| Elite athletes are often revered for their exceptional abilities and achievements. We award them for outstanding performance with trophies, endorsements, and public accolade. Unfortunately, our evaluation is far too frequently based on slices of time during which they are at the peak of their game. When an athlete is winning, we look at them and call them a success. Yet, success isn't a momentary entity. It is a lifetime of struggle chasing one's dream. With that in mind, I set out to study a component of the process by which legendary performers work toward and achieve success. Specifically, I set out to gather a qualitative understanding of what I coined to be "engagement". That is, the process of reaching a concentration pinnacle while maintaining a loose, free body and a fun-filled attitude. As my personal experiences are most plentiful in baseball, I chose this sport for studying engagement. I contacted three former baseball greats, Johnny Grubb, Curtis Wilkerson, and Pete Rose, and spent over 5 hours (in all three instances, a series of interviews over 3 days to 3 weeks) with each of these individuals discussing their histories and how they began to realize their dreams. In the process I put together a case study of each athlete, a philosophy of performance if you will. This dissertation is a summary of these case studies, these philosophies, and my reflection on what I learned through this process about engagement and success. |
