Andy Neary reflects on recent burnout, recounting a pitching anecdote where working "too fast" ruined his mechanics and risked arm injury. He recounts being told by a coach to "slow down" and applies that advice to business and life: emphasize patience, consistency, and building your business around your life to avoid exhaustion and sustain long-term success.
Chapters
Do you feel like you're doing a little too much right now? Do you feel a little burnt out, a little exhausted? I know I do. Last week I hit an absolute wall. I had never been that tired before, and I realized that I've just been trying to do too much. It reminded me of when I was at my worst as a pitcher. You see, when I found it most difficult to hit the strike zone was when my delivery was too fast. I was trying to work too fast.
You see, if my delivery came in too fast, by the time my leg landed, my arm wasn't up where it was supposed to be. It was still back here, dragging way behind. And what would happen when my mechanics were too fast is my arm would still have to do all this work.
Which would make it difficult for me to hit my target, hit the strike zone. It would leave the ball high, making it easier for the batter to do damage with.
And most importantly, if I kept my poor mechanics up, this arm drag would.
Lead to arm exhaustion and injury.
The best thing I could do in that moment, best thing a pitching coach.
Could do in the moment when he.
Would come out and talk to me.
And say, hey, dude, slow down. And I'm telling you to do the same thing right now. Just like I'm telling myself, if you feel exhausted right now, if you feel a little burnt out and you know you're trying to do too much, take a breath, slow down. This is a long game. I've been preaching consistency, persistency, and patience for a while. Most importantly, patience. If you're in this business to win long, run, win in the long term, you've got to slow down, quit trying to do so much. Remember, you're supposed to enjoy life just as much as you're supposed to enjoy your business. One of the best pieces of advice I've been given is to build your business around your life, not your life around your business. So if you feel like you are a little burnt out because you're trying to do too much, take the same advice I'm giving myself right now. Take a breath, slow down, be patient. Because you have a long road ahead of you. So enjoy life as much as you enjoy business and the game gets a whole lot easier.
