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The little book of talent, 52 tips for improving your skill - Daniel Coyle

Part 1. Getting started, stare, steal, and be willing to be stupid

Tip #1. Stare at who you want to become

Tip #2. Spend fifteen minutes a day engraving the skill on your brain

Tip #3. Steal without apology

Tip #4. Buy a notebook

Tip #5. Be willing to be stupid

Tip #6. Choose spartan over luxurious

Tip #7. Before you start, figure out if it's a hard skill or a soft skill

Tip #8. To build hard skills, work like a careful carpenter

Tip #9. To build soft skills, play like a skateboarder

Tip #10. Honor the hard skills

Tip #11. Don't fall for the prodigy myth

Tip #12. Five ways to pick a high-quality teacher or coach

  1. Avoid someone who reminds you of a courteous waiter
  1. Seek someone who scares you a little
  1. Seek someone who gives short, clear directions
  1. Seek someone who loves teaching fundamentals
  1. Other things being equal, pick the older person

Part 2. Improving skills, Find the sweet spot, then reach

Tip #13. Find the sweet spot

Tip #14. Take off your watch

Tip #15. Break every move down into chunks

Tip #16. Each day, try to build one perfect chunk

Tip #17. Embrace struggle

Tip #18. Choose five minutes a day over an hour a week

Tip #19. Don't do "Drills" instead, play small, addictive games

Tip #20. Practice alone

Tip #21. Think in images

Tip #22. Pay attention immediately after you make a mistake

Tip #23. Visualize the wires of your brain forming new connections

Tip #24. Visualize the wires of your brain getting faster

Tip #25. Shrink the space

Tip #26. Slow it down (Even slower than you think)

Tip #27. Close your eyes

Tip #28. Mime it

Tip #29. When you get it right, mark the spot

Tip #30. Take a nap

Tip #31. To learn a new move, exaggerate it

Tip #32. Make positive reaches

Tip #33. To learn from a book, close the book

Tip #34. Use the sandwich technique

Tip #35. use the 3x10 technique

Tip #36. Invent daily tests

Tip #37. To choose the best practice method, use the R.E.P.S. gauge

Tip #38. Stop before you're exhausted

Tip #39. Practice immediately after performance

Tip #40. Just before sleep, watch a mental movie

Tip #41. End on a positive note

Tip #42. Six ways to be a better teacher or coach

Part 3. Sustaining progress, embrace repetition, cultivate grit, and keep big goals secret

Tip #43. Embrace repetition

Tip #44. Have a blue-collar mind-set

Tip #45. For every hour of competition, spend five hours practicing

Tip #46. Don't waste time trying to break bad habits - instead, build new ones

Tip #47. To learn it more deeply, teach it

Tip #48. Give a new skill a minimum of eight weeks

Tip #49. When you get stuck, make a shift

Tip #50. Cultivate your grit

Tip #51. Keep your big goals secret

Tip #52. "Think like a gardener, work like a carpenter"