Developing yourself, improving your skills, taking your prowess from student to master and impacting lives for the better is what life is all about. Last week we talked about the fact that although not everyone can become a master, anyone could become a master. And that anyone could include YOU. You can become a master in your chosen field. This week we will take that idea a little further.
Chances are you have heard about 30 year old Michael Phelps – currently the greatest Olympian of our time (with over 20 Olympic Gold medals in swimming); in the course of his career he has won approximately 71 medals. Michael Phelps practices 6 days a week for no less than 6 hours each day! Let that sink in… (This picture is from a 2016 Sports Illustrated cover, where Michael poses with all his Olympic Gold medals).
His daily routine is indicative of someone working on mastery. You can Google his training regime, I guarantee you it will leave you gobsmacked! He practices his form, he practices his swimming, diving techniques; he trains with weights, he races against the clock etc all 6 days a week for 6 hours…DAILY! Can you wrap your mind around what he has had to give up for his prowess in the swimming pool, and continued dominance in this sport? I caught his post win interview with Piers Morgan at the Olympics in London and he said that he is in the pool so much that he hates the smell of chlorine! One thing that caught my attention during this interview as well is the fact that he is rather soft spoken – I could not help but ask myself if he lacks real people skills because he doesn’t spend much time with people – with 6 hours a day in the pool what time would be left for just ‘hanging out’? His medals are the reward for his mastery in the pool.
Masters don’t just hang out! Masters don’t spend 6 hours a day watching Telemundo. Masters are deliberate with their time… their time is precious. How do you spend your time? The word spend connotes an exchange of value. What are you exchanging your valuable time resource for?
So you want to become a Master? Let me ask you these questions:
- What craft/skill do you want to master? Do you know? Or do you expect to ‘fall into it’ sometime in your life?
- Do you understand the most basic movement/component or the motions/movements of your craft? If you want to master comedy, do you know the elements that make a good joke? If you want to master painting, do you know which colors to mix to get the right tint for that sunrise? If mastery in music is what you aspire to, do you know your minor scales from your major scales?
- How much of your time are you willing to give to practicing your craft?
- What are you willing to forego for mastery? Friends, parties, cold drinks, acceptance of people who do not understand what it is you are pursuing…? Most masters are often misunderstood.
- How much are you willing to invest in your skill? No one who wants to become a master violin virtuoso would fail to pinch and save until they can get their very own Stradivarius violin – and believe me they don’t come cheap.
- Do you have the gumption it takes to overcome rejection after rejection until your time comes? Or will you wimp out and give up before you ‘arrive’? The masters from ages past till those of our time – Steve Jobs, Nikola Tesla, Kobe Bryant, Barbara Streisand, Albert Einstein, Renoir, Elon Musk, Rembrandt, Andy Whorl etc all endured rejection and failure, but they maintained a positive attitude and a strong belief in themselves and their craft until they ‘arrived’ – mind you many ‘arrived’ posthumously. Some of them became broke, but forged ahead. Do you have what it takes, do you have the gumption required to grasp and hold onto mastery?
- How long can you go without the praise of men? Can you stomach the jeers of the people in the grandstands? How long can you ‘keep at it’ until your gift and you are recognized and celebrated? Can you wait on these and still keep practicing and honing your craft…for as long as it takes?
- How do you manage your insecurities? Do you give up, or forge ahead?
- Have you identified a master that can mentor you? Can you be mentored – or do you believe that the sun already rises and sets on your shoulders. Mastery takes humility.
I can ask you many questions, and you can say yes to each and every one of my questions. But like they say, the proof of the taste of the pudding is in the eating. When tyre hits the road the Posers will be separated from the Masters.
One thing I do know is that the road to mastery starts NOW. It is NOT too late to start your journey. Like I said anyone can become a master, but not everyone will. Who are you? Everyone or Anyone?
Feel free to drop a comment or question and I will get back to you. If you have enjoyed this post, share it with your friends on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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