Oh man, why is he always right 
the new laziness has nothing to do with physical labor and everything to do with fear. If you’re not going to make those sales calls or invent that innovation or push that insight, you’re not avoiding it because you need physical rest. You’re hiding out because you’re afraid of expending emotional labor.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/11/laziness.html
As a follow-up from themes on books such as Outliers, Tony Schwartz talk about the
Six keys to be excellent at anything. While there are some more obvious ones, (such as Pursue what you love, Practice Intensely etc,.), there are also some not-so-obvious ones (Take regular renewal breaks, Seek Expert feedback, but only in intermittent doses). As the article notes, it is really empowering to note that the biggest factor in determining how good we become at something is how hard we are willing to work, and not inherited talent.
I happen to agree especially with the 6th tip (Ritualize Practice). The premise is that the best way to insure you’ll take on difficult tasks is to ritualize them. I have found a lot of success with this, be it at a personal level for doing my Weekly GTD Review, or at a professional level for coming up with a consistent dedicated time every week to reach out to users and making a habit out of listening to them.
I also found some interesting nuggets of information, such as :
Overall, an interesting read.
Picture via Flickr from skOre_de
