Sitting in the Master's Chair
"Mastery isn't reserved for the super talented. It's available to anyone who is willing to get on the path and stay on it- regardless of age, sex, or previous experience."
- George B. Leonard, taken from Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment
As Aunt Shelly has noticed, I have some strange fascination with getting my hair cut. As I have gone on and on about, I used to hate it as a kid, but now I dig it--which probably has a lot to do with the fact that I have a barber whom I trust. I would submit that each man must have a barber, an auto mechanic, and a tailor that he trusts--if you are healthy a doctor is almost irrelevant.
Anyway, so I go to get my hair cut yesterday, Lazaro goes to work, but he has this puzzled look on his face. After about 20 seconds of looking confused he asks, "Mikey, I didn't cut your hair last time, right?" I was sort of shocked, but in a good way--the last hair cut I received was from Jay, not Lazaro. The man could see that this was not his handy work right off the cuff.
From what I know about swimming, strokes are like fingerprints. From my experience with Larazo, it looks like this applies to barbering as well. People within the same group, and given identical instruction, will reproduce the technique in a way that is completely unique to them. Doing something properly takes years and years of practice--according to one study it takes 10,000 hours to master something. I find it very uplifting to see that there are people within various fields and crafts, like Lazaro in the field of barbering, who are true masters of what they do.
Much of the time we interact with people when they are not at their best. I am currently trying to resolve a challenge right now and have sent off four separate email to a colleague, yet I have not received a single response. It's not right, but this is not limited to my current place of employment. Seeing people committed to a high level of service reminds me of the standard to which I want to be held accountable.
Namaste
- George B. Leonard, taken from Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment
As Aunt Shelly has noticed, I have some strange fascination with getting my hair cut. As I have gone on and on about, I used to hate it as a kid, but now I dig it--which probably has a lot to do with the fact that I have a barber whom I trust. I would submit that each man must have a barber, an auto mechanic, and a tailor that he trusts--if you are healthy a doctor is almost irrelevant.
Anyway, so I go to get my hair cut yesterday, Lazaro goes to work, but he has this puzzled look on his face. After about 20 seconds of looking confused he asks, "Mikey, I didn't cut your hair last time, right?" I was sort of shocked, but in a good way--the last hair cut I received was from Jay, not Lazaro. The man could see that this was not his handy work right off the cuff.
From what I know about swimming, strokes are like fingerprints. From my experience with Larazo, it looks like this applies to barbering as well. People within the same group, and given identical instruction, will reproduce the technique in a way that is completely unique to them. Doing something properly takes years and years of practice--according to one study it takes 10,000 hours to master something. I find it very uplifting to see that there are people within various fields and crafts, like Lazaro in the field of barbering, who are true masters of what they do.
Much of the time we interact with people when they are not at their best. I am currently trying to resolve a challenge right now and have sent off four separate email to a colleague, yet I have not received a single response. It's not right, but this is not limited to my current place of employment. Seeing people committed to a high level of service reminds me of the standard to which I want to be held accountable.
Namaste
posted by Zen_Accountant at 1:32 PM
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