Do you want to be “One and done”?

I plugged the cable in. No sound. Nothing. Then I tried another cable. Again. Nothing.

Thirty people were sitting around. Waiting. I took someone else’s guitar. Plugged it in. It worked.

I threw the strap around my neck. And stepped up to the microphone. 3 and half minutes flew by in the blink of an eternity.

I got through the song. Barely. I was planning on singing two. I changed my mind. I strummed the last chord. Looked at the MC. And said, “That’s good enough. Let’s call it one and done.”

I kicked my self in the ass for doing horribly. It didn’t matter. It was just an open mic at our church. No one cared. But me.

I never played a guitar in front of people. I’m ridiculously uncomfortable playing while standing. I chose the song I’d sing earlier in the day. I hadn’t played guitar for months. I practiced the songs using my iPad. Then I printed the songs. I made the font larger so it would be easier to read. I didn’t review the sheets before getting up to play. It moved where the chords were relative to the lyrics.

I realized two things.

I was unprepared.
I didn’t play like I practiced.

I felt badly about being unprepared and delaying everyone. I was flustered by mishaps. I compromised what I planned to do and how I would do it. What I wanted to do got compromised.

Unprepared produces anxiety. Anxiety produces poor decisions. Poor decisions produce failure.

You can save time by avoiding preparation. It will likely cost you.

Do you want to be one and done?