Our Scars Are Beautiful Because They Tell Our Story.
It's not that we all 'dig scars' but that every scar is proof that we've faced challenges, stood up and fought, been marked, and survived-thrived.
She asked to feel his hands. It might have been an inappropriate question but it just popped out. He said yes and held his hands out. Sally Jenkins, author of the new book, The Right Call, took Stephen Curry’s - four-time world champion of the Golden State Warriors - hands into her own.
She was shocked.
Curry is a constant-motion machine on the court. He moves with precision and grace, often times seeming balletic in his movements. But his hands were rough, calloused, with dry and peeling skin. Abrasive even, like his hands were wrapped in sand paper.
He has the hands of a lumberjack, thought Sally.
She realized that his abilities was not God-given. It wasn’t a gift at all. It was a skill he had honed and developed with hours and hours of gym time. It was taking the tools of his trade, a basketball, and pounding it into the floor, dribbling it with his hands, and shooting it towards the goal. Thousands of times. Hundreds of thousands of times.
Millions of times.
This type of work leaves it’s mark. It shapes our bodies and our minds. It leaves scars.
Work toughens us up.
It doesn’t matter if you are an athlete, an entrepreneur, a business owner, or a one-person-business focused on developing content, you must work hard to develop your craft. Every email is an opportunity to learn, to do your best. Every sales pitch, every negotiation, every tweet thread written, every employee or customer interaction is an opportunity to get better, and do your best.
If you were giving a speech, you’d likely prep, and prepare. You’d put the work in. You need to rehearse a speech, a minimum of 20 times, before you are fully comfortable with the speech. That’s standing up, in front of a mirror, or co-worker, or family, and giving the speech, out loud, at least 20 times, before you are ready to address an audience.
And each practice attempt should be evaluated. Be ruthless with yourself. Correct. And work some more.
It’s focused repetition. Write 100 tweet threads. Analyze. Correct. Get better.
Write 1000 tweet threads. Analyze. Correct. Improve a little each time.
Write 100,000 threads. Then you will be a talent.
Writing a tweet thread may not scar your body but it will chop away at your mindset. Not all scars are physical. Mental stress can push us to achieve higher and higher goals.
This stress can help us.
As long as it doesn’t become chronic stress.
Chronic stress in business, or life, is often the result of focusing on the end result. Instead of worrying about writing the best email, you worry about how it will be perceived. Instead of writing the best article, you can you worrying about what your niche should be, or how many views, or likes you will get.
Instead of developing and improving your product, you worry about whether the market will shift, or the economy will collapse, or whether some new weird, political party will gain power.
Worry about perfecting your work. Don’t worry about the results. This will make you mentally tougher. You’ll manage and adapt to whatever the results are. Because you‘ve put in the work and gained a level of confidence.
Every rejection, every I’m-blocking-you-from-ever-sending-me-another-email, every sales pitch gone wrong, every speech you ‘ahhed’ your way through will leave it’s own mark. It’s an emotional scar.
Be proud. These scars, whether they are emotional or physical, are our indicators that we are battling. We are improving. We have survived and are now thriving.
Work, get scarred, and the next speech will be rewarded with applause.
Be proud of your scars.
Think About It…
My son is a smart kid. Perfect score on his SAT. Accepted into every college he applied for. He never received anything but A’s. Teachers loved him.
I never congratulated him on any grade he ever got. Not a single atta-boy. Not a I’m proud of you for making the honor society. Not a way-to-make an ‘A’ praise. Never.
But I did tell him I was proud of the work. And he did work. He was prepared for every class he ever walked into. His homework was always done and he sought out and studied supplemental material that might help him understand a topic in more detail.
This effort got praise. A hand on the shoulder. A hand slap and a hug.
The results will come if the effort is there. It’s just a matter of time. Don’t praise a result that hasn’t been earned. You are rewarding the wrong thing. Reward the work.
And likewise, if the effort is there but the results haven’t shown up yet, don’t rebuke, reward the work.
An aptitude is not talent. Talent takes work, failure, a cold-blooded analysis of failures, corrections, and more work. Then, and only then, can you be considered talented.
Jeff52
Do It…
I started taking some little day to day steps to ensure I stay on track.
Goal #1: I get up at 6:30 and I walk/run a minimum of 2 miles every day. No exceptions.
Goal: #2: I do not eat before 2:00 PM.
That’s it. I do more - I’m getting more consistent with my JiuJitsu - but I wanted something simple I can do for one year straight. I’m through the second week now.
What little step, or steps, can you commit to that will change your life? Pick one. Don’t worry about the change your life part. Doing anything consistently will change your life in ways you cannot imagine.
Let me know.
Bonus goal: I’ll write one newsletter each week and publish it. I’ll do more but, again, I want something simple that I know I can accomplish. We’ll see where I’m at in one year.
NFL: (For those of you interested in this type of thing).
Last week’s record: 7 - 9, it’s why I don’t bet but opening weekend is always a little strange
This week’s games:
Philadelphia vs. Vikings - Philly
Ravens vs. Bengals - Bengals
Seattle vs. Detroit - Detroit wins in their home opener
Colts vs. Texans - Colts win. Had the best looking rookie in week 1.
Bears vs. Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay
Chiefs vs. Jaguars - Chiefs in a close one but they get two of their studs back this week
Packers vs. Falcons - Packers
Raiders vs. Bills - I’m going Bills but honestly the Bills might be imploding (I know, an overreaction)
Chargers vs. Titans - Chargers win big
49ers vs Rams - 49ers it may be a while before they lose
Giants vs. Cardinals - Giants, lose this one and the season is over.
Jets vs. Cowboys - Cowboys big
Commanders vs. Broncos - Broncos but with little confidence
Dolphins vs. Patriots - Dolphins
Saints vs. Panthers - Saints
Browns vs. Steelers - Steelers
And if you’d like to check out some of my Medium writing - I’ve had 10’s of thousands of reads - you can click below. I write about business, philosophy, and I’ll throw in a few sarcastic diatribes. Hopefully, you’ll laugh and learn. It’s like a Brain-Slap.