Awesomeness Takes Time

Don't watch me, watch the clock. BOYYEEE!! You know what time it is!!

We would all like to believe that we were born awesome. And to some degree we are absolutely correct. When we first arrive as crying, slobbering masters and mistresses of manipulation, the world literally revolves around us. Furthermore, the universe is merely an extension of us and only exists as we interact with it.  But as we get older, we develop a sense of self that differentiates us from the universe that was formerly our appendage. And that’s when awesomeness becomes more complex.

A couple years ago, I read a book called Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.  I had even gone as far as to begin writing a blog post about it for the 1^st failed incarnation of The Awesomeness Consultant. It went like this:

Today’s Inspiration for Awesome: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
[Imaginary Scene: A young Awesomeness Consultant stands before his 4^th grade classmates, clutching papers tightly and shuffling from foot to foot] 

Good morning, my name is the Awesomeness Consultant and this is my book report on Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  Mr. Gladwell has written three other famous books that I haven’t read yet named What the Dog Saw, Blink and the Tipping Point.  I think that Outliers was a good book that presented some interesting information that hold interesting implications for awesomeness…

[End Scene] 

Pardon me for being silly, but yeah this is your basic book report.  Mr. Gladwell makes some interesting arguments and presents some interesting facts that I think would help any of us look at this thing called success differently.  I don’t where success fits into everyone’s “awesomeness paradigm” but as far as my own is concerned – it deserves some attention. Allow [me] to go through the book and highlight a few sections and the implications for awesomeness… 

Chapter Two: The 10,000 Hour Rule
Implication for Awesomeness: Awesomeness takes a lot of time invested

And this is exactly where that blog post ended. I never finished it. So now we’ve come full circle.

Since reading the book, I’ve actually heard the 10,000 hour rule mentioned a number of times. Most recently, I was reading a Men’s Health article about Georges St. Pierre, and in addition to quoting Bruce Lee and Michaelangelo, he mentions the 10,000 hour rule. So what does the rule say? To master anything, it will take a person 10,000 hours. That’s a lot of hours. Let me put it into perspective for you:

Pick anything that you want to master. For me, it would be…ummm…I don’t know….maybe White Lotus Kung Fu (for the sake of discussion). Now let’s break 10,000 hours down:

• If I practiced 2 hours per day, 5 days a week it would take 20 years to reach 10,000 hours.
• If I practiced 4 hours per day, 5 days a week it would take 10 years to reach 10,000 hours.
• If I practiced 3 hours per day, 7 days a week it would take 9 years to reach 10,000 hours.
• If I practiced 4 hours per day, 7 days a week it would take 7 years to reach 10,000 hours.

From that perspective, awesomeness (as defined as mastery of a craft or skill) takes an incredibly long time. As well, to commit to 10,000 hours of practice requires motivation, dedication, and humility. That is one heckuva formula.

Now, you may not have invested 10,000 into any particular craft or skill, and you may not want to. That does not limit your ability to be awesome one bit. By the time you reach 30 years old, you will have been yourself for 262,800 hours. Just being who you are has given you mastery 26 times over.  So actually, awesomeness is still as simple as it was when we were babies. It just takes time for us to realize it.

The only real shortcut

#badshortcut

Every day my inbox is full of spam.  Sometimes there is a sexy single in my area looking to chat. Other times, there is a distant African cousin offering to give me a cut of the $10M that I help him to launder.  And while these may be tempting, they don’t ever entice me to open the message. But there is a nefarious type of email that I get that I am always weak for. The “shortcut” email.

I was just linked to a landing page of a website where some guy was trying to convince me that he had the “shortcut” to getting six-pack abs in 12 weeks. This is not the only site of its kind that I have come across. People are always hawking a shortcut – especially for those things that require a significant amount of effort and commitment; things such as fitness and wealth. And while I know, with a high degree of certainty, that these shortcuts are usually “scammy,” I investigate then nonetheless. Why?  Because I possess that very human trait of “wanting something for nothing.” - or at least wanting something for a fraction of its actual cost.  And it makes perfect sense: If I have limited resources, I should want to spend those resources as efficiently as possible.

I understand that with hard work, dedication, and motivation I could actually accomplish whatever is being sold via shortcut. Of course you can have six pack abs (maybe not always in 12 weeks) with the proper nutrition and exercise. Of course you can build a successful blog with resonant content and regular interaction. Of course you can be debt-free if you spend less than you earn. 

Many years ago, when I was creeping and crawling beneath the bowels of the earth, I was informed that shortcuts would no longer be an option for me.  It was around this time that I learned that taking a shortcut only ensured one thing; that eventually I’d have to do it over again the right way.  So the only real shortcut is to not take any shortcuts.

In the immortal words of the SOS Band, “Baby you can do it, take your time, do it right.”  Let the robust sounds of their composition encourage you.

Pic lifted from extremefunnyhumor.com

Quitting feels good

She quit being a HOPA

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I like quitting. It’s easy.  All I have to do is to stop doing whatever it is that is causing me discomfort.  If I’m exercising, it feels good to quit before the reps that really burn.  If I’m watching my diet, it feels good to quit when the canoli at the bakery counter looks extra delicious. I might call it a break or be even more honest and call it a “cheat,” but what it really is – quitting – feels good.

I have to honest with you. I’ve quit more times than I care to remember, much less admit.  And at the time, the excuses always make perfect sense.  You can’t finish that book, you have other things to do. You can’t stick to that running program, you don’t have enough time.  And every time that I didn’t pick up the book, I felt good watching TV. Every time I didn’t run, I felt good sleeping in. 

But I’ve come to realize, that while quitting feels good – being awesome feels great.  And being awesome means that I get it done, get it in, and get it on even when I don’t feel like it (see earlier post).  One of the best feelings in the world to me is when I finish the day’s exercise regimen that I had spend 15 minutes trying to talk myself out of doing (it might also have to do with the fact that working out releases endorphins, but there’s no need to split hairs right now). Regardless of the activity, sticking to it and finishing feels great.

So my advice for today is stick to it…there is no doubt something awesome that you gave up on. The finish line may have seemed too far away. The light at the end of the tunnel may have seemed too dim. And quitting just seemed to feel too good. And since I know that we don’t like to quit doing something that feels good, I’ll allow you to quit one more thing: Quitting.

Pic lifted from The Chive.