Supplying your own steam

Participating is the point

Being honest—there’s no chance I’ll ever learn to play the trumpet. Or even the guitar.

It isn’t because I dislike music, or that instruction isn’t available—it is. More because I’m not persistent enough to practice those skills, to dig in and master a craft that I’m not comfortable with, to get through the hard yards, and yes, to supply the steam to finish.

A wise sage put it plainly in a previous age: in the old industrial economy, the worker tried to do as little as possible and the bosses tried to extract as much as they could.

In the new self-serve economy—where we are now—that’s finished. All sorts of avenues are open. But, yes, you have to supply your own steam.

I see it all the time in my coaching. The players who get the most from practice have two things in common: they commit to the reps and they actively communicate their wins and losses. True skill acquisition isn’t watching someone else do it; learning is taking action and working things out as you go.

“I’ll just watch and take notes” is inconsistent with “I’m here to learn.”

Reading blogs is great. Writing one is better. Attending is fine. Participating is the point. Bluntly—get out of your own way.

This is post 112 of 365. I’m not watching. I’m not taking notes.

I’m here. Be there, yourself.

Nick

Photo by Phil Hearing on Unsplash