Episode #1429 of the Work On Your Game MasterClass introduced the 10% Rule Of Information and Action.
Briefly ted, the 10% Rule says that you need only 10% of the information to get started taking action on things. You don't need to know “everything” or constantly chase knowing “more” just to begin.
I offered the 10% Rule for the masses of people who get stuck in information-gathering mode but never shift into action mode. The majority of people have this issue, as opposed to the few who, like me, have the opposite issue: sometimes starting too soon without having enough of the information.
The 10% Rule, like many rules, has a caveat: It should not be applied blindly to everything you do. There are some areas where you should get A LOT more than 10% of the information before getting started.
Those areas include (but are not limited to) —
Flying a plane.
Alligator wrestling.
Any planned criminal activity.
Marriage and starting a family.
Surgical operations.
Taking any form of medication.
Boxing.
I saw the boxing match between YouTube star Jake Paul and former NBA Player and Slam Dunk Champion Nate Robinson.
I watched a small amount of pre-fight material the afternoon of the fight. Jake Paul, who has an entertaining rap video called “Everyday Bro” that delighted me, has a few fights under his belt. I’m no boxing expert, but Jake looks like he has been trained and knows what he’s doing.
I surmised that Nate Robinson, who had never boxed, felt he had a chance to beat Paul because of his 11-year NBA career, plus his dunk contest heroics, plus the fact that he had played football in college along with basketball (and believes that he could have been an NFL player just as well as he was an NBA player). Nate’s claim to a chance was that he’s this “ultimate athlete” that could pretty much do any sport successfully.
Nate seemed to believe that, being a great athlete who defied the odds and played a decade in the NBA (Nate is right: he’s 5’9”; most players that height ain’t making it in hoops) could apply the 10% Rule and be fine.
This was a bad idea. You can google the video and see for yourself how things turned out for Nate.
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In the main event, Mike Tyson fought Roy Jones Jr. This would have been a great fight sometime in the mid 1990s, but it’s 2020 and both guys are past 50 years of age.
I was still excited to see this fight, since both Mike and Roy once dominated their sport and have both been champion many times over. When I saw the weigh-in video from the day before, though, I knew I was in for disappointment.
Both Mike and Roy LOOKED like old men who should not be in a boxing ring. Both were flabby, carrying extra weight in their torsos with round, soft faces (as opposed to the angular, chiseled look both sported in their heyday), and… just looked like EX-athletes before the fight even began.
I guess we’ll call this the 10 Year Rule: If you look like you haven’t done the thing in 10 Years, don’t charge people money to see you try doing it again.
I don’t mind former athletes having fun, but they need to at least look the damn part. Mike and Roy both looked like they were 15 years removed from “game shape.” What I saw in both men’s physique was what I never want to be as a former professional athlete. It’s part of the reason why I still work out every day.
Even if I don’t play anymore, I never want to look like I “used to play.” If I tell you that I’m playing my sport tomorrow, I want you to take one look at me and believe it. Neither Mike or Roy fit that bill.
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Too soon and too late. Timing matters.
By he way, if you feel like it’s time for you to put YOUR game out there and get paid for it, join the community at Work On Your Game University so you can get the ROI your skills deserve.
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