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1-Page Summary of The Art Of Learning

Overview

The Talent Code explains how talent can be trained through deep practice and nurtures our myelin, which helps us develop skills. It also shows how certain methods of practice and coaching have been used in “talent hotbeds” around the world to great success.

You win some, you lose some. That’s probably a phrase that you’ve heard many times before. But even though there might be some truth to it, wouldn’t it be better to not lose at all? This is exactly what The Art of Learning is about: how to outperform your toughest competition and become a superior performer.

The author is an ideal source for advice on how to improve your performance, as he has been a multiple chess champion and practiced martial arts.

You’ll learn that losing has many benefits, the best way to approach learning, and how to handle distractions.

Big Idea #1: In order to succeed, you have to experience failure first.

Sure, we don’t like to lose. We always want to win and be the best at what we do. However, it’s not all about winning or being better than someone else. We should learn from our losses and use them as a way to improve ourselves.

Losing is a good thing. This is something that the author realized at the age of ten when he started playing chess with adults. He began losing matches which was frustrating at first, but then he learned from it and reflected on his performance to figure out what went wrong and how to improve in order to win next time.

The author realized that he was losing matches because of lack of concentration. In adult tournaments, matches were twice as long and it was difficult for him to focus on the game due to his young age. Losing helped him realize that endurance was his main weakness so he began to work on improving it.

He started by running up a hill after school every day, then jogging around a nearby lake with friends.

If you want to improve your performance, seek out opponents that are better than you. Invest in loss and welcome the opportunity to learn from them. This is true no matter what your specialty or field, and it’s even true for children, too.

If you want to succeed in life, surround yourself with people who will help make you a better person.

Many parents and teachers believe that competition is bad for kids. However, the opposite is true. The right amount of competition can help children learn to deal with obstacles in their lives. One way to ensure this is by using short-term goals to nurture a long-term goal.

If a child loses, parents should first make sure the child understands that it’s okay to feel disappointment. Parents can also let the children know that they’re proud of them and help them identify ways to improve before their next competition.

Big Idea #2: When you start learning a new skill, it will make you feel vulnerable.

Natural talent only gets you so far. If you want to be the best, you have to keep learning and face your own vulnerabilities and mistakes. This is a natural part of the learning process, but it can be scary at first.

It’s common to feel exhausted, weak or hopeless when learning something new. For example, a boxer with a strong right hand but weak left hand will take plenty of punches while he learns to use his left side more effectively.

Although it’s slow and painful, learning through trial-and-error is the only way to improve. However, we should be careful not to doubt ourselves too much or else a downward spiral will occur in which we berate ourselves for every mistake made. This leads us to believe that our goals are unattainable.