The Art of Learning

Josh writes about how he went from being a child chess prodigy to becoming a world-renown Tai Chi Chuan martial artist. He describes his learning process and the methods behind his success. The book reads more like a story than as a "do this to get that" straight-forward text, and Josh makes his journey entertaining by offering his real-life examples. The core reasoning behind his method to get to the top is hard work and a good solid background of the fundamentals behind your discipline. Only then can you transcend beyond the technical and develop a unique style or methodology. He describes several ways to do this, such as focusing on the big picture in regards to your area of learning and then narrowing the focus down to the little details and intricacies so that you develop a extraordinary perspective.

Key Points:

· A student must initially become immersed in the fundamentals in order to have any potential to reach a high level of skill. (p. XVII)

· Successful people shoot for the stars, put their hearts on the line in every battle, and ultimately discover that the lessons learned from the pursuit of excellence mean much more than the immediate trophies and glory. (p. 34)

· The road to success is not easy or else everyone would be the greatest at what they do-we need to be psychologically prepared to face the unavoidable challenges along our way, and when it comes down to it, the only way to learn how to swim is by getting in the water. (p. 44)

· Every loss is an opportunity for growth. (p. 47)

· There will be nothing learned from any challenge in which we don't try our hardest. Growth comes at the point of resistance. We learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies at the outer reaches of our abilities. (p. 47)

· Numbers to leave numbersor Form to leave form - A process in which technical information is integrated into what feels like natural intelligence. (p. 74)

· We must take responsibility for ourselves, and not expect the rest of the world to understand what it takes to become the best that we can become. (p. 113)

o Great ones are willing to get burned time and again as they sharpen their swords in the fire. (p. 113)

· We have to be able to do something slowly before we can have any hope of doing it correctly with speed. (p. 120)

· We can notice external events that trigger helpful growth or performance opportunities, and then internalize the effects of those events without their actually happening. (p. 133)

· In every discipline, the ability to be clearheaded, present, cool under fire is much of what separates the best from the mediocre. (p. 172)

· The more present we are at practice, the more present we will be in competition, in the boardroom, at the exam, the operating table, the big stage. (p. 172)

o If we have any hope of attaining excellence, we must be prepared through a lifestyle of reinforcement

· Players who are able to relax in brief moments of inactivity are almost always the ones who end up coming through when the game is on the line. (p. 179)

· Embrace adversity-it is easy to speak of nonviolence when you are in a flower garden. (p. 203)

· We are built to be sharpest when in danger, but protected lives have distanced us from our natural abilities to channel our energies. (p. 211)

· Making smaller circles = We take a single technique or idea and practice it until we feel its essence. Then we gradually condense the movements while maintaining their power, until we are left with an extremely potent and nearly invisible arsenal. (p. 225)

· Internalize patterns and principles until precise decisions are made intuitively. (p. 231)