Attention to Detail

[Shelby]

When I was in my teens I was considered a pretty good artist, mainly at still-life drawing. It was one of my main hobbies, after reading. I produced tons of work, all very detailed and life-like.

Looking back though, I’m not so sure I was naturally very talented at it at all.

Sure, I produced some great drawings, very realistic drawings, but it took me multiple hours just to finish a small piece – I wasn’t churning them out with ease by any means.

I would sit and stare at my subject matter (usually a picture of an animal or plant I thought was cool, in a magazine or book) and study the lines, the shading, the negative space—everything that made the image what it was. Then I would painstakingly replicate it, pencil on paper.

Was that so special? Maybe so, maybe not. All I did was spend more time at it than most. The result was “appearing to be good at it”.

Fast forward a couple decades. Now I would probably be considered by many to be “pretty good at bodybuilding”. I’ve won some shows, blah blah blah.

It’s the exact same effect though – I’m not naturally talented at all. It’s just attention to detail; countless hours (years) spent getting it right.

Perhaps my talent is really just “being a little bit nuts”.

Long story short, if you want to be good at something, really really good at it, you have to immerse yourself in it. You have to be relentless in your attention to detail, and your code of conduct. If it takes three hours to get one small line right, that’s what you do.

Anything less and you’ll remain average.

 

[cthompson]

Great to write up Shelby. Who wants to be average any way! Its always that little extra u r willing to do that brings anything to the next level. In life and work.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Gunsmith]

OCD is not always a bad thing !!

Sombody i high respect that taught me alot once told me
(not sure if he coined the phrase)


"amatures practice untill they get it right
Professionals practice till they can't get it wrong"

 

[wilderbeast]

I completely agree Shelby. Attention to detail is so important in this sport. It gets overlooked by so many all the time. I am probably a little bit crazy, but I track everything down to what I eat for each meal, the weight, reps, and sets of all my workouts, my entire supplement plan for a given period of time, my bodyweight etc etc.

BEAST

 

[thebigguy84]

Attention to detail is very important. I see this as a good thing in what you do. You have to keep a close eye on things to have a end result of perfection.

 

[zman12]

I think this is a really good post and I think you have to pay attention to all of the small details.

 

[bananas007]

When I was in my teens I was considered a pretty good artist, mainly at still-life drawing. It was one of my main hobbies, after reading. I produced tons of work, all very detailed and life-like.

Looking back though, I’m not so sure I was naturally very talented at it at all.

Sure, I produced some great drawings, very realistic drawings, but it took me multiple hours just to finish a small piece – I wasn’t churning them out with ease by any means.

I would sit and stare at my subject matter (usually a picture of an animal or plant I thought was cool, in a magazine or book) and study the lines, the shading, the negative space—everything that made the image what it was. Then I would painstakingly replicate it, pencil on paper.

Was that so special? Maybe so, maybe not. All I did was spend more time at it than most. The result was “appearing to be good at it”.

Fast forward a couple decades. Now I would probably be considered by many to be “pretty good at bodybuilding”. I’ve won some shows, blah blah blah.

It’s the exact same effect though – I’m not naturally talented at all. It’s just attention to detail; countless hours (years) spent getting it right.

Perhaps my talent is really just “being a little bit nuts”.

Long story short, if you want to be good at something, really really good at it, you have to immerse yourself in it. You have to be relentless in your attention to detail, and your code of conduct. If it takes three hours to get one small line right, that’s what you do.

Anything less and you’ll remain average.

I am starting to like you more and more. Great freaking post.


Edit: the only problem with me and I am sure many others is there are 3 or 4 things that need this attention and its hard to find the time to pay this detail to all of them. Some are hobbies, some are necessity for survival (job).

Luckily for you the two have merged.

 

[Userat204]

While I agree with you 100% and find your posts to be intelligent, I think you are not giving yourself credit. Even though you put in the time, you still had something draw you towards what you are/were doing. Perhaps some natural talent that led you to focus and spend the time.

I've always been the type of person that if I decided I wanted to do or be something I would make it happen and do well. But I can't draw a stick figure, and I hated that I couldn't do something so I practiced for hours and I made a little progress but not much. I finally realized it's just not in me.

