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This is Intentionally Vicarious… I’m Todd Youngblood… And I was just sitting here at my desk pondering aimlessly… And I started trying to remember the single best piece of advice I ever got from someone other than one of my parents. While I don’t remember who exactly it was, I do remember the situation and the advice.

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It was toward the end of my 5th year as an IBM Sales Rep, the job I was able to land just after college. And it was a good year for me. A really good year. Good enough to earn me a week-long, all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii with my wife.

I suppose I was acting a bit cocky, because whomever it was gently brought up a statement made by Jascha (“Yasha”) Heifetz, considered by many to be the greatest violinist of all time.

“If I don’t practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it.”

So this guy, literally the best in the world at his craft, knew in his heart that without continuing, daily, hard work, he could not maintain his level of performance. I remember feeling a bit embarrassed. And ever since, every time I start feeling like a hot shot, I try to remember Jascha’s words..