My strength is coming up with two outs in the last of the ninth.

Hearken, O children of the ages yet unborn, and attend to the words of Michael Eisner, a master of enterprise, who speaks in the language of baseball to reveal the enduring truths of courage, decision, and resilience. He proclaims that his strength is revealed not in easy moments, but in the crucible of tension, when all seems lost: two outs in the last of the ninth inning. It is in this fleeting moment of uncertainty, when the weight of expectation and consequence presses heavily upon the soul, that the true measure of resolve is laid bare.

The origin of this insight lies in the metaphorical union of sport and life. Eisner, as the former head of a great entertainment empire, understood that leadership is not merely about comfort or routine, but about rising to the occasion when the stakes are highest. Just as a batter stands alone against a relentless pitcher with two outs in the final inning, so too does the leader, the entrepreneur, or the seeker of greatness confront moments in which skill, judgment, and courage converge under pressure. These are the moments when the ordinary is revealed as insufficient, and the extraordinary must emerge.

In these words, one perceives the universality of human endeavor. History is replete with those who achieved glory in the final hour. Consider Winston Churchill during the darkest days of the Second World War. When the threat of invasion loomed and despair haunted the hearts of nations, his strength lay in his unyielding resolve, his clarity of vision, and his capacity to act decisively. He was, in essence, at the last of the ninth inning, confronting existential pressure, yet rising with courage to inspire action and hope. Eisner’s metaphor resonates with such historical heroism.

The phrase also speaks to the cultivation of composure under pressure. A batter, a leader, or any individual in a pivotal moment must summon the full measure of training, experience, and intuition. The strength Eisner describes is not born of impulse but of preparation, honed over countless earlier innings—practice, study, trial, and small victories all converge when the stakes are highest. Just as the athlete draws upon years of discipline in a fleeting moment, so too must the individual cultivate readiness in life, so that when the critical moment arrives, courage becomes instinctive.

Emotionally, this teaching is a call to embrace challenge rather than avoid it. To stand at the precipice, with two outs in the last of the ninth, is to face fear, doubt, and the weight of consequence simultaneously. True strength is not the absence of trepidation, but the mastery of it, the capacity to act decisively when failure is imminent and the world watches. Eisner’s reflection illuminates a principle timeless and heroic: greatness is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis, in the theater of intensity.

Consider, too, the lives of great innovators and entrepreneurs, whose last-minute decisions shaped empires. Steve Jobs, confronting the faltering development of the original Macintosh, rallied his team with urgency and vision in moments when the project seemed doomed. The stakes mirrored two outs in the ninth—failure would have extinguished ambition, yet perseverance, decisiveness, and inner strength transformed potential ruin into lasting triumph. Such is the lesson embedded in Eisner’s metaphor: moments of crisis demand our highest faculties.

Therefore, O seeker of wisdom, take heart from this teaching. Cultivate strength, not in comfort, but in preparation for the crucible of decisive moments. Train your mind and spirit as a batter trains the body, sharpening judgment, resilience, and courage. Recognize that life’s most consequential victories are rarely won in ease, but in the tension of high stakes, when one must summon inner resources to act decisively and boldly.

Finally, let this lesson endure across the ages: the measure of your strength is revealed not when the field is tranquil, but when the innings are waning, the outs are counted, and success or failure hangs by a slender thread. Embrace preparation, summon courage, and act with clarity when the moment demands it. In this lies the heroic path, where ordinary endeavor transforms into legendary achievement, as Michael Eisner so vividly and eternally reminds us.