I hope he hits the ball to me.

Seek opportunities. You'll get more of 'em.

From 2001-2008, my Little League baseball teammates and I screamed the same phrase at the top of our lungs.

Decades later, that phrase guides my life:

“I hope he hits the ball to me!”

Growing up, my dad was my Little League coach.

During every practice and every game, he’d call out to a different player from the bench…

“Adam, where do you want this guy to hit the ball?

There was only one acceptable answer:

“To me!” 

It didn’t matter if it was a blowout or a close game.

It didn’t matter if you were the best player or the worst player.

It didn’t matter if it was the bottom of the 9th or the top of the 3rd.

When that ball got put in play, you better have wanted it to come to you.

In life, there are a lot of prerequisites to success. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

To me, nothing great can ever be achieved without opportunity.

When you’re playing the field in baseball, you don’t really know when the ball will be hit to you. 

But if you play long enough, it’s going to come to you whether you like it or not.

And I promise you this: If you’re not excited when that ball comes your way, you’re not going to catch it.

You don’t get to choose when opportunity comes your way.

But if you stay in the game — if you keep pushing to build your career, if you keep pushing to be a good parent, if you keep pushing to make a difference — the law of averages dictates that those opportunities will come.

And although you don’t get to choose when those opportunities come, you can increase your chances at getting them.

If you’re thinking, “I hope he gets the ball to me,” and he hits the ball between you and your teammate, you’re going to go get it. Because you wanted it. And you were ready.

If you seek opportunities, you will find opportunities. If you prepare to take advantage, you’ll succeed. And if you succeed, you’ll get put in a position where more opportunities are likely to come your way. 

You don’t get to choose when opportunities come, but you do get to choose how you face them. 

You get to choose excitement over apprehension.

You get to choose confidence over doubt.

You get to choose faith over fear.

And with those mindsets, you get to succeed.

So in life, think, “I hope he hits the ball to me.”

And I promise — the ball will always find you.