There is a notable, recognized technique around the world of business and sports referred to as, “Deliberate Practice and Training.”
What is “Deliberate Practice and Training” and how is it any different from the routine of training, practice, and education that we find ourselves typically taking part in? The difference is this: Deliberate intention behind your training or practice routine, means you have a conscious, well-thought-out plan that is done with a purpose, rather than just going through the motions. The word “deliberate” implies that the person doing the action is fully aware of what they want to get out of the training experience.
How many of you are approaching the post NAR lawsuit training with clear intention? If you are just going through the motions without a clear picture of what you want out of the practice and training experience, you’re not going to realize the full benefits of what is being offered. If you want to be the absolute best you can be, with clear intention of how you want to get there, then you must approach these opportunities with deliberate intention.
Last night, we kicked-off the 2024 NFL season. When I think about the greatest NFL player I have ever seen, I think of 49er great, Jerry Rice.
Jerry Rice is widely considered to be the greatest wide receiver in the history of the National Football League. In addition to winning three Super Bowls, Rice holds nearly every single season and career receiving record available. He is also the NFL’s all-time leader in yards, receptions, and touchdowns.
Many experts say he may be the best football player ever, regardless of position. Basically, Rice was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Literally, the best of the best.
In Geoff Colvin’s popular book, Talent is Overrated (audiobook), he shares an interesting story about Rice’s work ethic and his approach to deliberate practice. As you’ll see, it wasn’t just talent that made Rice successful and we can all learn from his approach and use similar strategies to improve our health, our work, and our lives.
It is obvious that Jerry Rice put in an incredible volume of work. This is no surprise. Unwavering consistency is a requirement for achieving excellence. To put it simply, you can’t expect to become great at something without practicing it over and over.
But it wasn’t just the amount of time he spent practicing that made the difference, Rice used other strategies to master his craft.
Excellence requires more than just a lot of practice. It requires the right kind of practice. The natural tendency for humans, professional athletes included, is to fall into a routine once we achieve an adequate level of performance.
For example, you might practice a golf swing the same way over and over. Or a real estate professional might practice their presentations the same way over and over. In the beginning, this repetition is required to develop skills.
At some point, however, you reach a certain skill level and simply repeating the same pattern again and again doesn’t foster much additional growth. (In fact, this is true at any level of skill: practice in the same way you always have, and you’ll get the same results you always have.)
This is where Jerry Rice separated himself from the rest of the pack. Even at a high level, Rice found ways to practice deliberately rather than mindlessly and push the edge of his abilities rather than repeat old patterns without improvement.
Compared to other wide receivers, Rice’s mediocre speed could be seen as a weakness. How did he overcome it? By leveraging his greatest strengths.
Real estate agents, in my opinion, should take a similar approach. Instead of only focusing on how to improve your weaknesses, you should be finding ways to leverage your strengths.
It doesn’t matter what skill you are trying to perfect, finding the areas where your skill set provides the greatest leverage, and focusing on those areas will reap enormous benefits.
Jerry Rice was blessed with incredible talent, but it was his work ethic and his commitment to continual improvement that allowed him to transform that talent into one of the greatest careers that the NFL has ever seen.
For you and me the skills and circumstances may be very different from that of Jerry Rice, but the principles are the same. If we want to execute in real life and master the skills that are important to us, then we need to approach each day with deliberate intention.
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