Successful people are willing to do things that unsuccessful people are not willing to do

Successful people are willing to do things that unsuccessful people are not willing to do.

If you are a baseball fan or even if you are not, you would probably agree that the New York Yankees has been the most successful baseball team in history.

They have won many American League championships and the World Series more times than any team in history. It is funny that they call it the World Series, since it takes place only in the United States, but that is another story.
On the other hand, Soccer has a real world series since every country in the world can participate. Spain won the cup fair and square and the players must be very proud to have done so. They are really the world champions.

Anyway, talking about the NY Yankees, the catcher for that team is Jorge Rafael de Posada, re-named by the Yankees as Jorge Posada. (They said for publicity purposes, it was much easier to pronounce and write). Jorge is my cousin. In fact he and I are the last Posada’s in our family line.

Luckily his first born was a boy, second child a girl and I have had two girls so the name has a chance to continue because of that boy although I haven’t given up yet.

When Jorge was much younger, Jorge Luis, his father, asked him if he wanted to make it to the big leagues. Jorge Luis is a scout for the Colorado Rockies and very knowledgeable about baseball.

Jorge replied, “Yes, Dad, I want to make it to the big leagues” “Well” said Jorge Luis, then you have to be a catcher”. Jorge was a second baseman and he liked that position. Jorge Luis explained that he had a better chance as a catcher because of his strong legs, his strong arm and in addition, he can hit a baseball. But he wasn’t fast enough to play the infield.

He started learning the position and working very hard to develop the skills necessary to reach the big leagues.

Another day, Jorge Luis asked his son if he still wanted to go to the Major Leagues and he said yes. “Well then, you need to star batting left handed”. Jorge said, “Dad, I am right handed”. “Well, if you want to make it to the big leagues you must be a switch hitter, bat left and right”. “OK, Dad, I will do it” said Jorge.

The kid started batting left handed and he struck out sixteen times in a row (his Dad told me he struck out 19 times in a row but for sure at least sixteen) until he had a hit.

In 1998 Jorge batted 19 homeruns and 17 were left handed. In the year 2,000, he hit a home run from the left and from the right and in that same game Bernie Williams did the same thing making it the first time in history that two players from the same team have done that. That year he hit 28 homeruns. In 2,001 he hit 22 home runs and signed a very hefty well deserved multimillion contract. It seems signing that contract did him some good psychologically, since he hit 30 home runs in 2003 establishing a record for all the catchers of the New York Yankees, tied with Yogi Berra.

He is the only Major League catcher to ever have hit .330 or better with 40 doubles, 20 home runs, and 90 RBIs in a single season. Since 2000, my cousin had more runs batted in, home runs and hits than any other catcher in baseball.

Why has Jorge Posada been so successful? Because he was willing to do things that unsuccessful players were not willing to do.

An excellent basketball example about willing to do what others are not willing to so, is Larry Bird. I have done psychological work for three teams, The Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers and most recently the New Jersey Nets. I have seen great efforts by basketball players but

Larry’s example is very present in my mind. He was willing to study every inch of the basketball court to find imperfections and not lose the ball by bouncing it in that area. He also noticed marks in the court so that he could be facing away from the basket and knows exactly how many feet to the basket. He could then jump without looking at the basket and turn around in the air and take a shot without much possibility to be blocked. He would then take 300 foul shots for practice.

He was willing to do things that unsuccessful basketball players were not willing to do.
No matter what you do in life, if you want to be successful, you need to do what others are not willing to do.

When Domino’s pizza wanted to be successful, they did something that others were not willing to do, deliver a pizza in 30 minutes or your didn’t have to pay for it.

If you have a business, you need to know what your customers want and then give it to them. You will find that many of your competitors are not doing that and you will obtain a competitive advantage.

What a simple principle, do what others are not willing to do, and yet not many put it into practice.