I have just finished reading a fascinating book entitled ‘Bounce’ by Matthew Syed. It is quite a provocative work which explores the links between so-called talent and success in many fields but especially in sports people.  The conventional wisdom being that we can be born brilliant or conversely that we are restricted by our genetic make-up or social background to spend the remainder of our existence in mediocrity.

Without attempting to paraphrase the whole book (I would heartily recommend everyone to read it) the author’s research concludes that talent, however it is defined, is over-rated. The key to peak performance is instead, it seems, purposeful practice. Lots and lots of purposeful practice. Indeed, the rule-of-thumb Syed utilises is that mastery of any complex skill is unlikely until one has clocked up over 10,000 hours of focused, purposeful practice. 
Of course, this notion won’t come as a shock to those of us immersed in the world of TI. The mindset of Kaizen (continuous improvement) being that we are all on a personal path of self-improvement with mindful, purposeful practice being the driving force. And that by applying this attitude consistently we can achieve mastery. However, this idea is far from pervasive in other disciplines or in life in general.
I had a pretty normal childhood. As far as sport (and most other things) was concerned I wasn’t discouraged. But neither was I actively encouraged. Without the drive or direction I didn’t put in the hours and I fell for the talent myth. I was never going to be any good at sports because I didn’t have the ‘talent’. So I didn’t try. And thus choosing the safe option became a habit. Never try, never fail. Right? Sound familiar?
I’ll save my ‘how I ended up doing TI’ post for another time. But my TI practice and my reading of Bounce brought me to a realisation. TI has proven to me that dedication and perseverance (when you’re working smart!) are the keys to progress. Not being born lucky. I also now see that Kaizen is not a notion that is specific to TI but an attitude to life. I’m not afraid to take risks any more. And that is my very personal reason for becoming a TI Coach – to help as many people as I can realise that whatever they want to achieve they have it within themselves to do it. With the help of a good coach of course.
If self-doubt is the disease, TI has the cure.