I love baseball. The plays, the strategies, the talent of the players, are all amazing.  The player's level of commitment is unparalleled, as their skill and athleticism rivals that of a ballet dancer and football player combined.  I've watched hundreds of games and I'm always learning something new from each of them.  Recently there were two games in which a lesson was repeated.  When a lesson appears in my life more than once I need to pay attention to it!  Both lessons occurred at first base, when players on the same team, almost a week apart, were up to bat.  Each player hit balls that did not clear the infield, and in both cases the batter assumed they were out.  With that assumption fixed in their mind they casually jogged toward first base waiting for the inevitable to occur.  However, in both instances the ball was bobbled, and if they had run their fastest they would have certainly been safe.  But, because they assumed they were going to be called out they backed off in their effort and failed in their attempt to safely reach first base.  Each of these runners could have easily made it safely to first base if they had given it their all.  By presuming failure, they stopped short, robbing themselves of success.

    Have you ever snatched defeat from the jaws of victory?  You are the only one that can decide your level of success or failure.  Other than you, no one can decide for you, when to quit.  There's the old saying that quitters never win, but winners never quit, which makes more sense the longer I live.

    Quitting is often, not giving up completely, but doing less than you are capable of by believing you are going to get less than you want.  Is there anything you've quit on lately; a job, a relationship or an opportunity?  Have you given your all to everything you do?  Or, do you hold back?  Before you read on, get a small piece of masking tape and reach as high as you can and tape it on the door frame.  Stop reading here and go ahead and do it.

    Next get another piece of masking tape and place the second piece of tape just a bit higher.  Stop reading and just try it.  After you completed steps one and two, you can read on.

    In almost every instance you placed the first piece of tape on the door frame, then placed the second piece of tape a bit higher than the first.  But, what had I asked you to do the first time?  I asked you to reach as high as you could; did you?  It was not until I asked you to try harder that you stretched yourself.  Rarely do we put ourselves in a position of doing the very best that we can the very first time.  Why is this?

    Personally I believe we are afraid of putting ourselves "out there," in fear that we may not have anything left.  My question is, left for what?   We hold back waiting for the big things to put ourselves into, yet it is the accumulation of little things that make up our lives.  Personally I want to make the best possible impression on this Earth while I'm here.  Holding back robs the world of the best you have to offer.  Whether we hit it short to the infield, or bounce it off the outfield wall, we need to run this race with all we have.  Only then can we truly know what were capable of.  I firmly believe what we are, is a gift from God.  But what we do and become, is our gift in return.  Give it all you've got!

Be well,

John