Somehow i think we are drawn to things we have some natural talent for even if we have to spend time to perfect it. Sure there are people who could draw something faster, but does it make them better?

I get where you are coming from and I can respect hard work and putting the time in but another guy could put in the same time with a similar drive and not compare to you. I know with certain things I get immersed in it and do every thing I can to not only accomplish something but to be what others consider to be above average but there are many things I can't do and could care less and still a few I wish I can do but just can't do it to a standard I consider acceptable so I let it go.

I'm sure you are naturally talented and that talent may be attention to details others don't have and the drive to work hard and put in that time/effort.

 

[aussiebulldog]

Hard Work Beats Talent - YouTube

Hard Work Beats Talent.

 

[X_Mr.Hyde_X]

Hard Work Beats Talent - YouTube

Hard Work Beats Talent.

Great vid bro :headbang:

 

[SecondAct]

When I was in my teens I was considered a pretty good artist, mainly at still-life drawing. It was one of my main hobbies, after reading. I produced tons of work, all very detailed and life-like.

Looking back though, I’m not so sure I was naturally very talented at it at all.

Sure, I produced some great drawings, very realistic drawings, but it took me multiple hours just to finish a small piece – I wasn’t churning them out with ease by any means.

I would sit and stare at my subject matter (usually a picture of an animal or plant I thought was cool, in a magazine or book) and study the lines, the shading, the negative space—everything that made the image what it was. Then I would painstakingly replicate it, pencil on paper.

Was that so special? Maybe so, maybe not. All I did was spend more time at it than most. The result was “appearing to be good at it”.

Fast forward a couple decades. Now I would probably be considered by many to be “pretty good at bodybuilding”. I’ve won some shows, blah blah blah.

It’s the exact same effect though – I’m not naturally talented at all. It’s just attention to detail; countless hours (years) spent getting it right.

Perhaps my talent is really just “being a little bit nuts”.

Long story short, if you want to be good at something, really really good at it, you have to immerse yourself in it. You have to be relentless in your attention to detail, and your code of conduct. If it takes three hours to get one small line right, that’s what you do.

Anything less and you’ll remain average.

Good post. To me, even more than the attention to detail commonality that you find in your two examples, is the ability to do an accurate and realistic self-evaluation. In other words, we often deceive ourselves in life. Many people would simply ignore how long it took them to create a work of art and think of themselves as talented, and many people would have achieved a lesser build and been satisfied to look better than the average Joe.

It's being able to be self-critical, recognize where a personal weakness lies, that allows one to focus their attention upon the right details. You were able to recognize what you were, and how to go about winning, and focused carefully on how to do it. Had your self-evaluation not been realistic, you may have chosen a route through self-deception that wouldn't have rendered you successful. It's more than an attention to detail, it's an educated attention to detail.

In your first example, it's probably something you realized after the fact, but that recognition and insight, and the good habits that you brought from the experience have lent themselves to your latter pursuits because you now know how to recognize what allowed you to have success, and focus in on a realistic path to achieve your end goal.

We all work within the constraints we're given, but an honest self-assessment combined with hard work to maximize our strengths is a powerful combination in all facets of life. When we quit lying to ourselves, the true progress begins.

 

[LittleBigGuy]

Great post and awesome video!

 

[Ehren]

Great post, Shelby.

 

[Ironman2010]

You guys ever seen some of the vidoes on youtube of will Smith, god damn they are motivating.....really good to read inspirational write ups like shelbys here

I've said it once and will always say it, the biggest thing about this board apart from the never ending knowledge is articles like this

Articles that you read when your feeling down and then you get the fire back in your belly!

 

[desibaba]

What about recreational bodybuilders who pay a little too much attention to detail only to end up old and filled with regret that they didnt enjoy life, relationships, time with their kids, because they were too busy eating every 2 hours, training at the exact second every day and not enjoying life even though bodybuilding was just a hobby.

 

[Ashop]

I agree sometimes its about pushing the limits to achieve what you desire. Hardwork and dedication will eventually pay off.

 

[Elvia1023]

Great post Shelby.