1. You see: Competitor A.
2. You think: "They suck! I could do it better than they could!"
3. You try, but then you end up sucking.

Why?

Imagine this:

1. Imagine armchair Charlie sitting on his couch.
2. He's watching his 76ers lose another game of basketball.
3. He thinks: "They suck! I could play better than they could!"

Sure, he might think so -- but experienced basketball players (or anyone who's played any sport whatsoever in their lives) know he's one dense dude.

• Those NBA players needed decades of strenuous practice to be where they are.

Remember, we humans trick ourselves by being overconfident in our own abilities. That drives us to underestimate the competition.

Your Competitors = Better Than You Think

Katherine, a longtime loyal reader of Trizoko mentioned the American Idol analogy. Every year:

1. Folks with a few years of music training try out for Idol.
2. They think they could defeat artists with over a decade of training.
3. What ends up happening? The less experienced folks never make it to Hollywood, and artists with over ten years of training ultimately make it to the Big Show.

Our false sense of superiority sucks us down, preventing us from doing what we should be doing:

• Putting in our own time to rock at our crafts.

Want to beat your competitors?

Simply, do this:

• Spend more lifetime hours rocking your craft than your competitors.

Sha-bing!

• Kobe Bryant rocks because he's put in more practice time.
• Yo-Yo Ma rocks because he's put in more practice time.
• Tiger Woods rocks because he's put in more practice time.
• And, Steve Jobs rocks at innovation because he's put in more practice time.

To rock at: ________, put in more practice time.