Have you ever watched a great musician or athlete or speaker and say, “Wow, they must have been born with so much talent, I could never do that.” Well, don’t be so sure about that. As Geoff Colvin explains in his book, Talent Is Overrated, the difference between you and that person you admire basically comes down to one thing – practice and lots of it.
In this week’s Video Book Club review, I show off one of my most prized possessions, my red bass guitar to make a point about why I ended up being a coach instead of a rock star. Colvin actually explains it all in his book. I’ve practiced coaching a lot more than I’ve practiced the bass. The good thing about Colvin’s book is he offers useful advice for how to get better at the things you’re most passionate about.
Once you understand where Colvin’s coming from, you start seeing his point popping up everywhere. For instance, there’s a great special on HBO this month about how Magic Johnson and Larry Bird changed the NBA. It turns out that two of the greatest in the game’s history played basketball none stop from an early age. In Magic’s case, he shot hoops on the playground every morning from 6:00 am to 7:00 am before he caught the bus to school.
So, take a look at the video. I want to show you my beautiful bass and offer a few more tips from Colvin’s book.