Herman School of Business
The Moonlight Graham Effect...
For those of you not familiar with the movie Field of Dreams let me introduce you to Archibald “Moonlight” Graham. He made it to the Major Leagues in 1929 and played the bottom of the eighth inning in the outfield. Scheduled to bat fourth in the ninth inning, his team made three outs with Graham standing in the on-deck circle. He finished the bottom of the ninth in the field and then was cut from the team. He never got even one at-bat.
So close, yet so far away. But, Moonlight was not a fictional movie character. He really lived and became a Doctor, thereby becoming “Doc” Graham who lived to the ripe old age of 87. The movie depicts his return to the Field of Dreams to get his one at-bat back. The one he never got in life, yet he stood just a few feet away from the batters’ box and never knew that was the closest he would ever come to it.
What if where you are right now is as close as you will ever get to your goal. And you were suddenly given the knowledge that in fact…you will never get closer than right now. This is it. This is where the race ends and you haven’t hit the finish line and you never well. Could you give up that all important one at-bat and go on to become an incredible Doctor helping thousands…or would you sulk so much over this goal not being achieved that you squander the next opportunity?
If ever there was an example of how close you can come and not get there I haven’t come across it yet. So, therefore I am going to adopt what I will call the “Moonlight Graham Effect” for my writing and speaking. Suppose this blog posting is the closest I will ever get to having millions of people read my work? Suppose the speech I give next week before the Howard County Women’s Organization is the closest I ever get to standing in front of thousands with a microphone in my hand? From time to time I intend to remind myself that this is the on-deck circle and may be the closest I get to the at-bat I want. And I am going to soak in the atmosphere, smell the air around me, close my eyes and listen for the sounds of the crowds in the stands, concentrate on the pitcher as he winds up to throw the pitch that ends my chance at standing at home plate. In other words, dear readers, I am going to enjoy this…as I hope for more.
And if the speeches stop coming, and the readers don’t stop by anymore…then I will make myself go on like Doc Graham and become the next thing and chase another goal.
- Posted: 9 June 2008
- Comments: 1
- Category: Business failure
This reminds me of the quote:
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Thomas Edison
Written by Richard on 9 June 2008