Practice

Pancakes are essentially one of the easiest foods on the planet to make. Warm, tasty, and quick, it’s a super simple recipe that makes you feel great about your ability to feed yourself like an adult. But here’s the thing, even with pancakes.

The first pancake is always going to come out a little different from the rest.

Sometimes there’s not enough batter or there’s too much batter or the heat should be higher or something else that’s partially out of your control.

The thing is, we never quit and say, ‘My first pancake sucked, I’m not making any more.’ No, we continue making pancakes.

The second one is better than the first and the third better than the second and before we know it, we’re picking up the picture-perfect pancake that couldn’t have been possible without that first “practice” pancake.

We can treat our work like that, too.

The first time we pitch, the first time we speak, the first time we connect, the first time we create or publish, the first time we try something new, things won’t always stick. No matter how much we plan or prepare or begin, nothing beats experience because experiences are FULL of taking action, of getting things done, of making mistakes and learning from those mistakes, while getting things done. And if experience makes way for execution, then consistency is what leads to quality.

This week, let’s learn to appreciate the practice pancake and the foundation it creates for the good things to come.

Further Reading: Heard of the 10,000 hour rule? It was coined by Malcolm Gladwell as a method to being successful regardless of your field: working 10, 000 hours perfecting your respective craft. This term can be found in his book Outliers: The Story of Success – cop it via Bookshop to support local bookstores.

“I had never done a culinary competition before, but I was like, ‘Alright, I’m just going to put pen to paper, I’m going to invite some people, I’m going to holla at some chefs—maybe they have contacts around what a competition could look like—and we’re just going to do it.’ I wasn’t attached to it looking perfect. I was just attached to doing the thing.” Read: How This Social Entrepreneur Is Using Hip-Hop and Food To Inspire Youth

Nipsey Hussle was a proponent of perfecting your craft. We miss him. Read the stories crafted by #blkcreatives about his life and legacy.