Movies imitate life. And there are some movies with the power to generate a character that can influence a generation…perhaps more. I’ll always remember sitting with my dad as he sipped on a paper bag wrapped bottle of Kessler’s whiskey with the ironically adorned “smooth as silk” logo watching one of many quintessential Clint Eastwood films: Magnum Force. And with many of Clint’s stoic gun running movies, the one liners and piercing grimaces are that of legend. One that never left this young boys mind was: “A man’s gotta know his limitations”.
Follow any digital source of content in search of motivation and one will likely find themselves in the space of no limit soliders; men cut from a cloth that do not acknowledge weakness. Those who wake up at 0200 everyday to skull fuck the world. Biohackers who sit naked in from of infrared fluorescent bulbs while floating in salt silted tanks. Ted Talk keynotes who use the word hustle and drive to describe early lemonade stands, baseball card e-commerce websites, and eventual block chain currency scams. Although I am subject to seasonal interest of these paradigms and guilty of getting fired up just enought for short lived spartan worthy habits that lose thruster as the genuine flow of normalcy provides it perennial gravity of reality once more.
Sifting through the ashes of wasted inspiration, kicking the soot off discolored thinning soled boots, a man eventually gets right with the the programmed nature that can’t be shaken; and only this truth is available to those willing to enter the dark forest and search out the sacred sword of the hero that is found through the virtue of intrepidness, and pulled from stone with unabashed honesty. Having the courage to use alchemy in mixing experience with truth can be a source code to a programming of cardinal direction.
As we lean into age, time has that quirky feeling of dilation, hurdling us forward gaining momentum towards terminal velocity. This acceleration is not just an optical illusion or palpable oddity; namely being a resultant of accumulation of duties, the inevitable responsibilities and relationships that inexorably attach with maturity. All of which can be prosperous and fulfilling in their own rite, but no matter how you parse, time will be further distributed; prioritization of mastery through training and hobby is now critical more than ever.
In this age of opportunity and ease of information, one can seek out the training, knowledge, and equipment necessary to become an expert in nearly any domain. From martial arts, car building, beer brewing, or starting that side business – its all possible. It is with the burden of possibility that one must learn the art of prioritization; understanding that a man know know his limitations. Despite what any pseudo influencers claim under the montages of not sleeping and perpetual grinding, we all must acknowledge the deception of this route. We need sleep. We must nurture our relationships, be dads, and sometimes we need to simply restart the brain through ritualistic doses of “zoning out” via a movie, some extra drinks, or perhaps a bad fiction book. The most important thing one can do is choose and plan. Understanding that expert level performance and skill requires expert levels of training & periodization (often without the sage influence of a coach or teacher…I guess we all must assume a sort of ronin path on this). I firmly believe in the concept of the now archetypal 10,000 hour rule set forth by Freakanomics; and if that is concept is moderately accurate, the path to expert will be a long one:
- 10 hours of training / practice per week (roughly 2 hours per day).
- 520 hours per year.
- 19 years until logging 10,000.
Obviously this number can vary given adjusting the weekly input, but demonstrates just how difficult it can be in hitting the 10K number with ‘“moderate” time investment.
Be honest and choose carefully what becomes your craft. Make slave the day, and understand that time funnels as we go. Be the purposeful master of your labors, and plan your craft carefully with high resolution. Remember that with these skills you too can influence a generation or two…..and any past this can only be described as godly.
