The Cost of Encouragement

March 20, 2012 12:26 PM

In baseball, just over a hundred players hit a homerun on their first at bat.

Makes
sense. That’s a lot of pressure without a lot of experience.

Most players are lucky enough to eek
out single, barely get on first, maybe steal a base or two; then, with smart
running, a solid lineup and little luck – score – then hustle back to the
dugout in the hopes of having another at bat later in the game.

Artists and
entrepreneurs work the same. We publish our first book, put on our first show,
launch our first website, and we don’t expect fireworks. We’re just grateful
for the chance to play. And we’re hopeful that we might score enough to get into
the game and prove to the world (and to ourselves) that we’re capable.

That way, we
can start building a history that keeps our average up.

Still, every
once in a while, a player comes along that doesn’t just knock one out of the
park – he knocks the cover off the ball.

Like Robert
Redford in The Natural, he takes a swing and takes the world by
surprise.

And we’re
never the same again.

When this
happens, when we’re privileged enough to witness somebody’s homerun, it’s our
responsibility to show them the replay. It’s our responsibility to grab them by
the lapel and reveal what they can’t see for themselves. And it’s our responsibility to tell them what they’ve done,
why it matters, and why they need to keep swinging, every day, forever, until
it’s all over.

We need to
be a stand for these people’s greatness.

Because without
that brand of encouragement (which costs nothing, by the way) some people may never realize how bloody brilliant they
really are.

Going. Going. Gone.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you declined this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “33 Ways to Approach Unhappy Customers,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]