59. Everyone can become and stay a Superstar with Supi2525 (In Work)

Superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in some field. Celebrities referred to as “superstars” may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based professions.

More: Superstar on Wikipedia

Becoming a Superstar: It’s Not All About Practice 10,000 hours may not be enough

Posted Jun 05, 2013 Sian Beilock Ph.D.,is a psychology professor at The University of Chicago and an expert on the brain science behind performance failure under pressure.
Choke

More: Becoming a Superstar

They say that practice makes perfect. Or, more specifically, that 10,000 hours of deliberate practice is necessary to obtain elite performance levels in activities ranging from golf to chess to music.

Coined by Florida State psychologist Anders Ericsson and made famous by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, the 10,000 hour rule reflects the idea that becoming a world-class athlete or performer rests on a long period of hard work rather than “innate ability” or talent.

You don’t need to be born with the “right” genes to be a superstar, says Ericsson, you just have to practice in the “right” way. Is it true? Is practice all it takes to achieve exceptional performance levels?

Of course, the debate over whether stars are “born” or “made” has been going on since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers. In the beginning there was Plato, who argued that we come into this world with biologically endowed abilities and skills and that our highest levels of success are predetermined by the heavens.

On the other side of the debate was Aristotle, who just happened to be Plato’s student, and who adamantly believed that success was gained through learning and training. Several modern-day researchers like Anders Ericsson take Aristotle’s side, but not everyone does. And, in a paper recently published in the journal Intelligence, psychologists Zach Hambrick, Fred Oswald and colleagues, provide some pretty compelling evidence that there is more to expert performance than practice. Hambrick and colleagues set out to answer a simple question. Is deliberate practice – that is, practice specifically designed to improve one’s skill – all it takes to become an expert?

To answer the question, the research team reanalyzed data from studies on musical and chess expertise. For example, in chess, the research team looked at how reports of deliberate practice throughout one’s lifetime (ranging from one-one-one instruction to studying the game alone) related to a player’s World Chess Federation Ratings and, in music, the researchers looked at how reported practice amounts related to ratings of piano performances. So, what did they find?

Hard work does help explain who will reach the highest levels of performance in music and chess alike. But, it’s not the entire story. In fact, in both areas, deliberate practice wasn’t even half the story – it was about 1/3 of it.

Some people require much less practice than others to reach elite performance levels. In other words, it seems that factors other than practice are important for determining who is going to obtain the highest level of skill. I have to admit, the 10,000 hour rule is an appealing one. It implies that almost anyone can become an expert if they work hard enough. As Hambrick says, deliberate practice is so popular because it has “meritocratic appeal.”

The data, however, tell a somewhat different story. Yes, hard work is extremely important, but it’s not everything. Whether it’s genes, motivation, one’s ability to handle failure, all of the above or something else altogether, we have to owe up to the fact that factors other than practice contribute to achieving greatness. Only then will we be best able to identify areas we are most likely to excel in and have the best chance of rising to the top. For more on exceptional performance, check out my book Choke

The Fame: How Lady Gaga Became Pop’s Self-Made Superstar

Stefani Germanotto kept saying she was a superstar until everyone believed her.

Stefani Germanotta was born in Manhattan, New York, in 1986, and by the age of four, she was learning piano. She told The Telegraph, “I was classically trained as a pianist, and that innately teaches you how to write a pop song, because when you learn Bach inversions, it has the same sort of modulations between the chords. It’s all about tension and release.”
So far, so typical. Pop stars tend to start young, and they almost always have parents that fall somewhere between “extremely involved” and “psychopathically obsessed.” The Germanottas were extremely involved. By 14, mom Cynthia was taking Stefani to play jazz clubs.
“They would have open mic nights, so my mother would take me along and say, ‘My daughter’s very young, but she’s very talented. I’ll sit with her as she plays.’”
A precocious student, Germanotta entered college at age 17 at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. And it is here that the classicism of her parents was first challenged. She said she wrote a “crazy thesis, like 80 pages on Spencer Tunick and Damien Hirst, great pop artists.” Spencer Tunick is a photographer famous for organizing large-scale nude shoots. He has said, “My work’s an attempt to challenge notions about nudity in a public space and how the body is represented in our culture. When you see 300 people naked in Grand Central Station, or a river of flesh flowing through the beauty aisles of Selfridges department store, it makes you think about all sorts of social and political issues.” Damien Hirst is a pop sculptor whose works are often about life, death, and money, as in his famous skull made out of diamonds and real human teeth. Both artists used controversy to achieve greater recognition, and both have had detractors insist that their work is superficial — but then, what artist hasn’t?
In 2005, she was both signed and dropped by Def Jam. Sometime around 2006 she ceased to be Stefani Germanotta and transformed into Lady Gaga. And while seemingly half the people who knew her at the time have claimed credit for her name, all agree it was taken from the Queen song “Radio Ga Ga”.

