How To Become Better At Anything

It was about 5am. My mom came into the room and woke me up.

“It’s time to practice,” she said.

Ugh! I threw my legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a moment gathering myself. Then I stretched, yawned and shuffled over to the closet.

“Oh yeah, forgot to pray,” I thought as I shuffled back towards the bed.

After completing morning necessities, I headed out to the living room where the piano sat. Knowing what I know now, it’s amazing that my brothers, my dad and even the upstairs neighbors weren’t upset with me for playing a piano that early in the morning. But, it was the time my mother and I had agreed on. I didn’t like it all that much. But I did it because I actually liked playing the piano.

So I practiced!

Some decades later, I was asked why I wasn’t speaking.

“What do you mean? I speak every day.”

They meant officially, as a public speaker.

The answer? Well, I hadn’t thought about it. But, now I was. So, what did I need to do? Find a way to practice. I could do it in my house…which would drive my wife crazy or I could find a more structured way.

I’d heard about Toastmasters. So, I found a club I liked and joined.