Robbie Robinson

Jesus, Family & Baseball. Dad of 4. Catching Coordinator Arizona Diamondbacks. Alumni: Valpo & MoState 🐻

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

Beware of the assumption that the way u work is the best way, simply because it’s the way you have done it before. -Rick Rubin

[Billy Oppenheimer @bpoppenheimer]

After his second year at Michigan, Tom Brady wanted to transfer.

He wasn’t playing in games, and he was so low on the depth chart that he only got 2 reps in practice.

Brady met with his coach to express his frustration, “The other quarterbacks get all the reps.”

Coach replied,

“Brady, I want you to stop worrying about what all the other players on our team are doing. All you do is worry about what the starter is doing, what the second guy is doing, what everyone else is doing. You don’t worry about what you’re doing.”

Coach reminded him, “You came here to be the best. If you’re going to be the best, you have to beat out the best.”

And then he recommended that Brady meet Greg Harden, a counselor who worked in the athletic department.

Brady went to Harden’s office and whined, “I’m never going to get my chance. They’re only giving me 2 reps.”

Harden replied, “Just go out there and focus on doing the best you can with those 2 reps. Make them as perfect as you possibly can.”

“So that’s what I did,” Brady said. “They’d put me in for those 2 reps, man, I’d sprint out there like it was Super Bowl 39. ‘Let’s go boys! Here we go! What play we got?’”

“And I started to do really well with those 2 reps. Because I brought enthusiasm, I brought energy.”

Soon, he was getting 4 reps. Then 10, “and before you knew it,” Brady said, “with this new mindset that Greg had instilled in me—to focus on what you can control, to focus on what you’re getting, not what anyone else is getting, to treat every rep like it’s the Super Bowl—eventually, I became the starter.”

Takeaway 1:

Greg Harden telling Brady to focus on being great during his 2 reps reminded me of a piece of advice from the entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

“People come to me all the time and tell me they’re stuck,” Cuban explained. “They’re stuck in a job they don't like. They’re stuck working for a boss they don’t like. They're stuck on a team they don't like.”

“I just tell them, ‘Be great.’”

“The reality of life is that you can’t just always quit your job. You can’t just always go to your boss and say, ‘Give me the promotion, or I’m out of here.’” You can’t just always go to your coach and say, ‘Give me more reps, or I'm transferring.’

“So when you’re stuck, you’ve gotta find it within yourself to say, ‘Ok, this is where I am. And if I’m going to be here, I’m going to be great.’

Because if you’re great at your job, typically other people and companies find out, so it creates opportunities.”

Takeaway 2:

In the field of strategic management, there is a distinction made between “lead measures” and “lag measures.”

Lag measures are the results you’re trying to achieve: getting a promotion, winning a championship, being the starting quarterback. Lead measures are the actions that predictably drive those results. 

The core characteristic of a lead measure, the authors of “The 4 Disciplines of Execution” write, is that “a lead measure can be directly influenced by you.” To achieve your goals, they write (echoing what the Michigan Coach told Brady), “apply a disproportionate energy” to the things that are in your control.

Starting at Michigan and for the rest of his career, that’s what Brady did.

After he was selected by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the 2000 draft, Brady was asked: “Are you aware that [along with starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe] there’s another quarterback here that they drafted last year?” 

Brady said he was aware of that, “and I know he’s a heck of a player. But I’ve always concerned myself just with the things I can control. I don’t put a lot of thinking into the other guys because I know I’m not at my best when I’m not just thinking about playing as well as I possibly can.”

- - -

“I never once in my life ever said I wanted to be the best of all time. Ever. I wanted to be the best I could be, period. I learned that in college. It didn’t matter what the other guys were doing. It didn’t. It mattered what I was doing.” — Tom Brady

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

Regret from INACTION is always more painful than regret from ACTION.

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

The greatest discoveries in life come not from finding the right answers but from asking the right questions.

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

From my experience there are common trends of high preforming athletes…
-Ample amount of Sleep
-Dialed in Nutrition Plan
-Ask thoughtful Questions
-Understand their Strengths & Weaknesses
-Workout with Purpose
-Open 2 Feedback
-Mental Clarity w/ Routine
-Quality Teammate

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

@lukasnegr07 👊

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

The only person to blame for whatever is happening to you is…. YOU!

You are the captain of your life and YOU decide if you live a good life or not.

Take responsibility for yourself, your actions and your choices.

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

I’ve been asked… “how do I become a better baseball player.” My thoughts…
-focus on setting clear goals
-consistently practicing & improving your skills
-seeking feedback
-embracing challenges
-staying passionate about your work
-surrounding yourself with positive influences

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

@JWonCATCHING Agree 👊

[Arizona Diamondbacks @Dbacks]

Something exciting is happening down in the Dominican Republic this week. 👀

[MLB Trade Rumors @mlbtraderumors]

Diamondbacks Sign Aramis Garcia To Minor League Deal https://t.co/1q9VV9RbQz

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

All success is built upon the things that we don’t want to do, but we do anyway.

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are. -Max DePree

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

When we change what we look at and talk about, we change what we see. Most powerfully, we change what is POSSIBLE. @TrevorTimbeck

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing. -Edwards Deming

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. -Seneca

[Robbie Robinson @RobbieR13575]

“Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations. If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won't exist because you'll have already shut it out... You can hear other people's wisdom, but you've got to re-evaluate the world for yourself.” #maejemison