Build Quality

This article is a re-post of my LinkedIn newsletter “Food in the Spotlight”. You can subscribe: here.

“When you are not cultivating quality, you are essentially cultivating sloppiness” (J. Waitzkin)

Yesterday, I was looking at my younger child.

I went to the summer camp to see his improvements in swimming.

I was a water polo player and swimming instructor, so he asked for me for a few days.

He was so happy and proud.

He is a very blonde, smiling, and talkative 6-year-old dwarf, without both upper front teeth (for now), with the energy of a professional quarterback, the delicacy of the Hulk, and the spirit of Capt. Jack Sparrow.

They started a water polo tournament. The group was made up of kids between 6 and 12 years of age: most of them in the 8–12 range.

He jumped in the water with all his energy … and he did not touch the ball for 35 minutes.

Literally.

The game was a bit chaotic, and he was trampled all the time by older kids.

The most physically developed kids were just expecting the ball near the other team’s goalkeeper, looking for easy scores.

He was swimming back and forth all the time — 1 hour straight — fighting as hard as possible to just scratch the damn ball.

Without knowing it, he was building muscles, increasing his stamina, and gaining experience, while older kids…