A little update

KissedOut said:
Your goal of achieving a high playing level while maintaining having fun is internally contradictory. It is precisely when something is NOT fun anymore and it has become work and someone pushes through anyway, that they demonstrate that it was something real, not some silly fantasy. The world is full of people who quit when it stops being fun, whatever "it" is.. They are not the high achievers.

And despite what you may think that is not a put down. It is reality. It is very very hard to be great at anything, Very few people can do it and that is why there are so few people who are great at what they do. And most of them are so driven that they almost can't help themselves. But if it burns out, it was never really passion or ganas in the first place.

Now be honest with yourself, does any of that sound like you? There is no shame in it. The only shame is if you didn't learn something useful from this, And I'm not talking about pool technique.

To be quite honest, when you wrote this it was obvious to anyone who really thought about it. It is why I said in that other thread, you never excelled because when it got hard (i.e., stopped being"fun) you quit) But pool is different. These were your own words and here they are from one of your earliest posts in the initial thread. But now you are giving up because it stopped being fun. You want the glory but can;t or won;t do the work.



You did know yourself and pool is not different.
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Nicely put!
 
alphadog said:
Was there malicous P.M.s or something cause far worse has been said many times? Guess we will probably never know?
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FAR worse. This will be my last post on the subject. Kudos to Sam for coming on here and putting himself in the line of fire more than once to engage with this community but mostly for typing out the post that started this thread.

It takes a lot of courage to admit you missed a goal to a group with many naysayers.


Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
 
Poolplaya9 said:
Yesterday I almost quoted Sam's first post and responded with:
"Translation: After nearly a year of intense effort with all the best resources I now realize I have neither the talent nor the perseverance to become a pro within 5 years, but instead of being humble enough to admit to being wrong, or learning any lessons from it, I am going to make excuses and stop trying, because people can never say you tried and failed if you stop trying." It was all about trying to save face.

I refrained but it looks like many or most see it the same way. He just seemed like a real narcissist who thought he was somehow special and different than everyone else and that the one in a million chances didn't apply to him because he was a superhuman like that who was so much more superior in every way to mere humans. Confidence is good, but so is maintaining a grasp on truth and reality.

The truth is that becoming a true pro level player takes both exceptional talent and as well as great dedication and determination. Few people truly have either one of those in the necessary amounts, and very, very (insert a few more very's here) few people have both.
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Excellent "translation"!
 
Now he is in a band?!

He obviously has a bit of an obsessive lersonality...when he gets into something, it is full-hog. Then when he starts realizing the thing isnt as pleasurable as he thought it would be, he drops it. I am a lot like that too.

Better hope we dont find jesus or dope, sammie-boy.
 
KissedOut said:
Your goal of achieving a high playing level while maintaining having fun is internally contradictory. It is precisely when something is NOT fun anymore and it has become work and someone pushes through anyway, that they demonstrate that it was something real, not some silly fantasy. The world is full of people who quit when it stops being fun, whatever "it" is.. They are not the high achievers.

And despite what you may think that is not a put down. It is reality. It is very very hard to be great at anything, Very few people can do it and that is why there are so few people who are great at what they do. And most of them are so driven that they almost can't help themselves. But if it burns out, it was never really passion or ganas in the first place.

Now be honest with yourself, does any of that sound like you? There is no shame in it. The only shame is if you didn't learn something useful from this, And I'm not talking about pool technique.

To be quite honest, when you wrote this it was obvious to anyone who really thought about it. It is why I said in that other thread, you never excelled because when it got hard (i.e., stopped being"fun) you quit) But pool is different. These were your own words and here they are from one of your earliest posts in the initial thread. But now you are giving up because it stopped being fun. You want the glory but can;t or won;t do the work.



You did know yourself and pool is not different.
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I'm not sure if I agree with you. Pushing through the pain may work in bodybuilding, running or whatever, but pool is not just a physical game but a mental one as well. If you have zero enjoyment from playing, your game WILL suffer, no matter how hard you try. You have to dig deep in this game, that is true, but you need at least a little bit of a spark in order to reach down and pick your game up. I think the reason why a lot of good players canl only play their best with money on the line, is that they've simply gotten bored with the game itself, and they need external motivation to play their best. Wanting to play well, may not be enough to sustain you through 10+ years of brutal training.

