Hello, this is AJ Hoge, Director of the Effortless English Club, here again with another lesson,
the mini‐story for “Repetition with Intensity.”
Are you ready?
Are you standing strong, shoulders back, good posture?
Deep breathing?
Big smile, moving your body?
If not, do it right now.
Because if you don’t, I will kick you out of the Effortless English Club, onto the street
to cry and have a terrible life for the rest of your life.
You don’t want that, so you better do it.
So stand up, smile, peak state.
Let’s go!
It’s time for English again.
Let’s Rock!
Alright our mini‐story today is about Asher.
Asher had a dream.
He wanted to be the best guitarist in the world.
He wanted to be a rock’n’roll god.
Hm, interesting.
Who wanted to be a rock’n’roll god?
Asher did, Asher wanted to be a rock’n’roll god.
What did he want to play?
The drums?
No, not the drums, he wanted to play the guitar.
Did he want to be a good guitarist?
Hell, no, he didn’t want to be a good guitarist.
He wanted to be the best guitarist in the world, a rock god.
What did he want?
He wanted to be the best guitarist in the world.
He wanted to be a rock god.
Who wanted that?
Asher, Asher wanted that.
Asher wanted to be the best guitarist in the world.
Asher wanted to be a rock god.
You know there’s a problem.
What’s the problem?
The problem is he doesn’t play the guitar.
He didn’t play the guitar.
He never has played the guitar.
No guitar for Asher.
That’s a small problem.
So, of course, he decided to find the best guitar teacher in the world.
Who did he find?
He found the best guitar teacher in the world.
Where?
In the world.
Did he find the best guitar teacher in Mexico?
No, not in Mexico, not just Mexico, in the world...he found the best guitar teacher in
the world.
Who was the best guitar teacher in the world?
Well, AJ Hoge, of course.
AJ Hoge was the best guitar teacher in the world.
Asher went to AJ and he said “Teach me to be a rock god.”
What did Asher say?
He said “Teach me to be a rock god.”
Who did he say that to?
He said that to AJ.
He said to AJ “Teach me to be a rock god.”
Why did he say that to AJ?
Obviously, because AJ is the best guitar teacher in the world.
Everybody knows that.
AJ said “My student, you must look good to be good.”
Hm.
What did AJ say?
He said “You must look good to be good.”
Hm.
AJ said “Imitate me.
Dress like me.
Jump and yell and look cool like me.
Then you’ll be the best guitarist in the world and a rock god.”
What?
AJ said “Imitate me.
Dress like me.
Look cool like me.
Then you’ll be the best guitarist in the world.”
What did AJ want Asher to do?
He wanted Asher to imitate him, imitate him.
Who did he want Asher to imitate?
Him, AJ, AJ wanted Asher to imitate him.
Did he want him to imitate Jimi Hendrix?
No, not Jimi Hendrix, he wanted Asher to imitate him, AJ.
Did he want him to copy him a little bit?
No, not a little bit, he wanted him to imitate him, perfectly copy him.
Did he want him to imitate his dress, how he dressed?
Yes, he said imitate how I dress.
Did he want him to imitate how he moved?
Yes, he said imitate how I move.
Look cool like me.
Asher said “But don’t I have to practice the guitar?”
What did Asher ask?
He asked “Don’t I have to practice the guitar?”
Don’t I have to practice the guitar?
Did Asher think he needed to practice the guitar?
Yes, Asher thought that he needed to practice the guitar.
He said “Don’t I have to practice the guitar?”
AJ said “No, just look good.”
Did AJ want Asher to practice the guitar?
No, no, he didn’t want Asher to practice the guitar.
Why not?
Because AJ said “You must look good to be good.”
Looking good is the only important distinction.
So, for one year every day Asher imitated AJ.
He walked like AJ.
He moved like AJ.
He dressed like AJ.
He tried to be cool like AJ, although that’s very difficult.
How long, for how long did Asher imitate AJ?
One year, for one year Asher imitated AJ perfectly, almost perfectly.
How often did he imitate AJ?
