Baseball and Business 0
No, I’m not talking about the business of baseball. I’m talking about how the game of baseball compares with the business of business. I will admit wholeheartedly that I am a baseball nut. I think I watched a total of 4 or 5 quarters of the Broncos this season (didn’t miss much). Basketball does nothing for me. As for the Avalanche, I do enjoy a good hockey game but it just doesn’t add up to going to the ballpark and watching the Rockies play a good baseball game.
I had the priveledge of watching a live stream of a lecture by Cal Ripken Jr. He spoke at my Alma Mater, Calvin College. He is known as the iron man of baseball. He broke the record of consecutive games played by Lou Gehrig and ended up starting in 2,632 straight baseball games over 17 years. His lecture was all about “how he did it”. He is often asked that question and he did not really have a great answer, which of course disapointed many people. After awhile he decided to really study why he was able to do what he did and he wrote a book called “Get In The Game. 8 Elements Of Perseverance”.
I’m not going to do a book reveiw here but I will list the 8 elements 1. The Right Values 2. A Strong Will to Succeed. 3. Love What You Do. 4. Preparation. 5. Anticipation (that one surprised me a little). 6. Trusting Relationships. 7. Life Management and 8. The courage of your convictions.
In these 8 elements he shared the ability to succeed. I see his philosophy as relating very well to business. Baseball seasons are 162 games long, that’s alot of baseball. No other sport has near that many games in a season. Imagine having to be ready every day for 17 seasons. Well it’s not that hard to imagine, after all we all work pretty much every day of the year right? So what’s the big deal? If all you do is work then you’re not succeeding, your working. Business is like baseball, it is a long term commitment. To succeed, you need to grow. You need to set your desired level of success and set obtainable goals to get there. That doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen without disapointment. In the middle of his streak, Cal Ripken Jr had a few times when he was not producing a lot of hits and he was making some errors in he field and there were grumblings that he should step out if he wasn’t playing well. He always showed up at the park ready to play but also knowing that the manager could yank him at any minute. He made himself invaluable to the team in so many other ways that even if he was not hitting well, he was still needed on the field.
So it is with business. Right now the mortgage business is down some. The refinance business is going away. It is a slow time of the year for purchases but that does not mean that I get pulled from the lineup. I need to make myself invaluable to my clients and my referral partners. I want to be the iron man of the mortgage business and I’m in it for the long haul. We all need to have the same attitide as Cal Ripken Jr. Get the book and read it. It is not the magic secret but it can help.
As always, feel free to comment or contact me with any questions. Mark