IT’S ALL PRACTICE: A HOPEFUL MINDSET

Michael Gibson
5 min readJul 13, 2021

You are pursuing a skillset: the ability to prepare, practice, and deliver effective presentations. Each time you take on an opportunity is another chance to learn and grow. It’s all practice.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT: IT’S ALL PRACTICE

A friend of mine carries a French horn with him wherever he goes. It is a skill he has been building for years and is continuing to build on an almost daily basis. That development pays off in income as he plays for various events.

If we rewound his life, we would eventually find a first time. We would see the first time he picked up the horn and began this journey. Without that beginning, his current reality would not exist.

Practice is required to produce music on a french horn. Photo by Uriel Soberanes on Unsplash;

EMBRACING THE FAIL: IT’S ALL PRACTICE

While teaching a group of supervisors about the importance of patience when training employees, one student spoke up excitedly.

“Do you know what FAIL stands for?”

“No. But I want to know! What is it?”

“First Attempt In Learning.”

“Oh! I like that.”

That was a decade ago. And the idea has stuck with me.

For many of us, it holds true for the fourth, fifth, and fiftieth attempts. Some skills take a long time and much determination. If failure feels fatal, then few will push through.

Failure precedes success. Photo by the blowup on Unsplash;

PURSUING OPPORTUNITIES: IT’S ALL PRACTICE

Here is another similar idea.

A friend of mine is in the middle of a job search. Countless applications, followed by numerous interviews and a lot of rejection.

She is in a crowded field, but it is a significant area of need, so is always another opportunity waiting. But the seemingly endless rejection can wear a person down.

Her mentor repeats a helpful phrase. I like it as much as I like the FAIL acronym.

Ready?

Here it is.

Michael Gibson
0 Followers

Michael Gibson is a speaker, trainer, and instructional designer. His book, Big Presentations in Small Rooms, is available at Amazon.