I've played this game now for close to 15 years and I've had several breaks in that time (of course I never set out to be a pro, but I have had high goals nevertheless). Some I've achieved, 100 ball run, beating 10 ball ghost regularly, others I may never achieve (200 ball run). When my motivation suffers my game goes right down into the toilet, though. On tough tables, against tough opponents you need the fire inside.

When that real motivation isn't there, it's simply impossible to force it, and since I no longer gamble, I can't use that as a driving force either. The only thing that works for me is to take a break and wait for it to come back. Usually I come back stronger after such breaks (after a short period of getting back into stroke).

I think Sam Lambert showed real promise and the video showed that he fixed several of his old issues. You never know when that big, sudden breakthrough in skill is going to come, and I have a feeling it might happen to him one day.
 
Sam, sorry to hear that you are slowing down to a snail's pace. Trouble with Pool is that once it is in your blood, it may be there forever. Burn Out isn't good for your game or your soul. Get some rest, enjoy others & your life.

If you ever get started up again, maybe you should find a coach to assist you along the way.
 
caff3in3 said:
FAR worse. This will be my last post on the subject. Kudos to Sam for coming on here and putting himself in the line of fire more than once to engage with this community but mostly for typing out the post that started this thread.

It takes a lot of courage to admit you missed a goal to a group with many naysayers.


Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
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You Answered his question to my post nicer than I would have ..agree completely.
 
Get_A_Grip said:
Here is what you are missing. Many of us don't believe your reason. Many of us have played many, many years of pool and have also seen every type of person in our lives. Frankly, what you "say" as the reason doesn't mean much, because as most pool players know, talk is cheap.

Having a goal of playing pro-speed and then saying that the reason you stopped was because you are burnt out, frankly is so unreasonable, I can't believe anyone is buying it. Most people realize that to become a "pro" in anything takes extreme dedication and perseverance.

I would contend that if you are the type of person that can become burnt out rather easily, there is no way you could become a pro in anything. I mean, if you stopped playing COMPLETELY two months ago -- that means you have entirely given up on the very thing that you wanted to play at the highest level!

It's almost as if I would pick a hobby, like knitting, something that there is a good chance I wouldn't like to do, and say that I want to become a pro knitter. I've played pool every day for two years, and I am definitely not burnt out. Either you picked the wrong sport, you're really not burnt out, or what I suspect is true -- you don't have the talent that you thought that you had.
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So you have been playing every day for 2 years and not burnt out yet.?

News flash for you......not every one is like you ....that does not make them inferior to you just because they get burnt out.

Take me for example..i was playing league 5 nights a week ...some times 8 and 9 ball the same night.i reached 1.000 matches in 5 years in apa.

I was finally getting.burnt out....still.showed up for all 5 teams but found myself skipping a night here and there. When I did show up I was just going through the motions at the table.of course me win percentage started dropping.

Occasionally I would be drastically behind then I would ask myself ...what am k doing here if I am not going to pls my best...my team is relying on me.

Then the competitive fire inside me ignites and I wind up winning..as a result I have been called a sandbagger a lot

Recently I was down 23-7 after 3 racks in 9 ball and I came back and won 38-42 in a 38-46 race. Like I said earlier ...sometimes i bus show up not realm wanting to play but after I am losing bad I realize I either gotta shoot my best or stay home.

In the above match mu opponent said afterwards that I was not really a 5..i replied he was not really a 6 either .

Actually I enjoy when I face higher level players...i seem to play better...often winning.

Against lower levels I really dont get into the game and quite honestly dont care if I win or lose sometimes.

Maybe its time for me to quit league but I still enjoy playing pool . I dont want to become one of those guys who decide to be a serious player just playing strictly in pool halls. I am afraid I would turn into an elitist asshole like the attitude so many display.
 
lorider said:
Maybe its time for me to quit league but I still enjoy playing pool . I dont want to become one of those guys who decide to be a serious player just playing strictly in pool halls. I am afraid I would turn into an elitist asshole like the attitude so many display.
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Aw, c'mon lorider. You could never be an elitist anything. You're a league player for crissakes. :thumbup:
 
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lorider said:
So you have been playing every day for 2 years and not burnt out yet.?

