The best $5 I’ve spent in years.

It’s funny how things work sometimes.

Two weeks ago I had to take our car in for brake replacements (my god are those things expensive…) on the weekend, which meant I had about an hour to kill while waiting for it to be done.

I went for a stroll in the area of the car mechanic and stumbled upon a readers goldmine: Value Village.

In case you didn’t know, or if you live in a country without a Value Village, it’s basically a big thrift shop. It’s mostly popular for really cheap/used stuff like clothing and houseware, but what I’ve discovered over the years is that most of them have a decently sized used book section.

And most of the books are less than $10, which is amazing for someone like me who loves reading physical books but doesn’t love spending $30+ for each one, brand new.

Anyway, I go right to the book section and in this case, find two books that catch my eye:

• a Lord of the Rings guide titled “The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth” in mint condition, which looked really cool so I got it to add to my Tolkien collection ($5)

• a book called “Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball” by R. A. Dickey.

Most of you know I love reading autobiographies/memoirs from successful businesspeople, but once in a while I read one written by a professional athlete.

In this case, Dickey is a former Major League pitcher known for throwing a very rare pitch called a knuckleball.

Why did this catch my attention?

Because, as you may not know, I was a competitive baseball pitcher for most of my early life.

I started very young when my parents signed me up for t-ball, continued onwards and played competitive baseball about as early as possible (I think around age 8/9), through high school and even had an offer to play baseball for a US community college, but decided that the chances were just too slim at that point to make the Majors and instead chose the pathway that led me to law school the quickest.

Sometimes I think about that decision - probably the biggest one I ever made when it comes to my career - and the life it would have led to if I chose to chase my dream of becoming a pro baseball player in the USA, but alas, we cannot rewind the past and I’m very happy/lucky with how my life has turned out considering the choice I did make.

Anyway, why does this matter?

Because my love for baseball/pitching is what drew me to that book which I purchased and absolutely devoured. It’s not a huge book but I simply couldn’t put it down.

You will like it even more if you are a fan of baseball, but don’t need to be to read it.

If anything, it’s more a book about a guy who had a very tough childhood, and a very tough early career, who never gave up, had to re-invent himself in his 30s to eventually, after years and years of playing in the minor leagues (low pay, taking busses to games, etc.), eventually making it to the Bigs.

So, overcoming major struggle for a very, very long time.

Not only was it interesting but it really put things in perspective.

Have you been struggling to get your business off the ground for 7 months? It took Dickey more than a decade to finally cement himself on a Major League roster. More than 10 years of struggle.

Let thank sink in for a minute.

If you’re a fan of baseball, or motivational books, or personal development/growth in general, I think you’ll really like it. I’ll definitely be reading it again.

Next up: starting a re-read of Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s.

Maybe I should start a book club… let me know?

Have a great day,

Josh Schachnow

Canadian lawyer, CEO at Visto.ai

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