Becoming The GOAT

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

I grew up in New York City, near the old Yankee Stadium. On the few occasions, I saw a goat in a children’s zoo or a petting zoo. That was what I thought of as a goat for most of my life. The Yankees were always world champions and I rooted for them with fervor. I remember pitching in the little league on the site of where the current Stadium is, hearing the roar of the fans after home runs occurred. That was the lot of New York sports fans at that time.

There is a difference between being a champion and being THE GOAT — The Greatest of All Time! I don’t know of anyone other than Ali, who proclaimed himself to be The Greatest of All Time. I do know many people who play small but think they are big shots professionally. Frightened to reach for the stars, they hold themselves back. It is sad to see people who could be much bigger, happier, and more successful, crippled by their self-imposed limitations. They live in cells, prisoners of their conditioning.

Are you one of them?

From the time we are small and go to school, they condition most of us to “shut up, do what you are told, regurgitate a bunch of staff when we tell you to do it, get good grades . . . or else.” Or else we won’t get into college.