News flash for you......not every one is like you ....that does not make them inferior to you just because they get burnt out.

Take me for example..i was playing league 5 nights a week ...some times 8 and 9 ball the same night.i reached 1.000 matches in 5 years in apa.

I was finally getting.burnt out....still.showed up for all 5 teams but found myself skipping a night here and there. When I did show up I was just going through the motions at the table.of course me win percentage started dropping.

Occasionally I would be drastically behind then I would ask myself ...what am k doing here if I am not going to pls my best...my team is relying on me.

Then the competitive fire inside me ignites and I wind up winning..as a result I have been called a sandbagger a lot

Recently I was down 23-7 after 3 racks in 9 ball and I came back and won 38-42 in a 38-46 race. Like I said earlier ...sometimes i bus show up not realm wanting to play but after I am losing bad I realize I either gotta shoot my best or stay home.

In the above match mu opponent said afterwards that I was not really a 5..i replied he was not really a 6 either .

Actually I enjoy when I face higher level players...i seem to play better...often winning.

Against lower levels I really dont get into the game and quite honestly dont care if I win or lose sometimes.

Maybe its time for me to quit league but I still enjoy playing pool . I dont want to become one of those guys who decide to be a serious player just playing strictly in pool halls. I am afraid I would turn into an elitist asshole like the attitude so many display.
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Of course. The problem wasn't that he burned out - it is to be expected. It is that it was entirely predictable based on a) his goal, and b) his own descriptions of how he quit things when they stopped being fun.

I've seen a lot of these situations on a golf board I frequent and now this is the second one here. One thing they all have in common. No one has ever come back with "Hey, I made it, here is a link to a story where I won the xxx".
 
IMO he did not have the competitive spirit to follow thru. I have been playing just over 5 years now, I still play almost everyday and I still enjoy it. It is the competition that keeps the game enjoyable for me.
I raced for about 20 years, it was like having a 2nd full time 40 hour a week job, I think the reason I did not get burned out was because I am competitive. The fun wan not actually driving the car, it was beating the other guy. If all we did was test all season I would have most definitely tired of racing quickly.
 
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fastone371 said:
IMO he did not have the competitive spirit to follow thru. I have been playing just over 5 years now, I still play almost everyday and I still enjoy it. It is the competition that keeps the game enjoyable for me.
I raced for about 20 years, it was like having a 2nd full time 40 hour a week job, I think the reason I did not get burned out was because I am competitive. The fun wan not actually driving the car, it was beating the other guy. If all we did was test all season I would have most definitely tired of racing quickly.
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My sense is that this is a guy that feels he is superior to everyone in every way and his main reason for trying new things is to prove that to himself and others. When he finds out that he doesn't have that one in a thousand or one in a million talent or ability for whatever it is he moves on to try something else because his self ego is so inflated he is still sure that he will have superhuman talent and ability for the next thing and for everything else out there and still maintains in his mind that he could have been the best in that too except that he "lost interest". It is called denial.

There is no problem in searching for what you are best at (and what you hopefully enjoy too). There is however a problem when you are in denial and continue to think you can be the absolute best at everything when the facts say otherwise. He moves on when something doesn't back up and collaborate his inflated self image instead of learning from it and just being honest about his true abilities. Like almost every other human, he is going to suck at a lot of things, be decent at a good many, real good at a few, and truly great at the one in a thousand level at none or maybe one if he is lucky.

He is in search of any fact (being great at something) to help support his belief (that is can be truly great and a master at anything) instead of just believing what all the facts actually say (that like almost every other human he is going to suck at a lot of things, be pretty decent at a good many, real good at a few, and truly great at the one in a thousand level at none or maybe one if he is lucky). Over inflated ego and inability to deal with facts and reality is his real issue and when something doesn't jive with his ego he moves on.
 
My only comment is that goals like Sams are best kept private. This should have been between Sam and himself. Announcing your goal to the world opens up a huge can of worms that does not contribute to achieving the goal IMO.

