Federal Prisons

For this September 9th Day of Peace and Solidarity, I personally will fast, exercise, read and hold a study group, which will consist of 8 committed and conscious-minded individuals, who hold fast to the philosophy of peace and unity amongst prisoners. This day there will be no strife, conflict nor division amongst the prisoners here. It's not conducive to a healthy environment. Nor will it promote growth and development.

So, the study group's theme will be peace and unity and how we can best promote these themes within these prison confines. I will start it off by giving my interpretation on what peace and unity means to me. And then i will ask the eight comrades what does peace and unity mean to them individually.

And this will start the deep discussion about the continued peace and unity amongst the prisoners here. And at that, we can come together in solidarity to rid ourselves of the internal oppression that exists amongst us. And only then can we conquer and vanquish imperialism in all its forms. This is our object. We'll make this a successful effort by all means necessary.

I recently became involved with MIM (prisons) and wanted to write a report on some of the issues we are facing in prison. My state is Florida. There are some serious issues that are quite daunting but are able to be dealt with by true dialectical materialists.

The main issue is complacency among prisoners. Too many have become addicted to K-2 (synthetic marijuana) brought in by the pigs because they know it will make prisoners focus on getting these drugs rather than becoming united. The prisoners that work with the pigs by paying them for the K-2 then, in turn selling it to their fellow prisoners, are just as guilty and I also consider them pigs. It is to the point that twice a year for the past 3 years they have raised canteen prices and the prisoners have not said or done shit. A ramen soup costs $0.81 for one soup! While the food continues to be served in small portions or inedible (i.e. spoiled, uncooked).

I have already begun trying to reach individuals hooked on the K-2 and explaining what is really happening and how they are being fooled by chemical dependency to pay their oppressors giving them the means to further oppress them. While this works with maybe 1 out of 5 (I am not including people who relapse), I feel if I could truly reveal the truth they would shun the drugs. The pigs are smart. They make it seem like they don't want them smoking K-2 and the hard-asses that are "cracking down" are doing so just to sell it back to their inmate boot lickers.

They recently took all re-entry out of the budget for Florida prisons. So now all the people such as myself, who have been locked up for a considerable amount of time, do not have any means to a successful re-entry into society. For example, I have been locked up since 2009, from the age of 18 to 2022 (that's my early date), shortly before I turn 31. As you can imagine, there are many things I should be informed on. Some simple, some difficult. I have been doing my own research of my very limited resources trying to help myself and others like me and understand we (ex-cons) can get money from the government for different things. Obviously, I would love to exploit the exploiters and lead others to do the same. I am open to any and all suggestions.

All matter is in motion and so with this motion we will continue to find new ways to apply the proper response to new ideas, and of course new actions will create new reaction. Each of us has to find the strength and opportunity into any area in our life. In this development we become more capable of helping others with the same issues. Today's Chicano nation is at a crossroad. The Raza population is growing faster than any other. In a couple of decades we will be the largest population in the United $tates. We have to understand, whatever changes we experience holds opportunity. In other words, external events often happen as means to facilitate internal change and consciousness. Once the inner connection is grasped, all theoretical belief in the permanent necessity of existing conditions break down before the collapse in practice.

I believe that in the independence of each nation is a unity that will help mobilize broader masses, then we begin to understand the importance of windows of opportunity. Chicano power is not simply being in charge. We don't want to mimic capitalism, but merely exercise socio-political, economic power where socialist relations of production replace capitalism. Without the influence of imperialism, we know that imperialism defines crimes and pushes oppressed nations into committing the crimes. Knowing most minority already have nothing to lose, and are well armed, when revolutionized can serve as the fiercest fighters.

We were not created by the same social and material forces which govern Mexican life, but by the imperialist venture of the annexation of the Americas. Our existence is therefore not defined by the reality of the border, but by social and material forces that have influenced the way we develop since before and after its imposition. Aztlan represents the land which was invaded, occupied and stolen from the Mexican nation. The southwest is home to many Chicanos, and non-Mexican indigenous nations each with the universal right to govern themselves and exist as a sovereign and autonomous people. Thus the era of imperialism is the era of New Democracy where a democratic struggle must be led and waged by the masses of the popular class in a united front where the primary goal is national liberation.

This August we commemorate the Plan de San Diego, which was a plan for New Democracy for the internal semi-colonies of occupied Turtle Island. It is a time to study Chican@ history, and apply internationalism. Write MIM(Prisons) for informational fliers on the campaign and submit your own essays and art.

