Ep. #252: Geoff Colvin on Why Talent is Overrated (and What You Need Instead)

Why can some people do things so much better than others?

There’s a question us humans have been wondering about for a very long time.

Many believe it’s due to extraordinary amounts of innate talent--that nature ultimately dictates who can do what and how well they can do it, and that our strengths and weaknesses are more or less immutable.

On the other hand, some people say that talent has very little to do with it, and that outstanding abilities can be mostly explained by hard work and dedication, which anyone has the capacity for.

This is a confusing topic for good reason. We’ve probably known people who have gotten very good at things without appearing to work very hard at it, as well as people who initially displayed absolutely no aptitude for something work tirelessly at it for years without ever becoming excellent.

What does this mean? That luck and randomness are the best predictors of success in any field and endeavor?

Well, according to my guest on today’s episode, Geoff Colvin, both talent and hard work don’t greatly correlate with acquiring top-tier abilities, a specific kind of work does: deliberate practice.

In his book, Talent is Overrated, Colvin explores every angle of this conundrum and uses interesting stories, scientific research, and personal experiences to make a compelling case for what it really takes to go from bad to good to great.

In this episode, Geoff and I discuss why “talent” is often an illusion, what deliberate practice is and isn’t, and how you can incorporate it into your life profitably, why the infamous 10,000 hour rule is misleading, and more.

6:21 - How important is natural born talent in the journey to become the best in your field?
15:06 - What is deliberate practice?
28:33- What drives people to become a master in their field?
34:32 - What is the 10,000 Hours Rule and is it true?
38:16 - How much deliberate practice does it take to master a skill?
43:18 - What are some techniques to improve memory?
50:00 - What is your new book about?

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