Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. - The Talent Code

If you have children or grandchildren, this is the book for you. Simple things, such as saying you really worked hard rather than you really are smart, make a huge difference in how successful children become at anything, from sports to academic accomplishments. The book is full of hints like this and an easy-to-understand explanation of how to be successful at your chosen activity. These hints apply to all ages. After reading it, I had to purchase copies to send to others.

This is a very good book, providing the theory and examples to support it. It is also very complementary to the ideas in Steven Kotler's book, "The Rise of Superman." Between the two books you learn tangible ideas that help lead to high-performance. Both books are highly recommended.

Sort of builds off several other books in this same genre of talent being a function of practice. However, uses fantastic examples and stories. Truly a great read for any coach, athlete, or student of how the best become the best.

Gladwell gives convincing evidence of the factors that contribute to the success or failure of individuals based on one's culture, date of birth, and sometimes lucky circumstances, among other things. According to him, intelligence and ambition seem not to play as big a role as we have always assumed. His conclusions are interesting and thought-provoking and well worth a read.

Very interesting read! Gives good insight into a phenomenon which not too many of us are aware of. Done in a very readable, enjoyable manner with plenty of evidence and perspective. Recommend to anyone interested in mind, talent, drive, achievement, psychology, behavior, etc. I think almost anyone would enjoy this book.

If you're a teacher, parent, coach, group leader, musician, athlete, artist or anyone interested in learning, I'd suggest picking up a copy of Daniel Coyle's "The Talent Code."

I've been reading quite a few books on learning and creativity lately, and unlike some that rely on perceived experience and a certain level of speculation, Coyle's work here provides a good bit of documented research, and he has frequent, useful footnotes and a substantial endnote section on sources. Many pages in my copy are dog-eared for future reference; a great sign for a book.

Looks at talent from every perspective. Changes is the brain circuits, specific training secrets, hereditary significance, the importance of early coaches/teachers, different strategies for various sports and other skillsets.

From all this a coach or teacher can look back and identify with things that really were effective and see the similarities of their methods to the methods outlined in the book. Absolutely enlightening.

For anyone wanting to understand what it takes to improve performance in any field of endeavor this is the book to read. Dance, golf, playing an instrument, tennis, singing, soccer, you name it. I'm a singer and this is probably the most exciting book I've read in the last several years relative to understanding the growth of my talent and helping others to improve. Not only a 'how to' book but a science based explanation of what happens to our brains. It may not sound exciting but it was an eye opener for me. It's increasing the wrapping of myelin around the particular nerve pathways in the central nervous system essential to your particular skill set. I've already purchased two copies and given them away and I'll buy a few more. Give it a try.

If you're a teacher, parent, coach, group leader, musician, athlete, artist or anyone interested in learning, I'd suggest picking up a copy of Daniel Coyle's "The Talent Code."

I've been reading quite a few books on learning and creativity lately, and unlike some that rely on perceived experience and a certain level of speculation, Coyle's work here provides a good bit of documented research, and he has frequent, useful footnotes and a substantial endnote section on sources. Many pages in my copy are dog-eared for future reference; a great sign for a book.

Looks at talent from every perspective. Changes is the brain circuits, specific training secrets, hereditary significance, the importance of early coaches/teachers, different strategies for various sports and other skillsets.

From all this a coach or teacher can look back and identify with things that really were effective and see the similarities of their methods to the methods outlined in the book. Absolutely enlightening.

For anyone wanting to understand what it takes to improve performance in any field of endeavor this is the book to read. Dance, golf, playing an instrument, tennis, singing, soccer, you name it. I'm a singer and this is probably the most exciting book I've read in the last several years relative to understanding the growth of my talent and helping others to improve. Not only a 'how to' book but a science based explanation of what happens to our brains. It may not sound exciting but it was an eye opener for me. It's increasing the wrapping of myelin around the particular nerve pathways in the central nervous system essential to your particular skill set. I've already purchased two copies and given them away and I'll buy a few more. Give it a try.

This book takes a look at how talent is developed, breaks away from the expected ideas and supports the thesis with observation, antecdotes and research. Learning about motivation is useful to me personally, but I am even more excited to apply it to the young people I mentor. It is well written and easy to read. Read it for yourself, your children and/or your students. Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered why certain high school teams are better than others? Why are there so many good Russian tennis players? Why is Brazil always good in the World Cup (and the USA sucks)? Or why so many great artists lived in Florence? This is a dynamic little book that puts a very readable twist on how we learn. Mr. Coyle, in a remarkable piece of writing, explains how talent is generated in the most unlikely places. His style is reminiscent of Malcolm Gladwell's work.

Mr. Coyle explains the science behind "How We Learn". He explores "Deep Practice" and "Master Coaching" as tools that the best have used for centuries. This is an addictive little read that will change how you see the world. This is a must read for parents, educators, athletes, coaches and any one else that puzzles over "How We Learn".

Having read several books on training this book sheads some light onto a new aspect of what training does to the brain to give so called "muscle memory". It is also an excellent source for more in depth information into brain function.

The book is very well written and keeps you interested to the end.

I know it is helping my approach to training.