The unit/prison that I find myself assigned to now is what is referred to as a "Red Brick Unit." Built in the 1960s at the latest where the cells are a mere 5'x9' with two occupants, giving a paltry 22.5 square feet of living space for these two prisoners to share. Unacceptable dehumanizing conditions. I have found that the feds have ordered such dual housing to be stopped: yet the TDCJ agency continues and is (reported to be) paying fines [to the feds, as restitution] to be allowed to continue this violative, inter alia, 8th amend. treatment of prisoners. One would not house two 150 pound dogs in such diminutive conditions.

Not to ignore the fact that we prisoners are not the only ones suffering from the de-humanizing conditions disdainfully provided for all, on and in these TDCJ agency's units. The COs too suffer the lack of civilized conditions, which should shock the conscience of the citizenry. For instance, cooler temperatures afforded the administration, medical, education, and on Ellis One, a special wing for youths, which too is air conditioned (an issue for another day). Not to mention that the sewage systems back up, belching feces laden water up from the toilets, saturating the cells, and especially first floor walkways, too include the main hallways: with "one inch" deep bacteriological contamination residues just left in the cells to fester for two months before inadequate packets of "bipi" is distributed for clean up of the cells. While all the walkways are cleaned with bleach. Endangering the health of all.

All-in-all these prisons are so deteriorated as to sustain these noxious environs poisoning all who live and frequent them without conditioned (filtered) air and water. At times the water is orange with contaminates. Whereas the water supplied by the local municipalities by way of deteriorated pressure lines, are both so befouled and degenerated, respectively, with black flake particles of unknown origin and chemical composition. Prisoners without means have no options but to ingest this pollution, not apprised of what kinds of future chronic affliction, malady, infirmity, or complication, such oppressive exposure overtime will plague us all with. In juxtaposition, those on these units who are not prisoners can and are provided bottled and/or filtered water for their safe usage.

I am writing you this letter to inform you of some important issues that I am dealing with at this institution. I filed a grievance on 5/24/18 because my breakfast meal for Muslims observing the fast for the month of Ramadan was late. So I requested to speak to the Sgt on duty. That's when Officer White and Officer Harvey both came to my cell door in G-Dorm. And once again I requested to speak to the Sgt because my food was late. Both officres made a statement that they didn't care if I didn't eat, because they didn't like Muslims because of 9/11. And that they were going to make sure that I pay the price for the lives lost at 9/11. As long as I am at Santa Rosa.

On 5/25/18 I filed another grievance because the next day after the prior incident my bag was not served to me so that I can have a meal to eat after breaking my fast. So, once the Lt. Was called to my cell he told me that the kitchen was closed. And, being that it was late, he didn’t have a key to the ktichen. So he could not get me something to eat. So, the results of this incident led to me not eating, after fasting the whole day. They violate my rights as a prisoner. The institution is responsible for feeding me my due meals. And, this is a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Along with religious discrimination. Both grievances are under investigation, by the inspector general.

As I first stumbled out of the haze of unconsciousness and began to see the true structure of society and the world, as I began to understand what drove and supported the political socio-economic forces, it was inevitable that I would be influenced by the Black Panther Party. As with many urban youth who lived rough, experiencing ghetto life with its grinding poverty and internecine violence, with the police sweeps and sanctioned violence, along with the general spirit of hopelessness that pervaded the community, the appeal of the party was at first superficial. I was drawn to the audacity in the stories of those so very young women and men who were facing off with the state's protector — the police. Although I didn't understand, I was only seeing the surface of what the party was about.

I was aware of some of the survival programs that the party had organized and their provocative slogans. As I read more to get an understanding of the party's actual ideology, my reading expanded and my own ideas took shape. I became aware of the class struggles in addition to the racial struggles — I had assumed that the condition of minority groups in this country was primarily race-based. Now I became aware of the guiding hand of economics in the affairs and destiny of peoples and nations, in conjunction with the politics of race.

Through the books and speeches of the BPP, I became familiar with Marx, Lenin, Fanon, Sartre, Che and so many others through whose analysis and actions revealed a different way of considering human events and condition. They also revealed to me the value of setting examples to motivate and raise consciousness. At first I made what I've now come to see as an error in my attempts to bring myself to socialist thought, at the expense of free thought. But I realized that dialectical materialism does not bring everyone to the same conclusions, certainly not always at the same time.

