Success seldom arrives suddenly. It usually comes after months, if not years, of study and practice as a beginner moves from being useless, to poor, to mediocre, to average, to above average, to competent, to good and finally to expert status.

The key is to accept the fact that success is a process and that being average comes before being an expert.

Years ago, I landed flat on my backside after attempting a kick in Karate. What made it really embarrassing was that I had let out a great yell before kicking! The whole class laughed but the instructor told them off as I had put maximum effort into the kick. It took me a while before my balance improved.

Experts must be content to be poor or average before they can do well. Most physical skills mean doing badly first before one does well. The skier falls down many times before the skill is learned. He has to be prepared to look mediocre and even silly before he starts to look awesome.

The car driver grates the gears and has several near misses before the L plates are removed. The violinist is very unpopular for a long time!

The artist produces rubbish before the