NEW CASTLE —
"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. ...”
Man, am I in a slump.
Albert Pujols has nothing on me right now.
My current stat line? No runs. No hits. Just errors.
Ever get your car stuck in the snow and just spin your wheels? You put the gas pedal to the floor and you just dig yourself deeper and deeper.
No traction. No movement. Stuck.
That’s me right now.
Like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.
Like trying to butter my bagel with a fork.
Feeling like a flippin’ loser.
That’s me.
“I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed . ...”
Then I look at the athletic world and learn that I’m not alone.
All of today’s top professional athletes are failures much of the time, too.
Let me repeat that: All of today’s top professional athletes are failures MUCH of the time, TOO.
•Even the best hitters in baseball don’t reach base seven out of 10 times.
•Even shooters like Ray Allen, J.J. Redick and Stephen Curry miss half of their shots.
•Even quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning misfire on four of every 10 passes.
•Need more evidence? John Wooden is considered perhaps the greatest coach of all time — in any sport. He led UCLA for 27 years and won 10 NCAA titles. Know what that means? He DIDN’T win it 17 times.
Nobody’s perfect. So we can’t expect to be either.
“I've failed over and over and over again in my life ...”
Ever wish you were bigger, faster, smarter, prettier ... go ahead, pick an “er.” Any “er.”
Chances are, the guy sitting next to you at school or the girl in your office feels the same way.
That’s because all of us, in a sense, are “regular china.” We’re solid and pretty useful in day-to-day matters, but we don’t often get the chance to sparkle like the “fine china.”
But just be patient. You never know when your turn will come.
So for now, it’s OK to be regular. It’s OK to just be good.
Not “good enough,” mind you. But good. Consistently good. The team player who shows up every day and does his job to the best of his ability. The team player who does what he can to help the cause and, every once in a while, gets the clutch hit, the key shot or the big save.
Even if we’re just “regular china” with some chips, cracks and stains, we still can have great value from time to time.
So keep swinging. Keep shooting. Keep running.
Keep trying.
“... and that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan
Today in History for May 20th
Today in History for May 19th
Raw: Gun Scare Mars Cannes Film Festival
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Raw: 6 Die in Russian Ship Fire
Raw: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 Americans, 13 Others
China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice
Raw: Pope Frees Doves From Cage
Today in History for May 15th
Prince Harry Tours New Jersey, New York
Today in History May 14
Today in History May 12
Raw: 40 Dead in Turkey Car Bombings Near Syria
Pakistanis Go to Polls, Election Marred by Bombs
Today in History May 11
Tourists Return to Once Flooded Argentine Town
From Rubble of Death, Survivor in Bangladesh
Raw: Survivor Pulled From Bangladesh Factory
