Doing One Thing Great

Yesterday my grandpa asked me if I could set him up to do some online banking transfers. After working with it for a while, I was not able to do it. However, it was not due to anything on our side. The bank had made some mistakes in the last month that made it impossible. I reported to my grandpa that it was unsuccessful because the bank had made some mistakes on his account. He was not happy to hear that. He asked me to stay in the room as he called the bank in case I had to give any details about what happened. I was glad he did.

My grandpa has been practicing law in Las Vegas for over 35 years. He is respected in the city for his skill and his ethics. He spent a while on the phone with the bank and I just enjoyed listening to how he handled the conversation. His conversation was smooth. He increased volume at the right time, made the proper points, demanded the perfect answers, and gave the proper respect. It was very much a work of verbal art. He eventually got everything straightened out and they very much pampered him and his account.

I bring this up because I was so impressed at how “great” he was at conversation. And I was surprised at how mesmerized I was at listening.

When someone is great at something, no matter what it is, it is a treat to watch. It can really be anything. But when someone is great at it, you don’t have to be told. Even if it is an art, practice, or skill that you have never seen, you can tell that they are great at it. I’ve seen great wood carvers, bee keepers, chefs and carpet layers. I’m not familiar with these fields, but I could tell that they were great at them.

I feel like I can do alot of things well. But I don’t think that I do anything great. (I know that mom, wife and sisters will disagree with me here. Thanks. But it’s ok. I’ve come to terms with it.)

From what I can see, doing something “great” requires:
1) a good amount of time and practice
2) some sort of love for it
3) some sort of sacrifice
4) some natural talent in the area

I think that I’ll try to find something that I can work on until I do it great. Perhaps you can share what you do great to inspire me. I could use the ideas.