What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else
Click here to buy Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin now.
Why we recommend it: ‘Deliberate practice’ is probably one of the most important concepts that have a significant impact on sporting success and improving skill acquisition. Training is so much less effective if it is simply going through the motions. We recommend Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin as a must-read for any coach, athlete or person who wants to improve in any part of their life. The stories and examples are great, the research compelling and it is a book you can get through over a weekend because it holds your interest so well. (Click here to read the article that includes our reference to the Talent is Overrated book.)
Book Overview: Asked to explain why a few people truly excel, most people offer one of two answers. The first is hard work. Yet we all know plenty of hard workers who have been doing the same job for years or decades without becoming great. The other possibility is that the elite possess an innate talent for excelling in their field. We assume that Mozart was born with an astounding gift for music, and Warren Buffett carries a gene for brilliant investing. The trouble is, scientific evidence doesn’t support the notion that specific natural talents make great performers. According to distinguished journalist Geoff Colvin, both the hard work and natural talent camps are wrong. What really makes the difference is a highly specific kind of effort-“deliberate practice”-that few of us pursue when we’re practicing golf or piano or stock-picking. Based on scientific research, Talent is Overrated shares the secrets of extraordinary performance and shows how to apply these principles. It features the stories of people who achieved world-class greatness through deliberate practice-including Benjamin Franklin, comedian Chris Rock, football star Jerry Rice, and top CEOs Jeffrey Immelt and Steven Ballmer.