See the scene from 28 Days when baseball star Eddie gives Gwen (Sandra Bullock, Hollywood’s best paid actress in 2014) a lesson on how to hit the target – focus on getting yourself ready – rather than just trying to hit the target. It’s the key to success. As I couldn’t find a movie clip with the spoken lines, here’s the script from the scene between Eddie and Gwen:
What are you doing?
Great. Another thing l suck at.
Well, hold on. Gwen, hey.
Please.
Come here a second.
-What?
-What were you thinking about?
When you threw the ball,
what were you thinking about?
l don’t know. The mating habits
of African ants. l don’t know.
The striped thing.
You were thinking about
hitting the mattress.
Well, you know, it might sound funny
to you, but that’s all wrong.
When you lock in on the strike zone…
…it’s looking about
the size of a peanut.
And you think, ”Damn. l gotta get
that little ball in there?”
You’ve psyched yourself
right out of the game.
The strike zone, the call…
…the count, the batter,
forget all that.
You gotta think about the little
things. The things you can control.
You can control your stance,
your balance…
…your release, your follow-through.
Think about those little things
and only those little things….
You know? l mean….
Because when you let go of the ball…
…it’s over.
You don’t have a say in what happens.
That’s somebody else’s job.
-l want you to try this.
-l don’t want to.
l’m just curious.
-l don’t want to do it.
-l just want to see how you hold it.
Don’t grab it, don’t grab it.
Look at it, look at it.
Hold it like an egg.
Loose. Easy. All right?
Let me get a look at it
from over there.
Let me get a look at it
from over there.
All right.
l want you to throw it over here
nice and easy.
Point at me with your left hand.
Throw it where you’re pointing at.
Better. But you nutted the batter…
…and the other team’s beating
the crap out of you.
Try again. Heads up.
l want you to do it again.
This time, shut your eyes.
-What?
-Just shut your eyes.
-So weird.
-Fire away.
Right there.
That is a strike in any country.