You have to practice if you want to go in the deep end

© Can Stock Photo / liveslow

I'm beginning to feel like this sign is everywhere.  This week, a marketing expert I respect wrote that people want smaller and smaller chunks of information. To provide value today, package your stuff in little boxes. 

I started out studying poetry, where a few words can be used to tempt someone to dig deep for meaning. Sometimes small packages open up in the reading. 

I even like teaching people to notice and explore the surface. At the beach, skimming along the surface can be fast and fun.

But remember when you were a kid at the pool? It was a big deal to swim well enough to be allowed in the deep end. You only got there by working and risking. You could only brave the heights of the diving board when you were capable of navigating the depths of the water.

When you want to be one of the big kids, you have to break through the surface and explore the air above it and the waters below.

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