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Deliberate Practice

This category contains 193 posts

Aesop, Hockey, and You

Years ago, Aesop warned about the dangers of getting complacent. He told the story of the hare and the tortoise, in which the hare raced out to a big lead over the plodding tortoise, decided to take a nap, and woke up just in time to see the tortoise cross the finish line first. Aesop […]

Great Ideas That Could Have Been Lost

What do Thomas Edison, Lil Wayne and J.K. Rowling have in common? Note-taking! Writing down their thoughts helped make them all successful, and it can do the same thing for you. Take school for example. My friend and co-author Rob Gilbert says the quality of a student’s notes will correlate strongly with the student’s grade. […]

How to Get More Out of Practice

The other day I watched a school baseball team practice. With bat in hand, the coach worked with the outfielders, hitting fly balls for them to catch. This was a ritual that goes back well over a century. But something was missing: the effort to get better on every play. Every ball that came off […]

Five Statements That Form Your Destiny

How can you tell if you or your child will achieve success? You can start with the following five statements. The more you can agree with them, the more successful you’re likely to be. “I am a hard worker.” “I finish whatever I begin.” “Setbacks don’t discourage me.” “I don’t give up after disappointment.” “I’m […]

What to Do When You Fail

Everyone strikes out now and then. It doesn’t matter if you play baseball or not. You can fail a test, get cut from the team, or lose money in a business. Striking out isn’t the issue. Your attitude about striking out is the issue. Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times in […]

How to Save 155 Lives

Today marks five years since “The Miracle on the Hudson,” in which Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger landed a disabled US Airways airliner in the Hudson River, saving 155 lives. Sullenberger is now retired, but memory of his feat can inspire not only pilots but people anywhere who want to get good at what they do. Asked […]

The Mental Skill That Brings Miracles

If you’re stuck at the same level in your job, your studies or your sport, you need a breakthrough. You may even need a miracle. The good news is that this miracle is available to you. It comes only with the skill that all masters possess, namely, the ability to stay in the present. Every […]

Win More: What the PED Scandal Means to You

Today, major-league baseball is handing down suspensions to players it believes have taken steroids. New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is the most prominent name. I have no first-hand knowledge of who did or did not take these drugs, but I do know this: Your decisions are your destiny. You are today the product of […]

The Hard Makes It Great

Barring a playoff, today marks the final day of this year’s U.S. Open. There’s no doubt that today’s round will add to the Open’s rich history of great stars and clutch golf shots. Even so, nothing about today will rival the best moment in U.S. Open history. That moment came not on the course, but […]

What Basketball Taught Bobby Hurley

With 25 state titles and a spot in the basketball Hall of Fame, Bobby Hurley has helped countless youngsters learn the game. But he’s learned, too. He talks about it in his book, “Chasing Perfect.” “Here’s what I learned from the game of basketball early on: if you kept at it, you got better. If […]