About The Book
What is the secret of getting really good at something? How do we unlock it?
Journalist and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle visited nine of the world’s greatest talent hotbeds — tiny places that produce huge amounts of talent, from a small music camp in upstate New York to an elementary school in California to the baseball fields of the Caribbean.
He found that there’s a pattern common to all of them — certain methods of training, motivation, and coaching. This pattern, which has to do with the fundamental mechanisms through which the brain acquires skill, gives us a new way to think about talent — as well as new tools with which we can unlock our own talents and those of our kids.
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Growing Skill: How It Works
This book gets rid of many of the myths about innate talent. I have coached many top professional tennis players, include my wife Liezel the current #1 doubles. Everything in the book is true and really makes you reframe your ideas on what it takes to be great.
This truly excellent book breaks ground on many levels. In the domain of extraordinary talent, the book is groundbreaking. I believe myelin plays a similarly major role in establishing our personality is practiced and learned. Intense, focused, emotional experiences are deep practices that train us to be ourselves. A more complete review is on The Secret Brain.
This book was phenomenal. I am sharing it with my peers within the National Speakers Association and telling my newsletter readers to run and buy the book.
Daniel Henning, Jr. the offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins told my family about the book (he distributed the book to his coaches). I am sharing it with my master mind (owners of multi-million dollar businesses).
Deep practice is critically important and as you brilliantly shared in your book. Thank you for your work!
Mr. Coyle, I read this book about twenty times. I loved it, and have subscribed to your RSS feed. Thank you so much! Amazing book!
Well, that completely makes my day! Thanks very much. All best, Dan
I’m a fulltime teacher and have coached at the university level. this book confirmed so many of the ideas/practices that i’ve developed over the last 20 years. This book should be required reading for every coach and teacher out there.
I LOVED this book! I have been a professional piano teacher for 20 years – finally, a book that GETS IT! I’m also an attorney, and have five degrees and seven licenses in other professional disciplines. Am I a genius? No way. But my experience is just as Mr. Coyle described and he is the first author I’ve ever read that has put so succinctly what I’ve thought in my head for years – work hard, practice, go deeper, try again. I try to teach this to my students and my kids – learn how to learn, learn how to cope with failure, learn how to cope with success – strive to improve, improve, improve. This scares some people – but start young. Don’t rob kids of their childhood (the “prodigy” story), but don’t fear the struggle and discomfort involved in learning! I have been telling all my music teaching colleagues, friends, and parents about this GEM of a book!!! BRAVO!!!
Hi Elaine,
Your words completely make my day. Thanks!
Best, Dan
I am reading this with my colleagues at a private residential boarding school for special needs adults. LOVE the book. Bought it for some friends. Will work with my students to teach them that error/mistakes are ok and NOT failure but to keep trying again and again….well done Daniel Coyle!
Great book like everyone has said, but it actually made a huge change in my thinking. Everything is learned; social skills, sports skills, academics skills, it makes the world so much more open. I have two questions for the author.
1. The idea of greatness is personal correct? People have different levels of ability and greatness? Not everyone can be Federer, if they did the same training as him? Or anyone can anyone be Federer, if they had the same amounts of hours of deep practice?
2. There are some exceptions to the theory. Some professional athletes have not put in the same amount of hours? Some musician have a better ear for music which changes the learning curve for them? Some people never had a coach and were self taught? Or are these just urban legend?
3. Last one, some people learn golf skills faster than others and are more coachable. It is just a fact. I take two people with same amount of skill (zero) and one will learn faster? Do they know how to train better or is there talent involved with this scenario?
They are all basically the same question with a little variation. Let us know what you think.
Thanks
Hey Brandon, Thanks a lot. And you are putting your finger on the Deepest Question — one that I’m sure I can’t answer fully. But here goes anyway.
There are basically three truths:
1) Not all of us can be Michelangelo/Federer/Mozart/etc.
2) We all share roughly the same path forward.
3) The brain is very large, and it grows.
Well, that’s sort of four points, but you get mine. Yes, there appear to be aptitudes — and yes, some people learn at different rates. And if you believe that genes are destiny, then it’s easy to get hypnotized by these early differences Because no matter who you are, you’ve got to put in the time/effort/motivation to get better. It’s the way we’re built.
“Natural talent” is code for “started earlier and practiced harder.” — I don’t recall where I read that, but there’s some truth in it.
