What are you good at?

How did you get that good at whatever “it” is?

At the end of August, I had my first golf game of the season with my son, and it was only his second. If you understand the complexity and difficulty of the game, or play it yourself, you’ll appreciate when I say he shot a 79 with 3 lost balls penalties and as he would say, “left a lot out there”.  Some people golf their entire lives and never shoot a 79 (I shot a rather typical-for-me score of 91). 

Watching him play is pure poetry in motion.  He is very fit and strong, has meticulous mechanics and a real love for the game. 

He didn’t take up golf until he just before starting high school, though.  I signed him up with an academy and over and above his lessons, he was content to spend a Saturday at the range, headphones in, for eight hours at a time.  Regardless of the weather, he found a place to hit balls. He became very good very fast and placed in competitions all over North America for the handful of years he competed. Many people who play with him vocalize that they would love to have the game he does but most won’t; not because they don’t have the talent or the ability but because they are not willing to put in the effort.

Do you know the rule of 100?  If you spend 100 hours a year on any discipline – which equates to only 18 minutes a day – you will be better than 95% of the world in that discipline.

Aha! – Consistency is king

I remember seeing Zig Ziglar present at a conference years ago.  Bob Proctor and I were standing at the back of a room full of thousands.  Bob turned to me and said, “He is so good”.  I nodded. We were mesmerized as were the other audience attendees.  Zig confessed that while everyone else was out partying the night before, he was in his room practicing his presentation.

And it’s not that “practice makes perfect”, it’s that you need to “practice perfectly”.  Being really good at something – anything – takes deliberate, consistent, focused action.

So, what is it that you love doing, would love to be even better at, and are willing to invest 100 hours into?  Is it as simple as setting your timer for 18 minutes a day?

Remember that if you want to be good at something you first must be willing to be bad at it.  Smile at your efforts and keep going!

The first A Human Approach Master Class is scheduled for October 17^th entitled, Release the Shackles: From Self-Sabotage to Self-Mastery. Watch your emails for the registration link!

Likely what you’re good at came with some natural

If you spend 100 hours a year on a discipline – that’s only 18 minutes a day – you’ll be better than 95% of the world on that discipline.