Yesterday Ben asked me if I wanted to post some inspirational videos.  I told him I was the wrong man for the job.  You see, I don’t watch sports movies.  I don’t seek out inspirational videos.  I don’t like to be inspired by the doings of others.  I like to just keep on going.

I appreciate others sending me videos of this sort, and I watched one by Will Smith that my friend Tim O’Brien sent me.  I liked what Will said, but the thing is, that stuff just doesn’t get to me anymore.  Waiting to develop into a pro caliber ballplayer has taken significant effort nearly every single day of the last 6 years of my life. Because I have realized that change takes time, and I can’t throw 1000 pitches in a day to perfect things all at once, I have to go to sleep and wait until the next morning arrives, so I can get after it once more.

The video Ben posted yesterday, I won’t even watch it.  My motivation comes from within – the hurt inside me that has been caused by my dreams moving away from me seemingly at the same pace that I claw toward them.

But no matter what, I just wake up and get to it.  I do as much as I can for one day, and then I rest so that it all sets, making me a little better than even that previous morning.

Yet, through all this time of training and waiting, I am inspired by a few other things from within, and I’ll share them with you…

• The day I throw in front of a scout, have it together, and get signed afterward.  I see it clearly in my mind, down to to the venue and the individual pitches.  It’s already happened and will happen; thing is, it just hasn’t yet happened.
• The People I Know Who Believe If Anyone, I can. If I quit, then who else is left to be the example of what can happen when you refuse to quit?  I’d be just like every other mediocre person on this planet.  I have one life to live, and going after things until they get really hard, then quitting, would be a horseshit way to be.  I’m the guy who will keep going and won’t quit, even when everyone else thinks it’s time to hang em up and call it a career.  Other guys in the bigs have done it, and quite frankly, I think I’m stronger willed than even they.  One more day is one more day to improve, so hanging on can only better my chances.
• “The final chapters are yet to be written.” My strength coach, Fred Cantor, said this to me one day in the weight room as I explained to him how my opening day start didn’t go well, despite my preparation and optimism.  I rarely break composure, but I was on the verge of losing it at this point.  He doesn’t show it in the same way as others, but I know he is one of my biggest fans.  What he said was subtle, but it stuck, and I kept it mind as I continued to control my own destiny.
• “A Resolute Man Will Find A Way” This is my favorite phrase ever uttered by a human being, and it was said to me in an email by my favorite philosophy professor, Roye Templeton.  I had written to him telling him about my poor performance and elbow surgery, because the last time we had spoken there was optimism of me being drafted if the season went well.

My senior year in college, at a bar, I was introduced to a senior female athlete who I had seen in the athletics department for 4 years but never spoken to.  She said, “You’re the guy who trains really, really hard.”  I said that it might have been me.

It was one of my most proudest moments.

resolute |ˈrezəˌloōt; -lət|adjectiveadmirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering

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