I like numbers. My job is essentially about numbers. Most of my day is figuring with numbers. I also like learning new things. Learning new things takes practice. Practice involves repetition. Then you can get into all the rules about practice, dedication, motivation, etc. etc. Motivation is fun but it can be the tough part of getting in all the numbers. One friend says his wife is a nag but she claims she is just a motivational speaker. (That’s a different story.) Anyway let’s get into the practice and numbers part.
So you want to learn something new? Get a book about it, go to the place where they do this new thing, hang around people that do this new thing, listen, look at people doing a new thing, think about it and try it. You are not going to swim without getting into the water. I’ve talked about taking that first step many times.
Some things are more difficult than others. Physical skills can be a challenge. Let’s consider learning something new like welding. (Welding?) Break it down to heating up two pieces of metal and the metals join together. The metals melt and become one. Simple right? You just dress up in that cool apron, big gloves and that welding helmet and away you go. Immediately, you get the welding rod stuck on a piece of metal, sparks are flying, and frustration runs rampant. You instructor will tell you about watching the puddle of metal. One day you get your hand trained to be steady enough to let the metals flow together and you can see the puddle. All of a sudden you see what your instructor has been talking about.
My golfing friends are always in a struggle. They will start some new project and become frustrated. I always ask them about their golf game. Nothing makes a golfer madder than pointing out the obvious. “What’s the big deal? Seems like you could get that driver and after you hit it ten or twenty times you would know how to do it.” Then you hear about the years of practice and all that. “Well, why did you think you would learn how to play the piano in 15 minutes?”
That brings us to the new rule I just found. The Rule of 100 says that if you spend 100 hours a year in any discipline, (which is only 18 minutes a day) you’ll be better than 95% of the world in that discipline. Consistency is everything. That might be true.
The hard part is getting above that 95%. Basketball player Steph Curry shoots 1000 baskets everyday at practice. He shoots 250 times just warming up for a game.
Author Ray Bradbury wrote three million words before he was able to sell books.
This is going to be an interesting thing. Try to learn something new in just 18 minutes a day. It will be fun and who knows, you might become a powerful force in some new skill that you’ve wanted to do. A little bit of effort everyday and the joy and satisfaction of a new skill could make all the difference in your life.
Just think of Grandma. She was the model of consistency. She began walking in the afternoons. She started out slowly and worked her way up to walking three miles every afternoon. She would take her afternoon nap, put on her walking shoes and strike out. Grandma was getting a little forgetful though.
Last week we realized that no one had seen her in a month. We don’t know where she is but we have mapped out a ninety mile circle for the search area. Stay consistent.
