PLAY BALL
unglamorous advice for becoming wildly successful
During my Tim Ferriss phase I used to love the question he asked at the end: “If you could put a short phrase on a billboard for everyone to see, what would it be?”
I have never been on Tim’s show, which is a shame, because I really could have talked him into owning an Aston Martin instead of renting one, as he advised in his book.
But if I had been on the show, my billboard answer would have been:
PLAY BALL.
The saddest people I have known are critics. Critics in the cheap seats who are too scared to get into the arena, but have infinite advice for those who are already in there.
People who talk trash. Mid level employees who post on LinkedIn telling CEOs how to run their companies. Geeks who attend political rallies with clever signs but never run for local office. Foodies who would never dream of doing the work to open a restaurant, but instead write scathing Yelp reviews. Basically anyone who writes Yelp reviews.
The phrase “play ball” means something very unglamorous, and that’s what’s great about it. It means do something. Take a risk. Enter the negotiation with the person you dislike. Abide by a few annoying rules to get your foot in the door. Start the paperwork. Get some tedious hard stuff out of the way, so you can get to the desirable stuff. Understand that there is no “should”, there is only reality.
It means humble yourself and participate.
The people enjoying massive success are people who believe it’s possible. You can’t believe it’s possible until you stack a few baby wins. And you can’t get any wins unless you play ball.
Of course, not everyone can play ball and win.
But you can.
SELECT OPEN ROLES:
Co-founder, Head of Growth // Wellness // LA or NYC
Executive General Manager, eComm Division // Precious Metals // Beverly Hills
Head of Operations (contract) // Beauty // Los Angeles
VP of Operations // Luxury Streetwear // Los Angeles
Sr. Art Director // Contemporary Fashion // Los Angeles
Creative Director // Fashion Basics // Dallas