Practice begins ...

"Practice begins the first time that your guest gets it right."

This was a tip I got from my examiner, when I got my American Association of Snowboard Instructors Level I certification a couple weeks ago.

This little tip has permeated a lot in my life. Be it with my co-workers, my clients (both the ones with the snowboards, and the other ones with the powerpoints), and even my family.

We are so quick and eager to "progress" sometime, we forget how much practice true mastery requires. If it is 10,000 hours, as Maclom Gladwell suggests, what role do we have as teachers in getting our students there? Is it peppering them with 10,000 new concepts at 1 an hour or is it giving them enough for them to begin to play with concepts themselves?

Probably the latter, which is why practice begins the first time you/your student/peer/managee gets it right.

Think about it.