What Are You Prepared to Do?

By Coach Ron Wolforth-

 

In the movie The Untouchables with Sean Connery and Kevin Costner, a scene plays out that is a classic and lays the foundation for our discussion today.

 

Connery plays Malone, a Chicago beat cop. He is a straight arrow. He knows all too well there is wide spread corruption in Chicago. He sees it and deals with it every single day. He has also seen political figures and police chiefs clamor on and on about the problem but have no will or appetite to stem the tide of graft and corruption.

 

Costner plays Elliot Ness, a Federal Treasury Agent, who is tasked with the nearly impossible job of breaking the strangle hold of the Chicago Mob and Al Capone. 

 

At this point in the movie, Costner has been foiled at every turn by Capone and his deep rooted tentacles of deceit, extortion and terror and is seemingly overwhelmed by the immensity  of his obstacle.

 

So Connery meets Costner in the privacy of a cathedral and asks him the rather pointed question: What are YOU prepared to do? 

 

Check out the telling clip here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ALcqt6GMhM

 

The scene serves an awesome reminder to us all.

 

In the course of all of our lives, every one of us is going to face crisis and obstacles.  Some of these difficulties are going to be innocuous inconveniences, while others are going to rise to the level of ‘extraordinarily harrowing’, ‘gut wrenching’ and/or ‘heart breaking’.

 

Often times, by force of habit when confronted by these difficulties, we complain, show frustration, irritation and/or dismay. We all can relate to that feeling and life experience of facing a hurdle that appears to be overwhelming. 

 

But that’s where our similarity ends. 

 

The exceptional achievers in this world THEN habitually ask themselves a version of the question Connery asks Costner: “What am I prepared to do?” 

 

Every single week at the Ranch we get these following statements in the form of frustration, exasperation, vexation, discontentment or aggravation:

 

I don’t throw hard enough.

My arm hurts.

I’m not consistent at all.

I don’t throw enough strikes.

I don’t have a quality breaking ball.

The politics of my situation are really unfair. 

Nobody is noticing me.

I have difficulty being confident. 

I just don’t know what to do. 

 

The paraphrased response our clients get from Flint, Ollie, JMass, Tyler, Randy and me:

 

“There is ALWAYS something you can do.  Frustration is not a skill.  We all get frustrated.  Frustration is easy.  Move on from there as fast as you can. 

What is hard…and necessary… is awareness.  Knowing where you are right now is a critical first step.  

What is hard…and necessary… is persistence.  God’s delays are not always God’s denials.  As the ancient Zen proverb says: “Fall down 7 times, stand up 8”. 

What is hard…and necessary… is deep, deliberate, purposeful practice. If you are not getting the results you are seeking you almost assuredly are going to need to change your process.”

 

And the biggest question that needs to be answered:

 

What are YOU prepared to do?

 

Until next time,

Stay curious and keep fighting the good fight.

 

– – – – – – – – – – –

 

If you want to unlock your potential and are PREPARED to put in the necessary work, the Texas Baseball Ranch is the place for you!  The Texas Baseball Ranch is “A Place Where You Can Dream As Big As Your Work Ethic Will Allow”.

 

At the Texas Baseball Ranch®, our goal is to help every athlete play one level beyond where they otherwise would have had they never met us.  We are able to do that by helping each athlete overcome his current constraint(s)/challenge(s) whether that be velocity, command, arm health, mindset, spins, etc through our hyper-personalized approach.  We’d love to help you or an athlete you know who truly wants to play at the next level and is willing to do the necessary work.

 

We have a couple options for you this summer:

 

Our Elite Pitchers Bootcamp dates have been set with a choice of  six dates between June and August.  Go to https://www.texasbaseballranch.com/events/epbc/

 

Also, our “Extended Stay Summer Development Program” begins June 3rd.  Come train with us for 2-10 weeks.  Early Bird rates available through April 30th but space is limited so don’t delay.
Go to http://www.texasbaseballranch.com/events/tbr-summer-program/

 

 

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