Are You Willing to Play Hurt? Success Demands Sacrifice

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1:49This is The Ed Myron Show. Welcome back to the show, everybody. So grateful you've decided to join me again here this week. And this week I have a question for you. Do you play hurt? Because I think playing hurt is one of the invisible skills of all the great ones. And if you think back in your lifetime, the people that you've been the most emotional about when you've watched them perform in sports or life in business, they were overcoming some pain they were in currently at the time. Typically in sports, it's some type of an injury that they have. And so I ask you, can you play hurt? because I think that's the great separator in life and in business is that the great ones are able to perform even when they're not at their best, even when they're hurt, even when they're wounded, even when they're down.

2:34And average ordinary people succumb to the injury, succumb to the pain, the down cycle in their life. You know, I really believe the separator in life is not what you do on the days where you're feeling great. You're feeling healthy. You're feeling emotionally strong. Everything's going your way. Everybody performs well on those days. It's what do you do on the days that you don't feel that way? In sports, especially the greatest moments of my lifetime in sports. We'll talk about them in a minute. I've been watching athletes perform under pain, under injury, under hurt. And in business, in life, you know, we're not on television.

3:07And so sometimes we don't realize that's the separator. The difference between winning and losing in life and sports is so small. It's almost too scary to talk about. One of the things that worries me is I have to be candid with you. I think everybody can help someone. But one of the things that's happened in the business space, the entrepreneurial space, is there's just so many people that are giving advice and information that have never built a business, that have never accomplished anything other than telling you how to accomplish something. And so oftentimes I hear their messages and I'll commiserate with other people that I know that have actually done something in their life.

3:37And like, can you believe that they teach this stuff and that people are believing this? I worry sometimes that you don't get told the truth about what it really takes to win and that so many of you are listening to so many different voices, many of which aren't qualified to help you in the area that you're looking for help. And I say that with respect because I think everyone can help somebody. But by and large, if I want to get fit and in shape, I want my trainer to be fit and in shape. If I want to become wealthy and build a big business, I want to listen to someone who's wealthy that's built a big business.

4:05If I want to become happier and more influential and more passionate in my life, I want to listen to someone who's done that. And so I know that one of the separators from the people that I know that have become mega successful in their lives is their ability to play when they don't have their A game, their ability to win and step up and sometimes play better. And so ask yourself this question. The last year on days when you were down or not even feeling physically well, you had the flu or cough or, you know, you had an injury that you hurt yourself and your knee or your back was hurting or someone had hurt your feelings the day before, or maybe a week or two before the day before you lost an account or didn't get a sale you thought you were going to get, or something's going on with your kids?

4:46How did you perform those days? Because that's the separator in life. And so we're so moved often by the people we see when they do this. I'll give you an example. I was recently moved by a young man, and I'm sure this will get back to him, and he might be surprised that I saw this, but a young man named Cade Ballou. And he's a college baseball player at Auburn University. I played college baseball. He's a lefty. I was a lefty. And so I took note of this young man. But the reason I saw him wasn't because he played college baseball or because he played at Auburn. He's a much better college player than I was, by the way.

5:20But the reason I saw him is that his mother had died. And the day that his mother had passed away, he still played in the game that night. And I guess evidently he went to the coach and says, you know, mom would want me to play tonight. This young man under tremendous pain just lost his mother. Can you imagine? Just hours before. He said, I think mom wants me to play. And this young man steps up to the plate. I believe it was his third at bat. Guess what he did? You know it. He had a home run. Mother of Auburn baseball outfielder, Kate Ballou. Stacy passed away this morning after a battle of cancer.

5:53Our hearts and Auburn baseball are with the Ballou family during this time.

6:05Get going. Get going. It's deep. It's gone. Come on! He hit it out of here! Brad, you know, some things just transcend the human experience and how sports can bring everybody together. That's one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen in 32 years of coaching was Big Blue getting a home run of football. His first one of the season. Hadn't hit a home run on all the good days, but he had a home run on that day to honor his mom when he was under tremendous pain where many people would have said, hey, hey, Cade, we wouldn't blame you at all, man. Sit out the game. Sit out the weekend. You know, that's OK.

