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NEVER OUT AFTER ONLY ONE STRIKE
Friday Oct. 7, 2016
Every good idea evolve from and involves some pitching, some swinging – deep breathing and sweat equity; every good idea begins as something larger than an amoeba, and smaller than a breadbox …
I’ve written many times about opportunities floating around in our atmosphere – in that are that we breathe, swirling around. All the time.
I’m still enjoying one which entered my lungs recently. Someone called me up, asked me to work with him on a project. We developed ‘the pitch’ and he pitched it to his board.
An early morning call – advising me his board didn’t buy it yet, as we’d both hoped. They didn’t rule it out forever either. He rang early, knowing I was keen to know their answer. We shared a few moments of mutual disappointment, and then discussed what the issues are, what some people liked about it, and what elements others didn’t care for.
So, that great idea isn’t dead – maybe it needs massaging, tweaking, amending.
But something else happened, and looking back I realize several road-forks in my past have some about in similar ways – because someone said, “can you manage that for me?”, or “we have a problem – can you solve that for us?”, or “let me tell you about this idea we have … ”.
Forks, branches and absolute diversions from where something ‘began’ – most with results beyond and very different from first-blush expectations. This latest one, a first pitch that didn’t sell is like a FIRST DRAFT that needs polishing. I’m already polishing, looking for the next opportunity to pitch again, and pitch again. Ironically it’s baseball playoff time again – a great reminder, metaphor, that good pitchers don’t pitch every day; they rest their arm, workout and practice and get ready to pitch again …
And while I was drafting this on a chilly morning, the phone rang again. Another opportunity … or not? Too soon to tell, but history seems to have proven for me – as I’m sure it has for many others, it is hard to hear ideas if you aren’t listening, hard to see new things if our eyes aren’t open. It is, in part, location, location, location. The other part isn’t timing, timing, timing – though that plays an important role. The most important of all, is the connection of relationship built on pitching, and swinging at pitches – some of it is ‘inside-baseball’, but more than that, it’s substance.
Batter up …
Now let’s play ball.
Reader feedback:
MIND AND MATTER
Good one, AN, Calgary, AB
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