Today’s Excerpt:

Here’s a story about the famous baseball player Joe DiMaggio:

“One day a journalist interviewed DiMaggio at his home and asked him how it felt to be a “natural hitter.” Rather than answer the question immediately, DiMaggio invited the journalist to his basement where DiMaggio picked up a bat and started a lengthy series of practice swings, calling out a variety of pitches and adjusting his swing as needed for each one.

After he finished the exercise, DiMaggio picked up a piece of chalk and made a mark on the side of the wall. It was only then that the journalist noticed that the wall was covered in an enormous tally of marks, indicating that he did this exercise frequently. As the story goes, DiMaggio turned to the journalist and said, “Don’t you ever tell me that I’m a natural hitter again.”

Discuss:

• What do you like to practice?
• What was it like when you first started — and were there moments you felt like giving up? What happened? How did you keep going?