“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”
–Tommy Lasorda
I happened to come across a tweet with this quote from the great Tommy Lasorda the other day. I love it.
When I have a locker room for a team, this will be in my locker room. After all, one day I hope to be a head varsity baseball coach. That quote also reminded me of something I saw following a baseball workout the other day.
“This is something I love to do and I think then you have that mindset, it lets you be free to go out there and compete. It lets you be free to do what a lot of people think you can’t do.”
–Tim Tebow
If you love something and you have the determination to succeed, you will reach your highest level of achievement. What level is that? Hall of Famer? All-Star? Opening Day roster? Independent league? Beer League? What does it matter? What matters is that you follow through with something you love and you make it a goal to reach your highest level of achievement. That’s Tebow’s goal.
In football, Tebow reached his highest level while playing for Urban Meyer at the University of Florida. He won the National Championship with Florida in 2006 and 2008 and won the Heisman Trophy in 2007. Sure, he was drafted in 2010 in the first round by the Broncos and even led them to the playoffs, but he was never a great NFL QB. But he sure never gave up. He gave it his all and eventually was released for the last time in September 2015.
“When you don’t have that (fear) it lets you be able to be free to pursue life and what you’re passionate about, not what other people think you should do.”
–Tim Tebow
–Tim Tebow
Tebow never seemed to fear failure and always outworked everyone by all accounts. He was a success as far as I’m concerned. So who is to say that he is not going to be a successful professional ball player? How would he know what his ceiling, his highest possible level of achievement, could be if he didn’t give it a try?
“Regardless of it you fail or fall flat on your face, if that’s the worst thing that happens, that’s OK. When did that become such a bad thing?”
Some scouts say it was a waste of time while others say he has some serious raw power. How it will translate as a 29 year-old potential rookie, who knows. Maybe it ended with the workout, maybe it ends in an Independent league looking to sell tickets. Maybe it ends in the minors or an invitation to spring training. Maybe he even turns out to be a big leaguer.
But what we can say for certain is that he chased a dream and at the end of the day, he can never hang his head about that. Ever.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
–Wayne Gretzky
I always have respected Tim Tebow and who he is. I’m not a very religious person necessarily, but I respect the deep faith he has. I respect the hard work and being a great role model. I respect that he put in a ton of work to be able to even have a shot to work out in front of dozens of scouts. Most people would never have even given the effort. He did.
Don’t underestimate determination, you just might surprise everyone.
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