Why I Wrote Push The Tarp
On August 13, 1995, the Yankees legend, Mickey Mantle, died. This, oddly enough, is one of the main reasons I wrote Push the Tarp 27 years later.
I was at the Yankees game the day he died. Later that evening, spontaneously, on a handful of yellow post-it notes, I wrote about the Mickey’s death and left it on our kitchen counter when I went to sleep knowing that my dad would see it and read it.
Here is what I wrote:
‘Mickey Mantle died today. The Mic, my dad’s biggest hero. The tears in my dad’s eyes hit home, Mickey’s message hit stronger – take care of your body, you only get one of them.
63 years old, he died of cancer. A man of great success, pride, wit, talent and dignity – Mickey Mantle cut his life short. He was an icon to a generation of Yankee fans.
I grew up around stories, pictures and an entire world of die-hard Yankee pride, all mainly centered through Mickey. The style of play, the grace, the attitude.
In a game where fans are turning to faster paced games and more action-packed moments, Mickey’s death comes at a time when the national pastime is struggling. To a baseball guru, I cannot try to change others outlook that is different than mine. No can I be angry or take offense to their outlooks.
The Mic personified baseball at its best. The love, the Yankee spirit, the things that make baseball great. The drag bunt, running down a ball in the gap, running out an infield pop-up, a long high home run. Holy Cow, Mickey Mantle.
His stats, his success in the post season, his friendships with Martin, Whitey – the M & M boys.
His death hit home to me and many. I think it is a turning point in my life as I head to college and start a new chapter in my own life. Everybody dies and he is out of pain. The loss is deep and Mickey Mantle will be sorely missed.
Much can be said from a man like Mickey Mantle until the end. #7 died today. I was at the game, I got chills from Bob Sheppard’s voice and the clips of the Mic on diamond vision. I somehow feel a little better now knowing he’s out of pain. Mickey Mantle – my dad’s biggest hero ever to wear the pinstripes – a Yankee forever.’
You see, for as long as I can recall I loved to write. I remember doing a book report for no good reason on a humpback whale in second grade.
Throughout my childhood, I would write about moments in my or my families lives like when my maternal grandmother was struggling from a surgery, when our dog, King died, when we moved from our childhood home in Manhasset, NY and when my dad sold his restaurant, Regents Row, in Kew Gardens, NY.
I enjoyed capturing the moments, the emotions and the experiences in the form of the written word. Sometimes I would keep them in a notebook and other times like the examples above, I shared with family. Mickey Mantle’s death is the first time I recall leaving my words for others to read.
More recently, during the last few years of the pandemic, I have taken to occasionally writing an email to our advancement team of 108 colleagues. This was an opportunity to provide some insights from my seat as the leader of the team, to celebrate a milestone or simply encourage the amazing group that is Marquette University advancement. I trust that a good many colleagues noticed the email and without giving it much of a read, went on with their day. They should move on if the email didn’t interest them.
I wrote these periodic emails for two reasons. First, I had a sense that some colleagues could benefit from what I had to say. This was my authentic attempt to communicate during a time of great anxiety, challenge and uncertainty.
Second, I wrote the notes for myself. As selfish as it sounds, it is true. I was anxious, I was unsure and one of the best ways I knew could help myself was to do my best to serve others – serve my team. And so I started writing notes every few weeks or what averages out to a monthly note for the better part of the last few years (perhaps an idea for a future book – a memoir of emails from the pandemic….I digress).
In the course of working on my daily habits or creating some type of consistent morning routine, I took to making my bed religiously each morning and using a foam roller. At some point, I added listening to Mental Performance Daily by my friend, Brian Cain, while I made the bed and listening to Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic podcast when I used my foam roller.
I text Brian one day to ask if he recommended any supplements for anxiety and sleep and he replied with a great suggestion. I then asked him if he was taking on any new clients and he responded by saying “hell yes!”
During one of my first few sessions with Brian, he asked me a question about culture and if my team would know what our culture was about. I responded by saying that I hope so because we talk often about a culture built on the pillars of Service, Teamwork and Persistence and we call that Pushing the Tarp. I continued by sharing that I always wanted to write a book and if I did I would call it Push the Tarp.
Cainer became very excited and said he has written several books and helped many friends and clients write books as well. All told, I think Brian has been a part of over 40 books.
SO why did I write PUSH The Tarp
In addition to enjoying the process of writing since my childhood, writing is something that is all my own and something that I can continuously work on improving during my life like my golf game, pickleball skills or public speaking acumen. It is a central way for me to pursue excellence or Arete as Brian Johnson talk about. With writing, however, the creative process of telling a story and stringing sentences together has always been a source of great enjoyment.
In addition, the fictional story of Push the Tarp was an opportunity for me to tell a story that I created and built into it my lived experience. I shared the Push the Tarp framework through Rusty teaching Jimmy. The fictional characters in the story are a blend of people who have been great influences in my life and of characters I simply created when I started hitting the keyboard.
I wrote this book to take what I’ve learned and share it in my own leadership framework – not because it is perfect or correct or the best – but rather, because I believe in it.
I am very aware that this is a simple story and a quick read. I also have a level of grounded confidence (or intense trust) that this is a story worth telling in today’s world and I am humbled to share it with anyone who reads or listens to the book.
Service matters in our materialistic, ego-driven world. Being a great colleague or teammate or family member matters. And, our pursuits and practices are very often not going to be easy or quick (they are not supposed to be easy). Therefore, persistence is essential to be our best whether that means leading a team during a pandemic with vulnerability, humility and compassion or whether it means challenging yourself with some endeavor that is meaningful to you.
The last reason I wrote Push the Tarp is to underline the need for us to be great followers and to seek mentors and coaches in life who enrich our lives and make us better. At the same time, as we move through our lives I also believe we have a responsibility to pay it forward and help others in ways that our parents and coaches, mentors and teachers have impacted our lives.
Push the Tarp – the short tale of Jimmy and Rusty – was written for all of the reasons above and because it was time I started writing again. And as the saying goes, the best time would have been 27 years ago, the second-best time is today.