Good read, but the author tries to relate a learning factor to nerve covering. Like the ideas, but don't buy that by its relationship to nerve covering. He is reaching. But some of his ideas especially of breaking down a task or skill to small bits and then combining
is well worth a try.

describes how myelin is formed and its role in learning.
mostly, it is a book about how to learn. whether it is myelin or not, it tells what works. same goes for the writers booklet "The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills" which i recommend for those wanting a short version of how to practice.

Fabulous book with too many wonderful insights to list. Everyone should read this book - it's relevant to people in so many different fields. You will gain a much greater understanding of your brain and how it works - this is a book you definitely won't regret purchasing.

This book presented new information about the connection between myelin and learning that is both profound and simple. Really changes how I am going to approach both learning and teaching from now on. Everything is presented in a way that's easy to understand and very interesting with entertaining real world examples across many fields

We have all seen someone make sudden, startling improvement at a task after practicing it for some time, and likely have even done so ourselves at some point in our lives. In "The Talent Code," author Daniel Coyle explains that such improvements come about by making small errors and fixing them—myelin, a substance that grows around nerve cells, is built, enabling those who had been practicing tasks to perform them much more proficiently.

Coyle examines how talent is grown by going all over the world to investigate myelin and skill development. In areas such as sports, music, and education, the author shows why talent hotbeds appear in unlikely places and that myelin is utilized in both mental and physical tasks.

"The Talent Code" reminds that skills are not built overnight, requiring what Coyle calls "deep practice." The author looks at the issue of motivation and discusses the traits that successful teachers and coaches have in guiding their pupils. Myelin production becomes more difficult with age, Coyle observes, but it can still be built in our later years with constant practice.

This volume notes that scientific work concerning myelin is still in its early stages. As it is, there are profound implications for learning and self-improvement set forth in "The Talent Code," so it will be fascinating to learn of new discoveries in this area in the years to come.

If you are involved in any field that requires teaching, this is a must read. Daniel does a great job of explaining in a not so boring way of how humans learn and what makes them learn. Very informative info that I can use as a coach, one of a few books for me that is worth a reread.

Although I haven't finished it, I am really interested in sharing what I am learning from it with my friends and colleagues. I am a teacher and am hoping that it gives me some fresh ideas on reaching kids in the classroom that might otherwise be content to be mediocre.

I love reading books that pull together ideas and experiences I've noticed in my own life but I've just never quite been able to describe what is going on. The Talent Code is such a book. I have had deja vu moments on nearly every page. I'm looking forward to reading it again and using what I've learned from it in my business and family relationships. Highly reccommended!

This book inspires you to work your way through your goals. It shows you that there is no such thing as predestination and that genes are just a small part of the equation.
If you put in the effort and you absolutely love what you’re doing, you will be great at what you do!

It was pretty interesting. I was looking for ways that I could improve my learning skills. It was for me kind of a bad news, good news scenario. The bad news is there is no quick and easy way to become highly skilled at anything. It requires thousands of hours. The good news part is even ordinary people can do it if they are motivated to practice hard.

An eye-opener! Explains how masters become masters and how this duplicatable process works. Prodigies become prodigies from repetition, even in their environment at an early age, not from their genetics. Fascinating reading!

It's true!

Every single teacher in the entire world should have this perspective on how children learn.

The practicality of this book makes it a must read for anyone who teaches anything not just those interested in creating world-class aspirants.

It held my attention greatly and was very engaging.

Thanks to Daniel Croyle for taking the time to research, travel and write this very helpful insight into how to get students excited about life and learning.

This book presents a very good case for a paradigm shift regarding the concept of talent. While the information is precise, the narrative manages to capture the readers attention and gives the feeling of a really fluent conversation with an expert on the subject.

I'd strongly recommend this book to teachers, students in general, musicians, writers, sports players and coaches and basically everyone that is interested in understanding what is that misterious force we call talent and how can we better gain understanding of the development of world-class performance. Very inspiring.

Good book to read. Nothing too special but there are some interesting stories. I thought the book would actually TEACH you how to have a deep practice but it doesnt really touch up on that as much as i thought. Was hoping for more of a guide than a story book :(

This book is life altering! A MUST read for parents, teachers, coaches, managers, CEO's....compelling information that will change the way you think about developing successful individuals - you will want copies of this to give to everyone you know! Fantastic!

Eye opening new science. Written in a digestible entertaining form. Learn how to understand your own brain better. If you want to be excellent at something, if you have a child and want to help her find her calling or if you are intrigued by the mysterious workings of the brain, this is a MUST READ.

Pros:

I read this book because I am passionate about playing, coaching, learning and teaching. And this book helped me understand how we as humans can most efficiently do both. It was incredibly exciting and interesting to read.

Cons:

Considering the content of this book, I don't believe it ALWAYS practiced what it preached, having a few unnecessarily long explanations of non critical information.

Overall:

it was still and very powerful, informative book that I would highly recommend to anyone.

Loved the variation of experiences and skills that were woven together to instruct the best ways to learn. From baseball to violins, whatever you are learning or teaching others to learn, this book gives plenty of good for thought.