Sets and reps

The endless path to proficiency

Proficiency doesn’t come through mere patience. It comes through effort and time. Repetition. Sets and reps.

For an athlete to assume they would get faster, lift more, or level up without practice is laughable. In sports, athletes understand that decades of practice, early morning, and endless practice result in high performance. Sets and reps.

While the arduous path to become a professional athlete seems obvious, we often overlook the parallel journey to personal and professional acumen. We allow the pursuit of perfection to stop us from even getting started. Mastery is not achieved through continuous, flawless execution. It’s through thoughtful, consistent action. Mistakes are not a sign of failure but building blocks of growth. Sets and reps.

This is not an excuse to lower our standards or settle for mediocre. Instead, it’s permission to try, to make an attempt, realizing that it will only get better over time.

Worry about taking the first step, not the last.

Since 2011, I’ve been waking up early. Really early. It’s not because I was the best entrepreneur, the best software engineer, or the best leader but because it provided more time to practice. In the time since, I’ve logged thousands of hours honing my skills and experience on hundreds of projects. Many of these projects were released to the world, but most of them weren’t. Through action, not theory, I’ve been able to shift my perspective, test assumptions, and sharpen my understanding.

Long term growth cannot be attributed to a single moment or any one event. It involves small, incremental progress. Not short cuts or fast tracks but loads of effort. Painful mistakes, stubborn obstacles, and relentless persistence. Sets and reps.

Too often we look, hope, and pray for an easy path. It’s not there. The road behind us is always longer, harder, and more costly than we imagined when we began. If we knew what it would take or lined everything up before taking the first shot, we would never do it. Fortunately, we don’t have to have it all together. Just take it one step at a time.