Monday Musing, 5/6/19

Hello Apprentices--​

Last week I left you with the modifier “FOCUSED”, in the context of focused rehearsal. 

You may have heard of the 10,000 hours theory, supported by research and discussed by Malcolm Gladwell and even rap-referenced by Macklemore.

Here’s the rub… the AMOUNT of practice and rehearsal you put in is absolutely important.

But the QUALITY of that practice and rehearsal is perhaps even more vital.

And quality comes simply from focus. Humans were not hard-wired by evolution to be multi-taskers.

Picasso said that art is simply the elimination of the unnecessary. So… get rid of distractions. Ask yourself what the purpose of any practice or rehearsal is, and stay on target.

I have said to you previously this season that discipline (another form of focus) is simply remembering what you really want. 
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In our business of show, replication is paramount. The 8pm on Wednesday has to be just as entertaining and effective as the 3pm on Saturday as the 7:30pm on Sunday as the 10am on Tuesday.

Another way to think about it:  It’s actually not all that difficult to get something right. It is the enthusiast who rehearses something until they get it right.

But it is the professional who rehearses something until they can’t get it WRONG. It is at that point (and here you can glance over at the inserted cookies), when you exit your comfort zone, when you push past what you THOUGHT was your limitation, when you release your attachment to ego and embrace the insight and wisdom that is afforded only by making mistakes and reaching past what you can already do… THAT is the point of which Charlie Parker lyrically speaks, the point where the magic happens. The freedom to just play can only be found via mastery. And a master is simply someone who has failed far more often than any enthusiastic has ever tried.