6:46And by the way, that would have been OK. You know, heal up a little bit. You know, there's so much this stuff in Percival about healing and all that stuff. And by the way, I think you can take action and still win while you're healing. And sometimes the winning can be the healing instead of just sitting around and machinating in your thoughts and trying to evaluate yourself all the time. Get up and do something, right? And I say that out of love. I would say this if you were my children. I talk to the audience as if they're an extension of my family. I also don't say these things sitting on some high horse because I've made the mistakes of not taking action on the days when I was down or hurting.

7:24I've sat out games when I was an athlete when maybe I could have played. And now in life, you know, as I got older, I realized that's the separator. And so Cade Ballou, man, congratulations, brother. Way to honor your mom. Just want you to know I saw it. and now you've moved millions of people through our audience here today. On the day he was probably hurting the most in his life, he stepped up and hit his first home run of the season. I have to imagine that inspired his teammates. I have to imagine that his mom's very proud of him. The rest of his family is very proud of him. And by the way, would we have been proud had Cade hit a home run?

7:55Sure. Would I be mentioning a guy at Auburn who hit his first home run of the year on my podcast to millions of people if he wasn't hurt? No. And so what I'm saying is some of your greatest accomplishments, your greatest story, we've all heard the saying that your test can become your testimony. Your mess can become your message. But it's true. In fact, oftentimes this adversity is a gift. It's an opening to get something for your pain. I've always said that I don't believe God's going to give you pain without a gift on the other side of it. That if you look for the gift of the pain you're going through, that all pain is temporary.

8:31and if you can survive the temporary, whatever the pain is you're going through, mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, if you'll survive the temporary, but while you're surviving and getting through it, look for the gift, look for the miracle. He's gonna give you something. He's gonna give you a new friend, a new relationship, a new insight, a new thought, a new talent, a new ability, a new innovation, a new whole new life oftentimes, a new reference, a new whatever. It comes your way through pain. And so this is the people that we admire in life. You think about in your sports life. Think about Michael Jordan.

9:05Of all the championships that Michael Jordan won, it was winning the 1997 NBA Finals, the flu game, where most people wouldn't have played. He had 104-degree fever. No one thought he was even going to show up and play that night. And somehow he comes through and wins the NBA title playing with the flu. Right? I mean, we remember this. It's iconic. Now, he won a lot of championships, but that's the clip that you see the most. Why? Because he played hurt. He played hurt. It's Tiger Woods of all the majors that he won. He won the 2008 U.S. Open, they tell us, on basically a broken leg. Are you kidding me?

9:39These are the stories of legends. These are the stories that are what icons do. And you have a chance when you're going through this down day, these are the days where maybe you're going through it today, and you're like, man, I needed this today, brother. Or send this to somebody who needs it. My gosh, this is actually an opening for me. This is where I separate. This is my separation season because almost, you know, it's, I almost get off in my mind on these days because I'm like, I know nobody's working as hard as I am. Not after how bad yesterday was, not after how bad I'm hurting, not after that let down.

10:09Most people are licking their wounds and staying down. And there's all this stuff as well. Maybe you should stay down for a while. Evaluate what happened. Learn the lesson. Yeah, maybe, or maybe you should get your ass up and go back to battling, go back to fighting, go back to winning, get in motion again. I think you could heal, learn, and take action at the same time. Tiger Woods winning that U.S. Open on a broken leg, they tell us. Kirk Gibson in the 88 World Series hitting a home run coming off the bench. He was so injured he couldn't play. He didn't play the game, and he didn't play at all after this home run.

10:41He had one at bat, limps up to the plate. He couldn't play a position, so they put him in to pinch hit. He gets up there, two strikes. Dennis Eckersley, bam, hits a home run over the right field fence to win the World Series game. One of the most, if not the most iconic home run in the history of baseball. One of them. Why? Because he had a home run in the World Series? No, because he had a home run hurt in the World Series. By the way, I was at that game. Funny anecdote. My dad wanted to leave that game the inning before. We got up to leave, and we ran into my T-ball Little League coach. We were in the bleachers at Dodger Stadium.

11:17him and my t-ball coach says you don't leave world series games early mr my let my dad went all right we walked back to our seats true story sat down in the next inning maybe the most famous home run in the history of baseball was hit by kurt gibson but we remember it because he played hurt if you're really old like me the year before i was born but i heard about it all my willis reed for the knicks coming out and inspiring his team to win you know when i speak i walk out on stage to Thunderstruck by ACDC. Everyone thinks that's because he's such an ACDC fan. Well, I am a fan of that band, but that's not why I walk out.

