Notes from Steve

My friend Priscilla used to make German chocolate cake from scratch.  She’d whip it up, and everybody was massively impressed because she did it from memory, and it always was good.  I love having skills that I can do whenever without the “guide” … like playing guitar.  I played guitar at my nephew’s wedding this last weekend, and Joe, the priest, was asking me – “How long have you played?”  I thought about it said 50 years.  I like that I don’t have to think about it, and it's like walking … second nature.
 
There is this guy Malcolm Gladwell who wrote the book “Outliers,” and in it, he says that if you’ve done something for 10,000 hours – you are an expert.  I’m good with this.  I’ve thought about this a lot – what else have I spent 10,000 hours doing, and am I an expert?*  The problem, though, is that sometimes – I take my talents for granted.  Joyce – the gal playing the piano at the wedding – had to get my attention a couple of times because I was spacing out and skipping lines in the music.  “Where did you go?” – she’d ask.  I’d be playing an F#7 when it was calling for an Em, and obviously, it sounded strange. 
Just because you are comfortable doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay attention.
 
I just got done with orientation – same talk I’ve been doing for a couple of decades.  If I don’t pay attention to what I am saying, I’ll skip over major parts, and before you know, people will be walking down the halls of the hospital without saying hi.  That’s not good.
 
Practice, practice, and repeat.
 
*watching TV and drinking coffee – I feel like an expert in both of these areas.