If you want to be a baseball player, you have to watch a lot of baseball.

If you want to be a writer, you have to read a lot.

A chef, eat a lot.

Sure, you can get your training and just go from there.

But to be great, to some extent, you gotta emulate.

Some things you can perfect.

Others, you can’t.

You cannot perfect:

• Being a doctor.
• Being a lawyer.
• Being an accountant.
• Doing yoga.
• Doing meditation.

You can always get better. That’s why they call ’em practices.

Medical practice. Legal practice. Accounting practice. Yoga practice. Mediation practice.

Yes, it gets easier as you get better.

But don’t expect your practice ever to be easy.

If it does, you’re off track.

It should always feel like practice.

Creating a persona is exhausting.

The research. The testing.

Then, there’s the need to maintain that persona.

Describing it consistently. Executing it consistently.

It’s a classic recipe for mediocrity. A recipe that’s for sale in many airport bookstores.

The true recipe for greatness takes no research and minimal effort in execution.

The recipe is to be you.

[HT to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s 2 minute video on being yourself.]