I learned to drive in a big old deuce- and-a-half truck and everything was a total mystery to me. I didn’t know what any- thing was. I didn’t know how to shift, how to use the clutch, the timing of it all, and I did everything wrong as a result. I was learning about what I didn’t know. Stage Two: You’re consciously incom- petent. You have now discovered what you pre- viously did not know. You’re still doing everything wrong but you now know what you previously did not know and you are in the position to make corrections. The instructor had to teach me absolutely everything because I knew zero. I had to learn to start the vehicle, to steer the vehicle, what a clutch was and how to use it, what a stick shift was and how to use it. I had to learn to coordinate the clutch with the stick shift in the right order and do it smoothly. I had to learn how to apply the brakes and when to apply them. Eventually I caught on and could do it. I could now drive!

Stage Three: You are consciously com- petent. You know what to do but you have to think about it.

Even though I now knew how to drive my mind was continually focused on what I needed to do in order to drive and I had to think about every step.

This put me at a disadvantage with the others at AIT. They knew how to drive and could navigate the complicated train- ing exercises thinking about the driving fundamentals. I had to think about both the driving and the training exercises. This slowed me down, made me inept, and kept me in dead last position. Stage Four: You are unconsciously competent. You can now do everything automatically without thinking about it. By the end of AIT, following several weeks of intensive driving exercises, I could drive without having to think about how and when to step on the clutch and shift. I got where I could do it all uncon- sciously. That’s when I was finally able to catch up with the others. Unfortunately,

some people never get to stage four, unconsciously competent. In summary, first, always ask questions

before plowing ahead in anything you do because you don’t know what you don’t know. Many people don’t successfully advance because they proceed without first asking very important questions. Then, you must diligently practice something until you can do it flawlessly without thinking. This principle is true for achieving excellence in anything. A pedestrian on 57th street in Manhattan stopped legendary violinist, Jascha Heifetz, and enquired, “Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” “Yes,” said Jascha, “Practice!” Even though his answer is funny, it is the real reason people will or won’t get to the next level in practically anything.

Mike French, president of Mike French & Company, Inc., can be reached toll free at 800- 238-3934, or visit his company’s Web site at www.MikeFrench.com.

January-February 2016 | Automotive Recycling 27