Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!

We’ve all heard the phrase “never put off until tomorrow what you can do today,” yet all of us are guilty of, at least a little, procrastination. We can even find excuses to procrastinate:

• “We’re just waiting for the right moment.”

• “You cannot rush creativity.”

• “Huh? I didn’t know I was supposed to do that. You meant today?” (Said by every teenager at some point, right?)

The point of this post is not to bash procrastination. (I’m sure it can be useful, at times.) This post is focused specifically on the downside of one of the biggest procrastination blunders in Major League Baseball history and how we can learn from it.

Please permit some baseball history:

On December 2, 1991, the New York Mets made Bobby Bonilla the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball, when he signed a five-year, $29 million contract. His production began to fade so he was traded, in 1995, and in the following years bounced to a couple more teams before being traded back to the New York Mets on November 1998. 

Mr. Bonilla had some clashes with the manager over playing time (and reportedly playing cards in the clubhouse with a teammate, when his team was playing an extra-inning playoff game in 1999) so the Mets decided to part ways with him, yet again.

Here’s where things get really interesting.

The Mets still owed him $5.9 million so his agent offered the team a deal: Bonilla would defer any payment for a decade, and the Mets would pay him $1.19 million annually beginning on July 1, 2011 and ending on July 1, 2035. (Note: The Mets thought this would be a good idea because they felt the 10% return on their investment with Bernie Madoff would counteract the 8% interest rate they would pay to Bobby Bonilla.)

When you choose to procrastinate, you may have the best intentions, but you never know when you might end up with an albatross (or a Bonilla) around your neck.

I try to live by the following philosophy: “do the things you have to do, first, then do the things you want to do.” Prioritize. Be consistent in your effort and work ethic. As my older brother says, “Through your consistency you show your priority.”

Many times it costs less to pay the price right away then it would to stretch it out over time, but when we push it off - when we procrastinate - we tell our brain it’s cheaper, more effective, and ultimately better to push off until tomorrow (or 2035) what we could do today.

To pause and reflect is not procrastination. To truly wait for the timing to be right, might - at times - be a good thing; but when excuses creep in, when we choose to ignore the issues that demand our attention, we run the risk of paying more than we should ever pay.

Choose your moments carefully because each one is important and could make a lasting impact on your life and the lives of those around you.

[I would love to hear what you are striving to accomplish, and if you’re willing, some of your procrastination struggles and the stories that surround them. Use the comment section below or click here to tell your story.]

Note: For a more detailed look at the Bobby Bonilla contract, I have included the link here. Check it out. It's an interesting read.