The other day, Tom Cruise gave a long acceptance speech.
But unlike every other speech of its kind, there were no notes. No rambling. No false starts. He did what he always does–he outworked everyone else. It must have taken weeks to write, rehearse and edit this performance. And then he intentionally added a layer of awards-show stiffness to make it seem real.
Beyond this, unlike most speeches of its kind, it’s all about the people in the room, not the winner.
It’s not that different from the extraordinary performance I linked to yesterday, from Dani Daortiz, the world’s greatest living card magician.
Dani practiced 100 hours for every minute of this apparently impromptu performance. And unlike the arrogance used to create tension by many magicians, Dani appears to be just as amazed as the others at the table.
Apparently, there’s always room for someone who is willing to work harder and be kinder than just about everyone else.
