Secrets of Greatness: What it Takes to be Great

Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work
By Geoffrey Colvin

What makes Tiger Woods great? What made Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett the world’s premier investor? We think we know: Each was a natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up doing. As Buffett told Fortune not long ago, he was “wired at birth to allocate capital.” It’s a one-in-a-million thing. You’ve got it - or you don’t.

Well, folks, it’s not so simple. For one thing, you do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts don’t exist. (Sorry, Warren.) You are not a born CEO or investor or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that’s demanding and painful.

Buffett, for instance, is famed for his discipline and the hours he spends studying financial statements of potential investment targets. The good news is that your lack of a natural gift is irrelevant - talent has little or nothing to do with greatness. You can make yourself into any number of things, and you can even make yourself great.

Scientific experts are producing remarkably consistent findings across a wide array of fields. Understand that talent doesn’t mean intelligence, motivation or personality traits. It’s an innate ability to do some specific activity especially well. British-based researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda conclude in an extensive study, “The evidence we have surveyed … does not support the [notion that] excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts.”

To see how the researchers could reach such a conclusion, consider the problem they were trying to solve. In virtually every field of endeavor, most people learn quickly at first, then more slowly and then stop developing completely. Yet a few do improve for years and even decades, and go on to greatness.

The irresistible question - the “fundamental challenge” for researchers in this field, says the most prominent of them, professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University - is, Why? How are certain people able to go on improving? The answers begin with consistent observations about great performers in many fields.
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The 10 Part Framework to Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs

Our communications coach breaks down the ace presenter’s latest Macworld keynote. The result? A 10-part framework you can use to wow your own audience

by Carmine Gallo

When Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs kicked off this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo, he once again raised the bar on presentation skills. While most presenters simply convey information, Jobs also inspires. He sells the steak and the sizzle at the same time, as one reader commented a few years ago.

I analyzed his latest presentation and extracted the 10 elements that you can combine to dazzle your own audience. Bear in mind that Jobs has been refining his skills for years. I broke down his 2007 Macworld keynote in a previous column (BusinessWeek.com, 7/6/07) and in a chapter in my latest book. Still, how he actually arrives at what appear to be effortless presentations bears expanding on and explaining again.

1. Set the theme. “There is something in the air today.” With those words, Jobs opened Macworld. By doing so, he set the theme for his presentation (BusinessWeek.com, 1/15/08) and hinted at the key product announcement—the ultrathin MacBook Air laptop. Every presentation needs a theme, but you don’t have to deliver it at the start. Last year, Jobs delivered the theme about 20 minutes into his presentation: “Today Apple reinvents the phone.” Once you identify your theme, make sure you deliver it several times throughout your presentation.

2. Demonstrate enthusiasm. Jobs shows his passion for computer design. During his presentation he used words like “extraordinary,” “amazing,” and “cool.” When demonstrating a new location feature for the iPhone, Jobs said, “It works pretty doggone well.” Most speakers have room to add some flair to their presentations. Remember, your audience wants to be wowed, not put to sleep. Next time you’re crafting or delivering a presentation, think about injecting your own personality into it. If you think a particular feature of your product is “awesome,” say it. Most speakers get into presentation mode and feel as though they have to strip the talk of any fun. If you are not enthusiastic about your own products or services, how do you expect your audience to be?

3. Provide an outline. Jobs outlined the presentation by saying, “There are four things I want to talk about today. So let’s get started…” Jobs followed his outline by verbally opening and closing each of the four sections and making clear transitions in between. For example, after revealing several new iPhone features, he said, “The iPhone is not standing still. We keep making it better and better and better. That was the second thing I wanted to talk about today. No. 3 is about iTunes.” Make lists and provide your audience with guideposts along the way.

4. Make numbers meaningful. When Jobs announced that Apple had sold 4 million iPhones to date, he didn’t simply leave the number out of context. Instead, he put it in perspective by adding, “That’s 20,000 iPhones every day, on average.” Jobs went on to say, “What does that mean to the overall market?” Jobs detailed the breakdown of the U.S smartphone market and Apple’s share of it to demonstrate just how impressive the number actually is. Jobs also pointed out that Apple’s market share equals the share of its top three competitors combined. Numbers don’t mean much unless they are placed in context. Connect the dots for your listeners.

5. Try for an unforgettable moment. This is the moment in your presentation Read more

How to Make Six Figures, Each and Every Year

If you read this, statistically you are not making a six figure income. We would all like to get make a lot of money so that we can be financially independent, but not all of us are willing to do what it takes together there. You can’t just take an application down to a major corporation and expect six figures; you have to do some work to get there. If you’re up for the challenge, here’s how you can earn at least $100,000 each year.

The first thing you need to do is choose the right profession. Some jobs are just a lot better paying than others. You won’t make six figures being a janitor. This statement is pretty obvious, yet so many people ignore this information and get that psychology major anyway. This does certainly not mean you should try to be an actor, because Tom Cruise makes millions of dollars for each movie he’s in. You should choose a career, such as finance, medicine, law, or higher education that anyone can do very well with if they work extremely hard at it. Before even considering an education, you need to figure out what you want to do, and find a niche in that industry that will pay very well.

The second thing you need to do is become the right person for the right profession. Yes, this means getting an education, whether it be self taught or through some sort of post-secondary education. Look at all of the different advertisements for the positions that you want to be, and see what they require. This will tell you exactly what you need to learn and become experienced in. Study on a part-time basis if you can’t fully commit yourself to a new education. Even if you pick out the right job, chances are you won’t make six-figures right away. Doctors have to be interns and residents before they can be part of a private practice. This is the step that requires the largest time commitment, and where many people seem to fail. If you can manage to hold out for long enough, you’ll get all of the education that you need.
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Four Simple Steps to Turn Persistence into a Habit

by Bob Proctor

If you were to choose just one part of your personality to develop that would virtually guarantee your success, I’d like to suggest that you place persistence at the top of your list.

Napoleon Hill, in his classic Think and Grow Rich felt so strongly about this subject, he devoted an entire chapter to it. Hill suggested, “There may be no heroic connotation to the word persistence but the quality is to your character what carbon is to steel.”

Think about it. If you took a quick mental walk down memory lane and reviewed some of your accomplishments in the past – large and small – you would have to agree that persistence played an important role in your success.

Napoleon Hill studied many of the world’s most successful people. He pointed out the only quality he could find in Henry Ford, Thomas Edison or a host of other notable greats, that he could not find in everyone else was persistence. What I found even more intriguing was the fact that Hill made comment of the fact that these individuals were often misunderstood to be ruthless or cold-blooded and that this misconception grew out of their habit of following through in all of their plans with persistence.

It’s both interesting and sadly amusing to me that, as a society, we would be quick to criticize people for realizing they had an unshakable power within them and were capable of overcoming any obstacle outside of them. This power would ultimately move them toward a greater chance of achieving any goal they set for themselves!
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