Big Ideas

Talent doesn't matter, it's all hard work!

Ok, well,  not exactly. But, what this piece by Dubner and Levitt (of Freakonomics fame) does say is that many skills that are believed to be genetic talents are really the result of hard work and deliberate practice.

For example, I've always believed that my strong memory had less to do with genetics and more to do with the fact that I wanted to have a good memory and worked at it. I've noticed that people make statements like, "Oh, you're so lucky. My memory sucks." But the research that Dubner and Levitt point to indicates that those are just excuses. Instead, applying "deliberate practice" can get you to the level of proficiency that you'd like to achieve. It involves, "setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome."

Yup, that sounds about right to me.. Set goals. Measure. Solicit feedback. Improve.

Now, go fix yourselves :)

Tags: Dubner, Levitt, Freakonomics, Deliberate Practice, self-improvement

Risky business..

From the Columbia Business School magazine comes a great piece on risk and how we differ in our perceptions of risk. Faculty Q&A: The psychology of risk

Great read, definitely something to mull over and examine as I make decisions in my life. Sounds like I need to be more thoughtful about what I perceive as being risky and to the extent that I'm not going after what I want enough, I should try to adjust those perceptions. Things I think that I could use some "perception adjustment" on:

-Asking out women ("you never leap!" yeah, yeah, I was listening..)
-Being more open in my blog (this post is a small step in adjusting my risk perception in this area)
-Being more forward about my ambitions at work
-Starting and not stopping with the startup ambitions

More to come in other posts, I'm sure.

What perceptions could you change?