A few years ago I was facing a heartbreaking fact. I was as good at pool as I was ever going to get.
I had done my best and given everything I could. I had come a long ways and achieved a lot, but I hadn't seen any improvement in a few years and the game seemed to be getting harder, not easier. It didn't even feel like I was trying to improve anymore, it felt like I was grasping to duplicate prior performances that were achieved when I was younger, fresher, and bubbling with enthusiasm.
How could I get better? I had a family, a job, and no time or money to travel around and play pro tournaments or big gambling matches which seemed the way all the other players got there. No, it was the end of the road. I would either have to quit pool and move on to another chapter in my life, or resign myself to being a big fish in a small pond and just playing the same weekly tournaments again and again, winning against local players until the new generation passed me by and I sat silently on the sidelines with self loathing for abandoning my commitment to personal development.
Yes, I was in full on victim mode. Circumstances were what was stopping me from getting better. If only I could have the same opportunity as the full time players. If only I was more talented. If only I lived in a pool community with more top talent and pool action.
One day, and I still remember it clearly, I was at work and a question popped into my head. Suppose a rich old man who loved pool and took interest in my potential as a pool player made me a ridiculous offer. Suppose he told me he wanted to see what I was capable of as a pool player if I had unlimited resources. So he would pay me the same salary I was earning from my job, and any necessary expenses, to do whatever I needed to in order to become the best possible pool player I could be. And he would pay me this salary and fund my pursuit for two years. Then at the end of the two years, if I showed enough improvement, he'd bankroll me permanently into tournaments and help me make a run at the title. Suppose all of that happened and I could pursue pool without restraint. What would I do during those two years to take advantage of that opportunity?
It was an odd hypothetical question I posed to myself, but once I did it wasn't hard to start coming up with answers. I was amazed at how the ideas started to pour out of me:
-I would travel to at least one pro pool tournaments a month and test myself against the best
-I would get into gambling matches with strong players to build experience
-I would structure and organize my practice and be more formal about what I was doing and the progress I was making
-I would video record myself and break down every piece of my game and methodically build it stronger than ever
-I would watch more tape of top pros and study their every move, recreating some of their shots and techniques on my home table
-I would get a coach to help me plan my journey and hold me accountable
-I would work with a sports psychologist
-I would go to the gym and get into better physical shape
-I would practice my break with the break-rak an hour a day
-I would have written goals and review them daily
-I would journal about my matches and journey and reflect daily on my progress
-I would put together a more formal tournament schedule and strategize how to best use my time
See, a funny thing happened. I had been inactive because of my excuses for a while and had encountered a block that prevented me from seeing a path forward. But when I imagined a situation in which my excuses were removed it wasn't hard to see what that path might look like. And it was easy to brainstorm when I knew this was all fictional and I wouldn't actually have to act on any of this (because hey, I had my excuses).
But then the reality stared me in the face. The reality was this: That rich old man does not exist, and no one was going to walk through the door to pave the way for me. No, sir. Which leaves exactly one question. Am I going to give up, or do I just go ahead and do those things anyway?
If you know me you know my answer. It was game on. Of course the reality was still true that I had valid limitations on my resources. I couldn't do all of those things with full time capacity. But that didn't mean I had to do nothing. I'd do what I could. Period.
So I did something I learned from my corporate job when it comes to prioritizing operational changes. I added columns next to those items and rated them as follows: How much time would this item take? How much mental energy? How much money? And what type of lift do I think that would give to my pool game? Things that took a lot of time and money and wouldn't necessarily provide immediate results moved to lower priorities, and things that didn't take much time or money and showed a bigger return moved to the top as they had a better return on investment.
Then I took one long, deep breath, and I started.
The next year was one of the most incredible I've had in terms of pool progress. I was drilling, practicing my break, working out, and on down the list. While I didn't do all of these things to the full extent of my original vision, it was downright spooky how many of these things I was able to do in compared with the nothing I'd been doing when I had felt stuck before. Suddenly things started happening in my pool game. Shots that would've stopped me before started going in more frequently, and soon dependably. I found myself more motivated with the reawakened enthusiasm that had been lost before and I was playing better and better.
It didn't happen overnight, the progress wasn't linear, and there were setbacks when I'd lose steam as the other parts of my life would overwhelm me and knock me off the path like a tidal wave. But when this happened I'd pick myself up, dust myself off, and start going again like an ant.
Fast forward a few years and I'm playing the best pool of my life. I've had experiences in the last few years beyond anything I thought I could that day at work I'd thought I'd reached my limits. And the best part is I can still tell I'm improving and have more ideas on how I can make 2020 the best year of my pool career.
We all have different goals with pool, we are all at different levels and ages, and we all have different responsibilities and opportunities. For some people playing socially is fine, others are satisfied with their current level, and some just like to talk theory about the game and bang around some balls with a pal once in a while. There is room for everyone and I understand that. If you're getting what you want from the game then keep on keepin' on.
But. If there is a part of you that once dreamed of playing a high level that's been locked up inside of you for years, causing you pangs of grief every time you hear it cry out over the noise of your day to day life, just know this: The barrier that is blocking you from moving forward- it doesn't exist. There are things that can slow you down and may prevent you from keeping up with others who have more to put in, that much is true. But the biggest barrier is the one we build ourselves. And when we knock that down, while we can't achieve anything, we can achieve our personal best. And for me that is the only goal that means anything, and to me it means everything.
