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Recently I was given a book titled Outliers, The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. I have always believed and said that there’s no substitute for time spent and this book reinforces that for me. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a school teacher, calf roper or rocket scientist. If you want to be the best there’s no substitute for time spent. The person who spends the most time at something is the best.
When you hear that someone has “potential,” while a compliment, it also means they haven’t accomplished anything yet. According to the Outliers, it takes approximately 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. There’s about 2,000 hours in a year of 40-hour weeks, so depending on how hard you work and how much time you devote to something, it can take five to ten years to become an expert.
These statistics made me reflect on my career. I’ve always felt a little behind because I didn’t start roping until I was sixteen. Though I’ve never doubted my ability, I also never felt like I was as good as I wanted to be. Therefore, I practiced all the time and couldn’t practice enough. I look back now and didn’t realize what I was doing, but it was what I needed to do.
I’ve always said that you get out of it what you put into it and that’s proven. The person who spends the most quality practice at something will be the best. In the book they talk about musicians and athletes and the difference between those who went on to become teachers versus the elite who became the very best. The elite practiced more and spent more time doing it.
I can’t think about roping and longevity without thinking of Allen Bach. He’s worked hard, continued to change with the times and is still a driving force. He didn’t rest on his laurels and at 50-something he’s still working at it and will continue to until he quits. It’s no accident that Trevor dominates the All Around. He’s spent more time at it – that’s no secret. Hanging in my office is my quote: “Practice is not what you do when you get good – Practice is what you do to get good.”
Today while I was practicing, the father of one of my students was there and afterwards he asked, “Do you always practice this hard?” Ironically, it wasn’t really that tough of a day for me. I don’t practice to get a warm and fuzzy feeling, or out of anger or to prove anything. I constantly challenge myself to be the very best I can be.
If you want to be the best – do it more than anyone else. Period.
Till next time, God Bless and I’ll see you down the line.
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