How to be Great

Think of the greatest athlete, musician, artist or business professional
that inspires you. Were the amazing talents such as Michael Jordan, Tiger
Woods and Warren Buffet each born with a special gift of abilities wired
from birth that most of us don't have?

Believe it or not, 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?

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 gold-medal Olympic athlete, CEO or chess
grandmaster. Rather, greatness is achieved by hard, focused work over many
years.

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.

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 improve our skill.
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, are you ready push yourself to the next level?