How to be the world's best at something

I was raised with two professional musician parents. So naturally, my sisters and I were started on violin lessons at age 5, so we could get a head start. Later I decided that music wasn't my path, but I learned a lot from my experience about how to become an expert (and possibly the world's best) at something.

Specifically, if you want to kick ass like nobody's business, the following appears to be very important:


1. Choose wisely
If you are going to be devoting 5-8+ hours a day to something, make sure it fits you exactly. That is, it fits your personality, your ego, your inner drives, your genetic potential, your natural talents, your personal history, and your mission and purpose and values in life. You must know yourself extremely well. Choosing the wrong path means you're competing against people who are more naturally talented than you, which means they have an unfair advantage--and they'll be having more fun too!

When I realized music wasn't my path because it didn't serve my highest mission, purpose, and values (but did lock into many other things like personal history), it started to make sense why I was really good, but not the best, and why I hated to practice while other kids loved it.

Oh, and make sure it is also the best possible thing you can do for other beings and the world too, ok? That will also give you a larger-than-me motivation that will give you energy you didn't think you had, as if given directly from God. Most people who are the "world's best" at something will tell you their talent comes from a spiritual source or higher purpose than just me. (BTW, this is why parenting is a natural spiritual practice--it takes many hours a day of continuous practice and is oriented towards something greater than you, i.e. another human life that completely depends on you for survival and nuturing.)


2. Follow your bliss

Related to #1, make sure to choose what you are most passionate about, for several important reasons. You'll need the inspiration to keep going when it gets tough (and it will!). You'll bring more enthusiasm into your work which will lead to better results (and more fun!). You'll be more naturally obsessed with your field which means you'll study harder and practice longer. Remember that no matter what you do, you're already competing with somebody who's following their bliss...and you'll lose to them every time if you're not!


3. Practice intelligently

Never make the same mistake twice. Have a focus for each practice session. Have clearly defined goals that you run by your teachers/coaches. Learn how to maximize your practice, not just your performance.


4. Practice often

My friends in the conservatory of music in college practiced a minimum of 5 hours a day--every day--not including ensemble time, music theory classes, or lessons. The best practiced 8-10 hours a day. The ideal for a spiritual path is constant practice. If you can, learn to lucid dream so you can practice in your sleep--or at least when you are sick of practicing, visualize yourself practicing perfectly. Of course if you get sick of practicing, you probably haven't chosen wisely or followed your bliss. Remember, you live for this--this is why you were born!


5. Learn directly from experts

Find the best in your area, who are accessible to you to meet in person, who are also outstanding teachers in the field (beware--teaching is not necessarily the same skill as doing!). Get 1-on-1 teaching or coaching from them. Yes, it will be expensive (probably $75-$150 an hour). Don't skimp because of price! The difference between a great teacher and an outstanding teacher is the difference between #4 and #1 in the Olympics. Choose cheap if it's a hobby, choose the best if it's your mission in life.

As kids, we got private music lessons every week for 15-20 years. Ideally get 2 or 3 different teachers that teach different aspects of your learning, and meet with each at least once a week, and also have an "advisory board" of less accessible people whom you contact less frequently.


6. Surround yourself with the best

Nearly all your friends should be on the same path. They should freak you out with how good they are and make you think you suck, but yet support and challenge you and see you as a peer. Don't choose a peer group that you are better than to boost your ego! (Do that for your hobbies if you must.) Your friends in the field should see the holes in your work and point them out to you constantly. You should have at least a few friends that you could never possibly be as good as--they'll keep you hungry, humble, and learning.


7. Saturate your environment with greatness

Your entire environment should be saturated with the best examples of your chosen path. I went to symphony concerts in the womb. There were constantly music lessons being taught in my house as a kid, or classical music playing in the background. The benefits were enormous, leading to as close as constant practice as possible. Use your iPod for learning, not zoning out--learn with audiobooks wherever you are. Or meditate while standing in line. Whatever fits for your path.


8. Study constantly

No matter your path, you should be reading and studying all the time. As kids, we studied music theory, music history, and different styles and traditions. If you are a meditator, you should be reading the best dharma you can find and studying it in depth. If reading is part of your path, you should read at least 25 books a year in your field, but more like 100 to really get good. And of course it's not just quantity, but quality that counts. Some memorization of key texts or principles is absolutely required.


9. Make your path your identity

You should be able to say "I am an X," and have it be both true and feel like how you want to be identified. Many people when asked "what do you do?" reply with a job title, but they don't like their jobs. When you say "I am a musician" or "I am a yogi," there should be a feeling of pride and joy. One exception to this might be for spiritual paths, in which humility dictates not talking too much or bragging about one's intensely dedicated spiritual path. Bragging is never recommended, but as long as one follows the advice of #6, you'll be beat down by your peers several times a day at a minimum, so humility will follow naturally.


10. Practice patiently for 10-20+ years

It will take at least 5 years to get a basic level of mastery following all the above. More realistically, it will take 5-10 years for most of us to flounder about until we find something that is a good fit!

It will take at least 10 years, and probably 20 or more to get anywhere near "world's best," unless you are lucky enough to hit on some unique niche that is an absolutely perfect fit for you. So sit tight! If you've chosen properly, it will be the best 10 or 20 years of your life so far, albeit not without extreme challenges at times. You will feel more alive, more disciplined, more integrated, more aligned, more confident, more accomplished, and yet more humble (because you know what you don't know!).

If it feels like a "sacrifice," you haven't chosen properly either. There are things you won't be doing, but you are always doing the most important thing that you could ever possibly do.




If the above sounds too difficult for you, it's because either you aren't serious about changing the world, or you don't know your path exactly yet and therefore you aren't experiencing the flow of raw energy that comes with that. It is my contention that being the world's best at something important is the #1 thing we can do from an individual perspective. From a collective perspective there are many other important things we need to do to affect positive change, but they exceed the scope of this little article.