How you do one thing is how you do everything (part 1)

"Life imitates art far more than art imitates life" - Oscar Wilde

When speaking with top performers in any field (executives, professional athletes, artists, etc.), a pattern emerges that how they approach one aspect of their life is often how they approach every aspect of their life.

Take Jannik Sinner, a 21-year-old tennis phenom who reached the top 10 in global rankings and became the youngest ATP title holder since Novak Djokovic. With all his success, one might be surprised to learn that he only started training full-time at the age of 13; almost unheard of by professional standards.

Sinner achieved this seemingly impossible task because he was already an elite skier - winning the national championships at age 8. His learned discipline of systematic self-cultivation (and rapid improvement) on the ski slopes transferred onto the tennis courts with startling efficiency. How he does one thing (#skiing) is how he does everything (#tennis).

Most people aren't national champions of any sport, why is this principle important?

For most of us mere mortals, this principle 1) applies in the inverse, and / or 2) does not apply due to lack of intention. In either case, there are serious benefits in understanding the principle and applying it positively.

Let's begin at the inverse of systematic self-cultivation, passive unawareness.

When one is in the habit of cutting corners, telling white lies, or otherwise doing things in a haphazard way, an inferior mindset develops and seeps into one's life unconsciously. Instead of intentional and systematic cultivation, folks in this category tend to be passive spectators to their own lives, whose unawareness or unwillingness to improve results in self-depreciation over the long run.

A rebranded form of this mindset has manifested itself in collective vernacular as "quiet quitting". The problem with quiet quitting is not a question of hours worked or even the lack of accountability. The problem is with the #mindset which is focused on value extraction vs. value unleashing. Staying in this mindset deeply affects one’s life and worldview. ?Self-cultivation is not a spectator sport that is amenable to a #quietquitting model.

If unsure whether one falls into this category, a helpful test is to look at one's environmental hygiene. The cleanliness of the home, dishes, personal grooming, etc. is some of the obvious examples of when something is awry (i.e. contrast #avengers: Endgame Thor vs. Infinity War Thor). Not to say all 1% performers are immaculate, but even unkempt geniuses would perform better if their environment was optimized to them (i.e. clean and healthy).?Admiral William H. McRaven made this concept famous with his book "Make Your Bed".

The second scenario of baseline performance relates to folks who lack intention and intensity in their self-cultivation.

High-level amateurs with hobbies in #art, #gaming, #sport, or #music who do not make a living doing their hobby or are otherwise quite average in ‘life success metrics’ (such as personal relationships or career success) might fall into this category.

This group has high latent potential and upside because they already have a passion for their craft which they can readily improve upon, but have just not translated their level of performance onto other critical aspects of their life.

What is the solution? Oscar Wilde's famous quote "life imitates art far more than art imitates life" - provides a roadmap on how to transfer the skill/performance.

To get to that next level, taking a scattershot approach or becoming “well-rounded” is sub-optimal. The better approach is to commit to one’s area of focus and achieve extreme depth and mastery. Here is an alternative approach instead:

1. Commit to one’s biggest passion or area of focus
2. Find or create a network of peers, mentors, and masters of your craft
3. Practice in a low-stakes environment with rapid feedback cycles
4. Focus on cultivating a relaxed central nervous system during practice
5. Notate and reflect on technical and mental learnings after every practice interval
6. Extrapolate what you've learned through your craft to the other areas of your life
7. Rinse and repeat.

Two final points to conclude:

• The value of this approach is that it is the most efficient way to first experience top-tier performance that is built upon a principle of authentic, effortless power. By definition, 99% of the population have not experienced top-1% performance in any arena or domain. The key is to find an area where one can get as close as possible before allowing that experience to bleed over into other aspects of life.
• Because 99% of people cannot achieve top-1% performance, it is invaluable to work with mentors who can provide feedback as one develops. As one grows, one's mentors will also need to change to accommodate the need for greater levels of mastery.

If this resonates, let me know in the comments. If it doesn’t, let me know in the comments! Would love to hear how others are approaching their self-development journey.