The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. -- Daniel Coyle ------------ 3 Stars

The title (full one) and premise for the Talent Code is interesting to me. Basically, the book is about why people end up being talented. Specifically, talent at the absolute highest level - be it - music, sports, chess, etc. Unfortunately, as I continued through the book I realized it reminded me a lot of a book I read ten years ago, so not that much new covered.

Because I'm tired as I write this and Amazon explains it better than me, below are the three key elements that is included in the book that accounts for why people become talented:

• Deep Practice. Everyone knows that practice is a key to success. What everyone doesn’t know is that specific kinds of practice can increase skill up to ten times faster than conventional practice.
• Ignition. We all need a little motivation to get started. But what separates truly high achievers from the rest of the pack? A higher level of commitment - call it passion - born out of our deepest unconscious desires and triggered by certain primal cues. Understanding how these signals work can help you ignite passion and catalyze skill development.
• Master Coaching. What are the secrets of the world’s most effective teachers, trainers, and coaches? Discover the four virtues that enable these “talent whisperers” to fuel passion, inspire deep practice, and bring out the best in their students.

Reading the book and the summary of these elements explains a lot of why people become great at what they do. The book, of course, if chock full of anecdotes and stories that make the book a fairly enticing read that keeps the reader's attention. I especially was drawn to the author's tales of describing burgeoning talent and how it looks in those three different domains.

As I stated in the introduction, I realized mid-read that a previous book I read carried a lot of similarities with this book. Talent is Overrated (review here) covered much of the same information (for example, that book called it "deliberate practice" and this one "deep practice.") And, while I think either book is a worthwhile read, I would probably suggest The Talent Code as it includes more updated research and has better anecdotes.