Our cultural perspectives are not illegitimate, nor should they be denied in order to fit into any ideological category. A people's history will inform their view and approach to the issues that have bearing on them, on their condition. Their specific needs may require addressing in ways that are unique to those people, and may not be suitable for other peoples' circumstances. If people deny that then they are denying themselves the flexibility and effectiveness to meet their needs, solve their problems and advance a common good. This is one of the reasons for the importance of the BPP.

The articulation of the struggle could be — when it needed to be — sophisticated, with a higher level of vocabulary and Marxist-Leninst terminology. Then — when it needed to be — the articulation of the party could be iconoclastic, and even vulgar with the turn of a phrase more easily understood by the lumpen-proletariat, the streetcorner man. Huey Newton and George Jackson spoke to us in both ways. They knew when to because they were as we are. Same history. Same soul. There was no need to pretend in order to manipulate the people. The straightforward speech and fearless actions is what got my attention. Then Huey proceeded to expand my imagination with his own as he described intercommunalism. George served as an example, not only of what a person could survive, but also of how hope and purpose could be restored to a life that had been designated as a throwaway.

The Party existed in a different era than ours. Some things are better, some are worse. Yet what remains exactly the same is the need for people to be conscious of the forces that affect their lives and threaten to dictate their fate, along with the urgent need to seize those forces and address those needs.

The most effective organizers and motivators of people of the underclass are those who can speak the language of the underclass on the one hand, taking the frustrating and complex, making it plain. While on the other hand demonstrating what someone like themselves are capable of with the depths of their understanding and the heights of their courage — remaining unbroken where others have broken under less pressure.

In the present, criticism is leveled at those women and men who risked all of themselves, sacrificed so much — even their own lives. Their errors and excesses have been highlighted in history. Although we can recognize the accuracy of some of that criticism, it would be a grave error on our part to allow those things to prevent us from accepting the lessons in their analysis of the origins, significance and relevance of class and racial struggle, nor should we fail to acknowledge the dedication and examples of courage that were demonstrated by people so young.

MIM(Prisons) responds: This comrade provides us with some important perspective on how we analyze the history of revolutionary activists. Some people are critical of revolutionaries, comparing them to some ideal that has never been achieved, as if these people were gods and should have been perfect. But doing this means we will only criticize everyone and learn nothing from history. Instead we need to measure people, and organizations, by their real world actions in comparison to other real world actions. No persyn or group is perfect. But we look at the impact of their work, and also how well they learned from their mistakes.

The Black Panther Party was the most advanced and effective revolutionary organization in U.$. history. The BPP correctly identified the contradiction of national oppression as principal within U.$. borders, and saw the need for a revolutionary party to organize the New Afrikan nation. They were way ahead of others in the 1960s with their analysis of the importance of Maoism, and their practice of building a strong disciplined organization. There is a lot to learn from the history of the BPP.

This doesn't mean we withhold all criticism of the BPP. But as this comrade notes: our criticisms, which with hindsight are always much easier to see than in the moment, should not stop us from learning from the BPP and upholding their organization for its revolutionary leadership. For more on this topic read Defend the Legacy of the Black Panther Party, available from MIM(Prisons) for $6 or work trade.

It was 1995. I was in my late 20s and totally caught up in the tribal death style! For the first year or so, I spent much of my time learning who was who, and how to navigate the very dangerous and reactionary gen pop yards. It should be noted that in the beginning, we rec-ed together in GP yards. (This changed in 2004/05.)

At any rate, when I got to the next unit I met conscious men. Two in particular still stand out in my mind: Kareem and Ray Luc. The former was a student of the Party and member of prominent militant entity created by them, in the Bay Area! The latter was a staunch revolutionary, who walked it like he talked it, to the fullest.

Kareem used his extensive knowledge (learned in CDC) to teach us. We had mandatory "machines" (i.e. collective exercises with cadences) each day! Mandatory study of all progressive literature and mandatory Kiswahili lessons weekly. Kareem was a taskmaster who used his position (within so-called "Calicar") to subtly coerce us towards a souljah's identity.

Ray Luc was our source of revolutionary literature. It was through this brother that we learned of Marx, Lenin, Mao, Fidel, Che, MIM, and other groups and newspapers. Ray Luc used to give us revolutionary education on a daily. Him being Euro-Amerikan and being such a firm revolutionary! And in ADX, where 99% of the European captives aligned with the "Aryan" identity speaks volumes about his strength of character and total commitment to struggle.

