Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Black Hole of Mediocrity

Average is normal. Always has been, always will be. Achieve escape velocity. 

1. "Champions do extra." - James Kerr, Legacy  The old-fashioned thinking says outwork the competition and earn notice. That's the Malcolm Gladwell "10,000 hours" maxim, true or not. People asked Michelangelo how he could create The Pieta at age 26. He said if you work ten hours a day for almost twenty years then it's not a miracle. 

2. Build better habits. James Clear's Atomic Habits suggests how. Pick, stick, and check. Pick a habit, stick with it ("don't miss twice") and track your performance. Align behaviors with your desires. Study if you want to be a better student. Exercise if you want to be physically fit. Write more to become a writer. 

3. Find a mentor. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." There's a 'chain' of mentorship. Socrates taught Plato who taught Aristotle, who mentored Alexander the Great. Usher advised, "study your mentor's mentors," which for him meant James Brown and Gene Kelly. 


And his mentor? 

4. "Do one thing each day for your art and one for your business." - David Mamet   If becoming an exceptional athlete is your business, you won't find that on your cellphone or by endless partying. 

5. Edit your life. Ron Howard explains, "the film is made in the editing room." 

THINK

T - Is it true?

H - Is it helpful?

I - Inspire

N - Make it necessary

K - Be kind. 

Jeff Bezos was sitting in the back seat of his grandparents' car and told one who was smoking, "every cigarette you smoke shortens your life by forty minutes." His grandfather pulled the car over and told him, "it's better to be kind than clever." Yes, we all fail sometimes. 

6. Become a storyteller. Buttress your beliefs and values with stories. The Heath brothers book, Made to Stick shares tips on telling stories that resonate with listeners. Here's a great summary. “Failing is often the best way to learn, and because of that, early failure is a kind of necessary investment.” Comedian-director Judd Apatow explained that he heard it would take seven years to succeed, so he had no problem with early comic failures. 

7. "Leave your comfort zone." Teach those who are less skilled. Compete against those who are equal. And learn from those better than we are. "An Olympic Gold Medal in figure skating reflects the will to fall 20,000 times." 

8. Know what it takes. Someone asked Helen Mirren what it takes to succeed as an actor. "First, always be on time. Second, don't be an a*hole." 

9. Show up. Spencer Haywood went to the University of Detroit for a tryout. At one point, the coach said, "make fifteen free throws in a row and you've got a scholarship." The rest is history. 

10.Play the percentages. Annie Duke's book, "Thinking in Bets" helps us, as does this from Dean Smith. ""How do we define a good shot? The amount of defensive pressure, length of shot, and individual player characteristics...much depends on the shooting skill of the individual player. For some players, a lightly guarded twenty-foot jumper will be a higher percentage shot than on taken at close range among a number of defensive players." - Dean Smith, in Basketball: Multiple Offense and Defense."

Summary:

  • Champions do extra.
  • Build better habits.
  • Find a mentor. 
  • Take care of both craft and business.
  • Edit your life.
  • Become a storyteller. 
  • Leave our comfort zone.
  • Know what it takes.
  • Show up. 
  • Play the percentages. 

Lagniappe. We're only as good as our process. 

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