I never could hit the curve ball that well. Sure couldn’t handle a slider consistently. And the changeup...let’s not even talk about that!!
I wasn’t that good at hitting most of the pitches thrown my way during my career. But I was able to hold my own against a good fastball. Yeah, it was fast, but if you got to it, special things could happen. I mean like really special things. Like hitting a 3-run home run in your very last game of your career.
Just like a fastball, life can come at you super fast. And if you’re not ready, it can make you look really bad. It can break your bat, it can jam your hands and it can make you question what exactly you are doing with you life. But when you are ready, when you put yourself in a position to handle it, you just might hit it out of the park.
And that really is the difference between getting out and hitting home a home run. The ability to be prepared to take advantage of an opportunity. An opportunity that you know you can handle. An opportunity you know you can succeed at.
"Most times in life and baseball, we fail to take advantage of great opportunities not because we are not talented, but simply because we are distracted. We fail to take advantage of great opportunities not because we are unqualified, but simply because we are unfocused"
YES...UNFOCUSED.
You see, during my career, there were to many at-bats where I was so worried about the curve ball or changeup, that I was late to hit the fastball. Did I not hit the fastball because I wasn't talented? No, not all. I didn't hit the fastball because I was focused on the wrong pitch. I was worried and concerned about something I was not good at doing. I had lost my focus on what I was good at.
"...I was good at hitting the fastball"
Luckily for me, at some point later in my career, I recognized that and made the adjustment. And thankfully, that adjustment led to some very productive seasons, ultimately extending my career, which provided many more unforgettable memories.
But for some reason, since I retired from the game, I have had a hard time recognizing this and making the adjustment in my professional life. Believe it or not, as recent as just a few months ago, I worried about almost everything regarding my business and our Digmi brand. I worried I didn't have the same experience as others in fashion/retail world. I worried I wasn't tech savy enough to dominate social media and projects like a podcast and a YouTube channel. I worried that we weren't as well rounded as other brands. And I worried that I may not be as smart as all the other founders and creators that seemed to pull it off.
And then it hit me! I realized that I am good at believing in our Digmi dream. I am good telling our story and sharing our vision. I am good at never giving up (even though I lead the league in saying that I will haha). It may not be a lot. But I am good at this.
Believing in our Digmi dream, telling our story and sharing our vision...this is my fastball!
And that is what I am focusing on. I am committed to learning more, becoming as well rounded as possible. I am committed to getting over my fear of failure and trying new things like posting more content and documenting my journey. All things I'm currently not that good at. I'm going to get better over time, no doubt about it. But for the first time in a long time, I'm not worried about being bad at those things. I'm not worried about failing and most of all, I'm not worried about what others might think. I'm no longer unfocused.
I'm finally focused on what I'm good at. I'm focused on hitting the fastball.
Trust me when I tell to stop focusing so much on what you’re not good at. We’re all not good at doing certain things. All of us. It’s time to double and triple down on the thing you’re really good at. Because when you do, life seems to throw you a lot more fastballs!
So whatever you do, don’t miss the fastball!
- Ray Digmi