Effective people know this one thing.

#Expertise #Theartandscienceofexpertise #Efficient #Effective

It was about this time of year when I took off from my entry-level position at CFCF-TV to go to Nepal, thanks to a 90% discounted ticket gifted by my airline-employed sister.

Many of my friends from university were still job hunting. I felt extremely fortunate to have my work position and to be able to travel.

The remote Lukla airstrip was really no more than a shelf on a mountain.

I lurched down the back steps of a tiny prop plane and met my Sherpa guide, Pema.

We bonded over pantomimed conversation.

Before long we were following a line of hikers up a parched trail towards the Everest Base camp.

I panted with non-stop effort at high altitude. Pema carried the fifty-pound weight of my suitcase suspended from her forehead by a strap.

I could barely manage to propel myself and my camera.

The terrain became increasingly rocky and steep. On the fourth day I was in my usual place behind her at the back of the group. Now the path was so vertical Pema's heels were level with my face.? I was able to see the slight hesitation she made between each of her steps. It was a millisecond, but it was there, that unmistakable rest space in every step.

And that moment of rest was – a revelation.

The elusive rest in every step.

Like many, during much of my adult life I have felt the pull of efficiency. I pride myself on my ability to multitask and to plan ahead. I make lists and agendas. While I exercise, the laundry swishes and the next meal simmers.

Looking back I realize that over the three decades of my reporting career, the pace became increasingly tight. Newscasts were programmed closer together throughout the day and with satellites, live hits became the norm. We had to be fast and accurate It was hard to remember Pemba’s rest in every step philosophy. The lesson on the way to Everest Base camp was forgotten in the race to deadline. Efficiency was the required mode.

Yet I remained fascinated by the idea of finding my personal regenerative pace, in the same way Pema must have.

Efficient of Effective?

I came across American software engineer and consultant Tom DeMarco’s 1980’s classic Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency.

“You’re efficient when you do something with minimum waste. And you’re effective when you’re doing the right something.”

Slack got me wondering if my efficient self is effective. It was a humbling moment.

Dictionary moment - Effectiveness is defined as the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output. ?

For those who are seeking to fulfill their next goals, let me ask, what is your desired effective “right something”?

It can be so elusive to know, clearly know, how to produce the desired output.

As an example - writing this newsletter probably won't get me many new clients, especially considering the time it takes. What I am trying to do here aims to be loftier than that. This essay is in line with my purpose, my long-haul goals and my need to be a contributing member of society.

Working your way through a thicket brings some moments of grace and clarity. That's when you see your guide's foot in front of your nose.

That's when you know you're on the right trail.

That's when you know you have earned the right to rest in every step.

I coach high-achievers to find the rest in every step.

Previous posts from the Art and Science of Expertise -

In Be the Voice That’s Known for Saying What Really Matters, we learn from Academy-award nominated screenwriter Nora Ephron how to get to what she called The Point.

How Canadian Artist Betty Goodwin fought back when she was rejected by the MoMA - New York's Museum of Modern Art.

In How to Access What Really Matters, we look at non-verbal ways to connect with your memories of those who made you who you are, so you can go even further.

And in The Nobel Prize-Winning Artist-Scientist Who Went from Delinquency to Expertise, we learn from the man who fathered a whole new branch of science by sticking with his inborn talent and adding it to new ways of doing original research.

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