Chapter 18

PERFECT PRACTICE

I used to begin and end each radio broadcast with the “Quotation of the Night.” I’d always pick a positive quotation that I’d repeat a couple of times over the course of each show. The “First Caller of the Show” received “free shout-outs” all night long. I assimilated the “first caller” idea from Billy Bush—the guy from Access Hollywood—when I worked the overnight on-air slot at Z104 in Washington, DC. He did the morning show at the time, so he would come into the studio right after my air-shift. However, the “free shout-out” concept was my own creation. I learned long ago about the power of the word “free.” Tell anybody something is “free,” and they’ll jump over people to get their hands on it. Even Mr. Genius—Brandon Merhout—got hustled by some guys giving out free dish detergent. I’ll explain that situation in Chapter 25.

Anyways, let’s get back to perfecting your practice. I used to receive lots of email from my radio show listeners. I did my best to write back in a timely fashion—hoping to make each listener feel important. The following email inspired some pretty insightful wisdom:

This is Mike “the Matrix fan” from a few weeks ago. I was wondering if you would accept my quote for a show. “If practice makes perfect and there’s no such thing as perfect, why practice?” One day I’m going to try and be the 1st caller on your show. I listen every day in my car, from the start of your show until the end. I just thought I would see if you would ask the people what they think about that quote.

I replied with the following:

Practice may not make perfect, but it does make improvement. Perfect practice makes perfect. Once you’re able to “improve on your improvements” to the point where you’re able to have a “perfect practice” of any given task, then you’ll be able to “practice perfect” until you “become” perfect. For similar information, check out Hebrews 5:8-5:14, which reads:

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”