Recently I read Seth Godin’s new book The Dip and one thing that really stuck out was the idea of being the best in the world at what you do. As one of the first pages in the book says:

Being the Best in the World is Seriously Underrated

Today Kristi and I had the pleasure of enjoying a Colorado Rockies baseball game with my sister Laura and then got to have dinner with her friend Ryan who is the best in the world at what he does. You see, Ryan is a remarkable member of the Rockies baseball team. Ryan’s not a pitcher or outfielder, but he is the famous Rockies’ “jacket guy.”

What is a jacket guy? It sound simple enough – the jacket guy takes the pitcher’s jacket (which keeps the pitcher’s arm warm) from the bullpen to the batboy in the dugout. Ryan has taken a job that might not sound so exciting to most and turn it into something that regular Rockies fans (and the US media) has turned into something of a phenomenon. You see, Ryan doesn’t just take the jacket to the batboy, he runs like (as a Denver newspaper says) “he is being chased by a wild animal” on and off the field. In the process he gives the fans and players something to watch, cheer for, and enjoy.

Does Ryan have to run? No.
Does Ryan run every time he gets on the field? Hell yes.

Now Ryan doesn’t run because it’s in his job description. Ryan runs because that’s what Ryan does. And in the process, he has become the best damn jacket guy in the world.

If you’re not the best in the world at something yet, maybe you just haven’t tried running yet.