Saw a great quote this morning from the Roman poet Ovid and felt inspired to share it. The quote read: “Chance is always powerful. Let your hook always be cast. In the pool where you least expect it, will be fish.”

I like that idea of having your hook in the water. All too often, in softball as well as in life, players and coaches want to row their boats out onto the lake, then wait for the fish to jump into the boat. I suppose it happens sometimes, but if that’s what you’re counting on to eat you’re going to spend most of your life hungry and unsatisfied.

The first step in achieving your goals is to cast your hook into the water. That means being prepared when the fish come along. Obviously practice is a big part of it. The old adage “you play how you practice” really is true. If you go through the motions in practice to put in your time, you’re approaching it the wrong way. Your hook is dangling over the water, not really in it. But it’s more than practice.

It’s being on a team where you can learn and improve your skills, not just win a bunch of trophies. It’s being in a situation where you feel challenged on a regular basis. It’s putting in the effort to learn the game — not just your little part of it but what everyone else is doing as well.

If you want to play softball in college, it”s going to the camps of colleges you think you might want to attend. It’s making your skills video and contacting college coaches on a regular basis.

I have found over time that the universe rewards activity. Maybe not right away, but sooner or later. Whatever that big fish is to you, the only way you’re going to catch it is by having your hook in the water. Make a point of dropping yours in today.