Our book shelf is always bursting at the seams with the latest reads. So, in the spirit of sharing, we decided to create a book club. Read on for our review of Bounce by Matthew Syed.
What is Bounce all about?
Through his experience as an international tennis table champion, Matthew Syed looks at what it takes to become the best; and debunks some cherished myths of innate talent along the way. Bounce is a compelling argument that champions are not born, they are made – and their success is down to two important things: opportunity and practice.
Who is it for?
If you like Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers, you’ll like this.
Our takeaways
Here are the three things that stood out the most:
1. Not all practice makes perfect
The book makes many references to the 10,000-hour practice rule – it’s what all champions, experts and ‘prodigies’ have in common. But not all practice makes perfect. To hone expertise, practice must be deliberate and purposeful. It has to be specific, targeted and stretching.
2. Belief is powerful
Through examples of religion and the placebo effect, the book highlights how self-belief in your own ability directly impacts performance. Exceptional performers all have capacity for irrational optimism.
3. X-ray vision
A stand out difference between novices and experts is that experts can extract information from what is going on around them. Through their extensive experience they are able to see things that are simply invisible to the rest of us.
Would you like to read Bounce by Matthew Syed?
Once we’ve finished reading a book, we share the headlines and then pass it on to anyone who wants to read it – just send us a message and we’ll pop it in the post. Once you’re done with it, you can either let it live forever on your shelf or share it with someone new.
As always, if you’d like to read this book, email nikki@wearethecultureclub.co.uk and we’ll pop it in the post. Once you’ve read it, it can live on your shelf forever or you can pass it on to someone new.
