the Practical Skateboarder

Life lessons from skateboarding.

What looks easy is merely the result of consistent focus.

I met a young skateboarder who really impressed me with the technical difficulty his tricks and the consistency with which he executed those tricks.

When I asked when he’d learned those tricks, and if he’d learned them recently, his answer surprised me.

“I’ve been doing these tricks since I was 12 years old.” He had just turned 16. His skill was merely the result of 4 years of consistent practice to master a handful of tricks.

Reflecting on this, I’m reminded of a quote by Bruce Lee that I’ve taken the liberty of making relevant here.

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 [tricks] once, but I fear the man who has practiced one [trick] 10,000 times.”

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Matthew Ackerman's avatar

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Matthew Ackerman

2 responses to “What looks easy is merely the result of consistent focus.”

  1. dan@nudigital Avatar
    dan@nudigital

    Great point. And I love Lee’s use of 10,000–a number that comes up a lot in the Tao te Ching.

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    1. Matthew Ackerman Avatar
      Matthew Ackerman

      Thank you! Perhaps Taoism was part of his philosophy. I also think the 10,000 has a nice connection back to Anders Ericsson on the importance of deliberate practice in his book “Peak,” which uncovered the research behind the 10,000-hour rule.

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