The Master Has Failed More…

Hi friends!

So, I guess I forgot yesterday was Monday. I must still be in vacation mode since I was at the beach last week. I wanted to share a really cool quote that I stumbled upon on Pinterest. I’ve been pinning up a storm, and for some reason, the quotes have really been a) speaking to me and b) speaking to you guys. I’m seeing the quotes re-pinned more than almost any other type of pin. And on top of that, there are now twice as many of you following me on Pinterest. According to my stats, my monthly reach is now 1 million. What? Amazing! Anywho, keep re-pinning what you like the most. It helps me understand what pins you like and ultimately what you may like to see more of here on The Chic Life.

Now for that quote…

The Master Has Failed More Than the Beginner Has Even Tried
The quote reads:

The Master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried. ~Stephen McCranie

This is such a good reminder for anyone who’s trying something new. Or even someone who’s in the middle of working on a project, developing a new skill, or learning a hobby. We often get inspiration from the experts in our relevant fields. But where it gets tricky is to marvel at those people like they’ve always been this way.

As a small example: Before I won an award for teaching Zumba, I had more failures than I can remember. When I first started teaching Zumba, I taught classes where my average size was about five people for over a year. And that was when the average class size at the company was over ten. I often wondered when the company would tell me that they had to cancel my class because we weren’t breaking even (not that I knew the financials, but it was a worry). I had nights where I’d tell my assistants, “If no one shows up, we can just go to dinner.” I designed and printed my own materials to promote class and put them all over town, and they fell completely flat. No one came in referencing them. Because I was measuring myself by numbers, I spent many nights feeling like a failure. I did my best to make sure this didn’t come through in my teaching, but it was a real challenge. Interestingly enough, when I started measuring myself by the happiness and feedback of the individual people attending class, my classes improved…and so did my numbers. But more on that another time.

For now, when you’re thinking about the experts in your field, remember that they didn’t start out that way. As another example, I tried to do this when I first started doing dance classes in NYC. I absolutely love watching the many fantastic dance videos on YouTube. Here’s one of my favorites.

But the thing is, these videos became almost intimidating. To counter this, I often reminded myself that there was a time they were dancing more like me. And that they’ve put in hours and hours of practice to get to where they are now. And that if I put in the practice, I will improve.

So whatever it is that you’re working on, keep getting inspired by those masters of your craft. But remember to focus on your own continual improvement. I like to think of making each day better than the previous. Onward and upward!

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What’s something you’re working on?

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