Failure Is Part Of Growth And Development

In order to perform at a high level we have to be willing to try things we haven’t been able to do before. This is uncomfortable and puts us in a position where we might fail.

Most of us have been trained to see failure as something to avoid or to cover up. This view of failure makes us reluctant to even try. I can look back and recognize that there have been many times in which this has been true for me.  I have been reluctant to try certain things because trying meant failure could happen.

It is helpful for us (this includes me) to remember that failure is part of all significant growth and development.

“While the best methods of development are constantly changing, they’re always built around a central principle: they’re meant to stretch the individual beyond his or her current abilities.”  Talent Is Overrated, Geoff Colvin

The Value In Seeing Ourselves Honestly

“The best performers [in athletics, music, academics, arts, etc.] observe themselves closely. They are in effect able to step outside themselves, monitor what is happening in their own minds, and ask how it’s going. Researchers call this metacognition—knowledge about your own knowledge, thinking about your own thinking.” [Colvin] There is incredible value in SEEING ourselves honestly.

E-Flash From Dan, 9/9/09, Fall Kick-Off

Dear Friends;

The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes sounds downright pessimistic when he says, “Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.” Having spent some years working in the corporate world, I know that I would have been very reluctant to start a new sales promotion with that quote.

“Remember folks, everything that we’re doing here is meaningless. Now, get out there and work hard at selling this product!”

It lacks that motivational edge, doesn’t it? However, the writer of Ecclesiastes has put into words some thoughts that have effectively challenged mankind’s thinking for thousands of years. What is the meaning of it all? What’s the point of our lives?

Those are some of the questions that we will be dealing with as we start our new ministry season this weekend.

This Sunday, September 13th, is our Fall Kick-Off. Our 3-week kick-off series is titled: Our Search For Meaning. I really believe that this will be a thought-provoking, stretching, interesting, challenging teaching for us all. My prayer is that it will be a time of growth for all of us. And I am hoping that you are planning to be with us. AND I’m hoping that you are planning to invite someone. Have you been thinking and praying about the question of WHO you could invite?

Let’s take the risk to invite and then see what God does.

By the way, the writer of Ecclesiastes ends the book on a little more instructive note. He says, “Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.”

To really understand true meaning, we have to begin with God because He is the cause and sustainer of all things and because He is foundational to all things. But, hold on, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll tell you more about this on Sunday.

Hope you’re all having a great week! God bless.

Dan


P.S. Here’s a thought for today: “There is . . . a path leading from the state of our own abilities to that of the greats. The path is extremely long and demanding, and only a few will follow it all the way to its end.”—Geoff Colvin. There is something about this quote that stirs strong feelings in me. I hope it does for you, as well. Are we willing to take the LONG, DEMANDING path? I believe it will be the worthwhile path.

Want To Get Great? Better Get Busy.

Review of: The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle


How do people get good at something? Wait a minute, that’s the not the right question, how do people get great at something?

Well, frankly, there has been a significant amount of research on the matter of human performance and the development of skill/talent. Author, Daniel Coyle, has looked at the research and he also went on a road trip to what he calls “talent hotbeds”, places where great talent has been produced out of proportion to their size and perceived stature; for example, a Russian tennis club, a music school in Dallas, a soccer field in Brazil, and others.

Coyle shares what he learned in this excellent book, “The Talent Code”.

The Talent Code covers three basic areas:

1) Deep practice. Practice is important to world-class performance. I guess everyone knew that already, huh? Well, sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to remind of everyone of the obvious. What might be a little more helpful is the understanding of “how” to practice. What constitutes “deep practice”? This is the kind of practice that separates the great from the not-so-great.

The understanding of “deep practice” involves an understanding of a substance called “myelin”. Myelin is the insulation that wraps around nerve fibers. According to Coyle, myelin turns out to be a very big deal in the development of skill. Myelin is increased through deep practice and, in turn, increased myelin affects the signal strength, speed and accuracy of the electric signals traveling through nerve fibers. This increase of myelin and its effect on neurons has more to do with skill development than had previously been realized.

2) Ignition. If a person is going to invest the amount of time and passion and concentrated, difficult practice that produces high-level skill, that person will have to be deeply motivated. This is the aspect of skill development that Coyle refers to as “ignition”. Coyle writes, “Where deep practice is a cool, conscious act, ignition is a hot, mysterious burst, an awakening.” This deep passion is a necessary part of the attainment of great skill.

3) Master coaching. World class talent requires help and feedback and guidance from disciplined, committed, coaches. Think of this as the wise, older sage who can tell the student what he can’t tell himself. The development of great skill seems to require the help of people who have the ability to grow talent in others.

Much of the content of “The Talent Code” reminded me of the book, “Talent Is Overrated” by Geoff Colvin, they contain many of the same insights regarding the development of talent. I loved both of these books and they are both worth reading. One of the encouraging and motivating truths that these books reveal is that great skill can be attained by virtually anyone who is willing to sincerely and passionately make the necessary commitment to its development. But, as one of the lines in the book suggests . . . “Better get busy.”

Dan Marler
Oak Lawn, IL

www.VisitUsOnline.org

How Do They Get So Good?

Review of: "Talent Is Overrated" by Geoff Colvin

Geoff Colvin deals with a fascinating and worthwhile subject: How do extraordinary, world-class performers get to be so good? This is an outstanding book!

The basic argument of the book is that high level skill is achieved primarily through tons and tons of hard work over a long period of time. (In other words, I’ll have to write a lot more book reviews in order to start getting more people to find my reviews “helpful”.) So, rather than innate skill or some kind of mysterious “giftedness” being the cause of exceptional performance, Colvin writes, “[t]he factor that seems to explain the most about great performance is something the researchers call deliberate practice.” The concept of “deliberate practice”—which is a little bit more rigorous and demanding than what might be thought of as “practice” in the more general sense—is explained with some detail in the book.

In addition to disputing the idea of some kind of special giftedness, Colvin disputes the idea of high IQ or special innate ability for memory as explanations for superior ability and achievement. In fact, his chapter that deals with the development of memory, among those who require it in their field of endeavor, was very enlightening.

“Talent Is Overrated” deals with the study of peak performance in a broad range of fields of including the arts, science, business, chess, music, writing and sports and provides interesting stories and examples of the world class achievers in the various disciplines. This is helpful because it is interesting to see that the principles of great performance apply—at least in a basic sense—in a pretty general way to all fields of endeavor.

Leaders will be interested to note that Colvin explains the application of some of the key concepts of exceptional performance to organizations rather than just looking at the matter as it applies to individuals.

Because the bottom line of great performance is identified as years of “deliberate practice”, Colvin states that the “deepest question about great performance” is this: “Where Does The Passion Come From?” It’s a fantastic question and I’m glad that he dealt with the issue. Why do the world class performers submit to the long, exhausting, difficult, often painful work that is required to achieve their level of mastery? Is the motivation intrinsic or extrinsic, or a little of both? That is the subject of the last chapter of the book.

I find the message of “Talent Is Overrated” to be extremely encouraging and motivating because it convincingly reports that you do not have to blessed at birth in some super-human way in order to develop exceptional skill in your field—I’m already out of luck if that’s the case. This means high-level performance is possible—with a lot of hard work—even for us mere mortals.

Dan Marler
Oak Lawn, IL