Knock it Out of the Park

I don’t much like baseball, but I really like baseball metaphors. So today, I am going to encourage you to do your best to “knock it out of the park.”

This idea came to me while watching Comedian, a documentary that follows Jerry Seinfeld after the end of his show, Seinfeld, as he starts his stand-up act over completely from scratch. It’s a very cool movie, and if you have any interest in stand-up comedy (as a performer or observer), I would highly recommend it.

Towards the end of the movie, Seinfeld meets Bill Cosby (which is pretty cool, since Cosby is one of Jerry’s idols), and Cosby points out to Jerry that he has already accomplished something great.

Then Cosby says:

“I think it’s one of the great moments of being a performer, when you can say, ‘you know, I took what I had, and I knocked it out of the park.’”

As soon as I heard that line, my ears perked up and I thought, “Wow! That sums it up perfectly.”

Cosby is talking about Seinfeld being one of the all time greats. He’s not talking about doing one show that wows that audience. He’s talking about creating a body of work that you can look back on and say, “I took what I had, and I knocked it out of the park.”

To me, that’s what it’s all about. Not money, or fame, or recognition (though those things are nice). It’s about knowing that you did the absolute best you could do.

In a nutshell, it’s about looking back and saying, “Yeah, I fulfilled my potential.”

This doesn’t apply just to performers. It applies to everyone, in all walks of life, personally and professionally.

Whatever you’re doing, whatever is important to you, you can take what you have and knock it out of the park. Be the best parent, accountant, artist, consultant, engineer, entrepreneur, whatever, that you can be.

I find that quite often, when I start talking about dreams and potential, people say, “but not everyone cares about being rich, or famous, or number one in the world.”

You’re right. Those things ma be other people’s dreams. The question is, what’s your dream? What’s your potential? What would constitute “knocking it out of the park” for you?

Here’s the rub though: don’t let yourself off the hook by saying, “take what I have? I don’t have much. I don’t have much potential.”

Bah – poppycock! You have tremendous potential. You just:

1. Are afraid of admitting it because then you would have to do something about it.
2. Haven’t put in the hard work of figuring out where your potential lies.
3. Ignore it because life seems easier when you underachieve.
4. Are letting your own drive be supplanted by what you think (or others think) you “should” be doing.
5. Have conditioned yourself, through your own self-talk or through the words of others, to think small.

The first step is in accepting and understanding your potential. The second step is to go do something about it.

Now get out there, take what you have, and knock it out of the freakin’ park!”

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Do you want help knocking it out of the park? Then sign up for some Smart Ass Mentoring now!

About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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