Real Genius
“Well, I have advanced your project more than any three students on campus.”
“That was yesterday. What have you done for me today?”
This isn’t actually a blog about the patently ridiculous 80s comedy featuring Uber-smart college students accidentally designed a space laser starring Val Kilmer in his breakout role.
(But seriously, go watch it - totally hilarious) No, this is just a quick thought about how to be successful in any venture.
Again!
I’ve written before about what I called The Expert’s Paradox, the constant battle between consistency and innovation:
You become an expert by doing the same thing over and over until you’re impossibly good at it. But the only way to grow is to try new things. It’s a misunderstanding of genius that people become the top performers in their field by doing the same thing repeatedly.
Shaq, one of the worst free-throw shooters in the history of professional basketball, used to shoot thousands of practice free-throws, but never got any better.
Why?
Because he was shooting wrong. And doing the wrong thing repeatedly doesn’t make you better at it. Interestingly, you can also do the right thing repeatedly without improving, because what got you here won’t get you there.
(Im)prove it
It’s not enough to simply do something again. We must prove - to ourselves, our friends and family, our colleagues and employers, our clients - that we can do it again and better.
Very few of my clients want to hire me again to do the exact same thing in the exact same way (some do, and bless them). No, it doesn’t matter that I got a standing ovation last year. That was last year. What are you doing for me this year?
Success comes to those who master their craft as the first step, not the last. It’s the bare minimum requirement. Of COURSE you have to be great at what you do! It doesn’t end there; it begins there.
So take a minute to consider what you’re doing today, personally or professionally.
- Maybe you’re learning to knit for fun,
- ...or you’ve just taken a new assignment at work.
- ...or you’re a new parent.
- ...or you’ve been doing the exact same job for 10 years.
What are you doing today to not just repeat yesterday’s success, but actually improve upon it?