It is around this time that she began to work out her public persona — the mask that would catapult her to fame, the mask that she would be afraid to remove for almost a decade. She has cited Queen and David Bowie as influences, and — their later feud notwithstanding — she was clearly indebted to Madonna. But there were two great Gaga innovations: First, she discussed pop music as if it were high art, and second, she talked as if she were already famous.

In London, in January of 2009, she told the only reporter who asked for an interview, “I’ve always been famous — you just didn’t know it yet!” Soon there were more interview requests. She was so unusual, and so extremely quotable, that the stories almost wrote themselves. By the end of 2009, both “Just Dance,” and “Poker Face” had reached #1 in multiple countries. “Poker Face” was the most popular song of the year worldwide and remains one of the best-selling singles of all time.
They say dress for the job you want, and Lady Gaga showed up dressed as the alien lovechild of Madonna and Ziggy Stardust. The woman born Stefani Germanotta studied her predecessors from head to toe. Her persona was forged in burlesque clubs and through careful consideration of The Warhol Diaries. Lady Gaga is pop’s self-made woman. She kept saying she was a superstar until everyone believed her.

More: Become a Superstar

You Don’t Need To Be Good At Many Things,
You Need To Be Great At One

Louis Chew

More: How to become a Superstar

Most people have many talents. They can play multiple musical instruments, speak a few languages, or run a four-minute mile. They are good conversationalists and are interesting people to hang out around. You like them.

Unfortunately, they aren’t rewarded or recognised for their numerous talents. They’re pigeon-holed into a specific job scope and don’t really get to tap into their other skills. They’re called upon to do a certain job. It makes sense because specialisation makes every task more efficient.

We understand this truth, but find it difficult to focus exclusively on one thing. Novelty calls out to us, and we cannot resist the temptation to respond. As a result, we attempt many things at once. Those who are more capable become good at many things, but more often than not we end up good to mediocre.

Your life will look very different if you choose to focus on the few. When you become great at one thing, you’ll discover new opportunities that you never knew existed.

One Thing Leads To Another

You’ll know who Michael Jordan is even if you don’t follow the sport of basketball. He’s the greatest of all time in basketball. During his playing career, he was compensated as such, inking a contract which paid him $33 million for one season. It was unheard of, and he became a wealthy man by all measures.
Yet, his real fortune comes from marketing the Jordan brand. We continue to wear trainers and his signature shoes 14 years after he has retired. We don’t see that with any of his peers, even as he played in the 1990s which featured numerous other superstars.
Had he tried his hand longer at baseball, it’s unlikely that he would be named the Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th century. He went back to the sport he was greatest at, and when it was all over and done, he became a billionaire. All from a game which involved putting a ball through a hoop.
It’s not just Jordan. You see this in other fields as well. Arnold Schwarzenegger would not have become the Terminator, Governor of California and businessman if he was not first Mr Olympia. Dr Dre would not have been able to build a headphone company worth $3.2 billion if he was not first a hip hop mogul.
These individuals were exceptional in their own right. They were good at many skills — marketing and PR at the very least. But all of these people would not have been as successful if they did not make a breakthrough at their one thing.

The Superstar Effect

One reality of life is that the best reap much larger rewards than their slightly less talented peers. The phenomenon is well documented; it’s been named the Superstar Effect.

The intuition is simple: limited resources can only go to one source in a winner-takes-all environment. Athletes compete for the same gold medal. Companies compete for the same potential client. Television shows compete for the same hour of your attention.
Over time, these winners are able to leverage on their advantages and reap other benefits. The kid who makes it into an elite academic institution gets the high paying job. The published author is able to get a larger book advance and more marketing resources for his next book. The superstar athlete is able to start an entire brand of apparel centred all around him. What begins as a small advantage gets bigger over time.
The Navy SEALs have a motto: “it pays to be a winner”. It’s certainly true when we observe how superstars are made.

Getting To The Next Level

The difference between good and great is often smaller than we think. It’s marginal, although the consequences of this difference do not make it apparent. You need only be better, even just 1% better, to triumph over your competitor. We see this in athletics, where the difference comes down to milliseconds. As Al Pacino says, “the inches we need are everywhere around us”.

