How a world-class musician viewed his talent…

…and what it can mean for you.

Concert pianist Artur Schnabel said “The notes I handle no better than many pianists.  But the pauses between the notes – ah, that is where the art resides!”  

It’s the pauses that give listeners a chance to savor the notes – to enjoy them leisurely rather than racing on to the next note, to reflect on them and enjoy the emotional reaction they elicit regardless of whether the emotion is joy or sadness.

In a similar vein authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book The Power of Full Engagement, tell us how they help world-class athletes in golf, tennis, speed skating and basketball dramatically improve their performance.  How?  Not by focusing on the skills associated with the sport, but by educating them on how to use the time between shots, plays and events.  Why?  Because it’s the downtime that allows these athletes to recover from the strain of competition and intensify their focus for the next shot, play or event.

Are you building pauses into your schedule?  Are you using pauses to help you:

• Savor your success?

• Reflect on a skill you acquired and how it can be applied or enhanced?

• Recover from the strain of competing in one of the most challenging environments ever created – the world of business?

• Intensify your focus for dealing with the next growth opportunity or misstep on your way to greater success?

If you’re not, you’re positioning yourself for failure.  It’s counter-intuitive, but it’s the pauses between our activities as much as the activities themselves that help us enjoy greater success.  That’s what Artur Schnabel, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz are all telling us.  That’s what has driven their success.

Based on the wisdom of these three gentlemen, I’ve begun building into my day, a 10 to 15 minute break for every 90 minutes I work.  What has it done for me?  Exactly what you’d expect.  I accomplish more in less time than I did previously without feeling exhausted.  

Give yourself the gift of frequent pauses.  The more that you think “I don’t have time for a break”, the more essential it is for you take one.  You’ll find that you’re enjoying greater success, less fatigue and greater joy in living your life.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to show you how to pauses are as essential as the activities in which we engage.  I’ve also employed Steps 4, See Similarities, and Step 6, Eclectic Education, by using the disciplines of music and sports to demonstrate how universal these concepts are. For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm 

Please share your experiences and wisdom with Invaluable Leader readers by posting your comments.  If there are topics you’d like me to address, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com