There’s this scene in the Bible where the prophet Jeremiah is complaining to God about some injustice or another.  What God says back is interesting:

“If you get tired while racing against people, how can you race against horses?  If you stumble in a country that is safe, what will you do in the thick thornbushes along the Jordan River?”

It is the opposite of a backhanded compliment.  On the surface, God is rebuking Jeremiah, but if you read closely, He’s really telling him who he is or will be – someone truly strong.

In teaching, the rule of thumb is that for every hour of lecture, you spend 3 hours of preparation.  

Bruce Lee – “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”  

A Hundred Eyes – “Kung Fu is supreme skill from hard work.  A great poet has reached Kung Fu.  The painter, the calligrapher, they can be said to have Kung Fu.  Even the cook, the one who sweeps steps, or a masterful servant, can have Kung Fu.  Practice.  Preparation.  Endless repetition. Until your mind is weary, and your bones ache. Until you’re too tired to sweat. Too wasted to breathe.  That is the way, the only way one acquires Kung Fu.”

No exceptions.