“The master,” an old martial arts saying goes, “is the one who stays on the mat five minutes longer every day than anybody else.”
Stay on the Mat is a metaphor for deliberate practice, the pursuit of sustained excellence, commitment to training and pushing through the roller coaster on the path to mastery. It is often said that we get rewarded publicly for what we diligently practice in the dark. We stay on the mat practicing, honing the skillsets that the marketplace always rewards. We play the way we train; if you cannot practice it in the dark, it will be hard to perform when the lights are on. One of the hallmarks of the highly successful people in the world is their obsession with deliberate practice, commitment to the game and persistence in the face of obstacles. As boxing heavyweight champion of the world, Joe Frazier once noted:
“You can map out a fight plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned, and you’re down to your reflexes – that means your [preparation:]. That’s where your roadwork shows. If you cheated on that in the dark of the morning, well, you’re going to get found out now, under the bright lights.”