Teresa,

Thank you for the great post.  This definitely gives me a window into how you approach your life and why you have such a drive toward personal growth.

Your post made me think about how I can "speed up" the process of Mastery as it relates to being a father.

Having 4 young children, and a busy career, can make the "job" of begin a parent difficult.

Our kids are 11 months, 2, 4, and 7, and, like all children, they are very demanding.

My wife and I have realized, that the job of parenting is easier, when we have a strong bond, and when we are aligned.

I have definitely learned a TON about parenthood these past 7 years, but humbly have realized that I am just scratching the surface.

But, as you described your journey below, I have watched my commitment to fatherhood evolve from being a "dabbler," which my wife reminded me of many times during that first year of having a newborn, to an obsessive, to a hacker, and now...tapping on the door at times, of Mastery.   I believe that is true, because Melissa, my wife, often tells me how much I've evolved.

I know this will be a long journey, but the commitment is there now.

Mastery, I believe, starts with a commitment.  A real commitment, not one that can be broken once a storm comes.

Thank you for bringing this out of me.

Happy New Year to all!

Rick

P.S. - the quotes are great below.

Here is another quote for you:   "The best way to influence others, is to live an inspired life."  Unknown

________________________________________
From: list-manager@stagen.simplelists.com [mailto:list-manager@stagen.simplelists.com] On Behalf Of Teresa Kuhn
Sent: Friday, December 26, 2014 12:29 PM
To: buffett
Subject: 4 Approaches to Long Term Practice

Dabbler - Obsessive - Hacker - Mastery

The example I want to share regarding my approach to long term practice is that of my development as a sales person.  (Please forgive the grammatical and punctuation errors.  In the interest of sharing, I would rather get the words out and not be self-conscious of what I may / or may not say or word correctly.)

When I was in college, I was hired as a customer service person with MCI Telecommunications (boy am I dating myself!).  Back then, MCI long distance service was HORRIBLE and the job of a customer service rep was to RESELL the customer into keeping the service.  Well, I learned I had a knack for selling and won numerous awards for retaining the most customers.  

I think b/c of the positive feedback and early so-called success, I was enamored with the concept of selling.

I later went to law school and worked as an attorney for a large law firm in downtown DC.  As a young attorney, practicing Personal Injury law, I was certainly not the most skilled technician but I was able to sell my firm's services and my supervising attorney noticed my knack for retaining clients. 

It wasn't until I later worked as the right hand professional for a major real estate developer in Ohio (who owned a Prudential Real Estate Brokerage Franchise along with office and industrial developments I was partly responsible for filling space among other job duties) that I was exposed to heavy duty sales training.  I think up until this time I was certainly a dabbler with sales - knew I could attract and retain clients - but the real estate world was a whole 'nother animal!  

I think up until this time I was a dabbler  and a hacker when it came to sales.  I knew I had a natural talent for it, was exposed to a science for developing the talent but had no idea there was a concept of Mastering this talent!

It wasn't until I started my own financial services practice that I became exposed to the concept of Mastery.  B/c I work with a niche financial services concept, I KNEW in order to be successful I needed to follow the recipe that I was given.  However, over time, as I internalized the recipe and found my own voice, did I experience more success.  

As we all know, in any business, without sales there are no revenues!  Of course this is also true in a financial services practice.  My commitment to Mastery includes continuing to make conscious the nuances that make  a successful financial advisor so I can continue to build a team of advisors that experience the same joy and excitement that comes when one becomes successful at their craft.

I've learned that the concept of Mastery is a journey - it is not a destination.  It is the commitment to improving, competing with only myself,  acknowledging and making conscious the nuances that work and don't work and a dedication to being persistent and not giving up.  

Some of my favorite quotes regarding Mastery include:

Practice doesn't make perfect  - perfect practice makes perfect.

If you are not learning you are dying.

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not:  Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.  Calvin Collidge

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.  To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.  To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.  Henry David Thoreau

I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.  I've lost almost 300 games.  26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.  I've failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.  Michael Jordan.