The year Ted Williams became the first and only baseball player to hit for an over .400 batting average, he had the opportunity to sit out the final game of the season and guarantee that he would capture the record.

On September 28^th 1941, Williams went into the two final games (a doubleheader) batting .3996 that would have rounded off to .400 assuring that he would be the first player to ever hit .400 in a season.

His manager, Joe Cronin, suggested Williams sit out the last two games just to play it safe.

But Williams, the cocky 23-year old slugger in his third year with the Boston Red Sox said, “If I can’t hit .400 all the way, I don’t deserve it”.

Williams went six-for-eight including a homerun and a double to end with his record .406 batting average.

He didn’t even win the Most Valuable Player Award that year.  Joe DiMaggio won the MVP for hitting safely in 56 straight games.  Even Williams said, “Hell, I’d have even voted for DiMaggio”.

If you’re a golfer or like to watch golf on Sunday, going into the final day of competition on top of the other players is arguably not where you want to be.

More golfers – even the professional — lose the edge on the back nine of the final round by playing it safe.

People who invest in “blue chip” stocks for their future aren’t always guaranteed immediate protection from a prolonged economic downturn the nature of which we are seeing now.   And while safe stocks are an oxymoron, there are some that you can build a future on – just maybe not today.

It’s human nature to protect that which we have or have earned.

But playing it safe is a loser’s strategy.

So next chance you get, think of Ted Williams.

If you can’t do it, you don’t deserve it.

And more often than not you’ll achieve your goal but 100% of the time you’ll be living like an achiever.