The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance
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- Create Date：2021-07-21 08:52:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Josh Waitzkin
- ISBN：0743277465
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Summary
In his riveting new book， The Art of Learning， Waitzkin tells his remarkable story of personal achievement and shares the principles of learning and performance that have propelled him to the top—twice。
Josh Waitzkin knows what it means to be at the top of his game。 A public figure since winning his first National Chess Championship at the age of nine， Waitzkin was catapulted into a media whirlwind as a teenager when his father’s book Searching for Bobby Fischer was made into a major motion picture。 After dominating the scholastic chess world for ten years， Waitzkin expanded his horizons， taking on the martial art Tai Chi Chuan and ultimately earning the title of World Champion。 How was he able to reach the pinnacle of two disciplines that on the surface seem so different？ “I’ve come to realize that what I am best at is not Tai Chi， and it is not chess，” he says。 “What I am best at is the art of learning。”
With a narrative that combines heart-stopping martial arts wars and tense chess face-offs with life lessons that speak to all of us， The Art of Learning takes readers through Waitzkin’s unique journey to excellence。 He explains in clear detail how a well-thought-out， principled approach to learning is what separates success from failure。 Waitzkin believes that achievement， even at the championship level， is a function of a lifestyle that fuels a creative， resilient growth process。 Rather than focusing on climactic wins， Waitzkin reveals the inner workings of his everyday method， from systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs， to honing techniques into states of remarkable potency， to mastering the art of performance psychology。
Through his own example， Waitzkin explains how to embrace defeat and make mistakes work for you。 Does your opponent make you angry？ Waitzkin describes how to channel emotions into creative fuel。 As he explains it， obstacles are not obstacles but challenges to overcome， to spur the growth process by turning weaknesses into strengths。 He illustrates the exact routines that he has used in all of his competitions， whether mental or physical， so that you too can achieve your peak performance zone in any competitive or professional circumstance。
In stories ranging from his early years taking on chess hustlers as a seven year old in New York City’s Washington Square Park， to dealing with the pressures of having a film made about his life， to International Chess Championships in India， Hungary， and Brazil， to gripping battles against powerhouse fighters in Taiwan in the Push Hands World Championships， The Art of Learning encapsulates an extraordinary competitor’s life lessons in a page-turning narrative。
Josh Waitzkin knows what it means to be at the top of his game。 A public figure since winning his first National Chess Championship at the age of nine， Waitzkin was catapulted into a media whirlwind as a teenager when his father’s book Searching for Bobby Fischer was made into a major motion picture。 After dominating the scholastic chess world for ten years， Waitzkin expanded his horizons， taking on the martial art Tai Chi Chuan and ultimately earning the title of World Champion。 How was he able to reach the pinnacle of two disciplines that on the surface seem so different？ “I’ve come to realize that what I am best at is not Tai Chi， and it is not chess，” he says。 “What I am best at is the art of learning。”
With a narrative that combines heart-stopping martial arts wars and tense chess face-offs with life lessons that speak to all of us， The Art of Learning takes readers through Waitzkin’s unique journey to excellence。 He explains in clear detail how a well-thought-out， principled approach to learning is what separates success from failure。 Waitzkin believes that achievement， even at the championship level， is a function of a lifestyle that fuels a creative， resilient growth process。 Rather than focusing on climactic wins， Waitzkin reveals the inner workings of his everyday method， from systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs， to honing techniques into states of remarkable potency， to mastering the art of performance psychology。
Through his own example， Waitzkin explains how to embrace defeat and make mistakes work for you。 Does your opponent make you angry？ Waitzkin describes how to channel emotions into creative fuel。 As he explains it， obstacles are not obstacles but challenges to overcome， to spur the growth process by turning weaknesses into strengths。 He illustrates the exact routines that he has used in all of his competitions， whether mental or physical， so that you too can achieve your peak performance zone in any competitive or professional circumstance。
In stories ranging from his early years taking on chess hustlers as a seven year old in New York City’s Washington Square Park， to dealing with the pressures of having a film made about his life， to International Chess Championships in India， Hungary， and Brazil， to gripping battles against powerhouse fighters in Taiwan in the Push Hands World Championships， The Art of Learning encapsulates an extraordinary competitor’s life lessons in a page-turning narrative。
