Eliminating the "Squirrels"

Back in 2010, the animated film Up garnered two Oscars at the Academy Awards. The movie is probably most quoted in the single word, “Squirrel,” which comes from “Dug,” the loyal and overweight Golden Retriever who originally was owned by the movie’s daring explorer-character Charles Muntz, but is found by Carl, the 78 year-old star and young stowaway Boy Scout Russell. The dog has this special collar invented by Muntz that allows the dog’s thoughts to be translated into speech, hence the word “Squirrel” randomly thrown out throughout the movie when the people are in discussions and the dog’s attention is momentarily but solely focused on any object – such as a squirrel - causing constant distractions.

Let’s face it, this happens to a lot of us. My question is how to avoid these distractions and/or to use them to gain more knowledge in life that would be helpful to our hopeful success while on our career path.

There are two myths that I’ve seen floating around lately about how to create success in your life posting in major business magazines and other places respected for their business advice from experts. The first is called the 5/25 or 25/5 rule and it is credited to Warren Buffett, except that Warren himself has said that this is not how he works and not how he does things. (His advice was “increase your knowledge every day.”) The second is about what it takes to become an expert at something, hence the 10,000 hour rule, credited to Malcom Gladwell from his bestselling book Outliers: The Story of Success.

Let me say outright, both of these are said to be false, which made me think all the more about them both and how they might, whether false or inaccurately attributed, still be good ways to get your brain moving forward on things that you might want to be good at, amidst the fact that the “squirrel” factor may be coming at you non-stop as well, i.e., distractions.

Let me start with the “Squirrel” quote. I found a really great description written in the August 5, 2020 edition of the Prairie Farm newsletter from John and Kendra Smiley:

A “squirrel” is, and I quote, “a moment when you have been distracted by random nothingness or have been diverted from one task or situation with little or no effort.” There you have it. In the movie “Up,” Dug's attention was constantly diverted.

I see this a lot in my university students as they try to wrangle their creativity. I knew it happened to me a lot at that age when I was launching my first business. It still happens. I’ve heard it said by close business associates, doing very well – mind you, that it is a single shot as opposed to a shotgun approach – focusing on one thing that you will be good at doing or offering your customers.? Again, “squirrels” can happen to us all at any time if we’re not consciously aware of how to focus on what is most important. I think the label we’re trying to avoid is “Jack of all trades, Master of None.” Businesses can succeed or fail right here. And we need to be good at something, at least if we’re wanting to be successful in our endeavors.

Now let’s get to the 5/25 rule. Let me reiterate, this is attributed to Warren Buffett, but he says it’s not his idea. Take that for what it’s worth. The 5/25 rule concept is this:

·?????? Write down a list of your top 25 career goals.

·?????? Circle the five most important goals.

·?????? Cross off the other 20 goals.?

The idea is that any energy expended on the 20 goals would distract you from getting the top five accomplished, so these are your highest priorities to focus on.

Perhaps equally as important is a list of things NOT to do. I’ve heard it said that it only takes one mistake or stupid indiscretion to completely ruin your life as you know it. Figure out what would have to happen for you to make that mistake, and draw a line in the sand for that temptation. Then take 10 steps back and draw another line in the sand and never cross THAT line. You don’t ever want to walk up to the edge of any temptation and have it right in front of you tormenting you. If you’re at that first line, it’s too late - you’re going to fail. This can work for anything like drunk driving, alcohol or drug usage, pornography, credit card overspending, whatever is your weakness. Have a plan! And have accountability partners that you can trust to help you if needed.

Now to the 10,000 hour rule. ?I asked ChatGPT for some help here:

• The 10,000-hour rule is a concept popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his book "Outliers: The Story of Success." The rule suggests that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve mastery in a particular field. Gladwell's argument is based on research conducted by psychologist Anders Ericsson, who studied the development of expertise.
• The idea is that practice, specifically deliberate and focused practice, is a key determinant of success in various fields such as music, sports, art, and academics. However, it's important to note that the 10,000-hour figure is not a strict rule or guarantee of mastery, but rather a general guideline. The quality of practice, innate talent, opportunities for learning, and other factors also play significant roles in determining an individual's level of expertise and success in a given field.

