2. Tiger Woods Every time Tiger Woods lifts a trophy, he sees it as recognition of an skill that he has developed through years of targeted practice. What’s more, he never sees himself as the finished article. He always thinks he can improve and get better. What we see when we watch him hit a great shot is a naturally gifted golfer. But the reality is massively different. What we are really seeing is the result of tiny baby steps and improvements that have taken place over the years since he was a young boy. He was encouraged to play from a young age. He never just takes a shot and moves on. He processes what he did and what the result was and makes changes, takes the shot again, feeds back the result, takes the shot again etc… His is also receiving feedback from his coach, from tapes of his performance and so on.…. We see the performance, not the tedious and hard story behind it!

3. Mozart Was not the ‘natural’ or ‘genius’ that people often claim he was. 10 000 hours By the time he composed some of his best pieces as a young adult, he had already easily put in his 10 000 hours of deliberate targeted practice. He was seen as a child prodigy, however, in reality by the time he was 6 years old, he had already played the piano for over 3 500 hours! Hardly surprising that he was better than other 6 year olds! All ‘talent’ has to be grown and developed!

4. Michael Jordan He became the Michael Jordan we know by being the hardest-working player any coach ever saw. Even at the height of his fame, his capacity for relentless practice was legendary. When he missed a shot or lost a game, he went back to the court and practiced for hours—even if it was the last game of the season. He embraces his failures – “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot, and missed.” Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, he wasn’t recruited by the college he wanted to play for, and he wasn’t drafted by the first two NBA teams that could have chosen him.

6. Tiger Woods Every time Tiger Woods lifts a trophy, he sees it as recognition of an skill that he has developed through years of targeted practice. What’s more, he never sees himself as the finished article. He always thinks he can improve and get better. What we see when we watch him hit a great shot is a naturally gifted golfer. But the reality is massively different. What we are really seeing is the result of tiny baby steps and improvements that have taken place over the years since he was a young boy. He was encouraged to play from a young age. He never just takes a shot and moves on. He processes what he did and what the result was and makes changes, takes the shot again, feeds back the result, takes the shot again etc… His is also receiving feedback from his coach, from tapes of his performance and so on.…. We see the performance, not the tedious and hard story behind it!

7. Mozart Was not the ‘natural’ or ‘genius’ that people often claim he was. 10 000 hours By the time he composed some of his best pieces as a young adult, he had already easily put in his 10 000 hours of deliberate targeted practice. He was seen as a child prodigy, however, in reality by the time he was 6 years old, he had already played the piano for over 3 500 hours! Hardly surprising that he was better than other 6 year olds! All ‘talent’ has to be grown and developed!

8. Michael Jordan He became the Michael Jordan we know by being the hardest-working player any coach ever saw. Even at the height of his fame, his capacity for relentless practice was legendary. When he missed a shot or lost a game, he went back to the court and practiced for hours—even if it was the last game of the season. He embraces his failures – “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot, and missed.” Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, he wasn’t recruited by the college he wanted to play for, and he wasn’t drafted by the first two NBA teams that could have chosen him.