Wednesday, September 19, 2012

How to Get Better




Do you want to get better at whatever it is you do?

Here is one simple tip from my new favorite book by Daniel Coyle called The Little Book of Talent. 

“Look at every single performer who is
better than you and see what they’ve
got that you can use.”

That is practical borrowing. 

-Steve Jobs borrowed from Xerox.
-Babe Ruth borrowed from Shoeless Joe Jackson.
-Best Buy borrowed their Geek Squad idea from Apple’s Genius Bar.

“The Special Forces Group of the Green Berets borrowed from General Electric.  They went to GE’s offices for a period of time and followed their designated exec through their daily routine.  When they returned to their unit, the commanders noticed a significant boost in performance, communication, and leadership. 

“Up-and-coming chess players practice by replaying classic games, move by move. 

“Public speakers practice by re-giving great speeches, complete with original inflections.

“Some writers achieve this effect by retyping passages verbatim from great works.”  
(The Little Book of Talent – Daniel Coyle)

Imitation is the name of the game. 

That’s how we get better.

We look for the little things – the angle of the hand, the mouth shapes of a singer reaching those high notes, the body stance, and any other signals that we can apply to our own game to help us improve.

Imitate!

Get better.

P Michael Biggs
Offering Hope
Encouragement Inspiration
One Word at a Time


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