Good Enough?

When I was younger, I was a sports writer for a while. I guess it was never a real career path for me, but through a period in my life I thought I was pretty good at it. That didn't last very long, though. Once I was actually working in the media, I inevitably came to the conclusion that I wasn't good enough after all.

This realization was facilitated, for the most part, by other journalists who were older and more experienced than me. It wasn't that harsh or anything. Under normal circumstances, most people won't come up to you and tell you that you suck, or that you're simply not good enough - but they'll find ways to make you feel that way. 

A few years later, I encountered similar vibes from veteran coaches, as I was taking my first steps in my current field. And again, you can say that most of these critics were "old school" folks.

Luckily, this time I was a little older and wiser. I kept going. I'm still going.  

I recently tried to figure out how much I knew about the careers of these individuals, after our paths crossed at some point. Truth is - I know very little.

While pondering this, I realized that most of the individuals I've met over the years, in both fields, and that actually made a name for themselves - had a few things in common: They were good with people, they never made others feel like they were better than them, and they always had a positive attitude. Many started small, with jobs that few would have agreed to do. And they worked hard, but didn't seem to insist on always getting it perfect. 

Honestly, there was a lot to learn from them. 

Now I'm in my 40's, still dedicating most of my time to the endless pursuit of youthful (some would say childish) dreams. I even got into playing music a few years ago - another path I gave up on when I was young, probably mostly because I couldn't find anyone who thought I was good enough.

It took me a while, but I finally realized that it doesn't really matter how good you are, or even how good you think you are. What matters is that you always stay humble, respectful, and never stop trying to be better.

Yes, even once you do get pretty good at something. 

Now that's a message I'll happily deliver to the people I coach.