Commit to Disrupt: Dive in Headfirst

This weekend, I saw the ESPN Top 10 highlights on Saturday, and one story immediately caught my attention: the fan who managed to catch three foul balls in one inning. I couldn't help but connect this to my work around disruption. Why? That fan perfectly positioned himself to capitalize on the disruption of three foul balls heading his way. It made me think about how we position ourselves for disruptions.

As I continued watching the Top 10, another story grabbed my attention—Pete Crow-Armstrong (aka PCA) from the Chicago Cubs hitting an inside-the-park home run off the Florida Marlins. I thought, "That's an interesting one, too," but I was already locked in on the foul ball story and had started formulating my thoughts around it. I couldn't let PCA's feat disrupt my path—ironic, right?

About an hour later, I received a text from my friend and colleague, Brad White . Brad had seen the highlight in-the-park-homer and suggested I write something about it for LinkedIn . Dang, now Brad is trying to disrupt my plans! Doesn't he know my routine? I share a weekly thought about disruption on LinkedIn—weekly means once per week. This week was already taken—read it here.

Then, I went back and watched the inside-the-park home run again, and two thoughts hit me:

1. The lesson here is too good to pass up and might help someone.
2. Why would I be rigid about how I handle writing about disruption? That goes against my work and research. (See the trap of thinking and acting we can all fall into?)

So, what's the lesson from PCA?

It's all about commitment.

When the ball got past the right fielder, PCA showed no hesitation. He was going for it. The TV announcer said, "As soon as he went around first, you could tell the way he was running. He was thinking inside the park home run."

PCA's commitment was 100%.

The same should be true for you (and me). When deciding to disrupt ourselves, a relationship, a team, or anything else, we must commit.

Will there be setbacks? You bet.

Will there be naysayers? That's guaranteed.

Might you be standing out on an island? No doubt.

But do it anyway.

Round third base, head for home, and, like PCA, dive headfirst!

Make it a great day!

Patrick

P.S. I lead The Disruption Project at Vanderbilt University . Follow me to learn more about how you can disrupt yourself, your team, your family, and so much more!

#disruption #success #motivation