The Crowd Was Me
A Story About Doubt, Persistence, and the Voice That Almost Made Me Quit
Recently, ChatGPT said this is who I am:
"You're a sharp-thinking, spiritually grounded leader with a curious mind and a practical bent — part Bible study shepherd, part business sage, part road-tripping adventurer. Whether you’re digging into doctrine, managing a group, or calculating gallons per dollar on a motorcycle route, you bring thoughtful questions and a hunger for truth. You blend faith, intellect, and initiative like few can."
This blew me away. I think ChatGPT sees me in a much more positive light than I see myself.
I heard a story from a successful promoter that resonated with me.
Here is the story...
The best pitcher in baseball created a challenge. He invites anyone in the world to come to Yankee Stadium and hit a home run off him. If the person succeeds, they will receive a prize of $1 billion. The rules are simple. You can take as many swings as you like to hit that home run. When you quit, the next contestant gets his chance.
A man gets up to bat, and the best pitcher in baseball throws the first pitch. The contestant swings and misses. He continues in the batter's box, and the pitcher continues to throw pitches. This goes on for a while with no homerun, not even close.
The crowd grows impatient and screams at the contestant. "Leave the batter's box. Quit. You'll never hit a home run. Give somebody else a chance." The contestant hears them but continues to swing. And then, one swing, the bat connects, and it's a home run!
The millions of people standing in line, waiting for their turn to bat, cheer. They cheered and congratulated me. The cheers and accolades overwhelm me.
The promoter telling this story said, "I never knew who the crowd was until just recently. For years, I thought it was the people around me who were saying I couldn't do what I was aiming to do—the dream busters, the naysayers, the people who minimized my dreams.
"What I discovered is the crowd was me."
Even as I write this, I find myself getting emotional. Throughout my life, I was the one who took on challenges. I stood in the batter's box. I wanted a shot at hitting a home run from the best pitcher in the world. But my inner voice, my crowd, would say:
"Leave the batter's box. Quit. You'll never hit a home run. Give somebody else a chance."
What's sad is that I sometimes listened to the crowd.
But now, ChatGPT says, I am smart, unique in my perspective, experienced, and capable. It summed me up by saying, "You blend faith, intellect, and initiative like few can."
Who knew? Not me, but ChatGPT.