My beloved Toronto Blue Jays are in a slump.
Like nearly 30 consecutive innings without a run kind of slump.
And it seems like the harder they try… the worse they get.
Until last week, when the dry spell was broken.
Jonatan Clase – in his major league debut game no less! – hit a homer and when he got back to the dugout, donning the infamous home run jacket, he mugged to the camera with… a stuffed dragon?
This is the shit that I love about baseball.
How it’s weird and quirky and players will do literally anything to turn things around – from wearing someone else’s pants to showering in their uniforms to parading a stuffed dragon on a stick through batting practice.
Whatever works, you know?
Clearly it did – the Jays had 30 runs in the first four games of what fans are now calling the Dragon Era.
But the dragon was more than just a superstition – there was some coaching psychology behind it too.
The dragon was chosen as a symbol of invincibility and fearlessness.
And the stuffed toys?
That’s about fun and play so the players could "free up their minds" and start hitting bats again.
I have been deeply invested in the Home Run Dragon and not just because I’m still holding out hope October baseball.
The lesson hit close to home.
I too have been slumping lately with a few strike outs of my own - campaigns that brought in $0 and lacklustre launches that had me questioning everything (again).
And just like my baseball boys, it seems like the harder I try, the less clearly I can see the ball.
Every swing, ends up being a miss.
If I’ve learned anything from the Dragon Era, it’s that fun is a metric too.
And I certainly haven't been having very much fun at work lately.
Somewhere along the way I started to feel immense pressure to be an expert. An authority. Which has left me frozen, stuck in a rut and afraid of doing anything less than perfect.
The Home Run Dragon made me realize I haven't been doing any of the things I actually enjoy.
You know… yapping (but not that kind of yapping) and making podcasts and hosting events and teaching you everything I know about marketing and growing a slow and steady business.
That’s why I’m hosting the first Just Enough Session in over a year on Tuesday, July 21.
Not because it’s a silver bullet guaranteed to get results. Consider it the start of my own Dragon Era.
Come join me for the session - it will be part training/workshop/therapy lol.
Even if you run your biz mostly on vibes, you’ll take something away from this class.