I Miss the Practices
“When people ask me now if I miss coaching UCLA basketball games, the national championships, the attention, the trophies, and everything that goes with them, I tell them this: I miss the practices.” – John Wooden
A Road Map to the Development of Expertise
How to Become the Best at Anything – A book by Glenn K Seki
An excerpt from How To Become The Best at Anything, Chapter 8, Deliberate Practice and Learning
Some generalizations about practice.
“Practice perfect.
Practice can be a physical action.
Practice can be a mental action.
Practice can combine physical and mental actions.
Practice with people that are better than you.
Practice with a coach.
Do your homework before you practice.
Get guided practice (practice with immediate feedback).
Practice to get better.
Practice what you are NOT good at.
As the story goes, there was this top concert pianist who was regarded as the best at performing a particular concerto. During one of his practice sessions he thought a few bars could be better. So, he practiced on improving these few bars of music for several hours a day for months. When he performed again in concert, he had taken his total performance to a new higher level. He practiced to get better and he practiced what he thought could be improved: his weak spot in his performance. By doing so, even though he was already considered the best, he became even better.”
Never stop practicing to get better.
