“I don’t fear the man who practiced 10,000 kicks one time. I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times” – Bruce Lee
Basketball practice sounds the same no matter what gym you visit. The Chicago Bulls practice is no exception. Nike high-tops squeak, official NBA balls dribble and swish, and the world championship Chicago bulls sound like any college team.
I imagine watching these masters of the court. Everyone is dedicated. Each player logs hundreds of foul shots and jumpers. Rookies and pros alike pay attention and practice the right things the right way.
After practice, the superstars file out heading to showers, a little partying and home. However, 30 minutes later…THE Supertstar strolls back in the gym. He’s muttering something to himself and dragging a rack of balls behind him. He takes it to the top of the key, finds “his spot” and starts methodically shooting a specific shot.
7 out of 10 fly in – all net. But He’s not satisfied until he sinks 30 in a row. With a smile he leaves the gym.
The next night in Cleveland. Michael Jordan breaks the heart of Cavalier fans with one shot. It looks familiar.
A Tiger in the Sand
Nothing can quite describe the majesty of a PGA Course at the crack of dawn. The greens keepers are already fussing over the fairways and putting greens. Through the early morning dew you can see the red-shirted phenomenon standing in the practice sand trap.
In my mind’s eye, I see two buckets of balls toppled over with a few Titelists just a deft club tap away. Tiger is obsessing over one particularly difficult shot. He selects a ball drops it in the trap 7 feet from the edge.
Then, he steps on the ball burying it halfway into the sand.
He sets his stance, pantomimes one practice shot, then swings. The ball explodes out in a cloud of sand, lands on the green, and rolls to join another half-dozen balls 3 ft from the hole.
Tiger spends 2 more hours on the same shot. It shows, because it’s the same one that kills the Master’s dreams of his so-called competitors later that afternoon.
Here’s the Secret…
Just like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, the best content creators and blog writers instinctively practice their craft. They don’t talk about practice because it’s already second nature.
But, I’m not talking about general undirected practice.
In “Talent is Overrated”, Geoff Colvin introduced us to the magic of deliberate practice. Professionals who obsessively practice the small stuff – achieve great things. Talent helps but it’s not key. Practice is.
The same goes for writing a great blog post, crafting an ebook, teaching via video, or coaching one-on-one. Deliberate, obsessive practice makes perfect.
Here’s how you can use deliberate practice to make the impossible look easy:
Practice the Right Thing:
Blog writers need to master 3 tasks: 1) Topic Research, 2) Headline Writing, 3) Lead Writing.
Of course there are other things that you need to perfect, but practice is about focusing in on the essential skill that has the most impact. Of all the factors that I’ve studied, the topic, headline, and lead are the must-have skills.
Get these right and your blogs will get read.
Practice the Right Thing the Right Way
Visit the #1 blog in your niche. Pull their top 10 most popular posts. Copy the headline and first two paragraphs by hand. You’ll be shocked by how quickly you’ll pick up the flow and rhythm of the writer.
Next….
Go to your editorial calendar. Pick 5 topics. Then, brainstorm 10 headlines each. Don’t stop until you have at least 50 headlines.
Next….
Visit the bookstore and pick up a magazine that is a close match to your niche. Open to the table of contents. Write down the headline of three stories. Now, quickly start writing the leads (the first 2 paragraphs) of the stories. Again, complete the exercise no matter what. Go back and compare your lead to the writer’s. What do you see? What can you learn?
Practice the Right The Right Thing The Right Way – OFTEN.
Athletes call it muscle memory. Muscle memory happens when you practice something so often that you can do the task perfectly in your sleep. Frequency is the key.
Performed each exercise at least once a month. Mastery is your goal and you have to deliberately practice your skills like it was your job.
The Difference Between Masters and “Rookies”
Rookies will read this post and come up with a reason why deliberate practice doesn’t apply to them. In a few weeks, they’ll complain about not getting enough traffic, readers, retweets, or comments.
Masters are getting their coat on to go to the bookstore. They’ve already made time to practice and made it a priority.
Make your choice. Then mozy on down to the comment section and share what’s on your mind. Talk to me and I’ll talk right back!
About Stanford
Hi Stan,
I’ve been considering just his idea, not only for writing and getting better, but practicing answers to questions my potential clients ask. I know I need to practice it to make it right every time. I don’t think that’s muscle memory. What should we call it?
This is fantastic writing advice. Hard work, but that’s what it takes to excel. Thanks so much for sharing.
