1. The Talent Code
Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How.
Saturday, November 9, 13

2. What makes people 'talented'?
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Are people born naturally talented?
Or is talent based upon hard work and
commitment?
Saturday, November 9, 13

3. It's all about the “myelin”
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How does it work?
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It’s not about “talent”
It’s about how much you work
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Deeper practice means more “talent”
Example: Rodger Federer
What does this have to do with talent?
Saturday, November 9, 13

4. Deep Practice
“Chunk it up”
Absorb
Get involved with practice: imitation
Break it into chunks
Organize practice into smaller pieces
Slow it down
Take time to practice correctly
Repeat
Learn to feel it
Saturday, November 9, 13

5. Deep Practice
Clarissa:
Ordinary thirteen-year-old clarinet player
Absorbed:
imitates teacher’s interpretation
Break it into chunks:
Plays riffs at a time
Slow it down
Stops and starts repeatedly
Saturday, November 9, 13

6. Ignition
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How do we ignite a “hotbed”?
Consider “ignition” as “inspiration”
Curaçao’s Little League Success
“The message of Jones’s success was translated
and amplified into a reliable combination of
primal cues”
Beginnings: inspired by Andruw Jones’s success
o Primal Cues: Cultural love of the game for
generations
o Asperation: Dreams of All-Star Success
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Saturday, November 9, 13

7. Master Coaching: Talent Whisperers
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Ron Gallimore and Roland Tharp founded
Kamehameha Early Education Project (KEEP)
UCLA coach John Wooden
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No speeches, no punishments or praise
75% of what he said was information
o Honing circuits
o KEEP scores improved
Improve best when you’re rewarded for hard
work
Psychologist found that students are more motivated to
study and ultimately do better
Saturday, November 9, 13

8. Master Coaching: Talent Whisperers
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"Coaching Love"
Majority of talented people have average
coaches
Example: Mary Epperson
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"Regards children as little adults"
Praise when correct, request to retry when wrong
Saturday, November 9, 13

9. Self-Learning Connection
Master Coaching
Having someone inspire you to keep working can be
effective
However, your greatest coach is yourself
Ignition
Make yourself passionate about learning
Find your own source of ignition
Saturday, November 9, 13

10. Self-Learning Connection
Deep Practice:
Absorb
Study deeply, not necessarily a lot
Break it into chunks
All-nighters are less effective than spreading out
Slow it down
Take time to make sure that you are learning
Repeat
Practice makes perfect!
Saturday, November 9, 13