Well, every day, every day he imitated AJ for one full year.
Who did he imitate for one year?
AJ, he imitated AJ for one year.
Who imitated AJ for one year, every day?
Asher, Asher imitated AJ every day for one year.
But unfortunately, after one year Asher still could not play the guitar.
In fact, he was terrible.
After one year, could Asher play the guitar?
No, he couldn’t.
After one year he could not play the guitar, still could not play the guitar.
How good was he after one year?
Well, he was terrible.
After one year he was still terrible at the guitar.
Did AJ help Asher?
No, no, no.
No, he didn’t, he did not help Asher.
Asher was still terrible at the guitar.
He was not a rock god.
He could not play.
Asher said “You’re fired.”
Did Asher fire AJ?
Yes, he did.
He fired AJ.
He cut AJ, stopped paying AJ.
Oh no.
Next, he went to his friend, Inka.
He said “Inka, how can I become the best guitarist in the world?
I tried to study with AJ but he sucked.”
And remember, to suck means to be very bad at something.
So was AJ a great guitar teacher or a terrible guitar teacher?
AJ was a terrible guitar teacher.
He sucked at teaching guitar.
Well Inka said “It’s vital to find a great player to model.
Seek out Jimmy Page.
He’s the best.”
What?
Inka said “It’s vital to find a great player.”
Is it a little bit important to find a great player?
No, it’s not a little bit important.
It’s vital, very important, necessary.
What’s vital?
Finding a great guitar player is vital.
Vital for who?
Vital for Asher, important for Asher.
Why is it vital for Asher to find a great guitar player?
Well, it’s vital, it’s important because he needs to learn from the best.
What’s vital for Asher to do?
Well, it’s vital for him to find a great guitar player.
Who should Asher seek out?
He should seek out Jimmy Page.
He should find Jimmy Page.
To seek out means to find, to look for and find.
It really means to look for.
Should he look for Jimmy Page or should he look for AJ?
He should look for Jimmy Page.
He should seek out Jimmy Page.
Who is Jimmy Page?
Jimmy Page is the best guitar player in the world.
What does Asher need to do?
He needs to seek out Jimmy Page.
It’s vital, in fact.
It’s vital that he seek out Jimmy Page.
So he did.
He went looking for Jimmy Page.
And finally he found him in England.
Where was Jimmy Page?
In England, Jimmy Page was in England.
Why was Jimmy Page in England?
Well, it’s obvious, because he’s English.
Jimmy Page is English so he was in England.
Who found Jimmy Page?
Asher, Asher found Jimmy Page.
He asked Jimmy “Jimmy will you please teach me to be a great guitarist?
I want to be a rock god.”
Jimmy said “Okay.”
So every day Jimmy Page showed Asher new key distinctions on the guitar.
He showed him key differences, key new things to learn.
Who showed Asher key distinctions on the guitar?
Jimmy Page, of course.
Jimmy Page showed him a new key distinction on the guitar every day, a new thing to focus
on, an important difference to learn.
He told him how to hold the guitar, how to play the guitar, how to move his fingers quickly.
Did he learn new distinctions?
Yes, he did, Asher learned a lot of new distinctions.
Who did he learn new distinctions from?
He learned new distinctions from Jimmy Page, of course.
Did he learn new distinctions about the piano?
No, not about the piano.
About what?
About the guitar, he learned new distinctions about playing the guitar, about the guitar.
And every day he practiced.
Every day a lot of repetition but repetition with new distinctions.
Who practiced every day with new distinctions and repetition?
Asher did, of course.
Asher practiced the guitar every day, a lot of repetitions, a lot of new distinctions.
Finally, three years later Asher became a great guitar player.
He became a rock god.
Everywhere he went women loved him.
When he was in Israel, the women loved him.
When he was in Europe, the women loved him.
When he was in North America, the women went crazy and they loved him.
The South American women loved him.
African women loved him.
Asian women loved him.
He was a rock’n’roll god.
The end.
That is the end of the mini-story for “Repetition with Intensity.”
Be sure to repeat this mini-story with intensity.