Perfect practice
![Image](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgq63EJ5J7YEJ8oao2DBJpbhZ6QtVGXCGJh0WyvsiYYdYYTFGdxCje9Fwx4RQODMgK8godG0OV32gX5kTbpLj-DI5dfE2aNRif6UIJqPF6mwYQy9t902R4GBVB4abH3KZod0TbmUQOHdpRlPN1BPoAAqKCKNY-BXSZCI2qYjP2sqfJa6IgGjnl6r_3TQ/w640-h360/practice%20-%20successco%20stock%20pic.jpg)
Several years ago, I had the great pleasure of inviting an Olympic athlete to speak at one of my advanced membership development and retention workshops. A parallel we discussed between professional new member sales and athletics is the fact that " practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. " As an athlete, he shared that he spent more than 1,000 hours in pre-competition practice for every one minute of competition. I encourage everyone to think about their "perfect practice time." If the 1,000-to-1 ratio sounds like a bit much, at least consider the words of Abraham Lincoln: "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."