The Little Book of Talent - By Daniel Coyle

Linda Septien put it, “This ain’t magic, and it ain’t rocket science. It’s about working hard, and working smart.”

“Sweetheart, you gotta steal like crazy. Look at every single performer better than you and see what they’ve got that you can use. Then make it your own.” - Septien—“Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” - Pablo Picasso

Feeling stupid is no fun. But being willing to be stupid—in other words, being willing to risk the emotional pain of making mistakes—is absolutely essential, because reaching, failing, and reaching again is the way your brain grows and forms new connections.
When it comes to developing talent, remember, mistakes are not really mistakes—they are the guideposts you use to get better.

We love comfort. We love state-of-the-art practice facilities, oak-paneled corner offices, spotless locker rooms, and fluffy towels.
Which is a shame, because luxury is a motivational narcotic: It signals our unconscious minds to give less effort. It whispers, Relax, you’ve made it.

When given the choice between luxurious and spartan, choose spartan. Your unconscious mind will thank you.

HARD, HIGH-PRECISION SKILLS are actions that are performed as correctly and consistently as possible, every time.
They are skills that have one path to an ideal result; skills that you could imagine being performed by a reliable robot.
Hard skills are about repeatable precision, and tend to be found in specialized pursuits, particularly physical ones.

SOFT, HIGH-FLEXIBILITY SKILLS, on the other hand, are those that have many paths to a good result, not just one.
These skills aren’t about doing the same thing perfectly every time, but rather about being agile and interactive; about instantly recognizing patterns as they unfold and making smart, timely choices.
Soft skills tend to be found in broader, less-specialized pursuits, especially those that involve communication

If you aren’t sure if the skill is hard or soft, here’s a quick litmus test: Is a teacher or coach usually involved in the early stages? If the answer is yes, then it’s likely a hard skill. If it’s no, then it’s a soft skill.

When you learn hard skills, be precise and measured. Go slowly. Make one simple move at a time, repeating and perfecting it before you move on.
Pay attention to errors, and fix them, particularly at the start. Learning fundamentals only seems boring—in fact, it’s the key moment of investment.
If you build the right pathway now, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and trouble down the line.

To build soft skills you should behave less like a careful carpenter and more like a skateboarder in a skateboard park: aggressive, curious, and experimental, always seeking new ways to challenge yourself.

You might be surprised to learn that many top performers place great importance on practicing the same skills they practiced as beginners.

Early success turns out to be a weak predictor of long-term success.
One theory, put forth by Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University, is that the praise and attention prodigies receive lead them to instinctively protect their “magical” status by taking fewer risks, which eventually slows their learning.

If you have early success, do your best to ignore the praise and keep pushing yourself to the edges of your ability, where improvement happens.
If you don’t have early success, don’t quit. Instead, treat your early efforts as experiments, not as verdicts.
Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Albert Einstein said, “One must develop an instinct for what one can just barely achieve through one’s greatest efforts.”
The key word is “barely.” Ask yourself: If you tried your absolute hardest, what could you almost do? Mark the boundary of your current ability, and aim a little beyond it. That’s your spot.

Deep practice is not measured in minutes or hours, but in the number of high-quality reaches and repetitions you make

Practice one chunk by itself until you’ve mastered it—then connect more chunks, one by one, exactly as you would combine letters to form a word.
Then combine those chunks into still bigger chunks. And so on.

“Don’t look for the big, quick improvement.Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens—and when it happens, it lasts.” - Wooden

Solo practice works because it’s the best way to
1) seek out the sweet spot at the edge of your ability, and
2) develop discipline, because it doesn’t depend on others.

Brain-scan studies reveal a vital instant, 0.25 seconds after a mistake is made, in which people do one of two things—they look hard at the mistake or they ignore it.
People who pay deeper attention to an error learn significantly more than those who ignore it.

Fatigue slows brains. It triggers errors, lessens concentration, and leads to shortcuts that create bad habits.
“Inspiration is for amateurs.” - Chuck

A plateau happens when your brain achieves a level of automaticity; in other words, when you can perform a skill on autopilot, without conscious thought.
Our brains love autopilot, because in most situations it’s pretty handy. It lets us chew gum and walk and ride bikes without having to think about it, freeing our brains for more important tasks.
When it comes to developing talent, however, autopilot is the enemy, because it creates plateaus.

Telling others about your big goals makes them less likely to happen, because it creates an unconscious payoff—tricking our brains into thinking we’ve already accomplished the goal.

Always “think like a gardener and work like a carpenter.” I heard this saying at Spartak. Think patiently, without judgment.

Work steadily, strategically, knowing that each piece connects to a larger whole.

How to Look for a mentor (TIPS)

Avoid Someone Who Reminds You of a Courteous Waiter - one who focuses his efforts on keeping you comfortable and happy, on making things go smoothly, with a minimum of effort.
This is the kind of person who covers a lot of material in a short time, smiles a lot, and says things like, “Don’t worry, no problem, we can take care of that later.”
This is a good person to have as your waiter in a restaurant, but a terrible person to have as your teacher, coach, or mentor.

Seek Someone Who Scares You a Little - feelings of respect, admiration, and, often, a shiver of fear.

Look for someone who: Watches you closely: He is interested in figuring you out what you want, where you’re coming from, what motivates you.

Is action-oriented: She often won’t want to spend a lot of time chatting—instead, she’ll want to jump into a few activities immediately

Is honest, sometimes unnervingly so: He will tell you the truth about your performance in clear language.

Seek Someone Who Gives Short, Clear Directions

Seek Someone Who Loves Teaching Fundamentals

Other Things Being Equal, Pick the Older Person