How something unnatural becomes second nature

It had been about 10 years since I had water skied.

Floating in the water, I caught the slalom ski and wedged my feet into the bindings. I grabbed the rope with both hands, and as the boat moved forward and I felt the tension on the rope, I yelled out, “Hit it!”

I shut my eyes and repeated a series of steps I had done hundreds of times: lean back, arms straight, weight on the back foot, dig in my back heel. A few seconds later I was on top of the water and beaming.

Because after decades of practice, waterskiing was second nature to me.

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Let me be clear: There is nothing natural about water-skiing. By all rational measures, it’s an absolutely ludicrous sport. Your feet are strapped to planks, you hold onto a rope, and you are pulled at great speed behind an engine.

There’s no protection, no helmet, and you can hit the water at dangerous speeds.

And when I flash back to 10 years, old, that’s exactly what happened. A lot.

As I was learning to waterski, I was always falling on my face. I swallowed a ton of water. I cried a lot, although I tried

But as I learned from my Dad and my cousins, I finally started to get it, because I had the critical elements to master something new:

A desire to learn.

Someone to show me exactly what to do, step by step.

Lots of practice and a willingness to keep trying.

Some misses, until there were more successes than failures.

A role model of someone who had done it.

A belief that I could do it too.

And so, 10 years after the last time I skied, I popped up. It was second nature.

—

There’s nothing natural about selling, either.

You go out and offer your skills to someone else, in service of their business. You have to convince them to give you money in exchange for your expertise, and you have navigate the clients’ unique and often irrational decision-making process.

It’s kind of ludicrous, if you think about it.

So it’s no wonder that when you start your business, you don’t know how to do it. No one does.

But it can be learned, and it can be mastered… as long as you have a few key elements.

A desire to learn.

Someone to show you exactly what to do, step by step.

Lots of practice and a willingness to keep trying.

Some misses, until there are more successes than failures.

A role model of someone who has done it.

A belief that you can do it too.

Until one day, it becomes second nature.

To your success,

Leah

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