Gold, Goals and Grinding.
46 years ago today, American swimmer Mark Spitz became the 1st competitor to win 7 gold medals at a single Olympic Games (setting 7 world records in the process!). While the world focused on the end results of those Olympic Games, those results were produced by Mark’s dedication to the hard, less than glamorous, unseen, and unnoticed work preparing for his moment to shine. It is that space…the work that nobody sees that is the subject of today’s email.
How much time did Mark have to spend in the pool to prepare him for those 7 races in 1972? According to him, he began swimming in a local swim club in 1956 at age 6 and swam competitively for the next 16 years (props to his parents, that’s a lot of swim meets to attend!). All of those cumulative hours created the conditions that allowed for history to be made in Munich.
“If you are looking for a single, mind-blowing tactic you’ve been missing your whole life that will instantly make learning or practicing way easier, you’ll never find it. You’ll waste hour after hour searching. Here is the best thing you can possibly do to get better at something. "Put in the damn time.” -Caleb Wojcik
Let’s be perfectly clear, I am not saying that you need to work even more hours at your job in order to be successful; working more and being busy isn’t the same as being productive. I am saying that creating the life and career that you desire is the result of hard work, dedication, and careful planning.
The additional resources below provide more insight into this theme. I hope you find them educational and inspire you to take charge of your career by better using “the time that no one sees”.
Finally, if you missed the announcement 2 weeks ago, I have some GREAT news. The new Rules & Regulations for the PGA MSR requirements have been released, and you can now earn 2 MSR’s in the Required category per fiscal year for meeting with me to discuss your career.
Please feel free share this email via social media or forward the email to anyone you feel that would benefit from the information.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Why Being Busy and Being Productive Aren’t the Same Thing
“But being truly busy doesn’t have to guarantee you’ve been productive”
From Medium
“Busy is not your job. Busy doesn’t get you what you seek. Busy isn’t the point. Value creation is.”
By Seth Godin
From Seth’s Blog
“It’s the small things, behind the scenes that no one sees, that leads to the BIG things that everyone wants.”
From Business Boutique
“Everywhere you turn in our society there are quick fixes. If you don’t want to work hard anymore it seems like you don’t have to.”
By Caleb Wojcik
From Expert Enough
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions or would simply like to talk about your career.