Three Strikes and You Are NOT Out! You can still be in the Game
It’s Spring! (in spite of the continued cold) and Baseball Season is in full swing!
Baseball gives us so many great parables for life lessons. An example: being a fan and following the careers of even the best baseball players, ones that win Batting Tittles, shows you they often strike out — and the average is often more times then they get on base.
And that makes me feel so much better because — I make a lot of mistakes, fail to capitalize on opportunities and often times say the wrong thing. And you probably did not know this but- sometimes I show up late! ( To my chagrin, one of my friends said, “No, this is when I expected you – on Jane Time.”)There are so many self help books that talk about failure being a necessary ingredient for success, and pain being the sandpaper that smooths us into better people, but the facts of playing baseball is what gives me the greatest encouragement.I read a wonderful reflection this morning. The writer of the piece* was given a Louisville Slugger® and told “Think positive. Swing for the fences.” It struck home.If I continue to aim high, I will keep fighting to establish a foothold into the book selling market. I am so grateful for the awards all three of my books just won –accreditation, so “Here, buy my books, they are good. ;) Really!” is not my entire sales pitch. I need the encouragement of the lessons of baseball, because in order to win the awards, I had to strike out: submit the books for review, experience the disappointment when the books were criticized, passed over, and suffer through being told “We don’t have any shelf space for your books right now.” But I stepped to the plate again.
As Good Old Uncle Kenny says, much to our confusion, “Put me in Coach, I don’t smoke!”I am staying in the game, swinging for the fences, even if I am currently using one of my crutches as my bat!*from Daily Guideposts 2015 April 24, Edward Grinnan © Guideposts 2014© Jane F. Collen April 24, 2015
