How To Do Difficult Tasks
I went to the Renaissance fair this past year, and I’m not sure how this bullwhip artist did it, but he did. In the process, he taught us the secret to doing difficult things. Also, if you don’t know what a bullwhip man is, check out this video of Steve Harvey.
The First Crack of The Whip
As part of the finale, he put an apple on top of a bale of hay, he backed up 3 steps, picked up his whip, swung it around, and brought it through with full force, the end of it traveling at over 1,500 miles per hour. It violently scraped through the air and struck the apple, splitting it in two.
The crowd cheered! But a guy sitting right next to me in the back shouted, “That’s not difficult. All it takes is practice.”
The Second Crack of The Whip
The bullwhip master picked a young kid out of the crowd, gave the kid a banana and asked that he hold it out to his side. He walked three paces away, picked up his whip, swung it around, and brought it through with full force. Again, it ripped through the air, struck the banana, half of it falling to the floor.
This time the crowd went wild! Then the dude sitting next to me yelled, ““That’s not difficult. All it takes is practice.”
The Final Crack of The Whip
And now, for the grandest of finales, the bullwhip master placed the kid in the same spot with another banana, took three steps back, and this time...
put a blindfold on. The man said, “Now if I miss, you all understand that this kid may lose a finger.”
The crowd went silent.
Then slowly whispered to each other.
The bullwhip once again was picked up, swung around, brought through with full force, and half the banana (and no fingers) fell to the ground.
The crowd ERUPTED.
Once it quieted down, that guy sitting next to me came to the front of the crowd and said to the master, “That’s not so difficult, it just takes a lot of practice.”
The bullwhip artist responded, “Well let’s see you do it then!” As he handed him the whip.
I moved in close to hear and see what was going on.
The man took the whip and looked at it. He said, “I can’t do what you do, but watch this,” and he began to rub his hands together with such ferocity that I thought they might catch fire.
And when he stopped, he opened up his hands, and there laid several gold coins. I don’t know how he did it, but he said, “Can you do that?”
The rest of the spectators there with my listened intently.
“I can’t crack the whip like you, but you can’t do magic like me. It’s not so difficult though, it just takes a lot of practice.”
The bullwhip master smiled and said, “As you can see my lords and ladies, this is a master magician and I am a master with the bullwhip. Neither are hard, they just take a lot of practice. Difficult is just difficult and we can do difficult things. It just takes practice. As you leave here today, commit yourself to a practice. Become a master.”
Leaving the Renaissance fair, I thought about that show more than any other. I always felt my whole life like I was a jack of all trades, master of none. I reminded myself of the commitment to mastery I made 2.5 years before that - Master The Mental Game.
What are you trying to master? What are you really good at? Do you have any passions you want to double down on and go all in on?
“If you think it’s going to be hard to practice, imagine how hard it’s going to be to compete against someone who does if you don’t.” - Dr. Rob Gilbert
Through mindset and strategy APPLICATION, this mini series will not only help reduce stress, but you will sleep better, reduce anxiety, and increase focus. We’re all seeking fulfillment in life, and it starts with being just a little more mindful.
5 minutes a day for 5 days. 25 minutes that might just save your life.
