I saw something this week that flashed me back to a long time ago: 1987! It was a person behind the computer doing the old “hunt and peck”, 2 index fingers cranking out an email. Surprisingly efficient despite the fact that 2 fingers will never keep up with 10. It brought me back to Scotch Plains, NJ, home of my middle school.
The class? Typing. His name? Mr. Click. No lies, that was his name!
“Click” was a cool name for a typing teacher back in the day. “Click” however was a sound that has a whole new meaning in 2013 vs. 1987, but I digress.
Typing class was 13 weeks of OLD SCHOOL fundamentals on what at the time were slick electronic (not manual) typewriters. 2 hands, 8 fingers on the home keys. I still remember the drills as he stood at the front of the class-room on his type-writer while class followed along to his cadence, almost like a Poem being read in sing-songy like fashion:
“F-D-S-A, Space….. eyes on the book space…… look up here, space,…..J-K-L-semi-space”. I’d wake up with that cadence drilled into my head. Fundamentals. Hands on the home keys. Don’t look at your fingers. Look up here. Cadence after cadence. Rinse. Repeat. Do it over. And Over. Drill it home for 13 weeks. No New SCHOOL methods here like “learn a foreign language in 20 hours.” Back to basics. Do it HIS way. No debate, just do it.
By the end of the 13 weeks, 25 type-writers would be in perfect harmony cranking out page after page, nobody looking at their hands. I bet all 25 kids still do it the same way TODAY.
A life skill that was 10 years before its time was drilled into everyone’s head. And the kids thought nothing of it.
Old School fundamentals, and (most of the time) the methods to GAIN those fundamentals, flat out WORK.
Is it not obvious that doing something 50% quicker beats getting the same exact result in the hunt & peck manner? If you could compound that method to every major area of life, would results in all areas not be astounding?
Speed, Energy & Drive simply matter when learning skills and striving for excellence. To drive fast, you sometimes need to learn slow, and always learn the right fundamentals. The home keys matter in typing, they are a non negotiable fundamental. Master them, or fall behind. All skills have a critical fundamental to master.
Hustle is a key pillar of almost all of the posts on Hustle Or Bust. So are fundamentals. The 2 go hand and hand.
Everyone has a different definition of EXCELLENCE, which is great. The important thing is to just have one, methodically lay out a road map to move towards it, and strive towards it everyday. The journey.
Along that journey you will encounter many Teachers who make a huge impact on your world. If you are lucky, you’ll have some great Mentors who will also make a phenomenal difference.
If Mr. Click was around, I would write (I mean type) him a quick note of appreciation.
Sometimes it takes a quarter of a century or more to realize the impact a teacher or mentor can make on your life, no matter how small.
When you realize it, take the time to say thank you. Sometimes they are only a click away.
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