The Talent Code

Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How.

By: Daniel Coyle

Narrated by: John Farrell

What is the secret of talent? How do we unlock it? This groundbreaking work from the New York Times bestselling author of The Culture Code and The Little Book of Talent provides readers with tools for maximizing potential in themselves and others.

Drawing on cutting-edge neurology and firsthand research gathered on journeys to nine of the world’s talent hotbeds—from the baseball fields of the Caribbean to a classical-music academy in upstate New York—Daniel Coyle identifies the three key elements that will allow you to develop your gifts and optimize your performance in sports, art, music, math, or just about anything.

• Deep Practice: Everyone knows that practice is a key to success. What everyone doesn’t know is that specific kinds of practice can increase skill up to ten times faster than conventional practice.
• Ignition: We all need a little motivation to get started. But what separates truly high achievers from the rest of the pack? A higher level of commitment—call it passion—born out of our deepest unconscious desires and triggered by certain primal cues. Understanding how these signals work can help you ignite passion and catalyze skill development.
• Master Coaching: What are the secrets of the world’s most effective teachers, trainers, and coaches? Discover the four virtues that enable these “talent whisperers” to fuel passion, inspire deep practice, and bring out the best in their students.

These three elements work together within your brain to form myelin, a microscopic neural substance that adds vast amounts of speed and accuracy to your movements and thoughts. Scientists have discovered that myelin might just be the holy grail: the foundation of all forms of greatness, from Michelangelo’s to Michael Jordan’s. The good news about myelin is that it isn’t fixed at birth; to the contrary, it grows, and like anything that grows, it can be cultivated and nourished.

Combining revelatory analysis with illuminating examples of regular people who have achieved greatness, The Talent Code will not only change the way you think about talent, but equip you to reach your own highest potential.

Critic reviews

“I only wish I'd never before used the words ‘breakthrough’ or ‘breathtaking’ or ‘magisterial’ or ‘stunning achievement’ or ‘your world will never be the same after you read this book.’ Then I could be using them for the first and only time as I describe my reaction to Daniel Coyle’s The Talent Code. I am even willing to ‘guarantee’ that you will not read a more important and useful book in 2009, or pretty much any other year. And if all that's not enough, it's also ‘a helluva good read.’”—Tom Peters, co-author of In Search of Excellence

“This is a remarkable—even inspiring—book. Daniel Coyle has woven observations from brain research, behavioral research, and real-world training into a conceptual tapestry of genuine importance. What emerges is both a testament to the remarkable potential we all have to learn and perform and an indictment of any idea that our individual capacities and limitations are fixed at birth.”—Dr. Robert Bjork, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Psychology, UCLA

“Daniel Coyle digs deep into the core of the insatiable desire to become ‘better.’ An amazing read with many practical applications for everyday life.”—Apolo Anton Ohno, Olympic gold medalist

Good Book

Great points made throughout this book. One caveat I would make is about the final chapter. I would expand more on the failings of the team and their coaching in regards to Jamarcus Russell. Otherwise, it may seem counterintuitive to the items discussed in this book. It seems like the author set it up that way in his final sentence of the chapter, but I would not gamble on that one sentence conveying the message accurately.

Very Informative

this was a good read and was very informative. it was based on a lot of research and common sense. I would recommend it.

Motivational and informative

Great book overall. I finished the book in just 3 listening sessions so the reiterating of some ideas was a bit much for me.

A really great book!

This book is really good and suitable for everyone who works with or are around people.
After reading this book you’ll be able to help yourself, your child or others on the path to become really good at what they want to do!

Great book!

Excellent explanation of how the brain works and how to become good at something, basically by failing and deep practice.