The Power of Preparation – What You Can Learn from House Party

Yo Bilal...Switch again!!!

Before we get started, you MUST watch the following clip. If for no other reason, because its awesome.

If you only take one lesson from the classic film “House Party” then this is it: Be Prepared. You have absolutely no idea when you will be called upon to engage in a dance battle, so you and your partner better have that choreographed routine mastered.  As a matter of fact, you need to have several routines because you don’t know how many rounds it will take to serve your opponents. As Kid demonstrated, you need to be prepared to issue the challenge with full confidence in your ability to back it up. As Play demonstrated, you need to be prepared to pick up the gauntlet in case your heavy-set drunk friend collapses. As Chill demonstrated, you have to be prepared to say “Bust It!” at the perfect time. And as Sidney and Sharane demonstrated, you not only need to be prepared to accept the challenge, but also to use finger snaps to indicate which dance sequences to initiate. I often took for granted the valuable message that the Hudlin Brothers were trying to impart with this film – Preparation is power.

We don’t have to look far to see the value of preparation. A sprinter trains for hours, days, months…to prepare for a race that will be over in less than 30 seconds.  A musician practices week after week to play a single selection.  Pilots have to log hundreds of hours before they can fly unaided even once. But the greatest value of the lesson is most appropriately shown in the clip. You prepare because you never know when it’ll be time to perform – and you need to be ready at all times. 

Be committed to the process of preparation. It will likely involve some uncomfortable moments and you have to stick it out. It may take countless hours. You have to be willing to do it even when you don’t feel like it. No doubt, Play kicked Kid a few times as they tried to get the timing right on that leg sweep/jump over/split. 

You have to have the clarity to recognize when it’s time to put your preparation to use and when it isn’t.  During the repast at your great aunt’s funeral is not the time to launch into your thesis about the failure of the bi-partisan political system. I don’t think this needs further elaboration.

Finally, be confident. Once you have prepared, you’ve done all that you can do. Now actually get down to the doing. The moment that you are preparing for is often going be a moment that you create.

Remember:

1. Commit yourself to the process of preparing
2. Recognize when your preparation is applicable
3. Create your moment

Now go serve a sucka (or suckette) on the dance floor.