If you grew up watching 80s and 90s commercials, you undoubtedly have seen countless devices for getting abs for “only 5 minutes a day!”
Rational, experienced people know this is bullshit. If you could get abs in only five minutes a day, we’d all have them, right?
In truth, you can get abs for five minutes a day – five minutes planning your diet to lose the fat covering the ab muscles you already have.
This is the perfect metaphor for anyone looking to accomplish something difficult. Everyone wants to sell you some special method for getting what you want “the easy way.”
Writing a book is difficult. There is no easy way to accomplish it without hard, hard work.
I teach storytelling, but the truth is that there is no special, perfect method for creating a story or executing it on the page. You have to grind it out, and chances are, the first time you try, you’re going to suck at it.
Methods for storycraft, whether they are structural or generic, are only useful if you are actually putting in the time and effort into all areas of your endeavor, and you are already working on improving your prose and dialogue.
It’s the same thing with music. NO, you cannot learn guitar in six weeks, at least at any kind of proficient level. Cool learning methods only work when you are already a good learner and are practicing consistently.
So yeah, the ab roller is great, if you are already on a strict diet and have a great exercise routine going.