↩ Looking Back
It's really fun to watch professionals who have mastered their craft work.
Our friends are moving and we were talking about how impressive the movers were. How they pack the boxes. How quickly they took care of everything. The kinds of energy saving tricks to get everything out the door and packed—like backing up the moving truck to the balcony and handing all the boxes over the top and directly into the truck. Pros at work is a beauty to behold.
In 10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less, Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy argue that if you become what only you can be by doing what only you can do, you can multiply your success by 10x. The catch is that requires applying the Pareto principle and doing only the 20% that leads to 80% results and leaving behind the majority of things you might be doing to focus on only what you can do.
Easier said than done, of course. But what a world we'd live in if everyone was doing what they were passionate about and tremendously skilled at—operating at a level of mastery we that makes you say, "Wow. What a pro."
↑ Looking Up
Speaking of pros, one of my favorite things is seeing the tools that professional use. Not just the pro level power tools or software, but the tiny little hacks that have a very specific purpose—the types of things you didn't even know existed—that they use over and over again to get things just right.
In woodworking, it is known as a jig—often a small, seemingly insigificant device that goes over a piece of work and guides a tool to make a perfect hole or cut.
Affirmations act as verbal jigs to guide your mind into your ideal response.
The jig doesn’t make the cut or the hole for you—but it keeps your hand steady. You already know the tough moment is coming. The goal isn’t to be perfect—it’s to be prepared.
👉 If you want to change your responses and better live out of your ideal identity, read: How to Use Daily Affirmations as Verbal Jigs
↪ Looking Forward
So what’s the intersection between becoming a pro and applying affirmations?
Practice. (Yep—we’re talkin’ about practice!)
Pros don’t just show up and wing it. They get really good by doing the same thing, the right way, over and over again.
The same goes for those who faithfully live out their identity. They’ve practiced being who they truly want to be—especially in the tough moments.
So this week, answer these two questions:
- What’s one skill you need to practice to grow toward becoming world class in something your passionate about?
- What’s one truth you need to practice saying to yourself to live more fully from your identity?
Do both. Just a little. You don’t need to nail it—you just need to start. And practice.
Wrapping Up
If something I wrote struck you this week, would you let me know?
If you have a hunch someone could put something here into practice, would you forward it along them?
Here’s to pursuing the useful life together—with craft, prep and practice,
