There are two ways of meeting difficulties

You alter the difficulties or you alter yourself to meet them. 

  
- Phyllis Bottome 

Briefs and phrases are my friends.  Briefs and phrases are my friends.  Briefs and phrases are my friends......my tricky, unpredictable, pain-in-the-ass friends.....

Don't be afraid

of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still.

Chinese Proverb

If you have the guts

to keep making mistakes, your wisdom and intelligence leap forward with huge momentum.

Holly Near 

If this were true I would be a freakin genius..... 

One way to keep momentum going

is to have constantly greater goals.

- Michael Korda

Practice Goals

I'm starting simple.  Each week I try to increase the number of pages I submit for homework, even if it's just a couple.  I'm also trying to practice six days a week, even if I can only squeeze in twenty minutes instead of two hours.  Something is better than nothing.  Goals are a great way to measure your accomplishments, and learning theory is all about building on the little victories.  I savor those little victories.

There is nothing like the feeling of going into class and nailing a new concept without hesitation.  And as momentum builds more momentum, I get the undeniable feeling that falling behind, and the frustration that comes with it, is the kiss of death.

I was an accomplice

in my own frustration.

- Peter Shaffer

I find frustration to be my greatest enemy as a student.  You gotta know when to walk away.  Don't let those homonyms and mandatories get the best of ya.

Frustration

although quite painful at times, is a very positive and essential part of success.

- Bo Bennett

Guess I'm well on my way to success.... 

If you have a life

you're not practicing enough.

I don't really think

in terms of obstacles. My biggest obstacle is always myself.

- Steve Earle

My secret is

practice.

- David Beckham

(I thought it was being totally hot.)

Dear Brain

You can shut up now, and let the fingers do the work for you.  The fingers are in charge now, dear brain.  Follow them, trust them.  Let the memory of their muscles guide you.  Yes brain, the fingers are not always right, but that's okay, because neither are you.  The fingers know what to do, and they can even fix their own mistakes, if you just practice.  Congratulations brain, you can take a few months off from school and let the ears and fingers take over.   You're not needed right now, and frankly you tend to get in the way.

Failure

is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.

Morihei Ueshiba

A person who never made a mistake

never tried anything new.

Albert Einstein

I know you've heard it

a thousand times before. But it's true - hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don't love something, then don't do it.

Ray Bradbury

The truth about practicing

My instructor said this during the first week of theory.  Takin it to heart.