As Chatty mentions above, the examples that Gladwell was using for his book came from the researcher Anders Ericsson on music students and their practice times for becoming “experts.” Ericsson called Gladwell’s 10,000 rule “a provocative generalization.” ?Catchy and easy to remember? Yes, but on some pretty shaky scientific footing. I think much of the consternation was over what constitutes good practice time. Quantity vs. quality. I think back to my LinkedIn newsletter about Apprentice-style learning. If I wanted to know about and practice how to become good soccer player, 10 hours with a great coach might be better than 100 hours on your own trying to figure out what to do.

I say all of this cautiously because you can find almost anything on YouTube these days. I have fixed electrical panels on our dryer (saving us hundreds of dollars!), installed motor parts on my 2001 4Runner (saving us thousands of dollars!), even operated on a chicken (saving us 50 cents and its life, providing fresh eggs six days a week!) all from YouTube videos.? But all well worth the experience.

But becoming an expert? Well, that does take time… and experience in doing what you want to do. I remember speaking as an Emmy Award-winning producer/director at a high school career day event with students interested in going into media. Invariably there would always be that one parent who was trying to get their student to go to college who would smile knowingly while asking this question, seemingly lobbing me this softball question to answer what they wanted their kid to hear: “What is the best way for my student to become the best in the media field these days?” expecting, of course, the diatribe that they had already preached to their kid on the car on their way to this event about the need to go to college and get a degree.

I would ask the student, “What would you like to do in media?” I’d usually get an answer like, “I want to be a cameraman.” “My suggestion is you bypass college move to Hollywood and join the union. You’ll save your parents hundreds of thousands of dollars and get to start doing what you want to. You’ll be years ahead of your friends.” At this point the parent is usually literally grabbing for the kid’s ears to protect them from this lunatic and his whacky advice, while the kid is listening intently smiling from ear-to-ear.

Getting hands-on experience and becoming an “expert” is key in being good at what you do. And from my viewpoint, the 5/25 and 10,000 hour rules while avoiding squirrels seems like pretty good ways to get yourself on track. While the scientists might be against this plan (and perhaps your parents), another thing applies here that people ask me regularly at those career-day talks also: “So how did you get into this business?” again, hoping and expecting the “go to college” answer and what causes the next wave of panic. ?My answer is simple – how did I get so good in this industry, winning Emmy Awards and being known for my work? Well, of course focusing on my 5 things and practicing like crazy had much to do with it! Getting off your phone and spending more time with friends and family doing mind-cleaning things like rock climbing, extreme skiing and sailing helped me a lot as well. That’s what worked mostly for me. Doing it!

But honestly? The top thing? My answer is simple: No math, no science. This is where everyone laughs… until they realize I’m serious. I am in no way saying that STEM or STEAM (adding the Arts) is not important. Quite the contrary. I use plenty of math and science in the variety of things I do in producing movies and TV shows every day. It’s very specialized for me. But I did not focus on those things when I realized what I really wanted to do in my life, i.e., produce and direct - CREATE – stories using the visual media – film, video, arts. Once I found that spot – the thing that I liked doing - that is what I focused on and became really good at it (with the help and mentoring of many people!). ?Don’t get me wrong here. I teach the “business” of media to my students, but not usually until they have taken 90% of just my creative courses so they can experience visual storytelling in action – and they’re hooked! I would love for you to take all of my classes AND go get your MBA because it would serve you well in this industry. I thought about law school way back when but didn’t have the patience or the money, but I kick myself for not going to get my JD when I could have had that tool under my belt because I use that everyday in my craft as well.

Point being? Do what you like. And get really good at it and you’ll feel like you never work a day in your life! ??

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