Andy Neary recalls a brutal coaching moment after a terrible college pitching performance. His coach said he was "effing terrible," a comment that taught him failure is one bad day, not a pattern. The choice is whether to spiral or reset and come back stronger.
Chapters
I can remember the game like it was yesterday. It was my sophomore year at uwm, standing on the mound, literally watching the Detroit Mercy batting order around the bases like a carousel as I give up hit after hit after hit after run after hit after walk. And I look over to our dugout, and out of the dugout comes Jerry Augustine, head coach. Augie, I love you. And he does that dreadful stroll to the mound, and I know what's about to happen. I'm about to come out of the game, so I put my head down in defeat. And when Augie's standing right next to me, I look him in the eyes, and he only has one thing to say to me. You are effing terrible today. You see, as an athlete, there are days you have to recognize you just flat out suck. And the same is true in business. But it's how you react when somebody's telling you you're not performing to your standards that makes you the person you are. The true colors of who you are. And when somebody tells you flat out you're terrible, you suck, and it's the truth, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna crumble? And are you gonna let one crappy day turn into a crappy week turn into a crappy month and an entire crappy year? Or are you gonna use it as motivation, knowing that you get to go to bed that night and wake up the next day with new chance, new life, new opportunity? Because you get to play the game all over again. The choice is yours. So as we start this week, I promise you, whether it's this week, next week, or before the end of the year, you're gonna have days where you suck as a business owner, as a producer, as a mother, as a father, as a husband, as a wife. And when somebody calls you out and holds you accountable for your performance, what are you gonna do? You gonna crumble? You gonna let it turn into a downward spiral of horrible performance after horrible performance? Are you gonna use it as fire, go to bed, get back up, and play the game all over again? Because you know you have a new chance with new life. I think you know the choice. Choose wisely. When those days come where you suck, let it be one day and wake up the next day and play the game all over again.