Just finished the book. Overall I enjoyed it. Here are some thoughts…
Something I feel that was not clear in the book was that the statement “once a skill circuit is insulated, you can’t un-insulate it (except through age or disease)” seems to contradict the “Rule Two: Repeat It” section where you explain that myelin is in a “constant cycle of breakdown and repair”, (e.g. “What’s the simplest way to diminish the skills of a superstar talent? Don’t let them practice for a month”). Could you clear this up?
Secondly, something I am personally curious about that I wish was covered is why development is not always gradual or linear. Sometimes student’s ability can plateau for an amount of time and then suddenly make a giant leap in their progress (from their own point of view, not just others’).
And lastly, I can’t help but notice the parallels between the book’s concepts and the much talked about parenting beliefs of Amy Chua. For example, “What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it. To get good at anything you have to work” sounds a lot like “the truth is, when you are starting out, you do not “play” tennis; you struggle and fight and pay attention and slowly get better”– although, Amy pushes it to the extreme by not letting her kids go to the bathroom until they’ve got it perfect, or threatening to deprive them of dinner if they don’t practice.
That’s my two cents. Thanks for the great book on a very valuable topic!
excellent book. thank you, for sharing the information. yudi-Indonesia.
Tiger Woods is an example of this phenomena.
@juan2thepaab says:
(e.g. “What’s the simplest way to diminish the skills of a superstar talent? Don’t let them practice for a month”).
Thank you very much for this book! I had no idea what it was called when I was little and learning all the skills I was learning until I finished this book. I had my own HSE once I realized I had mastered 100for100 free throws or dribbling the ball in ways that took yrs of trail and error, mistake after mistake but learning by feel and deep purposeful practice. WOW!! What a feeling to finally understand how and why I could be sooo good at many sports. I had the time and I practiced thousands of hours not because I was so talented..kinda humbling but revealing and attitude changing as well. Thanks
Your book is so amazing. I have practiced a lot what i have leart from your book. And my basketball skills have been improved amazingly. Your book must be the second version of the book “master your mind, design your destiny”
I have a system of teaching golf that my dad created some 35 years ago called Gravity Golf. The way we teach the physics and the feelings to individuals is by putting them through series of drills that will make them more sensitive to the improprieties in their swing. Hence producing more Myelin. The research that you have contributed to, it is allowing people to see that the best form of practice is through drills. Drills that allow them to turn on a part of their brain that they weren’t using before. This is just like when they first learned to walk. I would be very interested in hearing what your thoughts are on pursuing an in to golf, that is cohesive to your research. All the best.
Danny Lee
501-617-2132
It has been a sensational pastime reading The Talent Code. Coyle has done a great job in explaining the myraid mysteries of talent and its growth. With the completion of each successive chapter of the book, I experienced a good sensation. It felt like a spontaneous burst of Dopamine, a burly wrap of Myelin, a feeling that you’ve just experienced the secrets of talent and human psychology being uncovered!
Just finished the audible version of the book and found it fascinating and inspiring.
As the father of three teen kids, it has prompted me to reinforce some of the things I’ve been doing with them, tweak others and dump others.
As a lifelong learner now aged 57, it has encouraged me to bring more strategy and mindfulness to my own activity learning (piano, samba drumming, tennis, running) as well as to my work. Bearing in mind that large numbers of people are well into middle age and beyond and need to reskill or upskill, I’m wondering what scope there is for adult learners to apply the Talent Code principles.
Hi Stuart, Thanks for sharing that. You ask a great question. The answer brain science gives us is that the essential pathways for getting better never change. It might take longer when you get older, but the core ideas (getting to the edge of ability, reaching, paying attention to mistakes, repeating, attending) never change. Sort of like fitness. You might not make the Olympic team if you’re 50, but if you’re going to get better, you have to train.
Hello, Daniel
The title and tagline of this book caught my immediate attention. By profession, I am a dance instructor and choreographer. I am also a hobbyist musician and the opening story about Clarissa demanded my attention. Though dance was not an inclusive topic in the book, I found that every page shared elements that I have since brought to the classroom (and into my personal music training), and I am now approaching students in various and dynamic ways. This book has helped me to realize that there is more to individual students than what is commonly known, but that it is possible to create a solid formula for training. In no way does it sound easy, but the plethora of information provided in The Talent Code has definitely opened doors for me. This is a book I will return to again and again as a guide. The magic of myelin must be shared with the world!
Thank you daniel , u give me such a different life view that i have never experienced . Thanks again , …
///// do , mistake , learn /////