TEM251: The Goldilocks Rule

TEM251

The power of working on tasks that are just right.

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TEM251: The Goldilocks Rule

The power of working on tasks that are just right.

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

• The Goldilocks Rule and why it’s important to always keep it in mind

• How I’ve applied it to my recent foray into video editing

• My challenge to you of going on record with me and yourself about which task that falls into the Goldilocks Zone for you that you are going to commit to moving forward on by emailing me at andrew@tem.fm

• A great quote from Lily Tomlin

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.tem.fm/shownotes

The Magic of Sustained Effort

Small habits don't add up, they compound. You don't need to be twice as good to get twice the results. You just need to be slightly better.

— James Clear (@james_clear) August 25, 2017

The key to improving at anything is sustained effort.

Small habits practiced just a little bit every day will compound.

David Zerkel once shared this gem with one of my students in a master class:

“If you practice lip slurs every single day for two straight weeks, the lip trill fairy will pay you a visit.”

Rather than practicing lip trills for three total hours over two days, practice them for 10 minutes a day for 14 straight days (which for the record is actually 40 less minutes overall.) You will not only have improved more at the end of those two weeks than you would have over the two days, that improvement will also be much more permanent.

The key to those 14 days is making sure the practicing is intentional. Totally focused. Phone on airplane mode. Going in with a plan. Fully in the feedback loop.

To circle back to the James Clear quote at the top, the goal is not to make massive strides. It is to get a little better every day. That improvement, just like money patiently left in a savings account or an index fund, will compound.

Establish sustainable habits and you’ll be amazed at the results.

Great Video on Changing Your Habits

This is a fantastic interview with James Clear, author of the book Atomic Habits.

I am an audiobook person. I bought Atomic Habits on Audible and I was less than 30 minutes into it before I hopped on Amazon and bought the hardcover version. This is a reference book that is filled with data while being incredibly easy to read.

To say something is life-changing is cliche. But this book has changed me as a father, a performer, a teacher, basically in every way.

I really enjoyed this short interview with James and I bet you will too.

And for those interested, I spoke about Atomic Habits in the very short TEM167.