“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…
it’s about learning how to dance in the rain!” — quoted by Ed Smith

Renowned sports psychologist Dr. Rob Gilbert hosted a remarkable speaker in his class yesterday at Montclair State University in northern New Jersey.

Paul Reddick told the story of his rise from a washed-out baseball player to a successful entrepreneur. The whole story can be summarized with one number — 1,792. That’s how many phone calls Reddick made while trying to get a job in organized baseball.

When he finally landed a spot with the Montreal Expos, it was making soup and peanut butter sandwiches at 6 a.m. He used that job to launch a career as a coach, scout, author and speaker.

Let’s look more closely at the number 1,792. Back then there were 28 teams in the major-leagues. Reddick called every one of them every day for 64 days. Many of the calls were short. He was cursed, told never to call back and had the phone slammed down in his ear.

Then on the 65th day, the Expos called and offered him a job.

Reddick says there are two things true about every person.

One, you have a dream.
Two, someone is going to tell you your dream is impossible.

For 1,792 times, someone told Reddick he couldn’t have his dream. But that didn’t stop him from trying.

Whether you’re trying to get a job in a tough economy, win a championship, or reach the big leagues, you will run into stop signs. Just do what Reddick did — run them. (Legally).