April 3, 2023

Quotes of the Week from Me:

“There is opportunity in every direction.”

“Too early? Begin. Out of breath? Don’t stop. Tired? Keep going.”

Quote of the Week from Someone Else:

Mark Helprin in Winter’s Tale:

“Nothing is random, nor will anything ever be… Everything that ever was, is; everything that ever will be, is… Though in perceiving it we imagine that it is in motion and unfinished, it is quite finished and quite astonishingly beautiful.”

Quick Optimism

Consider another look at the quote above. “There is opportunity in every direction.” Opportunity is chance, it is sometimes random, and it can be good, bad, or both. When I think about opportunity or direction I think about a range of possibilities. But we need to be careful with our interpretations of this language. “Opportunity” and “possibilities” are typically associated with positive experiences or outcomes. A practical, logical approach to optimism also acknowledges the negative experiences and outcomes.

1. Learn from your success and failure at work. Not every position or small business will be the right fit, but eventually one of them will be.
2. Opportunity and direction are not always linear or literal.
3. You can and should find the good in decisions you make. You can and should find the good in decisions made for you.
4. There is opportunity for benefits, positive outcomes, progress, but also injuries, confusion, and challenges in every workout, exercise, meal, classroom, job, and experience.

Full Optimist Newsletter

I love the world of sports. I loved being an athlete, I love to continue training like one. Above all, I love what my lifetime of playing sports has prepared me for moving forward. It has connected me to amazing friends and families. It has challenged me and made me happy. That was and is my path. For others it could be art, music, travel, or any other lifelong commitments. Regardless of your interests, past and present, there are inevitable lessons learned about commitment, ease and hardship, and life.

I just finished one of Lou Holtz’s books, Winning Every Day. He is a modest, impressive man with a hell of a story to tell. By way of his wit and ability to connect with players, families, and communities, he is known as one of the best to ever coach on the football field. He was a true optimist through thick and thin. Like many who become the best, Holtz’s teachings go beyond athletics.

Below you will find some of my favorite wisdom from him and how it applies to my journey with sports.

1. “When all is said and done, more is said than done.”
2. “Never tell your problems to anyone. Twenty percent don’t care and the other 80% are glad you have them.”
3. “You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.”

For those who just started following, I played division III baseball at the University of Rochester in New York. I like to think I made the most of my experience. I went from starter to injured. I came back as a starter, became a bench player. Then I became a starter again, but then I tore my ACL. And then, and then, and then… There are too many details for one Monday.

Unfortunately, I have had more injuries than most doing what I love. Instead of treating them as excuses, I embraced the healing process I learned a lot about myself. I learned to appreciate my relationship with baseball but also my friendships, health, and other interests.

Here are two “short-version” stories from college to round out this Monday:

1. In spring of 2014, I was coming off a very successful fall season as a true freshman at UR. I had quickly proven to be one of the best players on the team in batting average (.430), stolen bases, and overall passion for the game. I was playing without thinking. Everything came naturally. I couldn’t wait to start my first college season. We played our first tournament in Florida and my coach decided to start me over a junior that had been named to the all-conference team the year prior. I was and still am pretty quiet about both success and failure, but this blew my mind. I remember being nervous and excited. I wanted to rise to the occasion. Fast forward, I hit .230 on the season and tore the UCL in my left thumb right before the playoffs. I didn’t even know there was a UCL in my thumb. I was sliding headfirst into third base and felt a burning feeling in my hand after my thumb got stuck on the other player’s cleat. I was supposed to stay in Rochester to play baseball all summer. Season over. Summer over? Long story short, I had a great summer. I decided to find the good and enjoy a decision that was made for me. Yes, I had a cast for the 3^rd or 4^th time in my life, but I also had an internship with one of my best friends for 3 months. That was an opportunity and I had fun.
2. Finally, what I thought was the coolest thing that could have happened to me during my college baseball career: I found out I could throw 93 miles per hour. If requested, I will tell the whole story some other time.

In college I did not like to do cardio for exercise. Like major league players, our team liked to play pickup basketball together to stay in shape. But basketball is infamous among many college baseball teams. With all the change of direction and fast pace, injuries happen. I had seen broken noses, dislocated ankles, and sprained and torn ligaments. Generally, our guys could hide the pain during practice. Coach had sent out an email about a basketball ban before the season. But, “I played in high school, I know how to move to stay safe”, I thought. Two days before the start of my junior season, I went up for a layup and a random kid who was not on our team jumped on my back. Something twisted and my season was over again. Torn ACL.

Again, long story short, I rehabbed close to 3 hours per day. My relationship with my coaches got rocky. It was a tough mental challenge for 8-12 months as the doctors said. What they don’t tell you is that it can take another 6-12 months once you are cleared to fully trust your knee again.

I had missed a full season so I was eligible for my 4^th season during a 5^th year if I wanted it. I ended up applying for a Master’s in Education at UR, got accepted, and had bought myself another year before moving on to the real world.

I talked about making great friends in one of my recent newsletters, and around this time my best friend from college invited me down to his training facility in Virginia to get ready for the season. We worked out, played catch, and I realized they had a radar gun. I had pitched in high school but I had not been on a mound from age 18-22. I figured it would be fun to mess around and see how hard I could throw. I started slow, 78. 81. 85. I threw harder. 88. I started throwing as hard as I could. 89. 89. I hit 89 a few times and thought that was it. For some reason I kept going and then finally: 92. 93.

My friend’s coach looked at me and said, “You hit .230? You would be an idiot to not try pitching if you throw 93.”

Long story short, I became a pitcher for my grad season in 2018, topped out at 96mph and had my best college season playing a different position than when I arrived in 2013.

There was opportunity in the direction of a torn ACL.

Make it a tremendous Monday.