A Major League lesson in humility

A couple of weeks ago, a rarity occurred in Major League Baseball. You may have missed it because it involved my lowly Kansas City Royals.

The Royals traded Wilson Betemit to the Detroit Tigers for a couple of minor league players – not unusual. KC traded Betemit to Detroit to play 3rd base. To make room for Betemit, the Tigers had to cut a player. They chose to release the veteran Brandon Inge – the 3rd baseman for the last 10 years. This is where things get strange…

What was so peculiar was the reaction of the veteran Inge. He has been mired in a year-long slump (both batting and on the field), and deserved to be demoted. However, the typical response of a player in Inge’s shoes is to move on to another team. Inge opted to return to the minor leagues.

The humility of Inge hit me hard. He chose to go from jets and plush clubhouses to buses and Bull Durham.

Humility is more than just the opposite of pride; it’s the ability to lay down perceived rights. Inge could very well argue he had the right to be treated better – at least kept on the team as a back-up. He not only was a 10 year vet, but only 2 years removed from playing in the All-Star game. He had been a very, good player.

Instead he chose to lay down his rights, go to the minor leagues, and prove he was worth a spot on the major league team.

Laying it down.

As small business owners and artists, it can be hard for us to have humility like Inge displayed.

You have the right to be mad at the PWAC (person with a camera) that doesn’t have the experience and quality to take your clients. You have the right to be angry with competition for shooting in your space. You have the right to be upset about whatever you want.

The real question is do you have the humility to let it go, go back to working on your business, and prove you deserve to be paid what you want by clients?