Ripken Rules to Keep Going and Going and Going

I didn’t sleep well last night.

No big deal. It happens.

Now, bleary-eyed and foggy-headed, I sit before my laptop.

Some mornings I arrive with a story idea, ready to roll.

This morning, like many others, I’m starting from scratch. Just me, a blank screen, and no idea what to write.

But I have habits and systems to generate story ideas. And it doesn’t take me long to find this:

On this day in 1995, Cal Ripken, Jr. tied Lou Gehrig’s record of playing 2,130 straight Major League Baseball games. Three years later, Ripken finally sat out a game and ended the streak with 2,632 games.

Wow! 

That’s 16(+) seasons (May 30, 1982, through Sept. 19, 1998) without missing a game. No one will break this record.

And get this: During one stretch of the streak (from June 5, 1982 until September 14, 1987), he not only appeared in every game, but he played in every inning. That’s 8,243 consecutive innings.

Cal Ripken, Jr. fascinates me. He inspires me. He teaches me…

…how to keep going…

…even when I’m tired and the tank is empty.

Here are a three Ripken Rules I’ve adopted for my business and life:

Develop habits and systems to maximize success.

As Ripken grew older and pressure grew to keep the streak going, he developed habits and systems to keep going.

“I made a renewed effort to work harder. I got better at my diet. I paid attention to how much sleep I got. I was always someone of routine. I became more strict,” he said.

Embrace responsibility.

All of us are responsible to others — in our work and personal lives. We show up for work not just for ourselves. We show up to serve others — teammates, clients, subscribers, and so forth.

“I always thought being a gamer and someone who had a sense of responsibility to the game and to my teammates was the honorable thing,” he said.

Don’t Let the Sh*t Get You Down

We all suffer setbacks. If we wallow in misery, we get stuck. If we focus forward, we keep going.

“One of the things that helps you have a long career is learning how to deal with adversity, how to get past it. Once I learned how to get through that, others things didn’t seem so hard,” he said.

Keep going. You can do this. If you’d like some help, see the p.s. below.