Joe’s Blog

Have you ever truly mastered something? Sure you have. At some point in everyone’s life they master something, even if it is only tying their shoes or stacking the dishes “just so” on the rack.

More than nature

Mastering isn’t a survival instinct; it’s an urge to excel. Mastering is one of the experiences that delineates us from animals. It is striving to be more tomorrow than we are today; to perfectly pitch the ball over home plate; to craft the perfect sentence in an article; to open the oven and feel the warm, richly-scented cloud telling you dinner is going to be absolutely extraordinary. We humans crave perfection, to be masters of our domain, to distinguish ourselves by sheer skill and prowess.

Mastering is up to you

I routinely get emails from folks who credit Joe’s Goals with helping them master some aspect of their life. It may be getting in shape or breaking their addictions or practicing their piano consistently for the first time. But you know what? They did it on their own. All any tool can do is give you permission to complete your task. People use Joe’s Goals to carve out a box each day. A square holder containing time and a degree of commitment. And then THEY do it. With God’s help, they do it.

Know it, do it

Mastering is not about perfection. Far from it. Mastering isn’t doing everything perfectly. Rather, it is knowing in your soul that, when the chips are down, you can rise to the occasion. Mastering is the grace, the often unmerited favor, that lets you sink that shot at the buzzer, winning the game. It’s the click of the shutter capturing baby’s first smile. It’s leaping out of the helicopter at 5,000 feet into a field of snow. It’s being #1 in your department two quarters in a row. It’s the straight line, the perfect knot, the well-placed kick. It’s knowing what you are doing.

See mastering in action

Below are a series of videos I’ve been collecting over the last year that show what can happen when someone masters something. They are glimpse at the truly great. I hope you enjoy them and get as much inspiration out of them as I do.

• A 23 month old masters geography
• 10 cups, 10 quarters: mastering the quarter bounce
• It takes guts to master the wave
• Tiger is in the masters for a reason
• Two people master Mario, at the same time
• What can bright people do with post it notes?
• Rock climbing skills
• Mastering juggling

The world has enough mediocrity. What have you mastered?

* Photo courtesy of cyancey.