I was drawn to Bounce initially as I enjoy the odd extended essay, or paper, on various scientific and psychological topics (I've studied at degree level in both, for my sins). It's quite a fascinating look at how a variety of individuals, musicians, baseball players etc., have achieved great things in their respective fields. What made them special? Why did they succeed over anyone else? Of course, another reason I plucked it off the bookshop's shelf was wanting to know how I could become a champion too. Albeit a writing champion. If there is such a thing.
Syed neatly demonstrates with case studies how some key element of a person's life can present them with an odd, sometimes barely recognisable, opportunity that in the cases of certain individuals, were pivotal to their success. Take baseball players. Syed tells us that many of the major league players had birthdays in the first 3 months of the year. Strange coincidence? Hardly. It was a result of the selection process way back in junior school. At that age, children who were the eldest in the school year were able to demonstrate more physical ability than those born a matter of months later. This was simply a case of children's physical ability changing so quickly at that age, but when selecting teams, this age advantage was easily confused with talent. Those children selected received more coaching as a result and the gap in ability grew wider. This carried through into high school and then adult life when it became a career for some of them. The older children in the year got an unexpected leg up and the younger ones missed an opportunity.
Another, rather amusing, example is that of a ping pong player who had a wicked technique positioning himself much closer to the table than any other professional players. He became legendary for his unique style of play and was praised for his lightening quick reactions when he was so close. Syed tells us how this happened. The player had first learned on a table tennis table in a cramped room that could only fit the table and the players in it with no room to spare. He'd practised for hours of his young life with no option to move away from the table edge. This awkward setup became the reason for his success. No other player was so practised at short range and their reactions were not as fast as a result.
Syed isn't just pointing out that odd opportunities help, (so don't start jamming yourself and your laptop into a phonebox just yet) but that the idea of talent itself may be a fallacy. What is talent? Syed lays out intriguing evidence that the key is not some pre-determined ability we are born with, but simply practice. (Yes, I'm British.) The research he cites concludes that several hours of practice each day, with the key purpose of improvement, over a period of ten years will create a world class musician, sportsman, artist etc. The 'ten year' part may make you gulp, but 'world class' is pretty damn enticing.
I took a few key things away from this fascinating book:
a) Practice is not just repeating the same action, it is striving for greater skill at each session.
b) Momentum and continuity of practice is extremely important.
c) It will take time and concentrated effort, a lot of each, but the results can be impressive.
d) Your unique life experience isn't just important for your style and the choice of subjects you can write about, but also your learning experience and your whole opportunity to be a writer.
e) No matter how awful I think my writing is today or how awful a particular draft is, I know that if I just keep at it, put the effort in and strive to improve, I will get better and so will the book.
The last point in particular gets me through some pretty low "what was I even thinking" days. It feels like a simple map to reaching my goals. It helps me keep the writer faith. Keep working hard and working often and it won't be in vain.
If you need some inspirational, superhuman myth busting discussion too, Bounce is a great place to start.
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