In his book, Mastery, George Leonard shares one of my all time favorite quotes.  Leonard says the Buddhist masters had a saying, “Before enlightenment you chop wood and carry water.”  The beauty of this message is that if you are to achieve and maintain greatness, it will require a lifelong commitment to practice.

In his book, Leonard teaches us to take joy in the very art of practicing.  In the business world I believe there is a common belief that as a twenty year veteran you’ve got it all figured out and you’ve arrived.  I think when you look at Vladimir Horowitz, you should think about what Leonard is teaching in his book, you should actually see practice as the destination.