Awesome post! And just on time for all of us to add blog re-energizing to our new years resolution list. I have an editorial calendar on my blog but don’t really like it’s interface. Is there a wordpress plug-in you can recommend?
Never mind. I realized I had the wrong plug-in installed. Just got the proper editorial calendar plugin on my blog and am looking forward to using your tips to kick my blogging up a notch!
Thank you!
When I read your opening paragraph I thought “Holy crap! His post is very similar to my post about Kobe Bryant!” (It’s scheduled for Saturday btw)
But getting back to your point, practice makes perfect. If we don’t practice what we want, it’s really hard to get it. There’s this innate laziness in all of us that wants to believe a little pill or super power drink or some shortcut method will cure us from having to put in some elbow grease to achieve our goals. “Successful people do what unsuccessful ones won’t” is the true because successful people are willing to practice their craft when everyone else has gone home. Great post, man.
P.S. Copying the headline and lead paragraph of good posts is SO worth doing. I’ve been doing it and I know lots of brilliant writers who do it as well. It improves your writing leaps and bounds!
G’Day Stanford,
Thanks for the timely reminder about the importance of practice. And in particular, thanks for the emphasis on “practicing the right things the right way.”
I’ve been in business a long time. Unless you develop your talent through practice, persistence and focus, You’ll simply never reach your potential. Of course, if you simply lack talent, practice, persistence and focus will never be enough. Michael Jordan basketballer never quite translated to MJ, baseball player. I’m sure he practised hard.
The “right way, right thing” is interesting. You have to know both for your practice to be truly valuable. I have a background in training, instructional design and performance engineering. I’m appalled by the poor quality of so much of the training available on the web. It’s clear that many web marketers don’t know much about how to design effective skill development for adults. Tragically, they think that they do. So we continue to see poor instruction masquerading as “good”, simply because the people providing the training don’t know any better. They don’t know what they don’t know. Practice wont fix that.
It’s easy to forget that Michael Jordan was an outstanding defensive player too.
As you started with Michael, may I end with two John Wooden quotes:
* ” I’d rather have a little experience and lots of talent than lots of experience and little talent”
* “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts”
May 2011 bring you all that you expect….and
make sure you have fun.
Regards
Leon
Informative, well thought-out and inspiring as usual, Stanford. Thank you!
Hi Stanford,
I’m in the formative phase of becoming a blogger. I read a lot and take notes. I take a lot of what is said to heart. But, when I read what you have to say, I take it all to “ACTION” not just to heart!
Carry-on with your brilliance!, Please.
Thanks,
Bob
Hi Stanford!
I love the point you make here. Because writing comes naturally for me, I often neglect the importance of practice. I forget that it’s only through practice that I can become an exceptional writer. Sean really hammered this home with his Third Tribe seminar, and I think you’ve highlighted the point very well here. This comment is only four sentences. Do you think that counts as practice?
Happy New Year!
Great post and we need to be reminded of these points more often. You must practice . You must practice often. And you must practice the right thing. Nothing I hate more than someone who just does the bare minimum and expects to succeed. Thanks for writing and this. I will now commence “pimping” it all over the Interwebs.
Pimp away – pimp away
Hi Stanford,
What an intuitive post! As a blogger, it gets really hard at times to stay focused on the most important things, but focus is what will make all the difference in the world.
I love your call to the bookstore – people who really want to be considered experts aren’t afraid to open up a real live book. The bookstore and the library, for that matter, are two of the best places to acquire Master-level knowledge – that’s because everyone else is too lazy to go to those places, so what could be a better way to stand out from the crowd than that?
The bookstore is my secret weapon (along with Amazon!)
Great insight. I bet 80% of people who blog don’t have an editorial calendar. That population is missing out on one of the best, easiest, pro-tools available.
Reading the #1 blog in your vertical is great. Now study what they do. Why do you read their posts? Why are you drawn to their articles.
I love reading books in my niche are thereabouts (as suggested above.) It’s amazing how many post ideas I come up with by reading others.
Great post & Happy New Year Stanford!
Yep, I bet you are right. An Editorial Calendar is just the beginning but – super necessary.
Greg your comment is spot on.
I struggle with clients continually to even put down a theme or broad based blogging calendar.
I think many shy away from it thinking an editorial calendar will limit there message.
What I preach is that an editorial calendar actually helps eliminate the dreaded blog abandonment rate, there is nothing more sad than an abandoned B2B blog.
Stanford, another post title with bite. Great reading.