Joshua Waitzkin Quotes

American chess player

Joshua Waitzkin (born 4 December 1976) is an American chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. He is the subject of a major motion picture, Searching for Bobby Fischer, a movie based on the book Searching for Bobby Fischer: The Father of a Prodigy Observes the World of Chess, by his father, Fred Waitzkin.

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Alternative Names: Josh Waitzkin

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So the aim is to minimize repetition as much as possible, by having an eye for consistent psychological and technical themes of error.

successful people shoot for the stars, put their hearts on the line in every battle, and ultimately discover that the lessons learned from the pursuit of excellence mean much more than the immediate trophies and glory.

Whenever there was a concept or learning technique that I related to in a manner too abstract to convey, I forced myself to break it down into the incremental steps with which I got there.

Interval work is a critical building block to becoming a consistent long-term performer. If you spend a few months practicing stress and recovery in your everyday life, you’ll lay the physiological foundation for becoming a resilient, dependable pressure player. The next step is to create your trigger for the zone.

growth comes at the expense of previous comfort or safety.

It is critical to realize that we can always evolve in our approaches to learning. Studies have shown that in just minutes, kids can be conditioned into having a healthy learning theory for a given situation.

I think that anyone can become tremendously success at what they do as long as they approach the learning process in a way that isn't self-paralyzing.

the three steps I described as being critical to resilient, self-sufficient performance. First, we learn to flow with distraction, like that blade of grass bending to the wind. Then we learn to use distraction, inspiring ourselves with what initially would have thrown us off our games. Finally we learn to re-create the inspiring settings internally.

one of the most telling features of a dominant performer is the routine use of recovery periods.

The learning principle is to plunge into the detailed mystery of the micro in order to understand what makes the macro tick. Our obstacle is that we live in an attention-deficit culture.

Danny’s mom can help him internalize a process-first approach by making her everyday feedback respond to effort over results. She should praise good concentration, a good day’s work, a lesson learned.

I believe that one of the most critical factors in the transition to becoming a conscious high performer is the degree to which your relationship to your pursuit stays in harmony with your unique disposition.

Brilliant creations are often born of small errors.

the study of numbers to leave numbers, or form to leave form.

When aiming for the top, your path requires an engaged, searching mind. You have to make obstacles spur you to creative new angles in the learning process. Let setbacks deepen your resolve. You should always come off an injury or a loss better than when you went down.