Jerry Bellune November 18, 2013
November 18, 2013
November 18, 2013
How to sharpen your ax
Brian Tracy tells a story about two lumberjacks.
The young one challenged the older one to a contest.
In an hour, who could cut more wood?
The older man took frequent breaks.
But in the end he had cut more wood.
How could that be? the younger man asked.
You took frequent breaks while I kept working.
Ah, the winner said. I took breaks to sharpen my ax.
People who excel sharpen their ax regularly.
Cal Newport teaches peak performance tactics.
He’s the author of “So Good They Can’t Ignore You.”
Working hard is different from getting better, he says.
Many of us don’t differentiate among our activities.
All time spent at the office counts as “work.”
Performance psychologists say that’s wrong.
Not all work is equal. Some is just busy work.
Clearing your in-box. Chatting on the phone.
Others become great by choosing what they do:
Simply put, there’s a difference between:
Doing what you already know how to do.
Doing what forces you to stretch and improve.
In new tasks, we spend some time in training.
After that, our abilities tend to plateau.
When we do that, we don’t get much better.
We gain experience but not more skills.
To achieve our dreams we must try new strategies.
We must intentionally improve our performance.
This is a distinction between average and great.
Average people work hard but learn little that’s new.
Great people systematically learn harder skills.
This structured learning is deliberate practice.
It’s why lawyers and doctors say they “practice.”
The rest of us have jobs and go to work.
This is the key for expert performance in any field.
It differentiates the great from the average.
The great constantly sharpen their axes.
Peak performers have great purposes in life.
Find your own with “Your Life’s Great Purpose.”
This little book will change your life.
Personally autographed copies for only $20.
They make great Christmas gifts.
Just write me at [email protected]
Next: Frog swallowing made simple.
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