Observations on three types of people who do stuff with their dogs

It is you who must make the effort. The masters only point the way. – The Buddha
If you don’t have the time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? – John Wooden
After 9 years of having dogs, this is the first year I am really starting to understand (A) what I am doing doing right, (B) what I am doing wrong (and what to do about it), and (C), what I need to be doing.
During this time I have become part of a larger community of people who like to do things with their dogs.  In some cases, I have been participating in the same activities with the same group of people and their dogs year after year. I have taken countless training classes, watched many training videos, attended many training seminars, read many books.
Recently, it has all started to sink in and I am taking my training much more seriously, working much more consistently, and having both positive results and fun in the process.
Among our cohort of dogs and handlers, I have noticed three groups:
1. Those who continue to learn, train, and develop their relationships with their dogs. This group focuses on getting it right, knowing that it will lead to results.
2. Those who dabble in training or thinking about training and just get by. These dogs do some to most of what they’re asked some or most of the time and never really seem to improve. This group focuses on getting results, often taking shortcuts that make it hard to perform consistently (or consistently well). These shortcuts only take the handler so far and in fact, end up costing time.
3. Those who do not take the time to train and while they love their dogs, are often frustrated by them and either do not understand why nothing is changing or why the dogs don’t just “get it” after all these years. 
If you’re in the third group, use your frustration to motivate you to learn more. Find the people who do well and find out what they’re doing that you’re not.
If you’re in the second group, practice what you know. Learn what you don’t. There are no shortcuts.
If you’re in the first group, share what you know, learn from those who know more than you, and remember that your work is never done.