Think back to when you saw your child take their first steps. Clumsily, yet surely, they gathered their balance and made progress forward.
Most skills are acquired not gracefully, but awkwardly. The more compelling and valuable they are, the more cumbersome flops happened behind the scenes. Imagine an Olympic diver. They most likely had a belly flop or two in their youth on their way to winning gold. Or a Super Bowl champion quarterback. Tried as they might, when they were very young, they couldn’t throw the ball through the tire hanging from a tree branch in the backyard. Or the successful businessman. They ran out of money during their first venture and had to lay off an entire department. Now, through trial and heartache, they’ve cracked the code and run a valuable business where employees want to work and customers are served well.
At the end of the day, our best skills are acquired…
Not quickly, but purposefully.
Not smoothly, but roughly.
Not comfortably, but painfully.
Not straight, but unevenly.
These skills were acquired…
Less through planning, more through doing.
Less through perfection, more through progress.
Less through accuracy, more through mistakes.
Less through vision alone, more through reflection.
Every valuable skill was born from a jagged past. Overnight successes are years in the making.
What skills have you acquired? What ones are you working on right now?
Skills are forged through fire…
Learn from them. Get better. Bless others.
Acquire skills.
And live on purpose today.
