Failure Required

Hard is Good: A Lesson from the Baseball Field

I played college baseball for four years. In that time, I learned more life lessons than in my entire life before. But one lesson, in particular, has stuck with me—one that has shaped the way I approach challenges far beyond the baseball field.

The Game That Changed My Perspective

It was a spring afternoon, and we were facing a high-ranked team. By the 7th inning, we were down by two runs. You could feel it in the dugout—hope was slipping away. No one said it outright, but we were all thinking the same thing: Maybe they’ll make a mistake. Maybe they’ll hand us an opportunity.

Then our coach called us together. He could see it on our faces. Frustration. Desperation. Passivity. And that’s when he said something that changed everything:

“Stop wishing for them to make a mistake. They’re too good to give you this game. Don’t hope they drop to your level—step up and play to theirs.”

We went on to win that game in the 9th inning.

At the time, it was just a great comeback story. But as the years passed, I started to understand just how much weight that lesson carried beyond baseball.

Stop Wishing Things Were Different

For the longest time, I caught myself thinking the same way I did in that 7th inning:

• I wish this were easier.
• I wish I had better luck.
• I wish I didn’t have to struggle so much.

But then it hit me.

Stop wishing things were different, because they’re not.

That realization changed everything.

Hard is Good

For so long, I wished the road to success were smoother. I wished getting rich were easier. I wished getting bigger and stronger in the gym didn’t take so much time. I wished becoming great at anything didn’t demand so much sacrifice.

But here’s the truth:

The effort it takes to achieve something great is what makes it valuable.

If it were easy, everyone would be rich. If it were easy, we’d all look like Chris Bumstead. If it were easy, we’d all be playing professional baseball.

Nothing good comes easy. And instead of hoping for things to be easier, we should hope to become stronger, more resilient, and tougher.

So the next time you catch yourself wishing for a shortcut, remember:

Hard is good. It means you’re on the right path.