Two and Two and 2

“I have the will to play. Baseball is hard work and the strain is tremendous. Sure, it’s pleasurable, but it’s tough…There’s no excuse for a player not hustling. I believe every player owes it to himself, his club and to the public to hustle every minute he is on the ball field.” -Lou Gehrig (aka “The Iron Horse”; played 2,130 straight baseball games; .340 career batting average; .361 career postseason batting average; hit 495 home runs; 1,995 RBI’s; MLB triple crown winner; two-time MVP; seven-time All-Star; six-time World Series Champion, Hall Of Famer and the first player ever to have his number retired.)

“When a man can control his life, his physical needs, his lower self, he elevates himself.” -Muhammad Ali

“My office is at Yankee stadium. Yes, dreams do come true.” -Derek Jeter (#2, first ballot Hall Of Hamer; aka “The Captain”)

Two of the most important habit-forming principles as detailed in Atomic Habits by James Clear…

The two minute rule…For sticking with any new goal or habit, think of what you can do in just two minutes. For example, if your goal is to “read more”, then strive to read one page a day. If that’s all you do, great. You win. The key here is consistency. Never miss a day. “Never break the chain” as Jerry Seinfeld would advise. Mr. Clear gives the real life example of a person who wanted to “exercise more.” Instead of attempting crazy long workouts, all that person did was show up at the gym every morning. For the first few weeks, they didn’t even work out. Just drove there, checked in, looked around, then left. That led to five minute workouts, which became ten minutes, and so on and so forth. Eventually that person achieved their fitness goals, but more importantly forged a new identity…Becoming the type of person who loves to exercise.

Never miss two days in a row…Life happens. Stuff goes awry. The day’s a shit show and you miss doing your two minutes. Don’t fret. Don’t admonish yourself. Don’t quit. Resolve to and then execute your two minutes tomorrow. Start a new streak!

P.S. – This speech.