Why Practice Matters More Than Results (PM Talks S3E3)

This episode is brought to you by Your Clockwise Week—a personalized weekly structure built around your actual life, not an ideal one. If your week feels full but not fitting, you can learn more at mikevardy.com/yourclockwiseweek.

The latest episode in our monthly PM Talks series explores a deceptively simple idea: practice. It’s a word we hear constantly—in sports, work, and creative pursuits—but we rarely stop to examine what it actually means or why it matters so much. 

In this conversation, Patrick Rhone and I unpack the many layers of practice—from the fundamentals that shape excellence to the quiet discipline of repetition that rarely gets the spotlight. Along the way we explore identity, devotion, habits, AI, and why focusing on fewer things might actually help us do them better.

Six Discussion Points

• Practice is both an act of trying something and the art of doing it well—one evolves into the other over time.
• High performers separate themselves through relentless practice, often long after others have stopped.
• Fundamentals matter more than flash; mastery comes from repeatedly doing the simple things well.
• Habits and routines are often the result of practice, but the practice itself is what creates them.
• Technology—including AI—can short-circuit practice if it replaces the act of doing rather than supporting it.
• Devoting yourself to fewer things can deepen practice and produce higher quality results over time.

Three Connection Points

• Patrick Rhone — https://patrickrhone.com
• Productiveness updates — https://mikevardy.com/productiveness
• Relentless by Tim Grover

Practice isn’t something we graduate from. It’s something we live inside of. The people who truly excel understand this—whether they’re athletes, creators, entrepreneurs, or anyone simply trying to get better at what matters to them. The question isn’t whether we practice. The question is what we choose to practice, and how consistently we show up to do it.

If this episode resonated, I’m exploring ideas like these more deeply in my upcoming book, Productiveness. You can follow along as it takes shape at mikevardy.com/productiveness.