By Luke Melms
The only guaranteed way to avoid blowing a save is to stay in the bullpen. The only guarantee way to avoid striking out is to stay in the dugout. The only guaranteed way to avoid committing an error is to never play in the field.
With the Winter Meetings in Orlando this week, a realization that struck me while driving around Disney World is that it is the fruit of an idea whose origins began in failure.
Before Mickey Mouse or Disney World was ever a reality Walt Disney came up short. He was fired from one of his first animation jobs working for a newspaper because the editor thought he lacked imagination and didn’t have good ideas to bring to the table. This was not the end of his failures as he went on to later acquire an animation studio and led the company into bankruptcy. These failures didn’t define him rather acted as stepping stones to the eventual destination.
Almost everyone is told at some point they are not good enough or have certain limitations placed on them by others. We each have the choice to accept these as truths or use these no’s as the fuel to our fire. The journey to sustained success in baseball is never a straight line. The type of resilience and short memory required to succeed in baseball is one of the greatest skills the sport develops to create a mental capacity for success in business.
The meetings I had in the couple days at the Winter Meetings were great. An unanticipated blessing was the reminder of how important it is to dream about what could be and backing it with massive action to drive the vision created.
Think if Walt Disney actually listened to those who said he wasn’t creative or just settled after failing after his company went under. Between the jobs created and memories families have made, the idea and execution of everything Disney has touched more people than he probably could have ever imagined.
I will leave you with a quote from Walt Disney himself, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
He was more than just a creative. He was a great businessman.
Don’t let anyone tell you how far you can go. Every great baseball player has the potential to be equally great in business. Whatever your dreams may be, make today one day closer to seeing them come true.
