How Using the Power of Routine Can Make You a Top Performer

In the early 1990s, a very rigorous scientific study was done in Berlin on music.  The study’s objective was to understand why certain violinists were more talented than others were.  This study is related in a fascinating book by Geoff Colvin called Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers from Everybody Else. In order to do the study, the researchers created three groups of violinists–best, above average and good.  Each of these three groups were spending the same amount of their time involved in music-related activities. One of the most interesting things going into the study was that the violinist all seemed to know what particular activity mattered most in order to make them better at the violin: Practicing alone.  In fact, all of the violinist seemed to know this but, of course, they all did not do it.  The researchers quickly discovered that the amount of time the various groups spent practicing alone varied dramatically. The study discovered that the advantages of consistent practice built-up over time.  All of the test subjects were asked to estimate how much they had practiced.  The results were significant

• Best Violinists-By the age of 18 these violinists has accumulated 7,410 hours of lifetime practice on average as a group.
• Above Average Violinists-By the age of 18 these violinists had accumulated 5,301 hours of lifetime practice on average.
• Good Violinists-By the age of 18 these violinists had accumulated on average of 3,420 hours of practice on average.

The study concluded that

The differences between expert performers and normal adults reflect a lifetime period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain.

The reason this study is so significant is due to the fact that it flies in the face of the idea of innate talent.  While many people work hard, this study also shows that the people who work [Read more]

Go Beneath the Surface to Find a Job

One of the most interesting theories about life on earth is the fact that it exists and can be found in conditions that conventional wisdom would believe it cannot exist in. Carl Wirson of the Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institution wrote in a 1991 paper:

In 1991, scientists aboard the submersible Alvin were in the right spot at the right time to witness something extraordinary. They had sailed into the aftermath of a very recent volcanic eruption on the seafloor and found themselves in a virtual blizzard. They were densely surrounded by flocs of white debris, composed of sulfur and microbes, which [Read more]

Treating Your Career Like A Small Business

No one seems to take the time to consider that their careers are businesses. Your career is no different than any small business. You have a product (you) that you are selling to your audience (your employer). You need to run your career exactly like a business person runs a business. There is no greater skill to have with your career than to run it like a business. As a business, your goal is survival and to sell your product for as much money as possible. So too it is with your career.

Be a good business person and your career may go far, ignore the business realities and you are likely to run into trouble. I have been a recruiter for several years and have [Read more]

Finding Jobs Through Contacts

I work in the employment industry and a large part of my business is devoted to (1) helping people identify job opportunities through consolidating job listings from hundreds of sources, (2) creating new résumés and cover letters for people from scratch and (3) mass mailing résumés to targeted employers that match the interests and the geographical preferences of the applicants. However, I believe one of the best ways for people to get a job is by utilizing their own personal contacts. The easiest way to procure work through people you know is to simply send an email, or pick up [Read more]

Seven Reasons People Never Have the Successful Careers They Are Capable of

A lawyer told me last night that most of the other attorneys she knows are looking to do something other than practice law. Lawyers are one of the most fascinating breeds of people I know. The ones who go to the top law schools and start in jobs with the top law firms generally have been performing at a very high level for their entire lives; however, when they get out in the real world, a good proportion of these attorneys fail to have fulfilling and successful long-term careers. What this has taught me is that no matter how smart we are, how talented we [Read more]

Instead of Seeking Praise, Seek Criticism

Several years ago, I had a girlfriend who would fly off the handle at the slightest criticism.  It didn’t matter who was criticizing her. She would call people ugly, smelly, short–whatever attack she could muster in response to what she perceived as criticism. She would also do everything within her power to avoid being criticized. In school, for example, many mornings she would work until 4 a.m. to ensure she got a perfect grade in her class. In her personal life, she made sure to only associate with people she knew would never criticize her. [Read more]

Picking Up Suicide Victims in a Shanghai River

I watched a chilling story on CNN yesterday about a man who has started a business driving his small motorboat up and down a river outside of Shanghai, finding and picking up suicide victims. He fishes the bodies out of the water (in various states of decomposition) and then calls the families and tries to negotiate the highest prices possible for the return of the bodies. Most of the suicides are people who jumped off bridges all around Shanghai. Business is very good for this man. Based on the news story, he is fast [Read more]