Every one of us is getting ready for a hinge moment, event, or person that will make all the difference in our lives. However, we just don’t know when or who that will happen. In fact, we may not know the impact until weeks, months, or even years after.

We can’t connect the dots moving forward in life, we can only connect them looking backwards.- Steve Jobs 

The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness.

In order for our Hinge to connect, we need to keep giving ourselves opportunities. Hinge moments require that we stay confident in ourselves to keep connecting with others and striving to get better. However, when we isolate and lose confidence, the Hinge fails to connect.

As Gandhi said , “you may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing, there will be no result.” You must be ready because when your opportunity hits, it’s too late to prepare.

Since each of us will have opportunities, here are three (3) people who took advantage of their Hinge moment! 

1. John Brooks-  

His goal beat Ghana in the 1st round of the World Cup. He became the 1st ever substitute to ever score in a World Cup Match for the United States. He only entered the game at half-time because another player, Matt Besler, was injured. With only four minutes left in the game, it appeared the game was going to be a draw. John Brooks was even on the bubble for making the USA roster.

However, he told his teammates, “ I actually dreamt about making a header on a corner kick in the 80th minute to win the game.”

2.  Linda Perry-

She was the lead singer of 90’s band, 4 Non-Blondes, and they had their 15-minutes of fame with the hit, “What’s Going On.”

Often as it goes, the success did not last, and a few years later, Linda Perry was sunk….

She was completely broke for three weeks, when an unknown artist contacted her and told her how she admired Linda Perry’s earlier work. Linda Perry had just finished writing a song, titled “Get The Party Started.”

You guessed it, the unknown artist was Pink and it re-launched her career.  Linda Perry thereafter has written tons of top songs for artists like Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, & Adam Lambert.

3. Vin Scully-

Vin Scully was the hall-of-fame announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers who passed away in 2022. 

The greatest of all-time announced Dodger games for 65 straight years! He called his 19th no-hitter when Clayton Kershaw accomplished it.

His Hinge moment occurred when he returned from the Navy and was announcing games for Fordham University. He loved broadcasting, and it was his one true passion for his life. The decision he made was to be all-in instead of being in the way! There did not seem to be an easy path forward either, so he took the only action that he knew could work. He went took the path less traveled and wrote letters to the heads of stations who could be in search of play by play announcers. 

He sent 150 letters to radio stations all along the east coast and received only 1 reply from CBS Sports Radio.

He started working alongside the legend, broadcaster Red Barber, and he called his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950.. Red Barber would be his first mentor as well and he stressed preparation and execution.  

Will Your Hinge Moment Connect? 

Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology Coach. His company DRB & associates coach executives and professional athletes and is based in Indianapolis. Some clients have included three winners on the PGA Tour, Indy Eleven, University of Notre Dame, Marriott, and Walgreens. 

Please Check out all the books and the mental toughness podcast - 15 Minutes of Mental Toughness as we interview expert athletes and coaches about Mental Strength and their Hinge Moment. New blog posts are published weekly.