Howtobeanexpert.docx

The only thing standing between you-as-amateur and you-as-expert is dedication. All that talk about prodigies? We could all be prodigies (or nearly so) if we just put in the time and focused. At least thats what the brain guys are saying. Best of all--its almost never too late.?Seriously. How many people think theyve missed their opportunity to be a musician, or an expert golfer, or even a chess grand master because they didnt start when they were young? Or because they simply lacked natural talent? Those people are (mostly) wrong. According to some brain scientists, almost anyone can develop world-class (or at least top expertise) abilities in things for which they arent physically impaired. Apparently God-given talent, natural gifts, and genetic predispositions just arent all theyre cracked up to be. Or at least not in the way most of us always imagined. It turns out that rather than being naturally gifted at music or math or chess or whatever, a superior performer most likely has a gift for concentration, dedication, and a simple desire to keep getting better. In theory, again, anyone willing to do whats required to keep getting better WILL get better.?Maybe the naaturally talented artist was simply the one who practiced a hell of a lot more. Or rather, a hell of a lot more deliberately. Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, professor of psychology at Florida State University, has spent most of his 20+ year career on the study of genuises, prodigies, and superior performers. In the book The New Brain (it was on my coffee table) Richard Restak quotes Ericsson as concluding:For the superior performer the goal isnt just repeating the same thing again and again but achieving higher levels of control over every aspect of their performance. Thats why they dont find practice boring. Each practice session they are working on doing something better than they did the last time.?So its not just how long they practice, its how they practice. Basically, it comes down to something like this