Showing posts with label Tiger Woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tiger Woods. Show all posts
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Talent is Overrated ... The secret to success? FOLLOW UP
How do world class performers get so good? The common perception is that they are born to do what they do (talent), or they have worked extremely hard to get where they are (work ethic). Research has shown that it has little to do wither either talent or hard work.
Most people will argue that Tiger Woods was BORN to be one of the world's best golfers. There's no doubt that he is very talented and has accomplished things that most others will never accomplish in a lifetime. But in the last post I referred to a book written by Geoff Colvin called "Talent is Overrated". In it, he gives an account of how Tiger got so good at his sport (the short answer: deliberate practice).
The book is a great read because it debunks some common perceptions about how people get so good at what they do and it truly eliminates the mystique of top performers while helping you to realize steps that we can take to improve ourselves.
Paraphrasing from the book:
TIGER WOODS
Woods' father, Earl, was a retired teacher who had a lifelong passion for sports. He was a star baseball player at Kansas State and later coached youth sports teams in addition to teaching cadets in military practices at the City College of New York. He grew to become fanatical about golf and had achieved a handicap in the low single digits, placing him in the top 10% of players. Enter Tiger....he is born into the home of a pretty darn good golfer who loves to teach and is eager to begin teaching his son as soon as possible. Earl is retired and his wife does not work outside the home; they have decided that Tiger would be their first priority.
When Tiger was born, Earl wrote "I had been properly trained and was ready to go. I took over new ground in starting Tiger at an unthinkably early age".
At age 7 months, Earl gives Tiger his first metal club (a putter). He sets up Tiger's high chair in the garage where Earl hits balls into a net and Tiger watches hours on end. Before Tiger is two, they are at the golf course playing and practicing regularly. At age 4, Tiger was being trained by professional teachers.
Neither Tiger or his father suggest that Tiger came into this world with a gift for golf, and Tiger has repeatedly credited his father for his success.
Trying to understand his early interested in the game, Tiger does not talk about an inborn fascination with golf. Rather, he has written, "golf for me was an apparent attempt to emulate the person I looked up to more than anyone: my father".
Another example? Google "Polgar sisters chess".
Going to post a video interview with the book's author- definitely a great way to spend 5 minutes!
Most people will argue that Tiger Woods was BORN to be one of the world's best golfers. There's no doubt that he is very talented and has accomplished things that most others will never accomplish in a lifetime. But in the last post I referred to a book written by Geoff Colvin called "Talent is Overrated". In it, he gives an account of how Tiger got so good at his sport (the short answer: deliberate practice).
The book is a great read because it debunks some common perceptions about how people get so good at what they do and it truly eliminates the mystique of top performers while helping you to realize steps that we can take to improve ourselves.
Paraphrasing from the book:
TIGER WOODS
Woods' father, Earl, was a retired teacher who had a lifelong passion for sports. He was a star baseball player at Kansas State and later coached youth sports teams in addition to teaching cadets in military practices at the City College of New York. He grew to become fanatical about golf and had achieved a handicap in the low single digits, placing him in the top 10% of players. Enter Tiger....he is born into the home of a pretty darn good golfer who loves to teach and is eager to begin teaching his son as soon as possible. Earl is retired and his wife does not work outside the home; they have decided that Tiger would be their first priority.
When Tiger was born, Earl wrote "I had been properly trained and was ready to go. I took over new ground in starting Tiger at an unthinkably early age".
At age 7 months, Earl gives Tiger his first metal club (a putter). He sets up Tiger's high chair in the garage where Earl hits balls into a net and Tiger watches hours on end. Before Tiger is two, they are at the golf course playing and practicing regularly. At age 4, Tiger was being trained by professional teachers.
Neither Tiger or his father suggest that Tiger came into this world with a gift for golf, and Tiger has repeatedly credited his father for his success.
Trying to understand his early interested in the game, Tiger does not talk about an inborn fascination with golf. Rather, he has written, "golf for me was an apparent attempt to emulate the person I looked up to more than anyone: my father".
Another example? Google "Polgar sisters chess".
Going to post a video interview with the book's author- definitely a great way to spend 5 minutes!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Talent is Overrated ... The secret to success?
Perfect practice makes perfect.
I'm in the middle of reading the outstanding book by Geoff Colvin called "Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else".
Brief summary: "Why are certain people incredibly great at what they do? Most of us think we know the answer- but we're almost always wrong. That's important, because if we're wrong on this crucial question, then we have zero chance of getting significantly better at anything we care about."
So, what makes world-class performers so remarkable? Colvin presents a ton of research that shows natural, innate, "born-with" talent is just a fallacy. Also, it isn't simply "hard work" that elevates some above others. The short answer? Deliberate practice. (there are many details about what deliberate practice is and is not...post with details to come).
Granted, you need to have the physical qualities and mental cabilities to perform a certain task (ex: height to be a basketball player, right brain strength to be an artist).
From chess grand-masters to violin virtuosos, from General Electric's CEO to Tiger Woods, Colvin reviews how these remarkable people actually possess average IQ's and have done one thing to rise above the competition: practice with intention. A LOT of practice, with specific intentions.
Check back in the next post for a quick overview of how Tiger Woods and Mozart became so great at what they do.
I'm in the middle of reading the outstanding book by Geoff Colvin called "Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else".
Brief summary: "Why are certain people incredibly great at what they do? Most of us think we know the answer- but we're almost always wrong. That's important, because if we're wrong on this crucial question, then we have zero chance of getting significantly better at anything we care about."
So, what makes world-class performers so remarkable? Colvin presents a ton of research that shows natural, innate, "born-with" talent is just a fallacy. Also, it isn't simply "hard work" that elevates some above others. The short answer? Deliberate practice. (there are many details about what deliberate practice is and is not...post with details to come).
Granted, you need to have the physical qualities and mental cabilities to perform a certain task (ex: height to be a basketball player, right brain strength to be an artist).
From chess grand-masters to violin virtuosos, from General Electric's CEO to Tiger Woods, Colvin reviews how these remarkable people actually possess average IQ's and have done one thing to rise above the competition: practice with intention. A LOT of practice, with specific intentions.
Check back in the next post for a quick overview of how Tiger Woods and Mozart became so great at what they do.
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