Reviews
Fatema
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BOOK REVIEW#2 “The art of learning”- Josh Waitzkin“One has to investigate the principle in one thing or one event exhaustively; things and the self are governed by the same principle。 If you understand one， you understand the other， for the truth within and the truth without are identical。”The book is about the journey of a national chess champion and now a martial artist。 It follows the transition of the scholastic， brutally competitive world of chess to the disciplined art of tai-chi。 Waitzkin BOOK REVIEW#2 “The art of learning”- Josh Waitzkin“One has to investigate the principle in one thing or one event exhaustively; things and the self are governed by the same principle。 If you understand one， you understand the other， for the truth within and the truth without are identical。”The book is about the journey of a national chess champion and now a martial artist。 It follows the transition of the scholastic， brutally competitive world of chess to the disciplined art of tai-chi。 Waitzkin through a compelling and engaging autobiographical account has wrapped psychological and philosophical insights for us to discover along the journey and to eventually use those insights to improve ourselves。 Many people consider success to be a linear path but Waitzkin proves that the path to success is filled with many hills and pits。 Learning is not about quickly absorbing complex tricks and phenomena rather it is mastery of basic principles to the point of perfection。Waitzkin teaches us about learning from hard conflict。 His truthful， flexible and absorbing book has made Waitzkin an open teacher， someone who apart from providing insights along the way encourages readers to find methods that work for them， to create a learning process that yields the highest result for them。 He doesn’t force them into learning molds like many teachers and parents too。 Here are few of the many great insights Waitzkin has provided us in this compelling read。Losing to win“On the third move of the game， David made a strange decision， allowing me to capture his king pawn with my knight。 I should have taken some time to look for traps， but I moved too quickly。 Then he was all over me。” If anyone has ever seen lion hunt， will know that before a lion advances on a forward lunge on the enemy， it takes two steps back， retreating。 Winning doesn’t always mean jumping forward from the first level to the next level rather players jump back and forth between the levels before they reach their destination。 The mightiest blows may not always be some grand maneuver rather it is the very subtle， insignificant but constant blows that erodes the enemy。Two approaches to learning“Dr。 Carol Dweck， a leading researcher in the field of developmental psychology， makes the distinction between entity theorists- that is， kids who have been influenced by their parents and teachers to think in this manner- are prone to use language like “I am smart at this” and to attribute their success or failure to an ingrained and unalterable level of ability。 They spent their overall intelligence or skill level at a certain discipline to be a fixed entity a thing that cannot evolve。 Incremental theorists， who have picked up a different modality of learning- let’s call them learning theorists- are prone to describe their results with sentences like “I got it because I worked very hard at it” or “I should have tried harder” A child with a learning theory intelligence tends to sense that with hard work difficult material can be grasped- step by step， incrementally， the novice can become a master”There isn’t a fixed learning mold people could fit into; the ability to grasp concepts is different for everyone。 Everybody should stick to a learning process suitable for them that yields maximum outcome and enriches their learning experience。 A skill isn’t something to be acquired through some innate talent， something that evolves over the passage of time。 Whenever we get stuck at some complex step， the key thing to do is to revise the basic principles， complicated maneuvers and concepts are nothing but parts of the fundamental rearranged to confuse us。 Also looking at things through different perspectives provides great insights ex: - if you are a musician and you know how to paint as well， then maybe some techniques that apply to painting may also apply to music。 Speaking of seeing things through different perspectives， studying a discipline by imitating works of great masters is also insightful but it shouldn’t discourage to you from finding your own voice。 Use techniques that are unique to you and your personality。Making smaller circles“The theme side is depth over breadth。 The learning principle is to plunge into the detailed mystery of the micro in order to understand what makes the macro tick。”When studying a discipline many people have faced the moment of despair one encounters a complex problem， or maneuver which seems impossible to master at first glance。 