After we’ve had a few decades of life, it should be easier than it sometimes is to embrace the truth that deep attention and extra effort are fundamental to making special things happen. But to be sure—
Two-twelve is all over professional sports.
At the highest levels, the difference between winning and losing or missing and making a shot is often very small. Sports are filled with fractions of seconds and inches that lead to big rewards.
To win a match, World Cup soccer teams score what usually ends up being 1 or 2 more goals than their opponent over 90 minutes of play.
Olympic athletes chase split seconds to take home a medal over nothing at all.
° One absolutely cannot tell, by watching, the difference between a .300 hitter and a .275 hitter. The difference is one hit every two weeks ... The difference between a good hitter and an average hitter is simply not visible.
Bill James | American baseball writer & statistician | 1949 -
Buzzer beaters, extra points, penalty kicks, and shots. We see that extra degree so many times. And while it’s easy to see in the final moments of play, remember there’s always 212 effort and attention along the way that sets up those final opportunities.
Dig even deeper and consider the work that allows athletes to compete professionally. It’s years1 of attention, effort, and experience that put them there. Innate talent, too, of course. And it’s not only their work, it’s also the work of many others (coaches, teammates, parents, tutors).
This is the case for almost everyone who does wonderful work. Individual attention and effort. Team attention and effort.
Authors write thousands of sentences that we never see to get to the published words we read in books. Musicians plod through unused notes and lyrics to find the songs we finally enjoy. Thousands of hours with people and experiences develop the leaders we admire.
That’s the individual work.
Then there’s the teamwork. All those people who help the writers and musicians get the words and music out. All those teachers, trainers, and mentors who play a part in the development of our leaders.
Attention. Effort.
“But I’m just a regular person. I’m not on a stage, field, or in a leadership position.”
Everyone’s a regular person.2 We’re just called to (interested in, curious about) different things with our different talents and different levels of luck.
We all have an opportunity to live a 212 life in our own ways, wherever we are (time, location, circumstance). We just have to make the choice and practice that choice. That means giving our attention to now (this moment) and getting back to now when we realize our attention drifts or effort drops.
No matter what the work, regular or renowned, we can always two-twelve it.
Of course, living a 212 life isn’t just about work. The benefits of deep attention and extra effort show up in our relationships, our solitude, and our fun, too.
Keep reading » creating & nurturing a 212 mind
Revisit » 1 • a spark | 2 • 212 attention
° Look, it’s true of everything. All real meaning accrues in duration. The work you’re proudest of benefited from sustained attention.
Ken Burns | American filmmaker | 1953 -
Please email me with typos, thoughts, comments, or suggestions (or put them here in the comments). Please don’t be shy or worry about my feelings. Quick, blunt, and maybe interesting or helpful3 is always welcome.
How incredible is it that so many of the years preparing to be a professional athlete are childhood years?
Sure. There are some extremely fortunate people in any given lifetime who seem charmed at every point. But so often, it seems like those extremely fortunate people tend to work the gift even harder. 212ers work the gift.
“Maybe interesting or helpful” is meant to free you of concern.
I’d rather you risk sharing something with me than being concerned it might not land well. If your thought implies I’m stupid or an asshole, you might be right. If so, I’d like to try to fix it.