It's A Process

Learning some valuable lessons...

We all have that one film or TV show we go to in time of comfort and need.

Like an old, slightly smelly and battered but tried and tested pair of slippers or sneakers, it provides us with the familiarity and solace we all crave from time to time.

Like a trusted old friend with a wise head, we rely on it to guide us through a testing period of time and transport us to a land where there are no worries or stresses or pressures or, to put it bluntly, anything crap that can give you a firm kick in the balls.

It can act as a warm slice of paradise that serves as an instant cure-all.

It’s like a reliable safety net or the comfort blanket or soft toy you would refuse to let go from your tiny little grip as a baby.

My go-to TV show when I need to switch off from the world and wallow in my feelings is The Sopranos. Despite the fact I’ve watched the iconic series from start to finish what seems like a million times, it never, ever gets old and it never fails in providing me with the respite I sometimes need from daily life.

Film wise, Moneyball has always been the choice for when I need to switch off and just veg out in-front of the TV with a cold beer. I once watched Moneyball every single day for seven straight days.

And I never once got sick of it.

It was watching Moneyball for the millionth time (again) recently where the first seed of this article began to grow. During one of my favorite ever scenes from the movie - the ‘It’s a process’ scene - the tone and the meaning of that particular segment really hit home with me in a way that it has never done before.

During said scene, Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane - perfectly portrayed by Hollywood heavyweight Brad Pitt (I actually sat in the chair he used in the Fenway Park scene - impressed?) and his assistant Peter Brand - how Jonah Hill never won Best Supporting Actor for that role I’ll never know - are beginning to see some rewards from a new way of doing things that rocked baseball to its very core.

During the montage - set to some very emotive and just breathtaking music by the excellent Mychael Danna - Billy and Pete are getting their ideas and philosophy across to the players of the A’s successfully, and the seismic shift to the Moneyball model starts to show some tangible and substantial results.

How about this for a quote, by the way:

“When your enemies are making mistakes, don’t interrupt them.”

A truly epic quote that was delivered just perfectly by Pitt. One of my favorite quotes from a movie ever. And a line I leaned on a lot and put to good use in a situation I had to deal with not too long ago.

By the way, if you think I was listening to the ‘It’s a Process’ track from the Moneyball album while writing this, you are damn right.

The entire message of the scene is about falling in love with the process, rather than falling in love with the result.

That has really resonated with me for the past week or so more than it ever has before. As I detailed in a previous article, which you can read HERE, I’ve been stuck in somewhat of a rut for the last couple of weeks due to having to attend to some family stuff.

Everything is fine, thankfully.

But, in the moment, the situation required all of my attention and all of my energy and I had nothing left when it came to work. By the time it came to the evening, I was wiped and devoid of any energy and motivation.

Therefore, the laptop just sat there collecting dust. My trusted yellow legal pad - which I literally don’t go anywhere without - was full of ideas and content plans but they remained just a mere idea with no words actually making their way out of my head, through my fingertips and onto the page (or the computer screen).

For someone who needs to be doing something useful every single day, and for someone who lives for writing and being creative with the written word, it was not only a frustrating period but also a pretty lonely and mentally testing time too.

Writing also acts as a form of therapy for me and not having the ability to do what I love was freaking tough. Just imagine something you absolutely love doing and then having it taken away from you. How would that make you feel?

Okay, it wasn’t that extreme but I did feel very lost not being able to jump on to the computer every day and write about a moment in a baseball game that caught my eye, that INSANE ending in the Frozen Four tournament, my Knicks actually looking like a legit, competitive basketball team or the fact the Stanley Cup Playoffs - in other words: the best time of the year - are already upon us.

It was like someone came to my house with a buzzsaw and hacked my left arm off, leaving a trail of blood and guts and arm bits in their wake.

(Yes, that was graphic but I was making sure you were still paying attention).

What was also so exasperating about it was the fact I’m still in the early days of building up a business and, like anything, consistency is key when you are trying to build an audience.

Therefore, disappearing for a couple of weeks is hardly conducive to gaining a solid reader base. Plus, I’ve felt like I’ve badly let down those of you who have shown me nothing but support and love from day one.

It doesn’t help that I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to beating myself up, and I’m way harder on myself than I need to be sometimes. I’ll admit that I’ve done an unhealthy amount of self-bashing recently. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves a break and remember that certain things are out of our control.

It’s life, after all. We’re all gonna get thrown a few curveballs when we least expect them.

(Yes, that baseball analogy was intended, why thank you).

That’s the cue for getting back to the heart of this story. The very essence of this article if you like.

While watching Moneyball for something like the third time in seven nights, I experienced a lightbulb moment. It was as if a bolt of lightning struck me and gave me the firm kick up the ass I needed.

Just like in that scene where Billy Beane is explaining to his team the reasoning behind what they were attempting to do in Oakland, it occurred to me that I too could benefit from a little talking to.

While I didn’t have the luxury of having Brad Pitt or Jonah Hill in the room with me to dish out such an inspirational message, the little voice inside my head was able to hammer home the point.

It’s a process.

It’s a process, it’s a process, it’s a process.

Now, me saying that doesn’t sound as sexy as when Brad Pitt said it but, hey, you can’t win them all.

Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that I was given the reminder I needed that this is all about trusting AND loving the process, rather than becoming obsessed with results.

I set this website up as a business, yes, but, more importantly, this is a site that has been ten plus years in the making. This blog is the one I’ve always dreamed of running and I can’t ever get away from the joy it or writing gives me.

What will be will be. You can only control what you can control and everything will unfold as it is intended to.

(Yes, I really was going for the record of most cliches in one sentence).

What matters most is the process, the doing of something. The satisfaction comes from the hard work, not the end result, the enjoyment comes from the journey, not the destination. And it is the immense joy I’ve always gotten from building something and grafting and grinding that has always paved the way for good things in my life.

Nothing comes from nothing.

Basically, I just need to get back to doing what I love, which is writing, and not worry about all the other crap and the end result. Things that I have allowed to plague my mind in the wake of the last couple of weeks.

All I gotta do is do what I love, write every single day and the rest will take care of itself.

These past couple of weeks have acted as a real crucial lesson in life that came at the perfect time. It forced me to pause, take stock of what’s important and remember why I’m doing this and the joy writing gives me. It was a good reminder to cherish this journey and embrace every single stop, good and bad, euphoric and frustrating.

As Billy Beane said, it’s a process.