Give Tim Tebow credit: He's not afraid to chase big things.
He's not afraid to set big goals. He's not afraid to put himself out there. He's not afraid to fail.
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We should all be more like Tim Tebow.
The former Heisman winner and NFL quarterback auditioned Tuesday for a bunch of major league teams in hopes of launching a career on the diamond. Yes, the odds are long, perhaps impossible. But that doesn't mean it's not worth the effort.
Whether born from an actual desire to play, or just a publicity stunt, Tebow's tryout shows the value of taking risks, the value of always trying to get better. If it works, the reward is great. If it doesn't, at least you gave it all you had. At least you know.
Too often we don't try things because they seem too hard. We're afraid it won't work. We're afraid of embarrassment. So the potential of a big payoff takes a back seat to our fears. But the truth is that we never really know how something will play out until we try.
We think we know how Tebow's baseball career will go, given that he hasn't played since high school, but we don't. Monday night, it was reported than a respected and successful team in Venezuela has offered Tebow a contract to play there this winter. Should MLB teams pass on him, as most observers expect, Tebow might still get to play pro baseball.
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Already, I'd say, his risk has paid off. He can give it a shot against tough competition and see how he stacks up. You never know.
Tebow's generated a lot of laughs and a lot of eye rolls since he announced his plans to pursue baseball. So many people seem to want him to fail for entertainment value, to maintain some apparent understanding that we're not supposed to like Tim Tebow. Sure, he's a nice guy, people say, but come on. He's only here to entertain us through his shortcomings.
If he fails, so be it. We shouldn't laugh. We shouldn't take pleasure. At least he tried. It's an old lesson, but it's a valuable one.
Regardless of Tebow's outcome, we should ask ourselves why we aren't more willing to take risks when the right opportunity arises. If we see something we want, we should go for it. There's value in trying.
You never know for sure until you go for it.
Despite all the jokes and memes and head-shaking sighs, Tebow doesn't care what we think. He knows what he wants, and he's going for it.
You have to admire that.
