Stop Waiting for Your Home Run
Why Confidence is Built One Base at a Time
Home runs make the highlights. Singles win games. And the small promises we keep to ourselves are what build lasting confidence.
We love home runs because they're unforgettable. But if baseball teaches us anything, it's that success is built one base at a time.
There is something magical about watching baseball in the summer.
Here we are in mid-July, when the best players from across Major League Baseball come together for the All-Star Game. It’s a celebration of talent, competition, and the game itself. While league bragging rights are on the line (if you're keeping score, the American League won this year), it’s also a reminder of everything that makes baseball so special.
Then there is the Home Run Derby, equally exciting.
We celebrate the Home runs because they demand our attention. That crack of the bat, the fans stand and you know it's over the wall, gone! The ball disappears. It’s dramatic, memorable and energizing from your seat.
Life has a way of convincing us that success should look the same. We wait for the promotion, business launch, award, or the big breakthrough moment and tell ourselves, Once that happens, I’ll finally feel confident and successful.
Watching baseball shows us something we often forget. Games aren’t won by home runs alone. They are won by the walk that keeps an inning alive, the stolen base that creates a scoring opportunity or the sacrifice fly that advances a teammate. It’s the RBI single that quietly brings a run home.
Life works the same way.
We often overlook the small choices because they don’t make the highlight reel. Yet those quiet moments are where confidence is built. They don’t produce immediate results, but they continually reinforce that we are becoming someone who follows through.
Every single isn’t just progress toward our goal, it’s validation that you are becoming who you want to be. Confidence isn't created by achievement, it's created by keeping the promises we make to ourselves.
When we step into the batter’s box, the biggest obstacle often isn’t the pitcher standing sixty feet away. It’s that inner voice and old tapes telling us we’re not ready, not qualified, or that we should wait until we’re more confident. That voice doesn’t disappear after one big achievement. It simply gets quieter and softer every time we choose courage over comfort and step into the batter’s box anyway. Even the best hitters in baseball strike out at the plate, yet they keep swinging.
Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from stepping into the batter’s box. Maybe today is your chance to get on base by taking one small step toward something bigger: Apply for that bigger job, enroll in a class, start writing your book, reconnect with an old friend.
You don’t have to hit a home run, you just have to begin, and get on base. Every intentional action becomes evidence that you can trust yourself to do the hard things. That’s how confidence grows, one choice at a time.
Growth doesn't always mean climbing higher or moving faster. Sometimes the most meaningful progress comes from going deeper, strengthening your skills, stretching beyond your comfort zone, and choosing the next right step even when no one is watching.
Although I wrote Unapologetic on Purpose with leaders in mind, its message reaches far beyond leadership. At its heart, it's about becoming the person you aspire to be by changing yourself before trying to change your circumstances.
Transformation doesn't happen the day you hit the home run. It happens every time you choose to step into the batter's box despite the fear.
Yes, the home runs get the applause, but the singles are the ones that can change you.
So what's one "single" you're going to hit this coming week?
