Cobb lived off the field as though he wished to live forever. He lived on the field as though it was his last day.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of balancing long-term aspirations with living fully in the present moment.
Branch Rickey's quote about Cobb suggests that one should aim for immortality in their personal pursuits, treating life outside of their passions with care and intention, while simultaneously embracing each moment with fervor when engaged in what they love. This duality highlights the value of cherishing life and its fleeting moments while also building a legacy that would last beyond one's years.
In practice
This quote could be used in a motivational speech about pursuing one's dreams while appreciating everyday moments.
I don't like the subtle infiltration of 'something for nothing' philosophies into the very hearthstone of the American family. I believe that 'Thou shalt earn the bread by the sweat of thy face' was a benediction and not a penalty. Work is the zest of life; there is joy in its pursuit.
There never has been a man in the game who could put mind and muscle together quicker and with better judgment than Robinson.
Things worthwhile generally donβt just happen. Luck is a fact, but should not be a factor. Good luck is what is left over after intelligence and effort have combined at their best. Negligence or indifference are usually reviewed from an unlucky seat. The law of cause and effect and causality both work the same with inexorable exactitudes. Luck is the residue of design.
Luck is the residue of opportunity and design.
It (a baseball box score) doesn't tell how big you are, what church you attend, what color you are, or how your father voted in the last election. It just tells what kind of baseball player you were on that particular day.
Some day I'm going to have to stand before God, and if He asks me why I didn't let that [Jackie] Robinson fellow play ball, I don't think saying 'because of the color of his skin' would be a good enough answer.
Dear, don't think of getting out of bed yet. I've always suspected that early rising in early life makes one nervous.
But I smiled, and smiling was easy, no matter how strange and disorienting the street seemed to be. I was a fugitive. I was a wanted man, a hunted man, with a price on my head. And I was still one step ahead of them. I was free. Every day, when you're on the run, is the whole of your life. Every free minute is a short story with a happy ending.
There are two tests in life, more important than any other test. On Monday morning, when you wake up, do you feel in the pit of your stomach you can't wait to go to work? And when you're ready to go home Friday afternoon, do you say, 'I can't wait to go home?'
One thing alone I charge you. As you live, believe in life! Always human beings will live and progress to greater, broader and fuller life. The only possible death is to lose belief in this truth simply because the great end comes slowly, because time is long.
The act of living had been enjoyable; at some point when I was not paying attention, it had turned into a different sort of experience, to whose grimness I had grown so accustomed that I now took it for granted.
...the only continuity possible in life, as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom. The only real security is... living in the present and accepting it as it is now.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.