I’ve been thinking recently about why I became a baseball fan recently after really hating baseball for a long time.
It’s strange – I used to think baseball was too slow, too boring, with too little action.
But that all changed a few years ago.
I realized baseball can teach us a lot about life and business. And success and failure.
So I made this quick video talking about what baseball can teach us about failure, and life and business (3 minutes, 4 seconds):
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If you prefer to read rather than to watch the video, I have included the transcript below:
Hi there, this is John Corcoran from SmartBusinessRevolution.
I was talking to my wife the other day about baseball. She makes fun of me because I never used to be a baseball fan. When we met she says I used to say I hated baseball. It was too slow, nothing happens. It was too boring.
Well a few years ago I started to become a baseball fan. I went from really hating baseball to really starting to enjoy it.
I started appreciating the nuances of the game and I saw it could be exciting.
It could be a real team sport with all of the players working together.
I saw how there was true strategy to the game and managers were actually actively engaged in managing the game.
I appreciated the history of the game and the sheer impossibility of excelling at the sport.
The thing is, in baseball, if you fail at the plate 7 times out of 10, you are a huge success. If you succeed (that is you get a hit) 3 times out of 10, those are Hall of Fame numbers. Where else do you get that?
Well you actually get that a lot in life and I think that?s why I?ve grown to appreciate the game.
I was reflecting recently on why I could appreciate this game now after so many years of disinterest.
I thought about that failure rate and I realized. I?m a different person now. I?ve seen failure up close, I?ve experienced it. I?ve felt its pain. I?ve helped clients with setbacks.
I?ve been to law school where the joke is on the first day of class you can look to your left and look to your right. One of you won?t be here next year.
I think I appreciate how hard it is to look failure in the face day after day and continue battling.
We all have to do that in life. We all have to experience failure and get right back up at the plate.
Even if we strike out 7 times in a row, or 10 times or 20 times, you need to keep showing up, you need to keep battling.
I?m not just talking about baseball. I?m talking about business and I?m talking about life.
Do you ignore suggestions when you are in a funk? No.
Do you keep doing the same thing? No.
Albert Einstein said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
So you try, you tweak, you iterate. It?s a journey. You keep battling.
The reason I like baseball now after so many years is (1) you see that the games which are nearly impossible to beat are the ones that are worth playing. And (2) rewards come to those who stare down the face of failure, battle through it, and keep moving forward. Ever vigilent. Always innovating and trying and working to improve.
That day to day effort is what creates great players, great baseball teams, and great business leaders. In my humble opinion.
Thanks for sharing some time with me. Please take 2 seconds to hop over to SmartBusinessRevolution.com and sign up for my email list so we can keep in touch. Thank you.