Talent is Over-rated by Geoff Colvin

I. Deliberate Practice

1. activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher's help

2. it can be repeated a lot

3. feedback is continuously available

4. It's highly demanding mentally

5. it isn't much fun

Think of how a comedian puts together a 2 hour act. Bit by bit, in front of small crowds, over months and months.

II. Luck

III. Environment

Oddly, the effect of all this deliberate drudgery is the emergence of rapt attention, not falling asleep at the wheel.

QUESTION

Why does anyone put themselves through this drudgery??????

ANSWER

Rewards. Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.

Creative people are focused on "How can I solve this problem?" rather than "What will solving this problem do for me?" Creative people are hooked on "flow." These are the intrinsic rewards.

Extrinsic rewards play a role too.

1. recognition that confirms competence

The prospect of being judged reduces creativity; personal feedback enhances it. Personal feedback needs to be:

1. constructive

2. non-threatening

3. work-focused rather than person-focused

People want to pursue exciting ideas and the intrinsic rewards that arise from that pursuit.

People will work most passionately and effectively on projects that they choose for themselves.

The Corporate world is set up to prevent this. You're told what you did wrong but not how to do better. Your specific personal traits (attitude, personality) are targeted in evaluations. Rewards come with more responsibilities but not more freedom.

The MULTIPLIER EFFECT

A small advantage may lead to a great advantage through numerous intermediate steps. For instance, a beginner's skills are modest and they can only tolerate a little deliberate practice. That small increase in deliberate practice leads to greater skills which then gives rise to more deliberate practice.

paleolithic nutrition - duplicating t...

paleolithic nutrition - duplicating the evolutionary metabolic milieu

PaNu - A modified paleolithic diet that can improve your health by duplicating the evolutionary metabolic milieu.

How do you do it?

Here is a 12- step list of what to do. Go as far down the list as you can in whatever time frame you can manage. The further along the list you stop, the healthier you will be. There is no counting, measuring, or weighing. You are not required to purchase anything specific from me or anyone else. There are no special supplements, drugs or testing required.*

1. Eliminate sugar (including fruit juices and sports drinks) and all foods that contain flour.

2. Start eating proper fats - Use healthy animal fats or coconut fat to substitute fat calories for carbohydrate calories that formerly came from sugar and flour. Drink whole cream or coconut milk.

3. Eliminate gluten grains. 

4. Eliminate grain and seed derived oils (cooking oils) Cook with Ghee, butter, animal fats, or coconut oil.

5. Favor ruminants like beef, lamb and bison for your red meat. Eat some fish.

6. Get daily midday sun or take 4-8000 iu vit D daily

7. Try intermittent fasting or infrequent meals (2 meals a day is best). Don't graze like a herbivore.

8. Most modern fruit is just a candy bar from a tree. Stick with berries and avoid watermelon which is pure fructose. Eat in moderation.

9. Eliminate legumes

10. Adjust your 6s and 3s. Pastured (grass fed) dairy and grass fed beef or bison minimizes excess O-6 fatty acids and are better than supplementing with 0-3 supplements. A teaspoon or two of Cod Liver oil is good compensatory supplementation if you stick with supermarket beef.

11. Proper exercise - emphasizing resistance and interval training over long aerobic sessions

 

12. Eliminate all remaining dairy including cheese- (now you are "Orthodox paleolithic")

 

No counting, measuring or weighing is required, nor is it encouraged.