Hooks: Lessons on Performance, Business, and Life From a Working Musician by Matt Wilson

Author:Matt Wilson [Wilson, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781736384701
Google: gCEqzgEACAAJ
Publisher: Brown Boots Press
Published: 2020-12-31T23:33:18.912969+00:00

SOME WOULD SAY persistence is the pathway to growth—the stick-to-itiveness. I agree. Yet, persistence can hinder growth if you insist on pursuing something the wrong way.

For example, PayPal started as a company focused on cybersecurity (cryptography) and then moved into transferring money through PDAs. It wasn’t until after much deliberation, trial and error, replacing leadership, and changing their service product (what they do) that they found their position in the marketplace. Of course, we now know PayPal as a household name for sending money online.

Here’s another example: At twenty-two years old, golfer Sergio García was hailed as Europe’s answer to Tiger Woods. At the time, he had the greatest potential of all the golfers in the world. During his climb to success, he decided to change his swing. Critics and peers all questioned his decision and vocalized their astonishment. Sergio explained that even though he was finding great success with his current approach, he noticed he lost a bit of control in high-pressure moments. His swing needed “too much rhythm,” which required his body to be fully relaxed and unfazed. With higher aspirations in mind, he decided to make adjustments rather than continue on his current path. Sergio went on to win the Masters in 2017.

The listed definition of persistence is “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.”

“When someone says, ‘I don’t want to start over,’ they are more likely implying, ‘I don’t want to lose time.’”

Persistence is reasonable when you are confident that you are on the right track. However, when results are not evident over time, it’s wise to, at the very least, evaluate and question your course of action. When someone says, “I don’t want to start over,” they are more than likely implying, “I don’t want to lose time.” Often, we would rather be persistent towards a negative outcome just because we don’t want to invest the time it would take to start over. We want results now!

When I was younger, I would get anxious rehearsing alone. My inability was frustrating, so I became impatient and began forcing my technique rather than trusting the process and focusing on my practice. I knew that to achieve my goals, I needed to be better. To get better, I needed to practice. When, and if, I could truly elevate my ability was an unknown. (I believed, but until it was evident, I wasn’t sure.)

This uncertainty made my practice sessions stressful. I wanted to see immediate results. My need for immediacy hindered my progress. The better alternative would have been to view the process as the result. The practice being the goal, rather than the result of the practice. This perspective would have allowed the process to unfold at a natural pace rather than a forced and stressful one.

For example, let’s take a look at singing. Singers practice to become better singers. That is the ultimate goal. Typically, singers who recognize they need to practice are aware of the difficult passages or lines in their songs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.