• Development of Expertise

    Make it Happen

    “There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happens.” – Tommy Lasorda *** An excerpt from How To Become The Best at Anything, Chapter 6, A Goal and a Plan “You need to have a specific ultimate goal. Let’s say you want to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming in the 200-meter freestyle. You have a specific ultimate goal, which is a good start because you know your final destination. When I was in graduate school in biology at UCLA one of my classes was a graduate seminar consisting of three students and two professors…

  • Development of Expertise

    Keep Playing

    “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billy Jean King *** Persistence and Motivation An excerpt from How To Become The Best at Anything, Chapter 9, Persistence, Motivation, and More About Your Path “Keep practicing no matter what. It will take years, you know this, so you have to keep practicing. You have to keep practicing getting better every time you practice. This is a very hard thing to do. You will get tired, bored, and frustrated. It is hard to keep your focus while practicing. I heard a story about John Wooden (often considered one of the greatest college basketball coaches, ever) while I was a student…

  • Development of Expertise

    Learn Something Every Day

    “You want to have the humility of always learning. So every day I want to learn something, I want to read more about an industry, a business, about how the world is changing.” – Francois Rochon *** How you learn something… An excerpt from How To Become The Best at Anything, Chapter 8, Deliberate Practice and Learning Learning “When you are trying to learn something new or you are teaching someone something new, it can be a very daunting task. It is difficult because learning something new is not easy, but it can be made easier if you understand how learning works. Learning can be divided into four basic parts:…

  • Development of Expertise

    Do Bigger and Better

    “Dreams don’t have deadlines. I’m thinking of doing bigger and better things and having more fun with it.” – LL Cool J *** Passion, Persistence, Goals, and the Development of Expertise *** An excerpt from How To Become The Best at Anything, Chapter 1, Passion and Interest “What is your passion? What are you passionate about? Are you passionate about a sport, say basketball, or surfing? Tennis anyone? How about art, or music. Perhaps you’re zeroed in on an academic field such as biology, or economics. Maybe you have a passion for exploring, with an eye on the Himalayas. Don’t have a passion, then what are you interested in? Interest…