Here is the book review of the Talent Code by Daniel Coyle

KEY POINT:

• The author states that from a neurological standpoint anyone can pull together to become a world-class performer, artist, or athlete.
• The talent code building on revolutionary scientific discovery involves a neural insulator called Myelin.
• Talent depends on Myelin growth, the insulation that wraps around your neural circuits.
• To stimulate myelin growth, you have to practice at the very edge and extreme of your current capabilities
• Talent is formed when deep work and deep practice is undertaken.

EXAMPLES PROVIDED IN THE BOOK

• How does Brazil produce one of the best soccer players in the world?
• How does an ordinary music school in Dallas create talents like Demi Lovato and Jessica Simpson?
• How did Clarissa – a 13-year-old girl accomplish a months worth of mastery in 6 minutes?
• How Lamm created a new system of robbing banks with flawless strategy & scientific technique.
• How Se Ri Pak won the LPGA Tour & created a revolution for South Korean players globally.

**********************************

The Talent Code Book by Daniel Coyle
WHAT IS MYELIN?

• Any skill is created by developing chains of nerve fibers carrying a tiny electrical impulse – basically a signal traveling through a circuit. Myelin’s vital role is to wrap those nerve fibers the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire, making the signals stronger & faster by preventing the electrical impulses from escaping.
• When we fire our electrical signals and electrical circuits in the right way (that is when we practice that skill perfectly & deeply) – the myelin in our system wraps layers of insulation around the neural circuit – each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin layer gets, the better it insulated, the faster and more accurate our movements and our thoughts become.

So now, how does Brazil produce such great football players?

• Brazilians football players play a game called Futsal
• The court is smaller,
• The ball is heavier,
• There is less space for the players to run around
• Futsal requires more precise handling of the ball
• Each player has 6 times more contact with the ball than regular soccer
• So when any player from Brazil play futsal, they play more often, more accurately and given that the ball is heavier, their build more muscle and strength on other bodies ability to play the game

**********************************

The Talent Code Book by Daniel Coyle (contd)
You will also be introduced to the following terms

DEEP PRACTICE

• Deep Practice is when you work with complete concentration – body, mind, soul and focus – firing & optimizing electrical circuits, correcting errors and improving their skills. Deep practice is also an important aspect of creating myline

CHUNKING

• Chunk it up – look at the task as a whole and break it down into smaller units
• An example in the New York music school, sheets of music were chopped up horizontally then stuffed into envelopes and pulled out randomly so that a piece of music would first be practiced in a random order. So when the musicians finally played a piece of music in its intended order, they gained a deep understanding of each elements of the piece.

SLOW PRACTICE

• When you go practice slow – really slowly, you have a higher degree of precision with each firing and then the nerve firings get more precise and slower and more myelin is wrapped around. Coordination is built on repetition, whether correct or incorrect.

OBSESSIVE REPETITION

• There is no substitution for repetition

PRACTICE TO THE EDGE 

• Always practice to the edge of your capabilities. Practice so intensely, so obsessively and with so much paranoia that each and every aspect of the work you are doing – focuses on you being the best.

MENTORS

• No great champion has ever succeeded without a Coach or Mentor. And they are not like what they show in Hollywood as the ones who scream and shout and give inspiring pep talks. They are the ones who are quiet, focused and give you key areas to practice on. They customize each teaching program to each and every person. They never have a one size fits all program.

**********************************

The Talent Code Book by Daniel Coyle (contd)
MOMENT OF TRUTH

A very well researched book that gives you a lot of wisdom and opens your mind to the reality of what it takes to be a champion. I totally agree with all the observations of the author and I found his concepts very relatable as I myself not only practice these techniques as a student, I teach my clients and students the same. Overall, a great book, good reading experience and easy to relate content.

**********************************

The Talent Code Book by Daniel Coyle (contd)
OVERALL RATING 

7.5 out of 10.

Loy Machedo