A great tip that comes handy in these situations is to try and assimilate the concept into smaller chunks and master each individual chunk， to be able to perform the piece as whole perfectly。 Cinematic moves and tricks may give you the ability to woo a crowd of people but it is actually the internalization and perfect mastery of fundamental principles that guarantee success。 To learn about the movements of the clock， one has to study the individual gears that turn the hands of the clock。Using adversity“Once we learn how to use adversity to our advantage， we can manufacture the helpful growth opportunity without actual danger or injury I call this the tool “the internal solution”- we can notice external events that trigger helpful growth or performance opportunities and then internalize the effects of those events without their actually happening。 In this adversity， becomes a tremendous source of creative inspiration”The life of man is filled with adversities; they are inevitable aspect of our lives。 Many people consider adversities as a setback or a sign that suggest they must quit。 Adversities become a setback when we give adversities the power to hinder our progress。 Adversities alter our circumstances; they force us to come up with new ways of learning and optimize our performance even more and giving us the confidence in our abilities。 Adversities should not be considered as setbacks but rather as opportunities for growth。 。。。more
Katia
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There are a handful of genuinely useful insights here， but only if you can wade through the author's insufferable ego for about 200 pages :/ There are a handful of genuinely useful insights here， but only if you can wade through the author's insufferable ego for about 200 pages :/ 。。。more
Vedast Sanxis
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Quotes from the book in the comments:
max momot
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Как переносить принципы обучения из одной сферы деятельности в другую （опыт автора）。
Caleb Anderson
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This is by far the best book on learning I've ever read。A few ideas from the book that stood out to me:- "Numbers to leave numbers， form to leave form。" basically this means we must learn the discipline before we can innovate on it。 （e。g， master the basics of music theory before you "break the rules" with a composition）- "Loss investment。" Loss investment is when we are willing to sacrifice winning something， in order to improve an important skill。 （e。g， practicing counterpoint using composition This is by far the best book on learning I've ever read。A few ideas from the book that stood out to me:- "Numbers to leave numbers， form to leave form。" basically this means we must learn the discipline before we can innovate on it。 （e。g， master the basics of music theory before you "break the rules" with a composition）- "Loss investment。" Loss investment is when we are willing to sacrifice winning something， in order to improve an important skill。 （e。g， practicing counterpoint using composition exercises。 This might not produce inherently interesting music in the present， but it could drastically improve the quality of your future compositions） 。。。more
Robert
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Pontifical garbage， an atrocity。 This book， if it can be called such a thing， should have been titled "Why I am so good at a martial art that sucks"。 EPA should be notified on how much of a waste of paper this book was。 If I wanted to read an edgy treatise on Kung-Fu I could have gone to r/Incel。 Pontifical garbage， an atrocity。 This book， if it can be called such a thing， should have been titled "Why I am so good at a martial art that sucks"。 EPA should be notified on how much of a waste of paper this book was。 If I wanted to read an edgy treatise on Kung-Fu I could have gone to r/Incel。 。。。more
Chris Masterjohn
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Josh Waitzkin is brilliant but I was disappointed that this didn't have more practical tactics for increasing learning speed。 Josh Waitzkin is brilliant but I was disappointed that this didn't have more practical tactics for increasing learning speed。 。。。more
Gregory Howell
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Amazing Book！This was an amazing book！ Pursing professional poker with a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu background， this book resonates with me。 The level of mindfulness， constant self analysis， and dedication to the craft was amazing！
Quang Hưng
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3 star for biography but only 2 star for self-help or personal development uses
Beth Preston
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Interesting book， but not as applicable to my life as I thought it would be。
Patrick Liu
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The narrative was quite exciting and kept the story moving along although sometimes jumping in time frames of his life。 Interesting notions but it seems the answer is to be 10x better than everyone else， and makes such pursuit of excellence seem almost unachievable。 Although， it would be undisputed excellence。
