We get rewarded in public for what we repeatedly practice and develop in private. One of the hallmarks of the greatest artist, athletes, and businesspeople is their passion to be the best in their chosen profession. They sweat the small stuff and deliberately practice for a long period through reps, laps, road work, sessions, pitches, etc. As Greek Philosopher Aristotle once observed “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence is then not an act but a habit”. We play the way we train to bleed less in war; you would have to sweat more in training. When Puerto Rican cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practice the cello three hours a day at 93, he answered… “I’m beginning to notice some improvement.
“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.”
There is an old joke about someone trying to get to Carnegie Hall and he spots another man carrying a violin case. He asked “Sir, how do I get to Carnegie Hall? The other fellow smiles and says, “Practice, Practice, Practice.”