The Key To Being Excellent At Anything

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This article is by Tony Schwartz, president and CEO of The Energy Project and theauthor of Be Excellent at Anything. It was originally published on Harvard Business Review. I've been playingtennis for nearly five decades. I love the game and I hit the ball well, but I'm far fromthe player I wish I were.I've been thinking about this a lot the past coupleof weeks, because I've taken the opportunity, for the first time in many years, to playtennis nearly every day. My game has gotten progressively stronger. I've had a number ofrapturous moments during which I've played like the player I long to be.Andalmost certainly could be, even though I'm 58 years old. Until recently, I never believedthat was possible. For most of my adult life, I've accepted the incredibly durable myththat some people are born with special talents and gifts, and that the potential to trulyexcel in any given pursuit is largely determined by our genetic inheritance.During the past year, I've read no fewer than five books -- and a raft of scientificresearch -- which powerfully challenge that assumption (see below for a list). I've alsowritten one, The Way We're Working Isn't Working, which lays out a guide,grounded in the science of high performance, to systematically building your capacityphysically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.We've found, in our workwith executives at dozens of organizations, that it's possible to build any givenskill or capacity in the same systematic way we do a muscle: push past your comfortzone, and then rest. Aristotle Will Durant*, commenting on Aristotle, pointed out that thephilosopher had it exactly right 2000 years ago: "We are what we repeatedly do." Byrelying on highly specific practices, we've seen our clients dramatically improve skillsranging from empathy, to focus, to creativity, to summoning positive emotions, to deeplyrelaxing.Like everyone who studies performance, I'm indebted to theextraordinary Anders Ericsson, arguably the world's leading researcher into highperformance. For more than two decades, Ericsson has been making the case that it's notinherited talent which determines how good we become at something, but rather how hardwe're willing to work -- something he calls "deliberate practice." Numerous researchersnow agree that 10,000 hours of such practice is the minimum necessary to achieve expertisein any complex domain.That notion is wonderfully empowering. It suggests wehave remarkable capacity to influence our own outcomes. But that's also daunting. One ofEricsson's central findings is that practice is not only the most important ingredient inachieving excellence, but also the most difficult and the least intrinsicallyenjoyable.If you want to be really good at something, it's going to involverelentlessly pushing past your comfort zone, as well as frustration, struggle, setbacks and failures.That's true as long as you want to continue to improve, or even maintain a high level ofexcellence. The reward is that being really good at something you've earned through yourown hard work can be immensely satisfying.Here, then, are the six keys toachieving excellence we've found are most effective for our clients:1.Pursue what you love. Passion is an incredible motivator. It fuels focus,resilience, and perseverance. 2. Do the hardest workfirst. We all move instinctively toward pleasure and away from pain. Most greatperformers, Ericsson and others have found, delay gratification and take on the difficultwork of practice in the mornings, before they do anything else. That's when most of ushave the most energy and the fewestdistractions. Continue Reading

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