The world never gets tired and keeps talking about talent. When you give it a thought. Talent is a natural ability. However, what we forgot or rather no talks about is what is it that makes you talented in something? When you are skilled at something people will say you are talented.
How was that skill built? The Practice. Skills are earned. It is all about practice. But, you see. No, one talks about practice. With the book The Practice. Seth Godin talks about what no one talks about. Practice. To get good at something. Hands down, Practice.
Core Ideas
Practice is available to us- not as a quick substitute recipe that's guaranteed to return results, but as a practice. It is a persistent, stepwise approach that we pursue its own sake and not because we want anything in return.
Practice is a path defined by resilience and generosity. It's outward-focused, but not dependent on reassurance or applause.
You were born ready to make art. But you've been brainwashed into believing that you can't trust yourself enough to do so.
The story we tell ourselves leads to the actions we take. If you want to change your story, change your actions first. We become what we do.
Once you decide to trust yourself, you will have found your passion. Seeking passion is a way to hide. You are not born with passion. Only after we do difficult work it becomes our calling. Only after we trust the process it becomes our passion.
We live in an outcome-focused culture. When we focus solely on the outcome we forget about the journey and it encourages us to give up to early.
Our commitment to the process is the only alternative to the lottery-midset of hoping for the good luck of getting picked by the universe.
Our practice begins with the imperative that we embrace a different pattern, a pattern that offers no guarantees, requiring us to find a process and to trust ourselves.
Start where you are. Start now. Find the pattern and care enough to do something about it.
There is a huge difference between a good decision and a good outcome. A good decision is based on what we know of the options and the odds. A good outcome happens or it doesn't: it is a consequence of the odds, not the hidden answer.
Just as a good process doesn't guarantee the outcome you were hoping for, a good decision is separate from what happens next. Decisions are good even if outcomes aren't.
Reassurance is futile---- and focusing on outcomes at the expense of process is a shortcut that will destroy your work. Reassurance amplifies attachment. Hope is not the same as reassurance. Hope is trusting yourself to have a shot at making things better.
The practice has nothing at all to do with being sure the work is going to be successful. That's a trap.
Doing the work simply involves acknowledging that we're capable of caring enough to make them work better. To learn, to see, and to improve.
Requiring control over external events is a recipe for heartache and frustration. Worse, if you need a guarantee you're going to win before you begin, you'll never start.
We worry because in an uncertain world we crave certainty.
Trust yourself enough to show up and ship the work. Ship creative work. On a schedule. Without attachment. Without reassurance.
If you are using outcomes that are out of your control as fuel for your work, it's inevitable that you will burn out.
Mindfulness is the practice of simply doing the work. Without commentary, without chatter, without fear.
Practice demands assertions. When there are no guarantees.
From childhood competitive exams etc lead to a scarcity mindset. As, if life is a zero-sum game. In reality, the mindset has to be an abundance mindset. If someone wins doesn't mean you are going to lose.
Personal Opinion
The ideas presented in the book are themselves not novel. It is Seth's way of presentation that makes those all stand out. The same point is explained using multiple examples. And, at times it might feel repetitive. But, that shouldn't matter. Take the good things. Let go of the rest.
A lot of what is written in the book makes sense. Especially, how we are collectively brainwashed based on popular society narratives.
It's not about talent. It's about Practice. Care about the Practice.