11:50I walk out to ACDC when I speak because my favorite fighter of all time is Arturo Thunder Gotti. He came into the ring to Thunderstruck. My favorite fighter of all time, Gotti. Why? Because he was the best fighter of all time. Arturo was not the greatest fighter of all time. If you don't know him, go watch his clips. I don't care if you're a boxing fan, female, male, go watch Arturo guys. Cause the shots he would take and keep coming his fights with Mickey Ward. I mean, I'm just going to tell you like inspired me to want to be somebody. If you think about the movies, it's Rocky Balboa. It's how he came back from being hurt.

12:23Cut me Mick, right? It's, those are the things that move us the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali and how he beat George Foreman and would come back from being hurt. The wonderful Carrie Scruggs. Most of you don't know this. One of the greatest clips of all time, Carrie Scrubs, 1996 gymnast, ends up basically winning the gold on a torn ankle. And I remember watching that and crying, literally crying when she won. I wonder, by the way, why do we cry when we see somebody accomplish something great and overcome something amazing? Whether someone heals from cancer and they come back and they live, or an athlete that overcomes an injury like precious Carrie Scruggs did in the Olympics.

13:05And just the world cried watching her go through this pain and went, I submit that we cry when we see these great acts of courage because we know that exists within us and we're not using it. We're not even crying out of happiness. There's a part of it's like, why can't I do that? I have the same capacity. I'm also a human being. I want to be proud of me. I want to overcome my pain You know the story that you're going through right now or have gone through It's only inspiring if you win It's only inspiring If there's a fairy tale there's only it's only inspiring if there's a lesson if there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow And so you got to play hurt and sometimes i'll be honest with you.

13:50I think we exaggerate the pain we go through We make it a bigger deal than it really is, you know I've had people cancel because, well, I've got a cough or I've got the flu. Heck, this is a Zoom call. I'm doing this today. My producer will tell you. I'm sitting here today. I've got at least two teeth that I need a root canal on today. I've got something wrong with my jaw where I can't really open my mouth to eat. It's enough that I can talk, right? And I've got the flu. But no one asked me to run a marathon today. They asked me to do six Zooms. I'm sitting in a chair. What's the difference between sitting on the couch and doing nothing and sitting here and helping change the world?

14:28And I'm not bragging about me. Heck, I'll just tell you this. I played this whole year hurt. I haven't been on social media in a year. I've had issues with my heart. I've had a back issue that's just very significant. I've had surgery on my back. I've got it. I played hurt all year. It's one of the best years I've ever had. Now, has it been the biggest growth year? No, but I played hurt. Deion Sanders, Coach Prime was on my podcast a few weeks ago. His agent and my agent, Constance Schwartz, was also on some of the most popular shows we've ever had. And Coach Prime's this legendary coach now at Colorado.

14:59But what a lot of people don't know is Coach Prime played the entire Major League Baseball season and NFL football season at the same time, multiple years in a row. You imagine playing. Imagine how hard it is to get to the NFL. Imagine how hard it is to get to MLB. He got to both and played both and some days would play a Major League Baseball game and an NFL football game in the same day. Imagine that. And guess what? One year he did it with a bronchial infection, walking pneumonia basically for the entire year. Imagine that. You got a bronchial infection, almost borderline walking pneumonia for a year, and he plays a full NFL football season and Major League Baseball season and went to the postseason in baseball.

15:43But some people can't get on a Zoom because they've got a cough or their tummy hurts. Right? But you want to be a millionaire. You want to be one of the great ones ever. But any chance you're hurt, a little bit down, I'm just being honest with you. Maybe this isn't the message everybody wants to hear, but it's the message everybody needs to hear. The separator is what you do on the days you're hurting. This man played an entire football season, entire baseball season, both with a condition that most people would cancel their Zooms for. Can you imagine? And so it's amount how many punches you can absorb Remember this your breaking point is god's building point Just when you're ready to break just when you think you've got too much if you'll push to that next level That's when god starts to build That's when he starts to break through That's when the growing happens, but we don't take advantage of these opportunities I'm almost to the point in my life where I believe adversity is a gift I can't tell you that every time bad things happen like today.

