leaving behind whether or not we have been successful during our time here. He then concluded that for him, his definition of success is this: "To take what's in our hands each day. Make the most out of it. And realize that tomorrow's a new challenge" while also reminding people that we shouldn't rest on whatever success we've achieved today and that, failures that we'experienced as those failures will serve as the building blocks of the next good day. 

Expounding on failure and disappointment not just in basketball but life, Coach Tab then explained that for him, failure is a process that will root out of being complacency. The experienced international mentor, whom Bustos regarded as one of his favorite coaches of all-time, said that regardless of which path in life you take, whether it's the long, less-bumpy road or the short but bumpy one, failure will and will always your way not just because of your own actions but because of the actions of other people as well. In the end, these failures will make us want to get back on track, and how we can get back on track to achieve whatever that is we want to achieve. He also shared some of the failures he endured in his life and in each of those failures- including those times that he got fired as coach, he still evaluated those failures in terms of what he could have done better and then, take them into the next chapter of his career. At the end of the day, Baldwin said that those failures and disappointments that he faced along the way will help him improve his performance as a coach. He then shared that he has been dedicating his success for his players particularly with the Blue Eagles which he said he has loved his job at Katipunan Avenue. 

Talking about his current work as program director of Gilas Pilipinas at a time when the Philippines is set to host the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup in 2023, Tab Baldwin believes that "It's about building a legacy" not for himself but for the national team He is hoping that the current Gilas Pilipinas program will be able to build a template for the landscape of  Philippine basketball, a landscape that is difficult to work with according to Baldwin himself.  He also hopes that the current national team program can be tailored in a way that can meet the goals of the players, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), and most importantly, the goal of transforming Gilas Pilipinas into a legitimate contender on the international stage. For Baldwin, if they can ultimately get things right, they will be able to give the players and most importantly, the basketball-crazy Filipino fans something special.

Before wrapping up things with Bustos, Tab Baldwin reminded us to be healthy, take care of our minds, and most importantly, live, as he pointed out that we aren't put on this Earth to be alive but to live. Those wise words from a successful coach such as Baldwin come in handy especially with the situation that we are all facing. 

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