“Commitment is the pledge to do the uncomfortable” – Matt Rogers, Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
Whether I am doing a coaching session with one of my clients, coaching my basketball team, or just talking future with my daughter, it seems this quote, “commitment is the pledge to do the uncomfortable”, always pops up in the conversation in one shape or another. Commitment is uncomfortable…in the beginning. It’s hard to email and call college coaches out of the blue and introduce yourself and invite them to recruit you.
“What if they don’t think I’m good enough?”
It’s hard to get up every morning and put extra time into your strength, conditioning and skill set development.
“No one else is getting up that early.”
However, the kid who wants to play in college. I mean really wants it and is willing to do whatever it takes…that kid is more than willing to sacrifice comfort for opportunity.
One of my favorite shows of all-time is Newsroom. I just cannot get enough of Aaron Sorkin. The rhythm to how he writes relationships, conversation and conflict (and conflict resolution) captivates my senses. [I wish I had a tenth of his natural talent as a writer.] In one of the earlier episodes of the show, two of the main characters (the President of the News Division, Sam Waterston and the star of the evening news, Jeff Daniels) are sitting in an office discussing why they are choosing to no longer consider ratings and to start doing the news the way it was supposed to be done. Sam says to Jeff, “Do you know why? Because we just decided to.”
In June of 2022, I was almost 50 lbs overweight. I hated my job. I was terribly missing coaching. I had re-written the introduction to my book 15 times and was going nowhere, and I felt like a failure to my wife and kids.
Fast forward to Christmas 2023, and I am 1 lb (Yes, 1 pound!) from my college weight. (I went from from 236 lbs to 189 lbs), I wrote and published my book on college recruiting for families, I quit my job and started my own company (I have multiple happy clients on their way to being recruited to their dream school), I took a job as a Head High School Basketball coach at a great high school, and I’m proud to look my wife and the kids in the eyes because I’m doing all the things I wanted to do.
Was it hard? It felt impossible for 10+ years. I did not think I would accomplish any of it…but I just decided to. I decided my life was worth living.
So, do you want some advice? Write down on a piece of paper, “I just decided to…” Finish the sentence and get to work. If I can do it, all of you can too! I’ve got your back, and I am one phone call away if you need somebody to share your journey with!
Enjoying these blogs? Want to schedule a free 30-minute college recruiting assessment with Coach Rogers? You can do so here: https://www.significantcoaching.net/
Interested in Coach Rogers’ Book? You can find it here: https://bit.ly/Matt-Rogers-Significant-Recruiting-Amazon
