It used to amuse me that doctors only PRACTICED medicine. It sounded like they never got it right, so they were always practicing what they did – on their patients!
As an engineer, I didn’t practice engineering. I DID IT! That was a sense of pride for me and my co-workers.
That is, however, a problem for engineers and many other professionals. We feel as if we have overcome and we don’t need to improve or change. Doctors constantly challenge themselves. They constantly read, take courses, go to conferences. They don’t rest on their laurels by saying, “I’ve been practicing for 20 years. What can that class teach me?” They practice not because “practice makes them perfect.” They practice makes it them better.
Whatever your profession is, challenge yourself. Take a class. Read some books and journals. Find out where your industry is going and learn new ways to get there. Better yet: LEAD your company there.
Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon don’t stop with a great quarter or year. They lead their industry week after week. Quarter after quarter. They innovate. Celebrate briefly and then get back to work.
Act like a doctor, and practice. Your patients / clients will reward you.
