Just Show Up
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Things I Highlighted is a bulleted list of particular sentences in a book that stuck out to me. These cannot be viewed as general summaries of books, but rather parts of books that struck me in a way that demanded more of my attention. Typically I share one thing I highlighted from each chapter, so they will appear in the same order they appear in the book. This version of Things I Highlighted will cover Just Show Up, a book about the many benefits earned when you can just show up consistently.
Just Show Up
Chapter 1: Just Show Up
Everything you do is a test of how well you do it, not just once or twice, but again and again, after your task has lost its newness or novelty, when it's just the daily repetition of what needs to be done. Above all, it's not what you mean to do, it's what you actually do—actions, not intentions.
Chapter 2: Success and Money Are Not the Same
To me, you should get what you're worth, but you still shouldn't judge your life by it.
Money is no measure of real accomplishment or happiness. I made more than my dad or the guys in his era, and whoever came after me made more than I did. If you measure your life in money, you'll always come up short.
Chapter 3: Play Fair—Win Fair
I play fair—by the rules—because it's important to me. When I look in the mirror, I can feel good about what I've done. It means that when you win, you'll know it was the best win you could have; you've earned it. There can be no footnotes or asterisks next to those wins. The more you develop a respect for the rules, and the more you compete, the more your sense of fairness evolves. No set of rules can cover everything, however, and it's in the gray areas where your own values have to come into play.
Chapter 4: It's OK to Be Stubborn
Cal Sr. said, "Make sure you're good stubborn, not bad stubborn." In our house, there were to types of stubborn: one meant you had conviction, and the other meant you were being uncooperative. My dad believed in conviction, but only if you were sure you were right or believed you had a better way to do things. It's OK to be determined, but it's not OK to be closed-minded. That's the difference between good stubborn and bad stubborn.
Chapter 5: Baseball Is a Game of Averages . . . like Life
If offense is making something good happen, then defense is preventing something bad from happening. That's called balance, and that's what leads to victory.
Chapter 6: Practice Doesn't Make Perfect—Adjustment Does
All the practicing and adjusting in the world won't help you unless you have clarity of vision. Everything needs a context, and you need to know how you're doing compared to how you're expected to do.
Chapter 7: Have a Mentor, and Be One, Too
Eddie [Murray] was not an in-your-face, "I'm telling you what to do" kind of guy. As a mentor he said his piece, and if you wanted to listen, that was fine. If not, that was OK, too.
I used to say he whispered his wisdom, so you had to lean in to learn it. Wisdom can be like that. It's there if you pay attention.
Chapter 8: How to Be the Quietest Person in the Room
The reality is, there is not a huge difference between the minor leagues and the big leagues. Pitchers in the minors throw just as hard as the ones in the bigs; batters all have good eyes; fielders field smart; managers strategize. The key difference is that players in the majors execute better and way more consistently.