Ademar Sousa Gomes
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Defined one of the top books I’ve read this year！Listening to Josh reading his book is a great experience。 Saying he’s got love for the his craft is an understatement。 Truly inspiring
Mohamad Ahmad
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I was dissapointed by this book， I wanted to quit many times but didn't lest I miss some gems that might be hidden in later chapters。 There weren't， as far as I'm concerned。 The book chronicles the story of how the author excelled in chess in childhood， and then went on to excel in Tai chi in adulthood but surely doesn't live up to its title。 The author talk about things like investment in loss， chunking， depth over breath， maintaining composure under pressure， and shortening of recovery times a I was dissapointed by this book， I wanted to quit many times but didn't lest I miss some gems that might be hidden in later chapters。 There weren't， as far as I'm concerned。 The book chronicles the story of how the author excelled in chess in childhood， and then went on to excel in Tai chi in adulthood but surely doesn't live up to its title。 The author talk about things like investment in loss， chunking， depth over breath， maintaining composure under pressure， and shortening of recovery times as methods applied in his pursuit of excellence。 I really felt bored a lot throughout the book which isn't a good sign。 I don't know，maybe that was my experience but I wouldn't recommend the book to my friends。 。。。more
Patricia Bottero St-Jean
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The title is misleading。 It's not really about the art of learning。 It's about the author's autobiographic lessons learned from his careers as both chess and martial art champion。 His story is interesting and the overlaps between his methods of learning in both pursuits by challenging himself to difficult competitions and fights make sense。 Yet I wouldn't call this a fascinating read。 The title is misleading。 It's not really about the art of learning。 It's about the author's autobiographic lessons learned from his careers as both chess and martial art champion。 His story is interesting and the overlaps between his methods of learning in both pursuits by challenging himself to difficult competitions and fights make sense。 Yet I wouldn't call this a fascinating read。 。。。more
Raymond Smith
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What an amazing mind！ Josh's breakdown of how to learn is very insightful。 The way he correlates different disappoints into one style is very intriguing。 What an amazing mind！ Josh's breakdown of how to learn is very insightful。 The way he correlates different disappoints into one style is very intriguing。 。。。more
book_explorer
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Woah。。。brilliant。 Story drags at times， but always with purpose。 You can apply Waitzkin's principles to nearly anything， I'd imagine。 Woah。。。brilliant。 Story drags at times， but always with purpose。 You can apply Waitzkin's principles to nearly anything， I'd imagine。 。。。more
Varun
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This is not “Art of Learning” but Josh Waitzkin version of "Art of War"。 It is a portal into his brain， helps understand how we thinks， takes on challenges， and how he strategizes。Loved the emphasis he gives to mindfulness / presence in order to compete at the highest level。“Slowing things down” is perhaps the best practical advice one can take from this book。A must read。 This is not “Art of Learning” but Josh Waitzkin version of "Art of War"。 It is a portal into his brain， helps understand how we thinks， takes on challenges， and how he strategizes。Loved the emphasis he gives to mindfulness / presence in order to compete at the highest level。“Slowing things down” is perhaps the best practical advice one can take from this book。A must read。 。。。more
Tarmo Pungas
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Interesting read and definitely inspiring， but not so much instructive as would be expected by the title。 I enjoyed most chapters but found myself yearning for more in-depth learning techniques。 As for the techniques provided， I would have liked some scientific reference。
Zhijing Jin
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Ideally， PhDs do not only master the art （craftsmanship/actual practice） of learning， but also the philosophy of learning。Criticism:1） The book is more like a memoir， but not good for people seeking for replicating the success in other things。 For a better book on how to master anything， please feel free to read "The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything… Fast！" by Josh Kaufman。2） The author is not good at finding the true cause behind a phenomenon， i。e。， he did not distill precisely transferrab Ideally， PhDs do not only master the art （craftsmanship/actual practice） of learning， but also the philosophy of learning。Criticism:1） The book is more like a memoir， but not good for people seeking for replicating the success in other things。 For a better book on how to master anything， please feel free to read "The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything… Fast！" by Josh Kaufman。