Finally Meeting My Neighborhood MLB Aspiration: A Lesson in Models

I met a seventeen year Major League Baseball veteran over the weekend who I heard about all through my childhood. We didn’t really have much in common in terms of style of play or position or anything, but he was from my neighborhood and he achieved the goal I was so motivated to accomplish. So, he was a model. 

That’s the key word: model. 

We need models that show us what’s possible and what to aim for. Without a North Star model, you’re left with less indication of a path, less information to mimic, and less evidence that these long road type efforts are feasible. 

While my baseball path is over, I now realize that I’ve benefited from choosing very specific, high quality models in subsequent endeavors. What’s also fascinating is that by comparison to peers of mine, I’m realizing that we create our perception of what is possible based on the models we’re exposed to. In fact, it’s very unlikely you’ll pursue things (let alone accomplish them) if you have no frame of reference for them in the world. 

If you want to improve your life, the first obvious step (in my opinion) is to improve your models. 

Carry on.