As long as I can compete, I won't quit.
Cal Ripken, Jr.Read
I did make a choice when I got away from baseball to be there to get my kids off to college.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of prioritizing family over career.
Cal Ripken, Jr. reflects on the significant decision he made to step away from his baseball career in order to focus on being present for his children as they transition to college. This highlights the value of family and the importance of supporting loved ones during pivotal moments in their lives.
In practice
In a speech about work-life balance, one might use this quote to inspire others to value family time.
As long as I can compete, I won't quit.
A lot of people think I had such a rosy career, but I wanted to identify that one of the things that helps you have a long career is learning how to deal with adversity, how to get past it. Once I learned how to get through that, others things didn't seem so hard.
I never understood that when I heard people retire - they said they missed being around the guys. I don't have a need to make a play in the ninth inning of a game anymore. But being on the inside and being part of a team is something that you really do value and you really do miss.
I've felt some great feelings on the baseball field... in front of 50,000 people and millions on TV... but the feeling you get when you give a kid a chance, that is a hundred times greater than that feeling.
By far, the best moment of my big league career was when I caught the last out at the World Series.
So many good things have happened to me in the game of baseball. When I do allow myself a chance to think about it, it's almost like a storybook career. You feel so blessed to have been able to compete this long.
I dont work weekends. Weekends are for my kids. And I have dinner at home every night when Im not physically directing a movie - I get home by six. I put the kids to bed and tell them stories and take them to school the next morning. I work basically from 9.30 to 5.30 and Im strict about that.
Counsel with your parents is a privilege at any age.
I want my children to know that we often become resilient for others.
This is a moment that I deeply wish my parents could have lived to share. My father would have enjoyed what you have so generously said of me-and my mother would have believed it.
It's as if, in the mother's eyes, her smile, her stroking touch, the child first reads the message:'You are there!'
If you've never wept and want to, have a child.
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