2） The author is not good at finding the true cause behind a phenomenon， i。e。， he did not distill precisely transferrable/generalizable findings in playing chess and the Taoism Tuishou。 He describes things more like a memoir， and his conclusion may be subject to the typical survival bias。 Namely， he mainly focuses on one data sample （i。e。， himself）， and misunderstood correlation as causality （i。e。， since he succeeds， as a result， he thinks the traits he has， or the exact career path he went through "causes" him to succeed。 A typical counterexample is that there also exist people who have similar talent as a child but failed to pursue a career in such a field， and perhaps the author happens to be a special case。）Takeaways:1） By scrutiny， there are still some good inspirations。 For example， his first chess teacher teaches him to think， instead of memorizing the solutions。 Such process is important in classes and education too， see Johns Hopkins University's professor Jason Eisner's teaching statement's Page 4's first bullet point "Class discussion": http://cs。jhu。edu/~jason/teaching。pdfThe basic idea is that one of the best strategies for teachers is to （1） excite interest， （2） outline basic technical intuitions， （3） activate the intellectualism in students themselves， and their confidence that "I can do it; I can master anything if I pay efforts。"2） For the conclusions from Taoism Tuishou， it is better to just take its effect， i。e。， getting calm and firm in heart。 Of course people don't need to replicate the path through Taoism practice to calmness to success。 The book just "shows" how the author "happens" to achieve it， but for the readers， they can achieve this in other alternative ways， i。e。， also through meditation， yoga， immersing in nature， or just by knowledge， such as deep philosophy of life。 Or if your end goal is not calmness， but just happiness in general， or success in your career， you don't necessarily need to be calm in order to achieve them。 Go to read books directly addressing the way to happiness/success :）。The reasoning here in （2） is a suggested thinking pattern for reading any memoir-like books with largely possible survival bias of the author。 。。。more
Spencer Long
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This book starts out okay， he begins by describing his career as a child prodigy chess player and then martial arts fighter。 But when most authors would pivot into describing the lessons they learned he just continues listing out his achievements。 I've listed this book as read but only so I could write this review。 I stopped around halfway because I didn't think I'd actually learn anything from the book。 This book starts out okay， he begins by describing his career as a child prodigy chess player and then martial arts fighter。 But when most authors would pivot into describing the lessons they learned he just continues listing out his achievements。 I've listed this book as read but only so I could write this review。 I stopped around halfway because I didn't think I'd actually learn anything from the book。 。。。more
Cameron
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Excellent advice from a professional achiever: male smaller circles， find release in the ebb and flow， build a foundation of technique to fly free with creativity…。
Kevin Wang
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his journey towards chessworld。Some interest points how he learned most of skills in the street chess play。
Barry
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The Art of Learning is very much autobiographical in nature - it follows Josh Waitzkin's impressive feats and he rose to prominence first in the chess world and then in tai chi chuan。 At times， it can be hard to parse out which things are replicable learnings about mastery， and which are just reflections on Waitzkin's nature。 Either way it makes for an interesting read。 The Art of Learning is very much autobiographical in nature - it follows Josh Waitzkin's impressive feats and he rose to prominence first in the chess world and then in tai chi chuan。 At times， it can be hard to parse out which things are replicable learnings about mastery， and which are just reflections on Waitzkin's nature。 Either way it makes for an interesting read。 。。。more
Jacob
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Highly entertaining。 Excellent storytelling and packed with beliefs about deep work and cultivating true mastery。
Ian
