The Gold Mine Effect: Crack the Secrets of High Performance Kindle Edition

I picked up this book after hearing about it on a sports-related podcast. I was struck by the fact we still struggle to understand what creates great teams and why certain areas become hotspots of talent or greatness. Newsflash--even the trained experts aren't necessarily good at picking talent early or knowing why talent develops in some areas (even with small populations) while it does not in others.I'd suggest picking this up if you are a youth, high school, or college coach to understand how winning cultures are developed.

If you can ignore the typos and missing or incorrect words on every page of the ebook there are some interesting stories of drive and hard work as the key to accomplishment.

Visiting the 6 gold mines around the world and then contrasting each one and synthesizing the commonalities was very interesting.

Got the Kindle Edition. The concepts explored here are intriguing and the author does a great job of exploring them succinctly and from many angles. I’ve always felt that certain regions were just better culturally at fostering talent, more than having some genetic advantage. So I’m sure I’m working with some confirmation bias, but the author seems to leave no room for doubt, which is good considering the data.It’s getting 4-stars because the Kindle version is riddled with typos. Hire an editor/proofreader next time!

A trip around the world giving us a look at how these pockets of ‘goldmines’ develop and the leaders who develop world class athletes.

Excellent performance has usually been associated with innate capabilities that are possessed by a lucky few. Based on irrefutable evidence, this book has demonstrated that altthough some individuals might have inherent advantages, world class performance in any field is a result of deliberate practice that stretches individuals beyond their comfort zones. What I liked most about the book is that everyone is capable of superior performance in a carefully selected field by following the suggested steps. What I disliked about the book is that it concentrated too much on sports on the expense of other fields although the suggested steps are equally relevant. I recommend the book to anyone concerned with superior performance.

That we are on his Earth to make it a better place through beng the best we can be is a keyr ealisation. The question then becomes how do we become the best we can be? In answering that question or going a long way towards answering it is what this book is about. An enjoyabale, memorable read.

This book opens your eyes and will challenge talent recruiter in the western world. A must read to shake your convictions

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At times i thought this could have been said in shorter version.However, I was intellectually stimulated by the comparisons and his take on what is talent, the 10 000 hour rule and the role of parental push to get over a certain threshold before the athlete really enjoys making the effort required to walk in the company of the best.As a sport psychology consultant, i am amazed at how elite coaches fluff with words when i ask them what they are looking for in an athlete or what is the talent they require as coach to be confident that their investment will produce desired results. This book reinforced an unsaid opinion. Talent is a construct - a word created to help us say what we cant see and measure. By contrast, for example, the 10 000 hour rule suggests that effort and who wants it more is a more useful and tangible predictor/measure of sporting success.Lastly, I do not like the rating of "I love it" for material things.

Rasmus Ankersen was praised a lot in one of my favourite books “Football Hackers” by Christoph Biermann so I was keen to hear more from the man himself. Sadly this book is a little over simplified and barely scratches the surface past sports comparisons. The book claims to crack the secrets of high performance in both sports and business but I felt that the book weighed heavily on success in sports with very little cross over to the business world.

Gives some really good anecdotal examples of how we dampen our children's desire, determination and motivations to compete and strive for sporting excellence in what really comes down to the culture and environment that is created at high performance centres compared to the limitations abroad in countries like Russia yet the amount of players they produce in comparison to the UK is astounding. The section looking at the pushy parents was really interesting and truthful as this has become a real topic of scrutiny in recent times and I feel Rasmus provides an excellent yet different perspective on things. The reason why it was just okay was because of the limited depth and detail to the insightful and meaningful deep rooted perspectives that make it less like a novel and more academically rigorous and sound.

This book opens your mind. I wish I had been able to read it earlier in life but it's never too late. The insights the author provides into what really makes people succeed in sport, business or other vocations are in themselves extremely motivating. If you have children, are working to coach others or desire to reach your own peak performance you should make this a "must read."

A fascinating investigation of the factors that lead to clusters of world class sporting performance in some small communities. Makes you think about whether and how various factors can be generalised to other areas of activity. Also makes you wonder about the role of parents in supporting / pushing children and whether (or not) raw talent really exists.