My Dad could hammer nails faster than anyone I've ever seen. Those guys on HGTV with their nail guns got nothing on my Dad, except that Dad was limited to the number of nails he could hold in his mouth at one time. Until I was seven or eight I thought my Dad had two thumb nails on each thumb. Then, one day I realized skill with a hammer comes at a price. He’d split those thumbs so many times that the nails gave up trying to grow back together.
The experience that brings us mastery doesn't come easy or cheaply. Every vocation exacts a toll on its practitioners. The reward is the satisfaction of knowing that you do a job well. Whether you’re a sanitary engineer or an electrical engineer; a doctor of philosophy or a doctor of medicine; a driver of NASCAR or a driver of nails; skill born of experience and knowledge set you apart from the crowd.
That is true everywhere, of course, except in the mind of the crowd. Television has taught us that whether people are surviving, dancing, cooking or singing, we all know how to do it equally as well---if not better. We cast our vote with a certain inward satisfaction that comes from our own perceived expertise and proposed improved method. It’s so easy to play from the bleachers. I hit a hundred home runs every baseball season right from the couch.
But, no matter how many times I’ve watched my Dad; I still can’t drive nails. Opinions are nice. The fact that everybody has one does nothing to increase their value. Ability, like silence, is golden. Remember, once you’re off the ground, never tell a pilot how to fly.
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