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I really liked reading Waitzkin's description of his journey through becoming an international chess giant and all the different activities he experienced along the way。 While I was reading it， it seemed like a good book for consulting when trying to work through abstract problems involving competition。 Even without something to immediately apply his advice to， it was still a great read， but I couldn't help but think "This would probably be even better in a different situation。" It's one thing t I really liked reading Waitzkin's description of his journey through becoming an international chess giant and all the different activities he experienced along the way。 While I was reading it， it seemed like a good book for consulting when trying to work through abstract problems involving competition。 Even without something to immediately apply his advice to， it was still a great read， but I couldn't help but think "This would probably be even better in a different situation。" It's one thing to hear someone who's never been at the top wax philosophical about how lessons from one place can translate to another， but coming from a world champion like Waitzkin。。。 it carried a lot more weight。Even though I don't really have much of any interest in Tai Chi and usually think of it as something old white guys with ponytails do at the park to draw attention， the way Waitzkin explained the competitive aspect of it reminded me of trying to explain the difference between BJJ and whatever style of martial arts they're practicing at your nearest strip mall。 Once I got over that hump， I could appreciate the book a lot more。 My favorite part of the book was the last section， where he narrates his experience competing at the Tai Chi world cup。 Pretty exciting storytelling。I appreciated his pragmatism and had a lot in this book to highlight， and expect I'll add it to my collection to review at a later point in my life。 。。。more
Dide
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I never expected I will be finishing this book today but i did。 Took it up almost noon and got sucked in。 This in my opinion， is one of those books that calls to you by the manner in which its words speaks to your own life （by the way writing was clean and captivating）。The very last page or so has a quote by the author that practically summarises his mission statement for what he expects any reader to gain from his book。"it’s my hope that they suggest a structure and direction。 But there is no s I never expected I will be finishing this book today but i did。 Took it up almost noon and got sucked in。 This in my opinion， is one of those books that calls to you by the manner in which its words speaks to your own life （by the way writing was clean and captivating）。The very last page or so has a quote by the author that practically summarises his mission statement for what he expects any reader to gain from his book。"it’s my hope that they suggest a structure and direction。 But there is no such thing as a fixed recipe for victory or happiness。 If my approach feels right， take it， hone it， give it your own flavor"And in my humble opinion， he did just that。 He has used his life experiences both from chess and martial art to come up with guidelines that he believes can be applied universally to be a better life learner to any discipline。 He brings forth sound guides and provides really memorable teachings that initiates you to reflect on similar situations in one's life。 Loved it！One more thing， i watched his martial tournament match on YouTube just before reading his very last chapter were he describes that particular match and i will advise readers do the same as the explanation he made will better help one recall visuals of the match as you read。 。。。more
Nikita
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One of those books everyone should read。 So wonderfully written。
Yana Hasson
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I picked it up from a list of '20 life-changing books' because my boyfriend is into chess and I wanted to read a book which he would be interested in hearing about。 It worked ！I had seen in search of Bobby Fischer but didn't remember it that well。For me this book was a great mix of self-development advice and personal experience account。 I really liked the overall focus on 'mindful performance' which echoes my recent thoughts on the fact that the main performance parameter is the ability to focu I picked it up from a list of '20 life-changing books' because my boyfriend is into chess and I wanted to read a book which he would be interested in hearing about。 It worked ！I had seen in search of Bobby Fischer but didn't remember it that well。For me this book was a great mix of self-development advice and personal experience account。 I really liked the overall focus on 'mindful performance' which echoes my recent thoughts on the fact that the main performance parameter is the ability to focus。The idea of turning adverse constraints into learning opportunities is also appealing to me， and useful to rethink how I think about 'time off'。I also enjoyed the proposed systematic definition of creativity， as transcending your current level of knowledge/understanding， which states that you can be creative at any stage of the learning journey。 Looking at creativity as defined relative to your current stage de-dramatized the notion for me。The main limit for me is that some parts of his approach are specific to learning a set of skill with limited well defined rules。 I can easily think how this would extend to research， but it is less obvious to me how to translate it for broader goals such as 'having a positive impact on 。。。 ' 。。。more
Eddie Lee
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Can get a bit too metaphorical and over extend analogies but overall a great book on how to approach a sense of mastery。
Max Rohde
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