You're Not Special Kalx14

Top Talent, Rockstars, A-Players. Tradition states that these are exceptional humans, possessing talents that others do not. The good news is they are not special, they were not born into success.

The better news is that you’re not special either.

This talk is about learning to learn, putting ourselves in a place where being more awesome is inevitable. It will explore how the brain’s structure changes as we internalize skills and how that can be used to build positive feedback loops. It talks about how I believe that focus itself is an acquired skill and how we can nurture that to build more grit. Finally, we explore how our perception of others effects their ability to grow.

This talk is for anybody who’s ready to stop being special and start becoming great.

http://theotherzach.com/writes/2014/4/18/natural-talent-is-a-myth

http://kalamazoox.org/2014-2/sessions/

Transcript

1. SPECIAL YOU’RE NOT
2. NATURAL TALENT
3. NATURAL TALENT
4. MUSICIANS
5. MUSICIANS •Practice: Primary Predictor of Skill •Practically the ONLY predictor of skill beyond a novice level
6. MUSICIANS The very best performers learn at the same rate as the worst performers.
7. MUSICIANS There was no skill ceiling. Mo practice, mo skills.
8. MUSICIANS •No Baby Experts •Learned at the same rate •Learned the same things
9. PHYSICS NINJA
13. PHYSICS NINJA
14. PERMISSION SLIPS TO NOT TRY •“not artistic” •“tone deaf” •“can’t learn math” •“no coordination” •“not creative” =
15. PERMISSION SLIPS? Where we’re going, we don’t need permission slips.
16. MASTERY
17. FIRST STEPS Awesomeness TIME
18. BURNING NEW PATHWAYS Awesomeness TIME
19. THE FIRST HINT OF FUN Awesomeness TIME
20. YOUR BRAIN ON PRACTICE PRACTICE MORE MAKE NEURAL PATHWAYS, FASTER LESS EFFORT, MORE FUN PRACTICE MORE MAKE NEURAL PATHWAYS, FASTER LESS EFFORT, MORE FUN PRACTICE MORE LIKE, WICKED FAST I WILL CUT YOU
21. YOUR BRAIN ON PRACTICE Awesomeness TIME
22. LOVE
23. LOVE
24. LOVE
25. LOVE
26. LOVE
27. LOVE
28. THANK YOU
29. tablexi.com The location in which I do my work even though I do not work for them. theotherzach.com @theotherzach I write JavaScript and Ruby. testdouble.com Who I work for. ZACH BRIGGS TEST DOUBLE TABLE XI ME
30. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE •http://theotherzach.com/writes/2014/4/18/ natural-talent-is-a-myth
31. SPECIAL THANKS •Bryan Schoeff, Jason Duffy, and John Van Enk for listening to my early thoughts and for telling me which ones were bad. •Dusty Burwell, Todd Kaufman, Leon Gersing, and Aly Fluckey for convincing me that my original beginning and ending really sucked. •Shannon Dowty for all of the above and not letting me produce mediocre shit. She spent countless hours listening to variations of this talk. •Michael Eaton for placing bets on new speakers.