{"id":58552,"date":"2016-07-29T12:35:38","date_gmt":"2016-07-29T17:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=58552"},"modified":"2026-10-20T12:31:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T17:31:03","slug":"podcast-221-reach-your-peak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/character\/self-improvement\/podcast-221-reach-your-peak\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #221: Reach Your Peak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Where does greatness come from? Why was Ted Williams the greatest hitter in the history of baseball? What made Mozart one of history\u2019s most talented composers? Why was Shakespeare such a brilliant writer?<\/span><\/p>\n

The typical answer most people give is that greatness is innate — you’re either born with certain gifts and talents or you’re not.<\/span><\/p>\n

But recent research suggests otherwise. Greatness is in fact made through years of hard, deliberate practice. <\/span><\/p>\n

My guest today has been at the forefront of this research on the science of expertise. His name is Anders Ericsson and he\u2019s a professor of psychology at Florida State University. He, along with co-author Robert Pool, have recently published a book highlighting Ericsson’s research into the true nature and malleability of talent. It\u2019s called Peak: Secrets From the New Science of Expertise<\/em><\/a>. Today on the show, Anders and I discuss the common misconceptions people have about talent, why the way most people practice leads to mediocre results, and how you can start implementing deliberate practice in your life to master any domain you choose. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Where does greatness come from? Why was Ted Williams the greatest hitter in the history of baseball? What made Mozart one of history\u2019s most talented composers? Why was Shakespeare such a brilliant writer? The typical answer most people give is that greatness is innate — you’re either born with certain gifts and talents or you’re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":195778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[502,156,42388],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character","category-podcast","category-self-improvement"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/221-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/221-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/221-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/221-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/221-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"\nPodcast: How to Achieve Greatness | The Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta 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