The Lazy Man’s Guide to Practice and Eminence

Who wants to work hard when there is an easier way out? Not me. Who wants to remain average when they can achieve greatness? Not me. Who wants to break their back for the sake of success in life? Not me.

I have previously admitted on this blog that I am lazy. With time there will be a population explosion of a lazy man’s guides to success on this blog. I will feed you with what I eat. I will not preach water to you before I head out to Margaret River for a wine tasting tour.

One of the reasons why I love sports is the unmistakable success and adrenaline rush associated with it. It is great watching 90 minutes of a soccer game. What we do not see however is the sweat and tears that precede those 90 minutes. We see the joy of winning on athletes faces, but completely ignore the thousands of hours it took to get there.

To be able to get to the top in any field you have to give it your best. You have to practice and constantly improve. Tiger Woods spends hours upon hours improving his golf. Will Smith practices his lines on the mirror hundreds of times. Winston Churchill practiced his speeches many times. Martin Luther King burnt midnight oil before telling the world that he had a dream.

What is Eminence?

Eminence is standing high and above others in quality and superiority. It comes from the word eminent which means prominent, noteworthy, remarkable, distinguished or important. It takes a lot to be eminent. Nelson Mandela is eminent. Bob Dylan was eminent. David Beckham is Eminent, Oprah is Eminent. I want to become eminent, and inspire you to be eminent too.

Achieving Eminence

It is not easy becoming eminent. It does not happen by accident and certainly not overnight. The first step to achieving eminence is deciding that you want to be eminent and choosing an area of life that you want to be eminent in. It is possible to be eminent in more than one area of life but please pick one first. Once you achieve eminence in one area, you can leverage it to achieve eminence in another area.

I will share with you a part of my life and intentions on this blog post. I think it will help me illustrate my points and connect with you on a more personal level.

I have recently set out on a journey to become an eminent blogger. I hope to be a better writer and promoter of my blog. It is not an easy task. It is even harder because I am lazy. I am in a dilemma. I want eminence, but I am lazy. What to do?

Finding an Angle

To become eminent in your chosen field you have to carve your niche. You have to differentiate yourself from the competition. You should aspire to be unique and build your eminence on an area of your strength.

Each of us is unique in our own way. Your life experience is different from mine. Your life weaknesses are different from mine and so are your passions. Let me continue sharing about my life in the hope that it lights up ideas in your mind.

I have an abundant mindset. I believe that there is enough good in the world for each of us. My life does not diminish when I share something of value with you. In fact, the opposite is true. I love inspiring people to be the best they can be. The more people I inspire, the more blessings I experience in my life.

So one day when I was brainstorming on how to kick start my publishing empire, I stumbled upon the idea of inspiring my friends through a blog. I started writing articles that I think my friends would find inspiring. I wanted to create something that would be applicable to others in the future. I decided to launch a personal development blog with timeless content.

To find an angle find an angle for your quest for eminence, look within yourself and ask yourself the following questions. What do I enjoy doing? What can I do for an extended period of time where others would give up? What area can I perfect my skill in and be of great value to others? What are my talents? What is my training? Such questions can help you brainstorm an angle for you to achieve eminence.

Practice Makes Perfect

Michael Jordan was one of the greatest basketballers in history. He practiced his game for hours on end. The legendary Don Bradman of Australia was the greatest cricket batsman ever. Again he practiced for thousands of hours to perfect his skill. To achieve perfection and eminence, there is no short cut. You have to practice and prepare.

Practice does not mean doing the same thing over and over. It means setting goals for improvement and committing to that. You need to continuously push yourself to practice and improve. Tiger Woods does not just take a basket of golf balls and hit them aimlessly. He improves an aspect of his game at every practice session.

To improve as a blogger, I have been trying to improve one aspect of this blog at a time. There are many things to learn, from marketing to technical stuff. I practice daily. Perfection does not happen overnight. It may take a minimum of 10 years to achieve eminence. Can you wait that long?

