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Learning from Tiger Woods
February 21, 2007
As a child, one has the magical capacity to know a hundred different smells of mud.
-Valerie Andrews
Geoffrey Colvin, as reported in Work & Family Life newsletter (January 2007; [email protected]) reports that, contrary to conventional wisdom, innate talent has little or nothing to do with the success of the greatest achievers such as Tiger Woods.  He observes that many high achievers have a passion for what they do, but the key trait they have in common is hard work.  Even the most accomplished performers need a decade of hard work before becoming "world class."  Elite performance in some fields can require 20 to 30 years of preparation.

So what does that mean for the rest of us?  Here are Colvin's suggestions:
  • Change your mindset.  Approach your work with the goal not just of getting it done but of getting better at it �" much better.  See every task you perform as an improvable skill.
  • Go at your work in a new way.  Go deeper.  Think about what is actually happening.  Focus on why you are doing something in a particular way.
  • Adopt a longer-term point of view.  Think of your work in a larger sense, not just doing a job.
  • Seek feedback from sources with different perspectives.  After you complete a task, get some feedback, but don't sit back and wait for it.  Seek it out yourself �" from multiple sources.  Then make changes in your behavior as needed.
  • Follow these steps on a regular basis, not sporadically.  It's what separates the super-achievers from the rest of us.

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Comments (2)

Displaying All 2 Comments
Rae Pica · February 21, 2007
Moving & Learning
Ctr. Barnstead, NH, United States


I appreciate Colvin's observations -- from an adult point of view. But I'm afraid it's this kind of thinking -- and the example of Tiger Woods -- that has parents getting their children started toward "achievement" when they're barely out of diapers. So much of the research on the child's early years has been misconstrued by the media and, thus, parents, that I think we have to be very careful about how we frame things. Too many children are missing out on childhood because they're expected to find their passion as preschoolers and then stick with it!

Flora Gee · February 21, 2007
Greenbelt Children's Center
Greenbelt, MD, United States


This was so inspirational. I will share it wil all our staff and families. I also thought the previous one on ideas for a successful New Year was just as excellent and all my staff came down to my office to thank me for sharing it with them. Keep up the good work!



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