Game On!

Inside the book and game of CareerBall: The time has come whereby everybody associated with competitive athletics—administrators, coaches, parents… even YOU!—need to wake up, step up, and commit to your career in ways you may have never thought of or have been told about. And the earlier you do this in your athletic life, the better.

On the whole, society has just come off a decade of entitlement and instant gratification, in which a worldwide attitude of “What’s in it for me?” was the general attitude held by most athletes. The world today is a very different place. Now, athletes are asking the question: “What’s going on, and how will it affect me?” The simple answer is that times have changed. The more complex answer that is as an athlete-centric culture, we have been asleep at the wheel, caught up in believing that a 100 percent commitment to organized sports would always produce a great outcome in our life. But sadly, unless you’re making seven figures a year and signed to a multi-year deal, being a good athlete is no guarantee that you will succeed in your career after sports… or even find a job, for that matter.

I love the saying “Instant gratification takes too long” and I agree. But there is no escaping the fact that you will have to commit nearly the same amount of time, energy, and self-responsibility you applied to sports if you want to be just as successful in your career.