I love watching someone perform at the top of the tree in their area of expertise. Even if it’s something as simple as a guy shoveling gravel — if he’s world-class and does it every day, I will pause to marvel at his fluid technique. Spearing the spade into the heap of stones with just the right angle and depth to hoist the perfect amount with no wasted effort. Smoothly turning, slinging and releasing the volley of gravel into a mid-air suspended clump that barely disintegrates before making a solid sounding splash in the awaiting wheelbarrow. How wonderful!
How many repetitions did this man make to hone his motions? How many tons of pebbles did he move learning to perform the task effortlessly  and impossibly efficient? It’s the same kind of thing that amazed me as a teen watching the lumberjack contests. How long did it take that fellow to perfect halving a log while balancing on it and whacking it with an axe?  I’ve shoveled some dirt and chopped some trees as an odd job thankfully, not for a living. Both take me some time and if you only saw my silhouette, you’d be hard pressed to identify which job I was doing.
Professionals make it look easy. This month I will attempt to show some examples of top class performers. I’ll show instances of people “In The Zone” or having that so-called “Flow Experience.” Seeing humans excel at certain tasks sometimes speak to me and my game of pool. I’d like to explain why I make this connection and how it inspires me.
Have you ever been in awe of an expert doing his or her thing?
Mike Fieldhammer
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