16:40I didn't want to wake up with my jaw I didn't want all that stuff. It's just like a year of stuff in my physical being. I've had issues personally and socially. It's been a tough year. I'm not saying I would wish that. Same time, I've learned a lot about myself. I've learned how much, to be honest with you, I love what I do and how much I care about you all. Because a long time ago, financially, I didn't need to do this. And I kind of always thought in my life, when I got very, very wealthy, I probably wouldn't work like I work still. But then when I got here, I fell in love over my lifetime with people and making a difference and serving them.

17:14Almost like feel like it's my home and it's my calling. It doesn't feel like that much work to me. And so who am I to be, you know, telling you to do all these things? And so when I'm not feeling great, I don't. And so I'm really convinced that your breaking point is God's building point. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes, and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket.

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18:34I'll tell you another story of a guy you probably haven't heard of unless you live in Australia. I've been reading about this guy for a few years now. 1983, it started one of the world's toughest ultramarathons. 540-mile trek from Sydney to Melbourne. I want you to imagine this. Some of the top runners in the world are running in this race. And a farmer shows up. True story. Dressed in overalls and like galoshes over his boots is what they say. I'm just telling you what they tell you. And so people are like, who's this farmer? This guy's got overalls on. There's this combination of runners, but some of them are the best in the world.

19:06540 miles and so reporters ask who he was he replies his name's cliff young oh by the way cliff is 61 years old sheep farmer picture this a marathon's 20 something miles guess what five days 15 hours and four minutes later he won he finished first in this race grueling race he beat the next closest competitor by about 10 hours he becomes this australian national hero total icon of ultra marathon running you know example of determination perseverance but what he's really an example of is pushing through pain pushing through pain you know he won the race he slept less now there's some legends that say he didn't sleep at all evidently that's not true but he just slept less.

19:58He didn't know how much sleep was really required of him. And all the training of chasing sheep on his farm is what equipped him for the race. So all these other guys were just running their normal race. This dude's chasing sheep for years and years and years around his farm. Some days having to run days at a time. He was totally built for this. And so when the actual race comes along, he dominated because he'd pushed through pain for years and years and years and years, the actual race was nothing. And so I believe when you push through pain over and over and over again, it starts to not affect you like it once did.

20:33But if you avoid pain, if you shrink to it all the time, if you give in constantly, it weakens you. Remember this, when you've gone through a difficult, painful, mental experience, a bad day yesterday, physical, spiritual, maybe it's in your relationship, maybe you're just losing confidence. this is an opportunity to either strengthen you or weaken you. And how you respond means everything. I'm pretty sure Cliff at 61 years old in overalls didn't have all of the pedigree to be the guy to win that race, never mind by 10 hours. But what he had done is trained himself to sleep less than most people.

21:10What he had done is trained himself to push through pain over and over and over. This wasn't something he trained for. It was his daily life. And he becomes this national icon. Isn't that an incredible story? It's just incredible. So can you push through pain until you find your truth? I think of so many of my female friends, and they'll tell me the greatest experience of their life is having children. Yet they'll tell me the most physically painful experience of their life, for many of them, was childbirth itself. And so for that unbelievably painful experience, you get the greatest gift of your life.

21:44Isn't that amazing? If you really look back at your life, man, you've come a long way. And if you look back, most lessons learned, most gains were made during your flu game, during your broken leg round. Most of your great experience of your life were the painful ones. In some odd way, it's God's gift to us. Because when you go through the real pain of life, I believe it draws you closer to God. At least in my case, I had to conclude, I can't do this on my own. I need you. Lord, please help me. And so ironically, sometimes pain is one of the great gifts we can have to strengthen our faith, but it also strengthens our resolve.

22:24There's also something that happens in us where we develop grit and toughness and resiliency and a relentless pursuit that our conditions aren't the thing that determines our behavior. Conditions and behavior can be separate. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5.10, And the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. Life can be heavy. There are moments when the weight of the trials we go through, it feels unbearable. Pain can linger. Sometimes prayers seem unanswered. And oftentimes we wonder whether we're ever going to feel whole again.

23:08But take heart because your suffering is not the end of the story. Remember this, God sees every tear, every struggle, every weary side. And he's promised that after you've endured for a while, he'll step in and restore you. You got to endure for a while, usually. And he steps in, strengthens you. He'll make you unshakable over time. Your pain is temporary. All pain is temporary. The only thing that's permanent is our souls. But God's grace is eternal. Whatever your faith beliefs are, just know that. and what feels like brokenness now, it's simply the ground where he's planting something new for you.