I've mentioned it in past newsletters, but I play a little guitar. Not that well, mind you, but I've been at it for more than half my life, and I enjoy it. As hobbies go, it's louder than most.

The old joke says "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?…..PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE." I am not playing at Carnegie Hall anytime soon, and I should really practice more than I do, but between work and family and the aforementioned noise…I don't practice as much as I would like.

But for me, the real joy of it is when I get to play music with other people. It can be getting together with one other person and trading songs, or really rocking out for an evening with one of the informal groups I play with - it's all fun to me. And as important as it is to practice on my own, the vast majority of my "aha!" moments of musical epiphany have happened when I'm playing with other people. I think this is because, no matter how much I practice on my own, I'm still constrained by my own ideas and my own approach. But when I play music with other guys I can get exposed to a whole range of other styles. My best moments of musical growth have happened from playing with other musicians.

This same principle applies to business. I can get better at things on my own. I can carve out time from my normal schedule to learn something new and try to implement it. These things are possible. But without question, I learn more, faster, by exposure to other people who can share their experience and approach.

I encourage you to jump out of your daily routine, and put yourself in a position to learn from other professionals like you. It's amazing how a casual conversation, or a offhanded comment can sometimes provide you with a brand new perspective - assuming you put yourself in a situation where that can happen.

Toward that end, I highly recommend you attend Marty Grunder's GROW! 2018 event later this month. I think their will be the 9th or 10th consecutive event of Marty's that I have attended, and every year I'm struck by something new that I learn. And I'm not even the target audience.

If you have questions about it or want more information about what you could get out of GROW!, just shoot me an e-mail. I'm happy to talk.