Between the two of these brothas, many ADX reactionaries were forever transformed by their revolutionary organizing efforts. Many street tribal members became nationalists. Others (like myself) went on to then embrace New Afrikan Revolutionary ideology. Whatever we each went on to do, it was a direct result of the organizing techniques of comrades like Kareem and Ray Luc. Strategies that I utilize to this day actually.

Kan't stop, won't stop. Will not be stopped. Machine! Power to the people.

I was first introduced to revolutionary politics when I was 16 and from then on it has been a continuous evolutionary process that I have gone through. When first I was blessed to have the blinders lifted from my sleepy eyes, I was going through a battle with the revolutionary politics that I was engaged in. Those politics were reactionary because they were derailing the efforts of the people who sacrificed their minds, sweat, blood and even their bodies to ensure a better future for their posterity. I was going through this phase because I was just learning how to think.

I was born again through Allah’s mathematics and I also saw people such as comrade George as a source of inspiration. Being that in my past life I was a gang member, I encountered a lot of opposition from my once gang homies, but I was determined to follow in the way of Allah and to also become a part of the vanguard that does not fear the death of a thousand cuts. So a brother by the name of comrade Teddy helped to open the eyes of the once sleeping giant.

I had always had a rebellious streak but didn't know why. I now know that it was due to my innate ability to resist and never kowtow. In the wilderness of N. Amerika its hard to relate ideas and ideals of struggle for liberation to even lower disenfranchised segments of the population. It's hard because they have accepted their position as national (and international) scapegoats. So in the belly of the beast in KY where the intellectual level is relatively minute, it's even harder. The beast (pigs) have convinced the inmates against writing grievances! This is as absurd as the Vietnamese liberation fighters not shooting the soldiers who they must kill in order to survive.

But some guys are starting to stir. It can happen overnight, but then they have to learn the arsenal of anti-fascist responses. When I communicate with others I am doing so in hopes to affect change. I help them by getting them to see the reality of their positions and our position as a whole. Since materialism has altered my vocabulary, I come to them in a language that they can understand and try by first helping by bringing formations together. It is a hard job trying to organize a cadre however I am fully committed to the peoples' struggle.

These were very thought provoking question you asked: Do you find it impossible to relate to people in your facility? Do your organizing conversations go nowhere? Do you struggle to get people to see the importance of writing grievances? Well yes, yes and yes.

Many people say it is futile – show them, tell them examples of otherwise. Offer to help if necessary.

I get angry with those who say, and this is quite common, "don't come to prison if you don't like it." I say "so, you must like prison by that logic?" And I point to the relatively small-time offenses here compared to the larger ones perpetrated on us and the other oppressed people. I'll say, look around, see anyone with any money, any rich or much less upper class people up in here? I will appeal to their humanity and ask: is it okay to take parents (mothers in my case, it's a women's facility) away from their children for trying to support themselves? Point out the economic basis of most crime in here.

Drug addicts often say "prison saved my life." I'll ask what else might've helped you even if it was not available to you at the time? What is prison helping you do differently to not use drugs? Do you know the statistics of recidivism to not only drugs (relapse) but re-incarceration? In a group, one can say all 5 of you claim you won't come back but 4 of you will, which ones? Why could this be? And point out the "felon branding," job killing, underclass designation. We don't have realistic options to not be around opportunities to use drugs, sell drugs, etc. And more importantly why do people use the drugs they do? I'll talk about Dr. Gabor Mate's theories of addiction, science of addiction and how drug cases and/or addiction is dealt with in other countries. How capitalism and materialism feed the alienation and psychic (and physical) pain behind some addictions. Is there recreational use? Why is marijuana now legal in 2/3 of states from full recreational to medical yet Feds still criminalize (we have several women here on marijuana charges).

Most importantly, I cultivate good will, openness and friendliness to most inmates. I ask them about their families and comment on family support being such a blessing. I talk to women, joke with them and show my own struggles, vulnerability and wishes. I share pictures and stories of their dogs and my dogs together, boyfriends, and I see people's good characteristics and basic drive to connect.

I redirect all the "positive thinking" into imagining what constitutes actions. From first being thought of as "crazy" now I am considered the fiery, spunky "fighter" in my 60s (I don't look or act like it, they say), and I do not believe I have a single enemy out of 93+ women. A few of the COs do not like me however, because I will challenge them (not needlessly or if I am doing something I could get written up for). For example one telling me I was "disrespectful." Well, this is true, I do not respect lizards who jail people and profit off suffering. However, they cannot punish a feeling, only an action. So, having the correct attitude, but avoiding an action that only hurts yourself and denying the CO "a win" is a win for the cause.

