Month: November 2012

The Not-So-Simple Simple Process Of Becoming An Expert

Garth Beyer

Step 0: Choose what you want to become an expert in.

Step 1: Learn about it to the point you don’t make mistakes.*
Step 2. Do things adequately.
STUCK
Step 3. Follow your intuition.

After step two is complete – you’re mediocre and work has become more a routine than anything – is when almost everyone gets stuck. They get comfortable with meeting standards and not pushing any buttons for improvement. But there is no art in doing something right. The art is in doing something better than it was done before. Art follows passion and passion follows intuition which hopefully you follow. That is how you become an expert.

* No. I hope it’s obvious that I don’t actually mean that you don’t make any mistakes at all. However, there is a point in every position of your career path where you make little to no mistakes. This point arrives when you learn nearly all you can.

 

Stay Positive & If You Stop Being Surprised At Work, You’re Stuck

Garth E. Beyer

Plan B, C, D, E, F, …

Garth Beyer

The only time you need a backup plan is when you know that you have a breaking point in Plan A that will make you stop working for it.

The moment you realize that you need a backup plan, you may want to reconsider even having plan A. If it’s not worth the fight, it’s not worth it at all.

 

Stay Positive & If There Is A Will, There Is A Way. Always.

Garth E. Beyer

Change Is Coming After You

Garth Beyer

People have a problem with making something good into something great. They get contempt with it being good so they never change their minds when offered a chance for improvement. That’s why so many people who want change, have to argue so much why the thing they want to change is bad as it is. When really they don’t think it’s bad, it’s merely standard. Standard is okay, but it could be better. Unfortunately, if you want change, you can’t admit that.

To persuade those to quit being contempt, you have to show them why something is bad. They can argue all they want that things can always be worse, but I say that things can also always be better. So how do you construct an argument for improvement? Simple.

What both parties can agree on is that change is constant and everything else in the world keeps changing, and you can’t hold on to being contempt with something because the laws of life don’t allow it. The time between you being content and the world forcing it to change is a waste of time. It’s a race for improvement, either you can lead it or the world around you will.
Tough choice.
Not so much.

 

Stay Positive & Keep Changing And Testing For Improvement

Garth E. Beyer

You Have To Do The Leg Work

Garth Beyer

Most people’s careers start with them doing the leg work for other people. Once enough leg work is done, they may or may not get the chance to have other people do the leg work for them.

From experience with the metaphorical and literal action of leg work I suggest that you always do the legwork, it keeps everything in perspective and allows for you to be a better leader and a better you.

 

Stay Positive & Do The Leg Work, Better Yet, Do The Whole Body

Garth E. Beyer

Riding A Bike (No analogy, just a lesson)

Garth Beyer

I cried a lot as a kid so it’s rare that I can remember a specific cry. The one I can recall is my first cry while trying to ride a bike for the first time. I remember my dad running behind me, keeping me steady. I yelled at him to NOT let go. He did. It ended up with me crying.

I’ve read a lot of analogies and quotes about life in relation to riding a bike. There’s something universal about teaching a kid to ride a bike; it’s not just a lesson about riding a bike, it’s a life lesson.

Step one: Make sure the kid knows that he is going to fall off the bike and if the kid is anything like any other kid, will cry and be afraid to ride again. Prepare the kid for it. Tell him what will happen. Do this at first.

Step two: then switch your words of honesty with words of encouragement immediately upon the first fall. Tell the kid that he is going to ride smoothly, keep the handlebars steady, pedal slow and thoroughly and will succeed.

Step three: Pat on the back. He’s done it.

The strongest feelings in this world are the ones that surprise you. This means that they can be any type of feeling: sad, lonely, happy, guilty, scared, proud, etc,.  There is less of a feeling if you expect it, or in this case, if a kid expects to fall off the bike and hurt himself it won’t hurt nearly as bad if he didn’t expect it.

As we likely know, but often forget, once we fail, we are that much closer to success. We hold this expectation of falling off the bike again and hurting ourselves. But when we don’t fall, when the kid finally rides the bike without it resulting in tears, it’s the strongest feeling in the world; much stronger than getting it right the first time.

Success doesn’t move us, the feelings of it do.

 

Stay Positive & Feel More

Garth E. Beyer

Traded Expectations

Garth Beyer

You can tell a lot about a person by how they handle traded expectations. If told a movie is good, do they then watch it and search for the good parts, or do they try to contradict you by looking for the bad parts. Personally, I root for the people who find something interesting between. That’s just me.

 

Stay Positive & Trade Once, May Never Need To Trade Again

Garth E. Beyer

This Week’s Schedule

Garth Beyer

Your schedule, that is.

 

Monday: curiosity

Tuesday: open-mindedness

Wednesday: intellectual courage

Thursday: thoroughness

and to top the Friday off: Humility

 

Don’t worry, you won’t be graded. Although, I can’t stop you from grading yourself.

 

Stay Positive & “A” For Effort In My Mind

Garth E. Beyer