I learned a new skill yesterday, one that I didn’t even know existed: Wakesurfing. You ride a surfboard on a the wave created by a specially-designed boat that generates a surfing wave behind the boat. This made me think of 3 colleagues while I was on the water: Armand Morin, Guy Kawasaki, and Daven Michaels. All of these gents have been on my podcast, and I’m sure they have set up Google Alerts for their names, so I’m pretty sure they will see this post. But let me explain why I was thinking of them as I was learning to wakesurf…
Guy has his own podcast where he interviewed a world famous surfer. Guy also learned to surf and enjoys doing it (and talking about it). Since I haven’t surfed since I was a young man, this was a new experience for me, so I was thinking about learning a new skill later in life. Not 6 foot waves and certainly not 60 foot waves, but a fun sensation none-the-less. Thanks for the inspiration, Guy.
When I talked to Daven recently, he asked me if I lived near any water that I could enjoy while my kids were here visiting. So yes, Daven, not quite as much water as your ocean view, but I still got to get out and enjoy water sports with the kids.
But it was Armand’s story that got me thinking while trying to learn how to wakesurf. He told me a story once about his first time water skiing and how he watched others do it, then copied what they did and everyone thought he was a pro. I did the same thing today – I got up on my first try, then hung on for dear life as we lapped the entire lake. I refused to let go as I wanted to prove that I could do this (plus, if I fell, I wasn’t sure I’d get up again!) Everyone on the boat thought I did great – what they didn’t realize is that I had no idea what I was doing.
This morning I woke up very sore. Apparently wakesurfing requires completely different muscles than bike riding and skiing.
Learning a new skill is often like that. If you copy what the pros are doing, you can come off as knowing what you are talking about. In fact, you might even learn something as you copy from the best. But you will stretch yourself and get some bumps and bruises along the way. You will need to continue to apply your new skills until your muscles and memory make them part of what you do naturally.
I teach an online class about how to create profitable webstores. The class will be happening again this fall, and I guarantee you will learn something. Making money while working from home is a skill, just like wakesurfing, and skills can be learned. If you are interested, fill out the form below and I’ll get you on the waiting list.
Greg Jameson has been writing blog articles on ecommerce and internet marketing for over 10 years. Learn more about Greg at https://webstoresltd.com/about/
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