I cannot see the state weakening. It seems ever more powerful everyday especially legally. The Feds especially are punishing small economic and drug crimes with five years and up sentences. The new attorney general is pushing the agenda for prosecutors to go for the high end of guidelines and give out longer sentences for victim-less crimes than murder in most other countries. The decisions by the Supreme Court and Appeals Courts have seldom been in the interest of the people.

The reason gay and lesbian movements are being championed is because they do not challenge the status quo on the capitalistic power structure whatsoever. Think if felons received the same considerations in hiring and for governments benefits. But it is completely legal to be prejudiced and deny any employment or service based on being a felon. The New Jim Crow isn't just for New Africans anymore.

That's my thinking. If I am to be a martyr you will know. I'd like my life or death to have some consequence in the struggle.

MIM(Prisons) responds: In everything we do, we must try to determine what will have the most impact the fastest. Sometimes people are ready to just hear facts and then start doing political work. More often, people hear truth in what we're saying, but also have a lot of resistance and ambivalence. As organizers, we're trying to influence them and push them. So helping them through these roadblocks is our job.

In these types of conversations, there is a natural dialectic that occurs, where when one persyn takes one position, the other persyn naturally argues the opposite position. And the more we argue a position, the more likely we are to internalize that position and behave accordingly.

So often we fall into the trap of trying to tell people what to think, inadvertently entering into a head-on debate. Or we rely on luck that the timing is right for them to grasp on to what we're saying. These are the easy routes of recruiting, because they don't require as much thoughtfulness or introspection on our part. And when people don't grasp it, we can put the blame on them for being lazy, or too caught up in tribalism/capitalism/whatever. And sometimes we get lucky and people do grasp it, which validates our mediocre approach.

But if we want to be the most effective at helping people grow and change, we have to understand where they're coming from, where they're at.

In impersynal recruiting such as sloganeering, public speaking and writing in ULK, understanding our audience might just mean understanding (or defining) their class, nation, and gender intersections, and cultural background. There is always individual variability, but even when trying to reach people on a group level, we can have an understanding of where they're coming from. We aim to speak to and with our audience, not at them.

If we're having 1-on-1 conversations, then helping them break through their roadblocks might also include getting to know what's important to people on a persynal level. Then we can relate the growth back to their persynal goals and show how the two are actually intertwined. This author explains how ey takes this approach to show people that they're on the same team. This is much different than the "you're wrong, if you don't agree with me, fuck you" approach that so many of our comrades take in their recruiting.

When we know someone is interested in doing political work, but is showing resistance or ambivalence, we can choose to dismiss them, or we can go deeper. We can lay blame, or we can take responsibility. Organizing is hard. We can try harder.

This comrade's criticism that some movements are allowed or even promoted because they don't challenge imperialism is on point. Allowing gay people to serve in the military is a good example of this; we won't fight to expand the imperialist military in any way. At the same time allowing discrimination against felons is a way to target oppressed nations while masking it behind a label of "criminal" activity. People convicted of felonies are disproportionately New Afrikan or Chican@.

This is where our understanding of the bigger picture of prisons as a tool of social control is critical. Oppressed nations are targeted for imprisonment even though white people also get caught up in the prison dragnet. This is most definitely a system of national oppression and a way to handle the lumpen population which would otherwise be idle and questioning its lack of economic opportunity — a perfect recipe for politicization. In fact, the prison boom was a direct response to revolutionary activity in the 1960s and 70s!

I'm relaying a conversation I had with the leader of a certain organization and the events that brought it about. About a month ago on Ad-Seg yard the cat in the cage next to me got stabbed up while he was in full restraints behind an argument him and this other dude had the night before. These types of attacks have become really popular the last few years here in Arkansas and coincidentally so have drugs like K2 and ice. The types of attacks I'm talking about are: in gen pop, prisoners getting cracked with locks while they're asleep. Or getting jumped by 5-6 dudes and not just taking an ass whoppin but getting stabbed on top of getting jumped.

Then the Ad-Seg yard has become a death trap. These dudes have learned how to cut through the chainlink fences. While dudes are getting moved it ain't shit for one of those other cats to pop out of his cage and butcher another prisoner that will be handcuffed behind the back and shackled up in full restraints. To me this is a coward move, I can't respect that shit. So I got to thinking what it would take for those dudes to take a second look at their tactics. So I decided to have a conversation with an org leader I've been knowing for about 10 years and I know his word has a lot of weight.

