Page 59 - Fully Equipped Playbook
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PASSION
MOTIVATION
Once you find something you’re passionate about, the motivation to be great will follow. When you love something, an inner drive keeps you going. No obstacle will seem too hard to overcome, no failure will set you back. If you love what you’re doing, it will never feel like work.
I’ve mentioned previously that I knew many guys in baseball who had crazy natural talent. Sometimes that natural talent ended up hurting their future because they didn’t take the time to strengthen the other necessary tools for success. Many of those players with great potential could afford to put off the extra effort and get by on talent, but with each level, the gap in talent becomes smaller and smaller. This is where passion comes into play. The passion to do the extra work, all of the little things, that add up to success.
Maybe it was something deeper. For some, maybe they didn’t love baseball enough to go that extra mile. If you’re able to discover something you’re naturally talented at, AND ignites your passion, you’ve found the recipe for success in your career and happiness in your life. But if you find that you have a talent for something, but no passion, that's ok too! There is still plenty of time to figure it out.
SACRIFICE
Don’t worry if you haven't found something you're passionate about at this stage in your life. Maybe you love all sports, maybe you love sports and music and don’t want to choose just one thing to pursue. All of that is perfectly fine. Passion, for you, may make more sense once you find it, that's where sacrifice comes in.
You won't have to ‘choose’ when you're passionate about something. Giving up one sport to focus on another, or quitting the band to focus on baseball, won’t feel like a sacrifice, when it’s the right decision. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices in my lifetime for baseball. Some large, some small. They add up over time, and taken together show what is necessary to achieve your goals. This is possible when you have found your passion. Going to bed early, waking up early, changing my eating habits, not going out to a party in college,
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