Andy Neary got cut from baseball on the last day of spring training and learned that regret comes from inaction, not failure. He pushes people to apply for jobs, start businesses, try again, even messily, because doing something beats the regret of doing nothing.
Chapters
Have you ever gotten a pink slip in your life? I can remember mine like it was yesterday. It was the last day of spring training. Walked in the locker room early in the morning. Sun hadn't even come up yet, and I was gonna get ready for a day full of practice, working on my mechanics and playing in a game that afternoon. And I remember getting to my locker and staring in that locker, and there it was, pink slip hanging there. And if you ever had this. Have had this experience, it's very awkward because everybody knows what has just happened. Your teammates are around you, and they know what's happening. You're being let go. You're being told you are no longer good enough to play for that organization.
And I can remember that moment because right there, right then, when you see that pink slip, the first thought that goes through your head is, could I have done something different? What else could I have done? Maybe I should have. And you see, in pro baseball, I made so many mistakes with my mindset. I just wanted to fit in. I just wanted to be average. I saw myself as average, and I just did enough to get by in high school and baseball, in high school and college, I had done so much outside the lines that allowed myself to play pro ball. But once I got there, this failed me because it told myself I was average. I just did enough to get by. And there it was, the pink slip. It was too late to save my baseball career. So my question for you is, where in your life are you? Are you looking back? Are you holding yourself back from doing what you know you should be doing, going after that job that you know you want, building that business that you know you want? Because you're sitting there going, well, only if I had, maybe I should have. What else could I have done? And my ask of you today is, don't do that anymore. Stop. Do what you need to do. Take the action. Take imperfect, messy action. The worst that can happen, you can fail. Oh, well, you try something else. Take it from me, who sat there looking in that locker, looking at that pink slip, being told, it's over. You're no longer good enough. Don't look back. Don't regret. Take action. Take messy action. Because I promise, if you do, no matter what happens, even if you fail, you'll look back and be happy. You know you did everything you could to succeed.