I had done my best and given everything I could. I had come a long ways and achieved a lot, but I hadn't seen any improvement in a few years and the game seemed to be getting harder, not easier. It didn't even feel like I was trying to improve anymore, it felt like I was grasping to duplicate prior performances that were achieved when I was younger, fresher, and bubbling with enthusiasm.
How could I get better? I had a family, a job, and no time or money to travel around and play pro tournaments or big gambling matches which seemed the way all the other players got there. No, it was the end of the road. I would either have to quit pool and move on to another chapter in my life, or resign myself to being a big fish in a small pond and just playing the same weekly tournaments again and again, winning against local players until the new generation passed me by and I sat silently on the sidelines with self loathing for abandoning my commitment to personal development.
Yes, I was in full on victim mode. Circumstances were what was stopping me from getting better. If only I could have the same opportunity as the full time players. If only I was more talented. If only I lived in a pool community with more top talent and pool action.
One day, and I still remember it clearly, I was at work and a question popped into my head. Suppose a rich old man who loved pool and took interest in my potential as a pool player made me a ridiculous offer. Suppose he told me he wanted to see what I was capable of as a pool player if I had unlimited resources. So he would pay me the same salary I was earning from my job, and any necessary expenses, to do whatever I needed to in order to become the best possible pool player I could be. And he would pay me this salary and fund my pursuit for two years. Then at the end of the two years, if I showed enough improvement, he'd bankroll me permanently into tournaments and help me make a run at the title. Suppose all of that happened and I could pursue pool without restraint. What would I do during those two years to take advantage of that opportunity?
It was an odd hypothetical question I posed to myself, but once I did it wasn't hard to start coming up with answers. I was amazed at how the ideas started to pour out of me:
-I would travel to at least one pro pool tournaments a month and test myself against the best
-I would get into gambling matches with strong players to build experience
-I would structure and organize my practice and be more formal about what I was doing and the progress I was making
-I would video record myself and break down every piece of my game and methodically build it stronger than ever
-I would watch more tape of top pros and study their every move, recreating some of their shots and techniques on my home table
-I would get a coach to help me plan my journey and hold me accountable
-I would work with a sports psychologist
-I would go to the gym and get into better physical shape
-I would practice my break with the break-rak an hour a day
-I would have written goals and review them daily
-I would journal about my matches and journey and reflect daily on my progress
-I would put together a more formal tournament schedule and strategize how to best use my time
See, a funny thing happened. I had been inactive because of my excuses for a while and had encountered a block that prevented me from seeing a path forward. But when I imagined a situation in which my excuses were removed it wasn't hard to see what that path might look like. And it was easy to brainstorm when I knew this was all fictional and I wouldn't actually have to act on any of this (because hey, I had my excuses).
But then the reality stared me in the face. The reality was this: That rich old man does not exist, and no one was going to walk through the door to pave the way for me. No, sir. Which leaves exactly one question. Am I going to give up, or do I just go ahead and do those things anyway?
If you know me you know my answer. It was game on. Of course the reality was still true that I had valid limitations on my resources. I couldn't do all of those things with full time capacity. But that didn't mean I had to do nothing. I'd do what I could. Period.
So I did something I learned from my corporate job when it comes to prioritizing operational changes. I added columns next to those items and rated them as follows: How much time would this item take? How much mental energy? How much money? And what type of lift do I think that would give to my pool game? Things that took a lot of time and money and wouldn't necessarily provide immediate results moved to lower priorities, and things that didn't take much time or money and showed a bigger return moved to the top as they had a better return on investment.
Then I took one long, deep breath, and I started.
The next year was one of the most incredible I've had in terms of pool progress. I was drilling, practicing my break, working out, and on down the list. While I didn't do all of these things to the full extent of my original vision, it was downright spooky how many of these things I was able to do in compared with the nothing I'd been doing when I had felt stuck before. Suddenly things started happening in my pool game. Shots that would've stopped me before started going in more frequently, and soon dependably. I found myself more motivated with the reawakened enthusiasm that had been lost before and I was playing better and better.
It didn't happen overnight, the progress wasn't linear, and there were setbacks when I'd lose steam as the other parts of my life would overwhelm me and knock me off the path like a tidal wave. But when this happened I'd pick myself up, dust myself off, and start going again like an ant.
Fast forward a few years and I'm playing the best pool of my life. I've had experiences in the last few years beyond anything I thought I could that day at work I'd thought I'd reached my limits. And the best part is I can still tell I'm improving and have more ideas on how I can make 2020 the best year of my pool career.
We all have different goals with pool, we are all at different levels and ages, and we all have different responsibilities and opportunities. For some people playing socially is fine, others are satisfied with their current level, and some just like to talk theory about the game and bang around some balls with a pal once in a while. There is room for everyone and I understand that. If you're getting what you want from the game then keep on keepin' on.
But. If there is a part of you that once dreamed of playing a high level that's been locked up inside of you for years, causing you pangs of grief every time you hear it cry out over the noise of your day to day life, just know this: The barrier that is blocking you from moving forward- it doesn't exist. There are things that can slow you down and may prevent you from keeping up with others who have more to put in, that much is true. But the biggest barrier is the one we build ourselves. And when we knock that down, while we can't achieve anything, we can achieve our personal best. And for me that is the only goal that means anything, and to me it means everything.