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# Batting Practice
- URL: https://www.noteofdaring.com/batting-practice/
- Published: 2023-09-18T12:15:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-09T15:17:41.000Z
- Description: Practicing strategic choices in life and business
- Author: Rachel Thompson
- Tags: Adventures

Saturday morning I woke up earlier than normal and went to a casual batting practice. I’ve been playing recreational softball and beach volleyball pretty consistently for about 12 years. And my teams have rarely, if ever, had any sort of practices.

I’ve been on the same softball team here in Raleigh for several seasons now and the captain has extended an invitation several times to join him for batting practice.

And I have. And it’s been helpful to practice outside the game context and to get specific and helpful coaching. It’s deliberate practice.

For me, I’m good at waiting for a good pitch. But then I need to watch the ball and wait to swing.

Watch and wait. Stay loose.

Watch and wait.

Practice my swing. Miss a bit. Hit fouls. And some that are just meh.

Watch and wait more.

And then feel the solid connection when the bat hits the ball just right and it flies over third base.

Practice makes progress.

So, I practice. Deliberately. Practice batting, practice piano, practice writing, practice strategy and planning and pitching and speaking and many other things.

## Following the Energy

I watched a webinar on Thursday from IDEO about ‘Why You’re Probably Doing Strategic Planning Wrong’ because I agreed with the title. And I like IDEO’s human-centered approaches. We both think that a lot of people are doing strategic planning wrong. Not ‘wrong’ but the trip-up is that people do planning and think that’s strategy. It’s not.

Strategy is making a deliberate choice. And planning is making progress aligned with that choice.

\*\*

The NOVAScibes co-organizers had a call this week. One deliberate choice that underlies how we operate as a meet-up is to follow our energy. Our strategy is to follow our energy. And on Monday, we said no to a tentative event because no one’s energy was in it. Mine wasn’t and it had been on my mind. And it felt good to practice following our energy and staying no to future commitment of time, energy, and attention.

I wanted that energy for other things.

\*\*

This week, I recorded a 12-minute video for the BVNBV Roundtable about The Value of Freedom and the Power of Structure as a Solopreneur.

That is a simple sentence for the messier build process behind the scenes. A more accurate description of the process would be this → created a mind map of content, designed slides, wrote a script on paper, redesigned slides, drew out a framework in Procreate, updated slides, recorded 2-3 videos talking through the content, reorganized the content, added visuals to slides, re-wrote my talking points, tried three different mic set-ups, and then recorded a 12-minute video for the Roundtable.

This was me following my energy. This was me practicing and making progress that supports strategic choices in my business.

I want to help solopreneurs and creatives do strategy better. And then help them build plans that support their strategic choices. I’m hoping this video helps. As well as sharing it with the BVNBV Roundtable and eventually on YouTube.

Watch and wait. Stay loose. Practice swings until one connects. Then practice until more connect.