Key Point: It is amazing what we can accomplish when we put commitment in front of fear and slowly, methodically, bit by bit, walk from one side of the road to the other, more desirable side. I heard someone explain that if one wanted to cross a street through crazy, chaotic Hanoi traffic they had to step confidently into the flow, walk slowly, persistently forward, NOT stop or run and somehow, unbelievably, they would get to the other side safely (Watch this video if you want to get a more visual feel for this).
The thought provoking,(The 4-Hour-Work Week) irrepressible, Tim Ferriss, takes this idea even further. In his upcoming book, he writes from the premise of believing wholeheartedly that people can become world class; i.e. top five percent in the world at one or two things per year, not one or two things per lifetime.
Ferriss states in a Big Think blog, “Because I think that the 10,000-hour rule applies in certain places but not all places. And what I’ve had a lot of fun doing is seeking out the anomalies. Not just where the groups condense but looking for the really unusual anomalies. Somebody who learns Icelandic in seven days, well enough to go on TV and be interviewed. Someone who can memorize – has trained himself to memorize a deck of cards in 43 seconds no matter how you shuffle it. With no real natural gift. Someone who learns to become a world-class swimmer at age 38. These anomalies. And then looking for the recipe, right? The step-by-step process that produces results over and over and over again that those people use.”
Character Moves (until Ferriss or someone gives us a better recipe):
- If you are really clear what you want (many people are better at identifying what they don’t want), put your fear behind commitment, “step into the traffic,” and slowly keep moving forward, keeping your eyes on where you want to end up.
- Perhaps this is a worn out metaphor or too simplistic… But when you look around, examples abound around us. Ordinary people like you and me achieving things they once only dreamed about. (This blog is dedicated to our son Garrett who completed the Spartan Race Beast in Monterey, Calif this past weekend… DWD bud!)
Through traffic in the Triangle,
Lorne