Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finished this book last week. As someone who enjoys learning about what makes humans tick, I thought this book offered a fresh perspective of what you need to be successful. Hint: It’s not inherent talent.
So what does it take to be successful? It takes identifying what you like to do and then putting in deliberate practice every single day. He gives a ton of great examples of people who have demonstrated this.
Geoff Colvin’s research flies straight in the face of the long argued logic that we achieve things because we were born a certain way. His book demonstrates that, in reality, that just isn’t the case.
This information is good news and bad news for people. It’s good news in that we have some control over the outcomes in our lives. It’s bad news because it means that we can’t blame our failures on lack of talent.
The other point in this book that I really appreciated was the stance on how America’s current working environment teaches us how to be good employees but, generally speaking, does not allow us to cultivate real skills because the workplace is so task oriented.
If you liked Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, then you will definitely like this book as well.
It’s nice to hear that we are not born talented. You have some interesting post here. I will bookmark your site for future readings.
Thanks Emma- The book is well researched read but not too heavy. I definitely recommend it.