The road to genius

Richard Restak, a neurologist in private practice in D.C. and a member of the clinical faculty at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, claims that anyone can achieve prodigylike performance. Every super performer has three things in common: intense practice, solitary contemplation and deliberate concentration.

“Anyone can be a prodigy if they devote the time to it. The superior performer is a genius because of the ability to enhance a skill by focusing on perfecting a facet for 4 – 6 hours a day.”

An interesting concept. You too can become a pro-golfer, Olympic gymnast, Nobel prize winning physicist, NBA superstar, Chess Grandmaster.

Restak asserts that if you practice long and hard enough it is inevitable that you will excel. How long is enough? On the average, 6 hours a day for 10 years.

So – suddenly you can afford 6 hours per day to practice something intensely for 10 years. In 2013, what will you excel at?