Throughout my experience I've learned a lot of these leaders have ego issues so when you put forth any type of idea that may be enforced you have to put it forth in a way so as it's like it's their idea and play it off what you know are their likes and dislikes. I know he happens to despise cowards so I put forth my argument on these types of attacks being really cowardice along with stupidity, especially for the reasons that they are taking place (words and name calling over the tier). I shot it at this cat how we as prisoners have to govern ourselves through certain rules, just like his org has rules against members stealing from other prisoners.

I was surprised to find out that not only does he not care but he actually condones these attacks! And proceeded to debate with me using as his argument telling me to imagine one of these dudes slandering me, calling me a snitch or whatever. I saw I was going nowhere so I steered the conversation to more neutral matters but later I thought, "I may have been swayed by an argument of what if dude was a snitch himself and there was paperwork and witnesses to corroborate but some dude calling me names?"

Maybe I have a better understanding of the fact that most of these dudes have mental health issues of some sort and compound that with being behind millions of $s worth of concrete and steel, they start feeling invisible and lose touch with reality. I gave up trying to hold people to the same moral standards I hold myself to, but these types of attacks are wrong on so many levels. There needs to be some type of honor amongst prisoners, some type of integrity, some type of standards we hold ourselves and our comrades to. Stop provoking these mental health dudes and instead educate in how to deal with each other. You don't have to become best friends but some shit you just gotta overlook.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We fully support this comrade's efforts to organize for peace in the facility where ey is held. We agree that there should be a minimum standard of behavior amongst prisoners, and we uphold the 5 principles of the United Front for Peace in Prisons as our ideal model.(see p. 3)

If a conversation is going nowhere, turning it to neutral territory is a perfectly good tactic. Better to end on neutral ground than with even more discord. And choosing who to have these conversations with (i.e. don't agitate people with mental health challenges) is another sharp lesson from this author.

Often times a conversation will seem like a failure in the moment, because we aren't obviously going from point A to goal Z. But even something as small as beginning a dialogue, planting a seed, or removing the taboo from a topic of conversation, can be victories in themselves. There are many reasons why a conversation might seem unproductive in the moment, but actually have a lasting positive effect.

We can also examine conversations like this to try to figure out exactly what is holding it back. Often it's easier on our own egos to blame failures on others' unwillingness to accept our "correct" position. Rather than looking at what we can improve on our end, we just label the persyn we're arguing with as unreasonable. We might not ever win this person over on this issue, but ultimately we need to take responsibility for our own successes and failures in our organizing efforts, and learn and grow and improve from them.

To become an expert in any field, it takes approximately ten thousand hours over ten years. Think about the amount of effort you are putting into being a great organizer. Are you on track to becoming an expert?

Quantity of effort is not the only important factor to improving our skills. Quality of our practice is just as important. Experts don't just practice more, they practice deliberately.

"This is how experts practice:

"First, they set a stretch goal, zeroing in on just one narrow aspect of their overall performance. Rather than focus on what they already do well, experts strive to improve specific weaknesses. They intentionally seek out challenges they can't yet meet...

"Then, with undivided attention and great effort, experts strive to reach their stretch goal. Interestingly, many choose to do so while nobody's watching. Basketball great Kevin Durant has said, 'I probably spend 70 percent of my time by myself, working on my game, just trying to fine-tune every single piece of my game.' ...

"As soon as possible, experts hungrily seek feedback on how they did. Necessarily, much of that feedback is negative. This means that experts are more interested in what they did wrong — so they can fix it — than what they did right. The active processing of this feedback is as essential as its immediacy. ...

"And after feedback, then what?

"Then experts do it all over again, and again, and again. Until they have finally mastered what they set out to do. Until what was a struggle before is now fluent and flawless. Until conscious incompetence becomes unconscious competence...

"And... then what? What follows mastery of a stretch goal?

"Then experts start all over again with a new stretch goal.

"One by one, these subtle refinements add up to dazzling mastery."(1)

The process of deliberate practice requires us to identify a goal, stay focused on our goal, break it into tiny parts, seek out feedback, be open to criticism, try, try, try, try, try, succeed, and then stretch again. All together this requires a ton of persynal growth and commitment.

If we want to be the best organizers we can be, we can take a lesson from Durant. Treat our organizing skills like ey treats eir basketball career. Write down your goals and failures. Think about them deeply. Read about negotiation and conversation tactics. Get input from others. Consolidate our experience. Try again.