I Can Play

Gary Montgomery has touched so many of our lives in one way or another. He started feeding us during his television career at Whas11. During his television career, he was also asked to speak to a variety of organizations. These opportunities led him to realize he had a message to share, the message of success……

These opportunities were all a part of the path Gary feels God used to lead him to the desire to create Prime Time Productions. Prime Time Productions is a company that led him away from the television industry to speak to audiences about a Varity of subjects, which include leadership, communication and “How to build an “I CAN PLAY” attitude. He also speaks to church groups and presents retreats for teens and men. Bottom line Gary helps companies and individuals focus on their talents and abilities and risk to reach new goals.

Gary went back to television after five years of public speaking and fulfilled his dream of being a sports newscaster. Gary was the Sports Director at Louisville’s Fox41. He continued to speak at a variety of engagements and finally retired from television in August, 2007. Thirty years of television exposure, along with the speaking engagements prepared Gary for his current venture.

We never stop learning, as experienced by Gary one day while shopping for baseball cleats with his 7-year-old son, Troy. Troy found a pair of cleats he liked, but had mixed emotions because the shoes were different – they were red. After some soul searching Troy decided he wanted the red cleats. Once Troy arrived home he continued to have mixed emotions about wearing red cleats and what the other players might say about the shoes.

Troy doubted himself so he asked his dad for advice which ended up being an inspiration for Gary.

He told his son that if he can play the game, if he can hit the ball, throw it, be aggressive on the field, be a leader with the team, then people will see that confidence and say “Look there’s Troy. And look at those great shoes he is wearing!”

It’s not the shoes … it’s the person wearing the shoes!

Troy got up to leave, stopped turned to his dad and said “No problem Dad. I can play!” No longer did the youngster worry about the shoes he was going to wear or what others thought of him. He was focused on being the best he could be. Based on what he did in the past, and his current talent, he planned his future … and decided he could play the game!

That was the moment Gary saw success in three things: 1) Vision 2) Positive Attitude, 3) and Taking Risks. Gary said, “If you let them come alive in you and tie them together, it will create a belief in you. The talent comes from God and when you allow God to lead the way, no telling how far you can go.”

When you are talking about leadership, you are talking about honesty and integrity. Leadership is all about the people. If you act with honesty and integrity and are an inspiration to your employees, then production will increase and both the company and each other will benefit. “We can’t change people; we can only influence them to change”.

To be a leader, one should insert what you know to be true and be assertive, not aggressive nor passive. A leader needs to be stretched. Discover and learn within yourself the truth of who you are. As a leader, be courageous not overbearing. Pay the price of being patient today and have the courage to do what is right for the future.

Gary wants to touch people and to teach them that they can be better than what they think they can be. Throughout my interview with Gary, he said many things that inspired me. Those things were: 1) “Positive people see success and negative people see obstacles”; 2) “Leaders emerge when problems arise”; and, 3) “When problems come, leaders stand up”.

To contact Gary for a keynote presentation or training, go to his website (www.IcanPlay.com). His book “I Can Play” is available for purchase on his website. It is also available at Tonini Church Supply on Breckenridge Lane and other local book stores. The ISBN# is 1-886036-13-6. His office number is (502) 339-0040.