The Takeaway: Talent, the common thinking goes, is something you're born with. Sure, if you're one of the those people that can barely carry a tune (like me) or struggle even with the simplest mathematics, a lot of work can make you less horrendous in these areas but, basically, you either have it or you don't and greatness is out of your hands. It may be a popular idea, but it's dead wrong if you ask Daniel Coyle. His book argues that talent is grown, not bestowed at birth. How? Coyle boils down his thinking:
We're all aware of these quasi magical hotbeds. There's the baseball players from the Dominican Republic, this tiny island, that make up about 11% of the major leagues now.... In the world of math, there's this one high school in Bulgaria that produces all these incredible champions.
What's happening there? As it turned out, I discovered that they were a heck of a lot more alike than they were different.... That pattern that I saw in those hotbeds had three elements. The first was the way that they practiced, which I called deep practice, a very particular way of practicing. The second is ignition. It's the motivational component. They are being ignited by certain common sets of signals that unleash huge amounts of energy and motivation, unconscious energy and motivation. And the third one is master coaching. I kept running into these coaches that had really similar personalities... quieter people who made tiny, very specific adjustments, and who had really a great way to emotionally connect with the kids and the players.
So if you want to lead your kid's Little League team to stardom or someone on your team (or yourself) to new heights of achievement, it's possible with deep practice, ignition, and master coaching, says Coyle. To find out about just how these practices work, check out the fascinating, in-depth interview.
The Find: An expert on talent contends that, contrary to popular belief, talent can be grown.