My Grandfather's wisdom

My Grandfather would always tell me, "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly!" Of course he didn't mean that one should keep doing it poorly, or even get better at doing it poorly. Rather he wanted me to understand that greatness is always preceded by failure. He would also say that one of the most powerful impediments to greatness, is to be "pretty good".  The time, effort and money it takes to get from "pretty good" to great, can be overwhelming.

The goal therefor can never be to become great, but to become willing to do those important things poorly long enough that you can become pretty good. Then with desire, commitment and focused effort you can become great.

So what is focused effort? In the golf swing focused effort is not putting all your physical effort in hitting the ball as far as possible, or putting all your mental effort in staying smooth and graceful. Focused effort is what you actually do before, during and after a round of golf. Focused effort is your commitment to some type of practice or physical conditioning. Focused effort is what your mind and body do together when you swing the club. It's never mind over matter, it's always mind and matter.

My business mentor Paul J Meyer often said, "Tell me where you really spend you time, effort and money and I'll tell what you are really committed to."