5 ms·
How to get good at anything (cribbed from the excellent Talent is overratted) 1) Practice just above your level (enough to be difficult and stretch, but not de
by b_emery 11y ago
How to get good at anything (cribbed from the excellent Talent is overratted)
1) Practice just above your level (enough to be difficult and stretch, but not demoralizingly hard). Get a coach to help you find this range. Do this as many hours per day as you can tolerate, and the number you can tolerate should go up over time.
To quote the book, practice:
"It is activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher's help; it can be repeated a lot; feedback on results is continuously available; it's highly demanding mentally, whether the activity is purely intellectual, such as chess or business-related activities, or heavily physical, such as sports;"
2) Be clear about your goals and motivations. These will help you get through the difficult hours in 1)
The book is excellent and lays out the basics about getting good at anything. (Notice that I'm not saying anyone can be world chess champion. The book argues that it would be highly unlikely that any chess champion would get that way without applying these principles.)
A lot of what is discussed here is the what and how to practice. These are very valuable questions that I gloss over by saying, find a coach. Presumably a coach would know this. Knowing what to practice, and designing practice is a skill in itself.
- j_s 11y agoTalent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else Kindle Edition by Geoff Colvin http://amzn.com/B001HD8NZ8 http://amzn.com/B001HD8NZ8 $13.99 Kindle an expansion of this article: What it takes to be great http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive...
- b_emery 11y agoSomeone posted a pdf here: https://analizamatematicampt.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/talent-is_overrated-what-really-separates-world-class-performers-from-everybody-else.pdf https://analizamatematicampt.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/tal...
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- PhantomGremlin 11y agoAny NFL fan will want to read the chapter about Jerry Rice, as the book puts it: As every football fan knows, Jerry Rice was the greatest receiver in NFL history, and some football authorities believe he may have been the greatest player at any position. His utter dominance is hard to believe in a league where the competition is so intense and conducted at such a high level.
- b_emery 11y agoYes indeed. Apparently, he was the hardest working player in the league [1], to which the book attributes to his greatness, and longevity. [1] http://thegameology.blogspot.com/2010/11/game-training-compilation-of-jerry.html http://thegameology.blogspot.com/2010/11/game-training-compi...
- mandeepj 11y agoSorry. What is the book you referring to? Is it this one? Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin