This is an article by guest writer Don Campbell of Expand2Web.
“A genius! For 37 years I’ve practiced fourteen hours a day, and now they call me a genius!” –Pablo Sarasate (Spanish violinist)
Think of the greatest athlete, musician, artist or business professional that inspires you. The amazing talents that really stand out. Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods. Warren Buffett. They were each born with a special gift: wired from birth with talents and abilities that most of us don’t have access to, right?
Research is showing that it’s not that simple. In fact, many child prodigies don’t go on to major success in the area of their early gifts. And many of the greatest performers, athletes and business people never showed any early signs of aptitude.
So, how did they become great at what they do?
A couple of years ago I read an article by Geoffrey Colvin in Fortune, What It Takes To Be Great. The article is fascinating and delves into the question of innate abilities, usually referred as “the talent myth”.
The Research on Great Performance
In 1993, Florida State University professor K. Anders Ericsson and his colleagues published a paper on ‘expert performance’ which, along with the additional studies around the world that it inspired, made some very interesting discoveries:
- Nobody is “great” without lots of work. Early aptitude is not a predictor for greatness in a given field without consistent practice over a long period of time.
- The most accomplished people in any field need about 10 years of hard work before they become “world class”. They call this the 10 Year Rule.
Many of these scientists are now saying that “targeted” natural gifts do not exist at all. You are not born a CEO or chess grandmaster. Rather, greatness is achieved by hard, focused work over many years.
Charlie Parker, widely considered one of the most influential of Jazz musicians, showed no sign of musical talent as a child. He started playing saxophone at age 11, and was thrown out of his high school band because he was so bad. But this drove him to practice intensively for many years, for four years up to 15 hours a day. It was many years after that before he was noticed.
Tiger Woods started practicing golf at 18 months, and was encouraged to practice by his father. He had been practicing intensively for 15 years before winning the U.S. Amateur Championship at age 18.
But you and I both know people who work very hard. Many work for decades at a job or hobby without approaching greatness. Why don’t they become “world class”, then?
It turns out that it’s not just hard work that is required. What is required is focused, consistent practice over a long period of time. Something the researchers are calling deliberate practice.
Deliberate Practice
Truly great people in any field devote many hours to deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is an activity that goes beyond repetition. It is consistent practice where the goal is to continually improve performance, reaching beyond your current capabilities, and seeking feedback on results.
The article describes what is my favorite example of deliberate practice:
Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don’t get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day — that’s deliberate practice.
And what’s great about these findings is that we can apply them to all areas of our life. Almost any skill is improvable. Giving presentations. Sports. Negotiating. Whatever it is that you do and have a passion for, you can improve and become truly great — if you are willing to put in the work, that is.
The Deliberate Practice Formula
- Approach each critical task with an explicit goal of getting much better at it. Set goals that are just beyond your level of competency.
- As you do the task, focus on what’s happening and why you’re doing it the way you are.
- After the task, get feedback on your performance from multiple sources. Don’t get emotional about it, and make changes in your behavior as necessary.
- Continually build mental models of your situation – of your industry, your company, your career. Expand the models to encompass more factors. (A good book on the concept of mental models is The Power of Impossible Thinking by Yoram Wind and Colin Cook).
- Do those steps regularly, not sporadically. Occasional practice does not work. Consistency is the key here.
What Does This All Mean?
We don’t have to be born with a special talent in order to be great at something. We just have to have the desire to constantly work at and improve our skill. This is huge: it means that you can learn to be good, or even great at nearly anything!
Most people won’t go through the long and difficult process of deliberate practice. But this is what can separate you from the pack. This is what makes great performance rare: most people either don’t believe they can do it, or aren’t willing to do the work to become truly great at their passion.
So ask yourself, what is your ‘mastery skill’? What should you work on to improve regularly, practicing, getting feedback, improving and pushing yourself to higher levels of excellence?
Is it your career? Is it a sport? Is it art or music? Now that you know that excellence is a choice, a whole world of possibilities opens up. Are you ready to pursue your dream and become “world class at it”?
Article Mind Map
When I read something that I really want to remember, I create a mind map to help me conceptualize what I’ve read. My mind map summary of the article that inspired this post, What It Takes To Be Great, is included below.
- Download mind map in PDF format (333 kb)
- Download map in MindManager format (247 kb, requires MindManager)
Additional Resources
- What It Takes To Be Great (Fortune)
- The Expert On Experts (Fast Company)
- Expert Performance And Deliberate Practice (Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, Florida State University)
- Innate Talents: Reality or Myth?
Don is the publisher of www.Expand2Web.com, a website devoted to helping small business owners automate their business websites using Wordpress, and get a steady stream of new customers from Google and Yahoo. In his leisure time Don enjoys learning to play Jazz piano, skiing, and wake boarding. He lives with his wife and two daughters in the San Jose, California where they enjoy traveling and exploring the Redwoods and the Pacific ocean beaches.
A former trumpet teacher used to tell me that practice didn’t make perfect – rather, perfect practice makes perfect. It’s a phrase that’s stuck with me and I’ve passed onto others since.
Mastery is the key to success. Thank you for this post and the suggestions for deliberate attainment of mastery on a specific skill.
Art Gonzalez
Check my Squidoo Lens at: Quantum Knights
@trmpter – Nice, I like that story. It reminds my of my fencing teacher who used to tell me “practice makes permanent!”
@Art Gonzalez – you bet, thanks for stopping by!
Removing the spiritual aspect of our beings and lives limits our universal view. It takes away the influence of a higher power. We have gifts but, yes, they still have to be nurtured and developed. Sometimes these gifts show up as passions. When we are connected with our spiritual selves we become more aware of what our tendencies are in the gift and passion departments. I have a few gifts, some passions and many interests.
To be clear, gifts are not automatic high level abilities dropped into us making us instant masters. They are developed within us from a combination of our genetics, experiences and a spiritual touch that says, I’m going to use the cards you’ve been dealt my son and bring into your awareness the way to play them. If you trust me and take the time to develop them, I will turn these tendencies and traits into talent and you and the world will prosper.
What causes someone to deliberately practice for hours, for days, for years? It’s not determination or a mere decision. It is the proper spiritual connection to the thing we do, that’s what gets us through all those minutes and moments and that’s where the magic and mastery is.
Those who do not achieve a high degree of skill in an area either do not have the “passion” which leads to non-deliberate practice which means they’ve chosen the wrong thing or the wrong reason or both. Being in touch with self and the spirit will align us with our purpose(s) and who we are and who we are intended to be and how to take all of our attributes and focus them to contribute in the unique ways meant for us.
Without the spiritual touch, all we have are abilities and misguided interests. I had an ability, gift, talent and knack for photographic memory. How do I use that. I started with math and accounting but abandoned it due to lack of passion. I now realize that one of my gifts, talents and passions is using words (simply put). This also uses my formerly greater photographic memory.
Thank you for this article. I especially enjoyed seeing the mindmap that inspired the article. I like seeing the visual organization that inspired the written article.
@Darla, my pleasure. Like you mention about “visual organization,” I really like using MindMaps to organize my thoughts. Thank you for dropping by!
Hi Don.
Tiger Woods is a really good example of “Deliberate Practice.” I read an magazine article on him a couple of years ago where he revealed that when he went to the driving range each morning of a tournament to warm up, he had a very deliberate approach. This approach was to use each swing at the driving range as a mental and physical warm up for each swing he would have to make to successfully play each hole during the upcoming day’s play. He also mentioned in the article that he was as the only player he knew who took that approach.
From my personal experience, personal improvement comes with a willingness to work hard, with a specific outcome in mind, and to see mistakes as feedback for improvement not a sign that one is “untalented”.
I’ll finish up with the following quote from Thomas Edison – “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”
Cheers,
Ben
Great insights. And I love the Thomas Edison quote too.
Thanks Ben!
Don: Thank you so much for writing this article! It has been an honor to host it here at Litemind.
And special thanks for putting the extra effort in creating the companion mind map! I sums up the article really well.
Regarding the subject of practice, I recently read a book that I am sure complements this article very well. This is a book which I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone:
The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus Into Your Life
Without exaggeration, the ideas in this book — along with the ones in this article and in the additional resources — is promoting a huge shift in my consciousness. Frankly, deliberate practice is a subject that I didn’t pay much attention in the past, but one that I have fallen in love recently!
I will definitely write more about this topic here as I gain more experience in the subject!
@trmpter: This is such a great, great quote. I admit that the first time I saw it, a long time ago, I didn’t get its real meaning and didn’t pay much attention to it. Now, in context, I see how true it is. Thanks for mentioning it!
As a sidenote, I searched the web in order to find out its author: it’s American football coach Vince Lombardi.
@Usiku: Thanks for adding your viewpoint.
I won’t go into the subject of how spirituality affects greatness — discussions around this word ’spirituality’ can get messy, as it can mean a whole myriad of different things depending on who you ask.
However, I do agree that greatness is not as simple as just making a decision to excel: You can’t just choose anything and simply decide to be great at it. Passion is definitely a requirement (wherever it comes from or why).
In a way, I am sure that deliberate practice is indeed all it takes to be great — but in order to be able to practice correctly, you need to really enjoy what you’re doing (this enjoyment comes as the ‘calling’ or ‘gift’).
Thanks again for your thoughtful comment!
I am seaching for some idea to write in my blog… somehow come to your blog. best of luck. Eugene
Thanks for this post. I think one other perspective we might take on the idea of deliberate practice would be to see it as consciously approaching every task we do. Many of us, when we’re working, have our minds on the end result of our work, whether it’s the money, home, relationship or whatever else we think it’ll bring us. This prevents us from getting into the “flow” state we want in our projects. Consciously giving our work our full attention seems critical to high achievement. — Best, Chris
I agree, hard work makes for results. However, if there’s no trace of talent – then you’re wasting your time…
Nice post Don +_+
I just encountered your blog and I’m loving, loving, LOVING it already. Thank you!
@Chris – I like your perspective. One term I’ve heard to describe this is being “present” with what you are doing at the moment. And I agree that getting into the “flow” state is when you are most productive. Thanks for the insightful comment.
@axel g – Yes, I agree there does need to be some talent or aptitude; I think that when one is passionate enough about something that they want to be great at it, they probably have enough talent to make it happen.
@Carver- Thanks for your comment – I appreciate you stopping by!
Luciano, thanks for another great post. Love the mind map!
I must echo others: I like seeing the mind map in action. I used them long ago and I will return to them tomorrow morning.
Thanks for the inspiration. Oh, and, I really like short, succinct articles.
Don, thanks for this article. I agree with everything that has been said. Many other dimensions of a person’s life have to be in alignment for greatness to occur. Alignment of strengths and identification and removal of self-limiting beliefs have to occur before Deliberate Practice is routine.
People have innate strengths, as highlighted in the Gallop Organizations StrenghsFinder book and assessment or the VIA strengths illustrated by Dr. Martin Seligman at http://www.authentichappiness......fault.aspx When your work or play is aligned with your strengths (your core abilities), your ability to achieve mastery rises exponentially. In addition, people that operate in alignment usually can achieve “flow” or right brain thinking easily. And as one of the leading positive psychologists Dr. Seligman has learned, being in the flow leads to sustained happiness or achieving the so called “Good Life”. Deliberate Practice becomes much easier when you love your work and this love emanates from the alignment of strengths and the resulting flow.
Additionally we are conditioned to believe that we are limited beings. Most of us travel through life with many self-limiting beliefs. Teachers, peers, parents, friends and others condition us from very early on to believe that we can’t do this and we can’t do that. These beliefs then form self imposed barriers to our own achievements. Truly great people identify their self-limiting beliefs (or don’t have them to start with) and work to tear them down and replace them with greatness beliefs. Tiger Woods belief that he would be greater that Jack Nicklaus is a great example of replacing self-limiting beliefs with beliefs of greatness. Consider as well the 4 minute mile. Until Roger Bannister broke this barrier in 1954 no one thought it possible (other than Roger). Then a month and a half later his record was broken. And since then the 4 minute mile has become routine.
People wanting to achieve greatness have to start off with a belief system that the impossible is possible, and they will be the one to make it happen.
Thanks again for the great article. And Luciano, thanks for this great site.
Luciano,
Litemind is becoming a reference point among self help websites. Nearly every of your posts carries a condensed gem of sage and life-guide. Cheers!.
By the way, where on Earth could I get a copy of “The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus Into Your Life” I can´t find it anywhere locally or on Internet.
@Xoel: I bought ‘The Practicing Mind’ on Amazon.com; they seem to have it in stock right now.
Wow, I just noticed: 12 reviews, 12 5-star ratings! I’m not alone loving this book!
Brilliant post Don!
Luciano:Sounds like a great book. I’ll probably cave in and buy it.
Thanks @FreeMasons, @Eric, @SS!
Nice article, There was another article in fortune that captured my attention
http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/2...../index.htm
this kind of article is just for making sad inept ones fool themselves as they grind along on their joyless lives.
Great article. I find this a very inspiring view that we can all aspire to and achieve great things. The golf ball bucket analogy makes perfect sense to me – I confess I have hit many balls rather aimlessly at the driving range … and am far from a great golf player!
Deliberate practice I think also goes hand in hand with the idea of beginner’s mind. A wonderful yoga teacher described it to me like this: Yoga practice (or whatever your practice) should always be approached with beginner’s mind which is conscious awareness rather than autopilot. If you approach things with an open mind, assuming you have everything to learn and are not an expert, even if you have vast experience, than you will be open to many possibilities.
@Charlotte – thanks for the comment. I love the beginner’s mind idea!
the classic example of this, is beethoven. his dad was determined to build another mozart. mozart was a child prodigy AND a full-fledged mature genius, the rarest of combinations. beethoven turned out to be his equal.
