In Derek Jeter’s professional debut in the minor leagues, he played a doubleheader and went 0 for 7 with five strikeouts.
He doubted himself.
But he didn’t show it. Nobody knew.
He continued to work hard and he persisted.
Challenges can make or break you.
In fact, William Arthur Ward once said, “Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records.”
How do you react in challenging situations?
Don’t wait, take action.
Too many people wait until the right time to train, learn a new skill, or take a chance.
They wait until all the lights are green before they get in their cars and start driving.
It’s not going to happen.
Take action and then make adjustments.
There is no perfect time.
Start today!
You can perform your best even when you feel your worst.
It’s true.
Many athletes don’t feel “on their game” when they are warming up, but then something happens–they start getting “into” it and start performing at a higher level.
But you don’t have to wait until you “feel” into it to act into it.
The best athletes in the world act “into it” whether they feel like it or not.
Everyone else acts how they feel, so if they are in a bad mood, their body language shows that they are in a bad mood. If they don’t feel like making sales calls or studying, they don’t.
If you are an actor in a movie and the cameraman yells “Action!” can you say, “Wait! I’m not in the part yet!”
Of course not, you have to be in the part whether you feel like it or not.
Sports and life are the same way.
You can win with 60% of your game and 100% of your brain, but never the opposite.
-author unknown
Cory Arbiso, New York Yankees
Once in a while I hear a great quote.
Last week I was sitting in the hallway next to the Trenton Thunder clubhouse, as I did many times this season, talking to one of the players. This time it was pitcher, Cory Arbiso.
He said a great quote that stuck with me…
“Some days you will only have 80% of your ‘stuff.’ But if you use 100% of that ‘stuff,’ you can still win.”
I really like that.
Thanks, Cory.
This summer, I spent quite a bit of time at Waterfront Park, home of the Trenton Thunder, Double-A Yankees.
I interviewed players.
I took photos on the field.
I was in the clubhouse.
I was in the press box.
I became friends with season ticket holders.
I became friends with players.
I sat in the first row.
I went to the player picnic.
I saw Andy Pettitte make a rehab appearance.
I saw Brandon Laird hit for the cycle with a walk-off home run.
I saw Adam Warren break the single-game strikeout record.
I even threw out the first pitch and proposed to my girlfriend, Sarah.
I saw some amazing baseball in perfect weather, and I saw some terrible baseball in horrid weather.
It was a great season, however the Thunder came one game short of winning the championship. It was a shock and it was sad walking away from the ball park and ending the season like that.
But not as sad as the passing of a dear friend’s son.
Or as sad as people losing their jobs, or getting divorced.
Or a high school teacher taking his own life.
Things happen. We can’t control that.
We can only control our reactions to those situations.
That’s baseball.
And that’s life.
Thank you for the memories, Trenton Thunder players, fans and staff.
See you next summer.
Supposedly goldfish have 30 second memories.
Tonight I was talking to one of the Yankees minor league players who is in the midst of winning his league championship.
I said, “How do you stay mentally tough?”
“You have to have a short-term memory.”
Don’t worry about the last game. Focus on the current game.
The past is the past.
I really like this mindset.
So my question to you is…
How good is your memory?
“Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it.” -TED WILLIAMS
If people knew how close to success they were when they quit, they would have kept going. Persistence is one of the keys to success.
On Friday, I was having lunch with Tom Jolly, sports editor of the New York Times and we were talking about how most people give up too early. They quit after initial failure.
The ones that succeed stick with it just a little longer.
When you feel frustrated, keep going because that is when most people quit. If you continue while everyone else is dropping like flies, guess who will be left?
You.
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Brandon Laird of the New York Yankees. Happy Birthday to a true peak performer.
Today is 9/11.
It will always be remembered.
But what does it mean?
How do we react?
We can complain about the long security lines at sporting events and the airport.
We can be angry at the terrorists.
We can just be sad.
To me, 9/11 is a sad day, but it is also a wonderful day because it shows how resilient our country is.
It shows how we take any situation and become tougher and stronger.
And although we cannot change the fact that many lives were lost, we CAN change our attitudes.
We CAN have gratitude for what we DO have.
And we CAN hit bottom and bounce back up.