After 90 minutes I was ready to pull my hair out. “Let’s try that again. I think it could be tighter.”
Mike was right. Everything I said seemed like it was coming out wordier than it needed to. I wanted it tighter and I wanted to put a finer point on my message.
“I’m not this much of a bumbling idiot, I promise.”
Mike Manion and I were in the studio together for the second time. Having a co-host for a podcast I piloted called “Steal My Show” was supposed to make this easier and more engaging.
It didn’t seem to be working out that way. Maybe the opposite.
Mike saw my frustration.
“It’s not uncommon for the second time around to be harder than the first. The first time around, you’re not thinking about it. You’re just going with the flow. The second time around you’re trying to replicate the results and fix what you didn’t like. By the third time, you’ll be perfecting it.”
This got me thinking. Maybe there is something to “Beginner’s Luck.”
And then it hit me. How many people give up after the second time around, simply because it’s harder than the first and they figure they are “not good at it”?
Here’s my theory. The second time you do something, it takes about twice the time or effort of the first. The third time, on average, it takes half.
Don’t give up. Persevere and perfect your art. It will pay dividends in the long run – in more ways than you expect.