How can I say such a thing? Well, let me explain..
Picture, for a minute, your neighborhood driving range with an army of ‘weekend warrior’ golfers lined up at the tees ‘going at it’ with everything they’ve got.
There they all are, frantically placing balls up on the tee one after another, then swinging so hard, and so wildly that it’s not uncommon to see guys practically falling over!
And actually, we’ve all been there too…haven’t we?
But this kind of ‘practice’ doesn’t make any of us any better… at anything!
So, if it isn’t practice that makes perfect, what does?
Well, here it is…
perfect practice.
Yes, perfect practice!
Practicing the right things, at the right time and in the right way… that’s the ticket!
In fact, I just experienced it myself.
After not playing tennis for well over 25 years, in fact, since I was an teenager hitting balls against the wall at the local high school, I finally picked up a racquet again.
Anyway, for months I was just like the golfers we talked about. That’s right, I was going out, hitting a million tennis balls, and none of them very well. Then something changed….
One day, I decided to take a couple lessons from a local tennis instructor at one of the indoor tennis clubs.
Well, the long and the short of it is, that as soon as I started to listen and learn from the tennis instructor, my game started to improve, and not by just a little, but by a lot. And fast!
Here’s the thing…it’s the same for nearly everything.
I always tell the kids, “If you want to learn something, go out and find and expert and learn from them.”
When my son wanted to take up golf, I encouraged him to forget the new clubs, and take the $50 and get a lesson from someone who’s an expert!
That’s right, get instruction from someone who has already successfully done what you want do!
Of course, as you can imagine, this applies to business too.
We need to find good coaches, and then be coach-able.
Now, we can get back to this idea of perfect practice.
That’s right! When we take the time to learn from an expert, and begin to practice their proven skills, strategies and techniques in our own businesses, we are moving towards the idea of perfect practice.
Ok, back to the tennis story for just one last comment.
One thing I learned from the expert was to change the way I gripped the racquet. It felt awkward at first, but within a day or two, I started hitting balls harder and with more accuracy… and with less effort!
Now, I’m not saying I’m Roger Federer, but no question about it , I was getting better… a lot better, in very little time.
It felt great! And why did it happen?
Because, I knew enough to learn from an expert, and then to start practicing the “right way” over and over again.
Now, that’s different. And that works!
Remember, it’s not a sign of weakness to know you need coaching – nope, it’s a sign of strength!
You Can Do This, You Really Can,
Dan
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