Another great example of an international character that was trained from the age of 5 and probably using the methods similar to those outlined in the Deliberate Practice Formula is the Nobel Peace Laureate, the Dalai Lama. Of course buddhists believe there would be other more esoteric factors involved, but the Dalai Lama often poo-poos such comments and is an ardent follower of scientifically proven methods. Some renowned buddhist teachers in fact often refer to buddhism as a science of mind – and not a religion as most of us have been brought up to believe. The use of meditation as a focusing tool for mind training is too frequently overlooked.
Interesting article. I flunked the test to get into band in 5th grade. I was devastated. Fortunately, my parents gave me a guitar for Christmas that year (1968), and I became immersed in what you call deliberate practice. I clearly remember how techniques which are second nature now, seemed impossible at the time. It’s still that way, and how I grow as a musician. I don’t practice what I already know, but rather that which seems impossible, and invariably, those new techniques begin to creep into my playing. I should mention that I was a bit miffed at first to discover that you just don’t “learn to play guitar” and that’s it. 40 years later and I’m still at it every single day. I’ve recorded several albums over the years, and had 3 of my songs used on a movie soundtrack. And as for that music teacher that flunked me, all I can say is neener neener!
Thanks misanthropope and Julian for bringing more examples of geniuses that used deliberate practice as means to excellence.
@Sam Hill: That’s a great way to approach learning, Sam. Some years ago, when I was trying to improve my chess playing, without noticing I settled and started playing only ‘comfortable’ players. It’s comforting to win all the time, but it’s a big no-no if you want to improve. It may not feel good at the time, but we must always stretch our comfort zones. Well, that’s exactly what ‘growing’ is, right?
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Very good point.
It is very important to understand that without practice nothing great can be possible. You really bring this point across nicely.
BUT, in my opinion there is one very fundamental error in this article from which whole idea of this article vanish.
You mentioned that there is no inborn talents and there is only practice will bring us greatness.
I totally disagree with that and even more, this statement can lead people who reading this blog think that they can exceed in any area. Well, they don’t.
Our educational system is all backwards and it is really get me thinking. Most teachers and parents pay more attention to our bad grades(weaknesses) and spend to much time trying to fix it. Why didn’t they focus more attention on something we good at(good grades disciplines)?
According to Gallup Research Institute 77% of parents in the US think that a student’s lower grades deserve the most time and attention.
I think that is what killing our natural talents more then anything else.
I totally agree that you can’t be born CEO or chess grandmaster, you become one with practice.
But you can be born with underlined talent for logical thinking.(it is all about recognizing patterns)
That what will lead to be great at chess when you put years of practice into mastering this skill.
I personally have a degree at Computer Science. Was I born to be a computer scientist, No. Was I born with talent to logical thinking to be good at computer science. NO! But I got a degree thought. I was miserable the whole time, but I got it. Why? Because I more of humanitarian type of person, always like to read about psychology, behavior, thinking and so on. My logic is not great, I am not lying. Was I born with inclination to have such logical skills, I think so. We all different, some more inclined to music, some to art and so on.
Can I become a chess master? Well. I think I definitely can become pretty good at it, if I practice, but at the same time I know that it will not bring me happiness and joy, plus someone who have talent of logical thinking and who love play chess, will be able to beat me in no time flat. Don’t get me wrong, I think you can become good a t anything, but no great by any means. And if you want to become really great at what you do, you have to know your inborn talents, and yes I believe that we born with curtain traits.
In “Now Discover your strength” book, this point will become really clear. It based on research done on more then 10 million people.
Another great book is “Strength Finder 2.0″
Thank you for this article which got me thinking even more now
Let me know what you think
Wow! This is an excellent article. It pretty much validates everything I already thought to be true about “talent” and hard work. Thank you for posting this!
wonderful post! Stumbled
I really love the description of setting specific goals for your practice and think that could make practice so much more productive.
@trmpter – awesome quote. I felt as though it summed up everything I liked about the article!
Dont agree entirely. Dedicated practise is definately required, but there HAS to be a special talent. You dont have many 5′5″ tall NBA players or 6′ tall jockeys. You dont have many world class sprinters who are NOT black or swimmers who are black.
Not everyone is born equal and some are born with a special talent, intelligence, physique which is further improved by training, however they are gifted.
Hi Sam,
Certain inborn physical characteristics definitely can make a difference, especially in sports. (that’s up for debate, but for me that is a bit different than what’s usually referred as “talent”).
On a side note, one thing I always wonder is how many 5′5 basketball players are not as good as they could be — not because of their height, but simply because the expectations on them are not as high as on taller players’…