On Friday night, Doug and I watched, The Captain, a mini-series about the life and career of the New York Yankees shortstop, Derek Jeter, on ESPN. I was amazed by many things about his life, like that he was recruited out of high school, not college and that he grew up up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. But the thing that amazed me the most was that in his first year in MLB, 1993, Jeter was busy committing a league-record 56 errors in 126 games for the Class-A Greensboro Hornets! He was committing an error almost every other game and, in the big leagues, a stat like that will get you released.

Why do I want all of us to know about Jeter’s record-breaking 56 errors? Because failure is a part of success—they are categorically inextricable. I know many successful people, but I don’t know any who have had a smooth road. They didn’t want failure—Jeter certainly didn’t want to break the record for errors as the new 18-year-old kid who just started with the Yankees—but it happens when we want something better for ourselves. I happens to everyone, we simply have to be willing to accept that success is not insulated from failure.

Derek Jeter’s response to the 56 errors, years after they occurred, was this, “Wow, 56, that’s a lot even if you’re intentionally trying make an error.” Jeter made these errors publicly, in front of fans and in front of the New York Yankees management. He said he cried a lot and wanted to go home, but his dream was to play for the Yankees, so he persevered. If you have a dream, I want you to think about Derek Jeter’s journey. It’s not simple, nor easy, but it’s worth it.

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!
Beth