“Real Lessons from a Silly Show” details Aidan Hatton’s takeaways and lessons learned from hosting the podcast “Games & Grub” on Marquette University Radio. Starting an interview series after the COVID-19 outbreak, Aidan shares the valuable wisdom given by so many local and national success stories in their conversations, presented in a more professional, business-oriented context.
Written June 13, 2020
You may think being a Division I men’s basketball player, playing in the Big East, in front of more than 10,000 people every night, would come with all of the glitz and glamour you could think of.
Cam Marotta is here to tell you otherwise.
As he himself explains, completing four years as a walk-on is not an easy task. Neither is the Program Assistant job he currently occupies. Still, he finds a way to succeed through his big-picture outlook and perseverance. A man who has certainly done his share of the dirty work the past five years has a lot of insight to share.
On what goals he set for being a walk-on: “I just wanted to take the whole experience in. I knew it was going to be tough; because he [Steve Wojciechowski] spit it to me straightforward, the day I talked to him about it. It’s a tough thing, not a lot of guys go through all four years. That was one of my goals, to maintain and try to do all four years and do it the best that I could. I didn’t really know what to expect going into it besides that, and I just tried to learn every day. As a freshman and even as a sophomore, I tried to keep my head down, not say a whole lot, or expect anything. I knew if I did that and worked hard, good things would come from it.”
By accepting the offer to walk on at Marquette after conversing with Head Men’s Basketball Coach Steve Wojciechowski, it is clear Marotta knew what he was getting into. Having a four- or five-year outlook is not easy; many of us focus on our daily routines and situations. While there is certainly merit in being the best, it is both refreshing and inspiring to hear Marotta’s main goal of simply finishing the job.
At the tail end of his quote, Marotta talks about putting the work in without worrying about the results. This may seem like a bold idea, but it has been backed by numerous other athletes. In his partnership with Calm, LeBron James communicates the same idea: “This is a mindset that says, ‘I’m going to put in the work, and if I do, winning is inevitable.’” What on the surface may seem a cocky and preposterous suggestion — to completely detach yourself from the outcome — has actually turned into a winning formula. Thankfully, most professionals can implement this perspective into their own industries and workplaces; the theory of detachment from results is not exclusive to the sports world.
In addition, Marotta tries to learn from as many people as he can, a skill that I personally am trying to grow. Didn’t you know you can’t learn anything by talking?
On his future goals: “My hope one day is to become a head coach. I love coaching. I love being around teams. I love learning just as much as I do teaching. Right now I’m learning a little bit more from our coaches who are older than me…I really love building those relationships with guys who are closer to my age now, but five years down the line, I’ll keep getting older and they’re going to be staying the same age, so hopefully I can share that wisdom with them… I know it’s a long process, and you got to pay your dues.”
Marotta’s long-term orientation shines through once again. Taking on his work with attitudes of — in his words — “to maintain” and “pay your dues” stuck with me, and I know it can stick with many others. Detroit rapper Big Sean says it best; in his track “Bigger Than Me,” he advises: “I pray to God you never let the little things in life distract you from the bigger picture.” It’s extremely easy for anyone to get caught up in the daily idiosyncrasies of life. Taking a broader perspective on what is above, the end goals and achievements we strive for, can help anyone persevere through challenging times.
On growing his network of relationships: “As I try to break out and start learning from other people, I want to develop as many relationships as I can with coaches from other schools, guys that I see running other camps, and guys that come into our camps. I think there’s relationships to be made everywhere… I think the whole basketball community does a good job of uplifting each other. If you’re a basketball coach and you have another basketball coach reach out to you, most of the time they’re going to respond back to you because it’s almost like they want to see you do well just because they want to do well themselves.”
Almost every guest we’ve talked to has testified to the importance of building relationships. Marotta is the latest, and as a fellow Marquette Business student, I imagine he had this teaching drilled into him just as much as I did. However, he adds a new wrinkle to the education when he put it in the sense that these connections can be made everywhere. Marotta effectively teaches that friendships and associations can be made anywhere from your morning barista, to your boss, to the receptionist you see at the end of the day. Take it from popular radio and TV host Ryan Seacrest, whom you probably see hosting at least one of your favorite shows. He is quoted as saying, “We meet no ordinary people in our lives. If you give them a chance, everyone has something amazing to offer.”
What’s the next relationship you are going to build? I’m certainly glad we have built one with Cam, one of the most down-to-earth and energizing people we talked to over the Spring 2020 interview series. I want to thank Cam for coming on, and for sharing such a wide array of knowledge and inspiration. Next week, I will dive into the lessons learned from talking with Ben Steele, Marquette Men’s Basketball’s beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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