The Secret This World-Class Drummer Used To Be The Best Without Doing More Work
Steve Smith was the drummer for Journey.
He had been a drummer for most of his life and many people held the opinion that he was one of the best in the world.
Smith has been on the front page of Modern Drummer Magazine and DRUM! Magazine, he has been listed in Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Drummers of all time and is currently enlisted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Smith was a great drummer because of his commitment to improvement and his self-discipline in practice.
Smith was so committed that he took 3 years off.
Sounds weird, right?
Well, he took 3 years off from touring and instead studied with a drum guru—far away from his bands.
When he came back, his bandmates were very excited to hear him play all the new stuff he’d learned.
Smith knew something they didn’t.
When they played again, for the first time in 3 years, his bandmates were blown away--but not for the reason you're thinking . . .
“Steve, you don’t sound ANY different! You sound EXACTLY THE SAME! What the heck did you do up there?”
Smith simply replied:
“That’s exactly what I hoped you’d say. I know I sound exactly the same, but I’m doing a third of the work.”
This story encapsulates the core principle of productivity: working smarter and not harder.
Please, stop believing that you have to drum harder to sound better.
You don’t.
You don't need to work a million hours, cut valuable hours of sleep, de-prioritize your family, etc. etc. etc.
By focusing on the essentials, you give your brain and body space to improve and be happy.
You can, with deliberate practice and focus, work on the things that will yield the highest output for the lowest cost.Master the essentials--because the rest is just noise.
2 Minute Action
Take 2 minutes to cut one or two things from your list today.
You can cut a task. You can cut a project. You can cut a person. You can cut anything you want, so long as it’s non-essential.
You only have the rest of your life.
There is no time for the non-essential in any dimension.
Please, reply here and let me know what you're planning to cut out from your life.
The Most Fundamental Lesson Of Productivity You Can Learn From Apple
Right now, Apple is spending money building "Apple Numbers."For all you non-Mac users, this is the pre-loaded spreadsheet tool you get when you buy a Mac.How many people use it?How many people rely on Apple Numbers? The truth is that we didn't buy the Mac because it was great at spreadsheets. We bought it because of the experience of using it over other computers.So why bother building all the rest?This isn't how these companies BUILT their brands in the first place. They built their brands by focusing, relentlessly, on the single most important features to THEIR customers--and no one else's.This is an important lesson to remember as we focus on what we want in our lives. Everything we do costs time and money.It's up to you how you spend it.We can only be productive when we put those resources into what matters; everything else is a distraction. Apple is wasting resources going after segments of the market that are useless to capture. If Apple really wanted to, they could be the best spreadsheet developers in the world, but they're not, they're Apple. As Apple's stakeholders grasp more influence over the direction of the company, the company's alignment with customers begins to fade.What made them successful was the attention to the needs of the market without being distracted by what companies like Microsoft were building or saying. It turned out, Apple's customers had different needs than Microsoft's customers, and they were able to carve out a huge market segment with which they could align.Boom. Product/Market fit.By focusing on what consumers actually responded to, Apple was able to build a cash cow brand without anyone seeing it coming.You only have a limited amount of time and resources to make your impact.Being productive doesn't mean working 100 hours a week. It means deciding what's important and having the discipline to stick to it and pull back when you get distracted.Don't be Apple Numbers. Be Apple.
2 Minute Action
Make a list of three things that make you feel alive.What activities give you energy?What things drain you?Now take the last two weeks of your calendar. How many hours were at work? How many were outside? How many were with others?Look carefully at your time audit and compare it to your list.Are you focusing on the right things, or will you look back at a life lived untrue to yourself and interests?