Face it! Nobody likes to fail. All of us want to be successful. However, when you start down a path that you know eventually leads you to victory, you have to be willing to blaze new trails. With each new trail you blaze there will be things that you have never seen before or handled before. It’s all a magical mystery tour. Also, when we depart on our journey it won’t be long before we will run into a skill or task that stymies us. Yet, we know that this task must be mastered and completed in order to go forward. It is at this juncture that we have to decide to conquer this task or we are totally derailed. So, we go about the task of learning how this item or obstacle works. We turn it upside down, shake it, poke it, study it, and eventually we arrive a solution or it will destroy our effort—–if we let it.
Flex Lewis one of my personal heroes and examples.
Justin Dees gave me a very solidifying quote, “Don’t practice a task until you get it right. Practice it until you cannot get it wrong.” A little story behind this quote. I have a heck of a time getting my posing right. Don’t get me wrong, I’m much better but there were/are times when Justin is ready to pull “MY” hair out because I keep making the same mistakes. It’s nothing but me practicing my posing “WRONG” which indelibly imprints old mistakes. These cannot be corrected by getting my butt kicked by Justin. I had to go home and spend enormous amounts of time in front of a mirror with my wife watching me to get it right. Each time I go back for posing sessions with Justin it’s been a little better. But, as Justin said, “I have to practice until I cannot get it wrong.” It’s a small item but this little quip has put me in the right frame of mind while posing. I can honestly say that my last contest at the Nationals in Pittsburgh was my best contest ever and I still could not crack the top five….Despite the 6th place finish I am very happy with my performance and the shape Justin brought me in at. The victory here is that I did something well that I normally do not do so well.
In closing, let me say that the only way to get good at something is by frequent repetitions of that skill. There is no substitute. In fact nothing in life can be accomplished until each of us submits ourselves to the demands for perfection. We have to be about the business of being better always. There is nothing new under the sun. Personal self-mastery, communication, and love of your wife and family are the backbone of our existence in this world. Do the task until it cannot be done wrong. Be willing to fail so you will be that much closer to success.
Until next time I remain, Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM
Six Pack and Senior 