INTRODUCTION:
Are you calling the shots? How about calling YOUR shot? They are very different, in one you're the boss the other you're the leader. One of the things businesses need to do today and what you can do to personally grow, is to start calling your shot! The importance of calling your shot can mean achieving personal and professional success. In life and in business it takes an act to step forward, declare what you want, and get traction to lead and grow. Babe Ruth stepped to the plate on October 1st, 1932 and pointed to the flagpole, telling the Chicago Cubs that's where the next pitch would go. Did it happen? Well, he hit a home run! The idea rings true, you need to start calling your shot in life and in business and here's how.
Set a higher standard
The reason Babe Ruth was able to call his shot and more importantly, become feared by opposing teams was that he had a higher standard of playing the game. He was just like a small business competing in the field and he needed to step it up to stand out. Before Babe Ruth, there were only four (4) times when a player hit more than 20 homers in a season. A bar had been set. And then came Babe Ruth. Starting in his 5th year his 4-bagger stats went as follows: 11, 29, 54, 59, 35, 41, 46, 24, 47, 60, 54, 46, 49, 46, 41, and hitting 34 in 1933. He won the World Series seven times! Talk about amazing. That’s a higher standard than anyone had known, and one that changed the game forever. When you set a higher standard for yourself (see Seth Godin's blog) and make everyone else play catch up, that’s when calling your shots makes a difference.
Visualize your outcome
When you think about calling your shot and what it means, you have to think about the outcome(s) you wish to have. What is the goal? At Kpahi we have a saying with our clients ‘Start with the End’. That means we figure out what the client wants first, and then make a plan and strategy for how to get there. When Babe Ruth called his shot it was because he could visualize hitting that home run. He was in a mindset to figure out how to make it happen and concentrate on the task at hand to succeed. Once you know the end outcome, and visualize it happening, the rest of the details will start falling into place. This is the point when leaders are called 'visionary' and 'thought-leaders'. When calling your shot becomes real in your mind, you're almost there.
Act
It's not enough to just say you have a higher standard. It's not enough to just visualize your goals. Your shot can only happen by taking action. [See Art Williams's Just Do It Speech Here] How do we know about the infamous story about Babe Ruth calling his shot? Because he actually hit the home run! How many people have visualized and set higher standards and have never achieved success? Too many. Why? They failed to act. Action is the power that will lead to achievement and growth. Little actions turn into big actions and soon enough that dream will become your reality. Make it happen and do it! You don't have to be the boss, or have the title to call the shots, you need to do it. This is when calling your shot becomes really real.
Summary:
Was Babe Ruth famous because he was great at baseball? Or was he famous because he set a higher standard, visualized greatness, and then ACTED? Calling your shot is important and sets the stage for you to achieve anything you wish. It's also important not to drop your standard just to meet goals, that's the fastest way to becoming average. In business this means understanding where you want to go, and figuring out how to get there.
Can you afford not to call your shot? Make it happen, and then, make it happen again, and again, and again.
Once you call your shot, see how to measure success and track your progress with this free e-book, 'Marketing Stats That Shark Tank Cares About'.
