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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Peak summary
Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
14 mins
Brief summary
Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool debunks the myth of innate talent and explores the principles of deliberate practice, providing practical tools for achieving mastery in any field.
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Peak
Summary of 6 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 6
With diligent practice, everyone can develop specialized skills from a young age.
It is said that Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could identify any musical note, regardless on which instrument the note was played. But few people know how he was able to do this.
Have you ever wondered how Mozart achieved such tremendous musical ability, or how some people memorize thousands of digits in pi as if doing so was as easy as knowing your phone number?
We used to think such genius was the product of innate talent or a special, spiritual gift. But in reality, anyone can acquire highly specialized skills. It just takes practice.
Consider perfect pitch, the ability that Mozart had to identify any musical note without a known tone for reference. This skill is rare; only one in 10,000 people can do it. Perfect pitch is considered an example of an innate ability. Yet a recent study found that having perfect pitch isn’t innate at all.
In 2014, Japanese psychologist Ayako Sakakibara set out to teach 24 children between the ages of two and six how to identify the 14 different chords on a piano. Several times a day, every day for months, she taught the children chords.
As the children progressed, Sakakibara tested them on individual notes. At the end of the experiment, all the children could correctly identify notes when played. In other words, they had acquired perfect pitch.
It stands to reason that with the right training, any person can learn perfect pitch, too.
This would require diligent instruction and practice, however, starting at the age of six. The point is, under favorable conditions, perfect pitch is something that almost anyone can master.
Humans can develop highly specific skills regardless of the skill in question, be it music or otherwise, because of the way the brain responds to practicing. You’ll learn how in the next blink.
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What is Peak about?
Peak (2016) is your guide to achieving expertise through regular practice. Counter to the general perception that natural ability plays a large part in determining performance, these blinks show you that just about anyone can acquire specialized skills if they practice hard and correctly.
Best quote from Peak
What sets expert performers apart from everyone else is the quality and quantity of their mental representations.
—Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
Who should read Peak?
- Students of cognitive psychology
- People who think they’re too old to learn new skills
- Business managers and entrepreneurs
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