Dave
 
Poolplaya9 said:
My sense is that this is a guy that feels he is superior to everyone in every way and his main reason for trying new things is to prove that to himself and others. When he finds out that he doesn't have that one in a thousand or one in a million talent or ability for whatever it is he moves on to try something else because his self ego is so inflated he is still sure that he will have superhuman talent and ability for the next thing and for everything else out there and still maintains in his mind that he could have been the best in that too except that he "lost interest". It is called denial.

There is no problem in searching for what you are best at (and what you hopefully enjoy too). There is however a problem when you are in denial and continue to think you can be the absolute best at everything when the facts say otherwise. He moves on when something doesn't back up and collaborate his inflated self image instead of learning from it and just being honest about his true abilities. Like almost every other human, he is going to suck at a lot of things, be decent at a good many, real good at a few, and truly great at the one in a thousand level at none or maybe one if he is lucky.

He is in search of any fact (being great at something) to help support his belief (that is can be truly great and a master at anything) instead of just believing what all the facts actually say (that like almost every other human he is going to suck at a lot of things, be pretty decent at a good many, real good at a few, and truly great at the one in a thousand level at none or maybe one if he is lucky). Over inflated ego and inability to deal with facts and reality is his real issue and when something doesn't jive with his ego he moves on.
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Like many on here you seem very angry, and for what? Some kid thinks he's going to be a "Canadian pro-level player" (which has allready been established not to be an actual professional, but just a very good player). I don't think that is very far fetched at all. His timeframe is short, but with dedication it could have been done. To me he seemed to have a decent amount of talent too, he certainly wasn't talentless by any stretch of the imagination. You are all talking like he's trying to become the first man on Mars, with a C- grade average! I've told this story before, but I saw a guy go from absolute beginner D- to A- in a year. THAT is superhuman talent. Getting to A speed or slightly above in 5 years certainly takes a lot of talent, but it's far from a superhuman feat. Skill develops both steadily and in leaps and it's not always easy to tell how talented someone is, down to 3 decimal points, btw. You often can't tell until after the fact.

The guy didn't quit his job to pursue this career, he's still young and still has options. We should be glad someone does have passion and desire to become great, otherwise, based on the odds, nobody would ever attempt anything difficult. We'd all be ditch-diggers and NOBODY would ever try to be good at pool.

I think there are more than one person on this forum with inflated egos, btw. You guys are psycho-analysing people like Sigmund Freud, making extremely speculative leaps based on very little input. I'd be terrified to have someone like that be in a position of power over me...

It seems every now and then people come on here to proclaim their goals to become good at pool. If it seems unrealistic, I'd treat that pretty much like I'd treat anyone saying that in a pool hall. Just go "uh-huh" and let it go. Instead he gets angry lectures from the ambition police! Some seem genuinly offended, even! "I spent 5 years becoming an APA 5, therefore it cannot be done." Give me a f-ing break! By doing that you are in fact showing YOUR limited exposure to truely talented players, not the other way around! All the best players I know were REALLY good after 5 years, good enough to compete with the best and not be embarrased in most cases. Of course they need time to become truely polished players, but they were still able to win in some cases. With raw shooting ability you can upset a lot of people in this game. As I understood it, this was the kind of level he was shooting for.

It saddens me how people take every opportunity to drag others down into the mud, wether it be female players, amateurs who are enthusiastic about the game or others who dare to dream. What the hell is wrong with you people?
 
The best advice I received when I first started playing was, practicing and playing at the start of your progression is easy. It's still new and every session comes with improvements. The hard part comes later, forcing yourself to practice when you don't feel like it and improvements are small and incremental. The latter is what you need to do to excel at anything.

And of course nothing is ever guaranteed. Circumstances alone may stop one from reaching your goals (moving to a city/town with no pool scene). So if it all ends tomorrow, it can not feel like a waste of time. Lofty goals are great, but you have to enjoy the journey. It is after all, just a stick and ball game :grin:.
 
The guy has been banned, and people are still going on about him. Seriously...move on to another topic. Yikes.
 
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