The Ten Year Rule

If becoming eminent is going to take me 10 years, I can live with that. I do not want the complexity of being an overnight sensation. The media loves overnight sensations so that they can tear them down anyway.

People like Tiger Woods took 10 years to reach their eminent state. His father introduced him to golf as a toddler. Bill Gates started programming more than 10 years before he made his first million. That is million with an m, not b.

Many people want success to happen too quickly. They lack the patience and tenacity to put together the solid building blocks. They build their temporary eminence on quicksand. Do not be tempted to go that route.

Outsourcing to the Subconscious

Another lazy man’s tip is to outsource all your hard stuff to your subconscious mind. For example, when one learns to drive they focus consciously on the road and the controls in the car. But as they gain more practice and experience, they do it without even thinking.

I do not suppose David Beckham stresses too much when bending the ball to the goal as a rookie would. As a lazy person, I choose to outsource my hardest jobs to the subconscious mind. That way, my mind is free to be lazy without guilt. As long as am moving ahead towards my goals, I do not care if I do so consciously or unconsciously.

Let me give you an example that is related to this blog. To be able to inspire you and not run out of ideas, I have to constantly keep learning. I love learning but since I am lazy, I try and outsource that to my subconscious mind.

It takes me one hour to drive to work (oh traffic jam in the city). It also takes me one hour to ride a long the cycle path that is traffic jam free. So when am driving or riding to work I pick up my IPod, fully loaded with marketing materials, sermons, inspirational Podcasts and MP3s.  Do you realize how lazy yet productive that is? Let us do the math.

I work for 5 days a week. It takes me 2 hours of commuting to and from work per day. That is 10 hours per week. It works out to about 40 hours per month. That is the equivalent of one week of fulltime work in most countries. Over a period of one year, I will be able to listen to quality self improvement and marketing material that is equivalent to 3 months of fulltime work.

If I do that for 10 years, then I will gain an equivalent of two and a half years of fulltime work in that period. No wonder I already have (written down) ideas for blog posts for the next 3 years assuming I only post one article per day.

How much down time do you waste? Could you possibly allocate some of your idle time to subconscious activities that will lead you to eminence?

Incremental Improvements (Kaizen)

Kaizen means making gradual improvements to your master plan everyday. Forget those giant leaps to stardom and focus on gradual improvement. Many people are too hardworking for their own good. They are willing to break their backs and the bank to make giant strides. But a lazy sod like me goes for Kaizen. It is easier that way. Just improve a little everyday.

I improve this blog slightly everyday. Most of the changes are really minute. Many readers do not see the marketing or technical improvements. But they do see the new articles which is an improvement in itself.

Building Momentum

As you persist on your quest for eminence, your job will become easier over time. They say that the hardest money to make is the first million. But once you have that first one, you can leverage it to make more.

Focus on achieving small goals. Get accustomed to winning. It will build your confidence. Many cumulative wins will do more for your confidence than an elusive giant victory. Those small wins will gain momentum when the power of compounding starts working on your favor.

Fruits of Eminence

Whatsoever a man soweth so shall he also reap. If you purpose in your heart to achieve greatness and plant the right seeds, you shall reap a bumper harvest.

Tiger Woods started out hitting golf balls. Now he hits golf balls and endorses products to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Success breeds success. If you achieve success in your chosen area, it will open more doors and opportunities. Focus on planting the right seeds for your success.

Summary

There is no such thing as a 100% lazy way of doing things and achieving eminence. At the end of the day success belongs to those who take action. It takes effort to take action.

However, you can choose to take the smart road to eminence. The smart road does not require too much willpower or forcing yourself to do something against your will. The smart road means doing what you love, practice, patience, realistic timelines and gradual improvements.

I wish you well in your quest for eminence. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or a story to share, I (and other readers) would love to hear from you.

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