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You, 5.0: How To Master Any Skill Quickly
Carson C. Day
So you want to expand your horizons by securing a new talent.
Whatever new ability you might pursue, you'll want to ensure
your success by seeking to acquire the targeted "skill set"
efficiently. Learning any new skill will force you to adapt
to new conditions, and to master certain details; yet the
skills needed to LEARN it, whichever skill it may be, will
not vary. So to enable you to tackle your new venture with
a grin, I have here briefly outlined and unpacked the rules
for properly so doing.
First, you will need to hit the books, or at least sample
a little e-search, to acquaint yourself with the history of
the subject or activity you purport to subdue. A wise man
once noted that there is nothing new under the sun. "What
is," he pointed out, "has been before." So briefly examine
the history of surfing, fishing, full-contact golf, or whatever.
This will plant some great ideas in your head, and give you
insights into how others have done it well. Take notes, and
don't try to reinvent the surfboard -- at least, not yet.
Second, once you have eyeballed what success looked like in
this field in times past, set a specific and measurable goal
that defines for YOU what counts as "success." Customize it
to fit your life and personality. This step often goes overlooked.
Yet with no clear definition specified for "success" (that
translates easily into numbers), one cannot know when he has
won the day. Imagine a golfer told to whack a hole-in-one,
when he has no idea where the hole sits. You can change your
objective if you overreach yourself at the outset, but you
need something to aim at from the start. So, go on. Be a tiger,
and set a goal.
Third, break this goal down into bite-sized tasks you can
perform daily. Remember, one cannot eat all the chocolate
at a See's candy store in a day, and you'd make yourself ill
for the effort. Oh, sure, it would make for a great deal of
fun in the short run, but you'd hate yourself in the morning.
Take it one bite at a time.
Fourth, learn to traffic fluently in the jargon native to
the community known for dabbling in your chosen art. Every
community of experts speaks its own dialect, a tongue you'll
need to grasp before you can master the desired skill set.
Lawyers, for instance, must learn to manage a bizarre mix
of English and Latin to move onto their goals. The sooner
you come to grasp the new vocabulary, the faster you will
succeed. Immersing yourself in the community in question,
or else just purchasing the appropriate flash-card set, will
make it happen faster.
Fifth, identify the basics most central to obtaining your
targeted ability or trait. Pele, the great Brazilian soccer
player, once remarked to an interviewer that the three most
important ways to master the game were "run with the ball,"
"run with the ball," and "run with the ball some more." Each
desired skill set comes with some skills more or less needful
than the others for the obtaining of your goal. You must isolate
the ones most crucial to your aims, and distinguish them from
the others. Make a list, and set them in order, placing the
more important skills at the top in descending order. Then,
as they say, "take it from the top" when deciding how much
time each day to spend on each skill.
Sixth, master the basics -- practice RELENTLESSLY the skills
at the top of your list. Larry Byrd -- former basketball player
for the Boston Celtics -- became quite arguably one of the
best NBA players of all time because he practiced shooting
the ball for hours every day without fail. His record remains
all the more remarkable given that he faced players every
game, most of whom stood much taller than he. If you truly
want to win, you must set apart a certain amount of time each
day to make it happen. Practice is for the Byrds.
Seventh, study those who do it best. Adopt, as it were, three
mentors of your chosen art, and watch how they do it. Then,
analyze the methods each employs, step by step. Compare and
contrast their methods, noting both the common and distinctive
features of each approach. Take notes.
Eighth, use your notes and studies to mix and match the approaches
you have seen. Try a new angle on, or combination of, their
methods. Note not only those that work well, but also the
effects of each attempt on your environment, so that you can
detect HOW and WHY they work well. This will give you new
insights along the way to add to your mastery of the basics.
Ninth, image yourself succeeding in the applying of your new
talent, and under various circumstances. This will better
prepare you for using it in a game, a board meeting, or what
have you. Mentally sort through the problems you'll likely
encounter in your scenarios. Think of ways to adapt to, and
overcome the imagined obstacles. This will tend to build your
confidence, making you far less likely to run into a situation
wholly new to you. Studies show that mental readiness yields
better performers.
Finally, keep a personal log that recounts your daily efforts
to tackle the small tasks you have allotted to yourself. You
might even do this online on your blog. Also mark any special
conditions attending your task performance for each day. Watch
the progress unfold daily before your eyes. This will motivate
you to press on, and show you how to improve more quickly,
by your noting which conditions aid or hinder your progress.
Pursuing a new goal to improve your own skills takes commitment,
and can offer great rewards. It calls for drive and consistency
more than anything else. Here, the aphorism applies, "It is
better not to vow, than to vow and not fulfill." Half-hearted
efforts lead to discouragement, end in failure, and lower
your own confidence to meet other tasks as well in the future.
So take a realistic inventory before deciding to embark on
a new venture. Gather up some information to assess whether
or not it really has the value you think it does. Count the
cost first. After you've decided to jump in with both feet,
pursue it to completion, step by step. Follow the rules, and
press on. A new you -- your future upgrade -- awaits.
Carson C. Day has written some 1.3 gazillion articles,
many with insightful, if alternative, viewpoints. He now writes
for Ophir Gold Corporation, and favored the history of ideas
in college.
Visit OGC blogsites? http://scriberight.blogspot.com
(Writing With Power),
or http://ophirgoldcorp.blogspot.com
(OGC's Free Web Traffic)
Article Source: www.goarticles.com
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