Like most Americans, I was addicted to the single-season home run record chase in 1998. For most of the season, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr. were battling to break the unbreakable record of 61 home runs in a season, held by Roger Maris. Although Griffey has been one of my favorite athletes since he was drafted in 1987, I was cheering for McGwire. Why? Because McGwire shared the mental challenges that came with the chase and I could relate.
For the readers that are too young to remember, this chase was the topic of the day. From about August 1st until the end of the season, about the same time Sosa and McGwire made it a two-man race, everyone talked about the pursuit of the record. And I mean everyone. You’d walk into a restaurant and ask the hostess: “either of ‘em hit one today?”
According to McGwire, the distractions and ongoing stress were bigger obstacles than the opposing pitchers. When Roger Maris broke the record held by Babe Ruth 38 years earlier, he almost had a nervous breakdown. His teammates tell stories about him losing chunks of hair in the shower.
McGwire was feeling the same stress and distractions. He often talked about all the distractions getting in the way of him doing his job, which was to help his team win … not break a record. The combination of stress and distraction, if not held in check, could pull him completely away from being productive and ultimately, he’d do a poor job for his team and he’d fail at breaking the record. A lose-lose scenario.
Sound familiar? During this pandemic, do you find yourself distracted by press conferences and updated models and social media posts and notifications on your phone and … Are you stressed by the million things on your plate and the limited time and resources to fulfill them? Are you able to do your job, or do you find yourself completing a 90-minute task in two days?
Unlike Sosa, McGwire had been through this scenario in 1996 and 1997 when he fell short with 52 and 58 home runs, respectively. He knew about the distractions and stress. He was ready. McGwire committed to a mental exercise when he stepped into the on-deck circle (where batters stand when they’re the next one to hit). He wouldn’t think about home runs or records or outcomes. All he thought about was focusing on the ball and hitting it as hard as possible. That was it. If it travelled over the fence, great. If not, that’s ok too. As long as he followed the process. The result? McGwire hit 70 home runs that year. (Of course, that’s not the entirety of the story, but it is for the purpose of this post.)
Every salesperson is challenged right now with staying focused. It’s not just you. However, you don’t have to follow the herd and waste this unique time. One of the best and simplest techniques for overcoming this challenge is the 25-minute sprint. For any task that you have, turn off all devices and notifications for 25 minutes and do only that one thing. Write it down: “I will finish 50% of this post.” If you have a few short tasks, then combine them into one sprint. For 25 minutes, concentrate only on the task at hand. Then, when you’re done, do whatever you want for 10 minutes. Check Facebook, go for a walk, check out Governor Cuomo on TV, or whatever. After your break, get back to the next 25-minute sprint.
Treat your 25 minutes like McGwire treated every time in the on-deck circle – put on the blinders and focus on one thing. Not the outcome, but that one task (or few small tasks). If you do this, you’ll find yourself on the other end of this stay-at-home situation with a huge smile of personal satisfaction and pride … and a decent pipeline of business to nurture!
