Some business people are like rock stars: Richard, Warren,Bill, the late Steve—all rock stars.

Why are they like rock stars? Even without the last names, youimmediately recognize them.

And just like rock stars, many people dream of being likethem.

It's certainly possible to become a rock star and achieveexcellence in just about any field we choose, but excellence comeswith a price. Natural talent only takes us so far. Excellencerequires incredible focus, massive effort, and an almost superhumandrive and work ethic.

I'm lucky to know a few incredibly talented and successfulpeople. One is a speaker. I once attended five consecutiveengagements with him. Even though the basic makeup of each audiencewas the same, I was surprised by how different his speech was eachtime. I asked why.

“I've worked and reworked that speech a number of times,” hesaid. “I can give that speech on auto-pilot. In a good way, becauseI don't have to think about what I'm saying. That frees me up to meread the audience, cover any mistakes I make, adapt to venue orequipment problems, digress when it feels right, and pull the plugon a segment that's not working. All that prep work lets me focuson the audience instead of on myself.”

“How many times,” I asked, “is a “number” of times?”

“I have a 20 Rule,” he said. “I run through a new speech 20times in my office. Then I do it 20 times in an empty auditorium.Then I do 20 more, one person at a time, begging friends,colleagues, family, and anyone I can get to listen and critique me.Then I pick 20 small organizations and deliver it for free so I canwork out the kinks with a live audience. After that I think I'mready, but it still takes 20 or so real gigs before I feel I'mreally on point.”

Since his average keynote runs about 70 minutes, that means hetypically spends almost a hundred hours rehearsing a speech—afterhe spent several weeks writing it. Read the complete Inc. article.