You’ve got to fight for that inch. Start by trying to just be 1% better every day. Build a habit of striving for excellence in your field of choice. The benefits might not be obvious all at once, but they will be apparent over time. Use the powers of compounding and accumulative advantage.

More importantly, you need to believe in your own success. Your quest is doomed from the start if you’re not convinced of your own abilities. Your efforts will be diminished over time regardless of the productivity of your systems are or the number of inspirational quotes you read. Those will not shield you from the pains of being great your craft.

Great In One, Good At Many

When you become truly great at one thing, doors you never knew existed will open to you.
Cal Newport, the author of So Good They Can’t Ignore You, observes that “being the best in a field makes you disproportionately impressive to the outside world. The effect holds even if the field is not crowded, competitive, or well-known.”
You can design your life to optimise the superstar effect. Stand out from the crowd by having skills that are rare and difficult to replace. Being different is good. Playing by the same broken rules as everyone else will make you no better.
Start by being great at one thing in one thing in your circle of influence. If you can do that, your circle of influence will expand as well. This promotes a virtuous cycle that will eventually get you to the top.

Make The Jump

Don’t get caught up with the shiny objects that pop up from time to time. There may be good opportunities, but it won’t matter if it’s not the right one. Find something you can commit to and double down on it.
The cost of an undisciplined approach to more is bigger than we think. Time and energy are our two biggest resources, but we constantly undervalue them. The time we invest into being good at one thing could be used to master our craft — bringing us to great.
And that gap, between good and great, makes all the difference.

Become a Superstar

More: Become a Superstar

Our world is changing faster than ever. Of course rapid change can present a number of challenges. However, if you’re prepared for it, it offers an opportunity for you to shine.
In this post, you’ll discover five ways to rise to the top at a time when many are left behind.

#1: Keep Your Skills Current

Think about this for a moment. Things are changing so fast in today’s world that a company’s products can become obsolete before they’re even through the final stage of planning. To combat this threat, it’s no longer enough to be a conscientious business owner or worker.

These days, you must also take steps to stay up to date so you can adapt quickly to change. Or better yet, stay ahead of the curve so you can see what’s coming.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to do that.

For example, you can…
-Take classes regularly
-Attend webinars
-Gain advanced skills by obtaining a certification (check online for training in your field)
-Read trade magazines and newsletters that identify upcoming trends
-Go to seminars and conferences

Also, look for ways to build on your natural strengths. If you’re a great communicator, for instance, come up with two things you can do to become even better at it.

The point is to keep moving…

Always be looking for ways to move onward and upward. Do everything you can to develop the skills and strengths that will make you indispensable.

#2: Demonstrate Your Expertise

This is not the time to be shy. When you’re good at something, or you know something others might not know, step up and show it. Think of ways to use your skills and knowledge to make the biggest contribution possible to the company or your customers.

#3: Assess and Address Your Deficiencies

Most people don’t take a close look at their deficiencies. It’s as if they feel like they’re putting themselves down. The truth is, you’re pulling yourself up when you ask, “Where can I improve?” or “Where did I mess up here and how can I fix it?”
Do you know something? I do that frequently. And it always makes me a better person.
We can have most everything else going well. However, if we don’t fix our deficiencies, they could cost us a fortune.

#4: Adopt the Attitude of a Student

Author and speaker, Og Mandino once said, “Never be too big to ask questions, and never know too much to learn something new.”
I couldn’t agree more. That’s one of the many things I admire about Bob. Even though he has worked alongside such greats as Earl Nightingale and Lloyd Conant, he still has the attitude of a student. Bob is never afraid to ask questions or let someone know that there are things he doesn’t know. He always wants to learn. I encourage you to develop that kind of attitude. It will pay off in more ways than you can imagine.

#5: Study Every Day

Even though I’m listing this as the final tip, it is, without a doubt, the most important, way to stay on top of our ever-changing world.
Whether you’re a business owner, a CEO, an employee, or a freelancer, spend a part of every day in self-development. Despite the fact that Bob has been in this industry for 55 years, he is still not only relevant, but he is also able to teach things no one else in the industry can. Why? Because, after 55 years, Bob continues to study every day.
There are tremendous benefits to be had by rubbing your mind against the minds of great authors. Not only does it allow you to grow, but it also gives you the confidence and ability to adapt to changes within society. So, like Bob, I spend time each day developing my mind.

No one has ever arrived.

Whether you own a company or work for one, the answer is the same: continuing education, but in a different way than you might expect…
Rather than developing the intellect, what we have to understand and develop is our untapped potential. Lifelong learning is the only way to do that.

More: 29. Smarter Lifelong Learning

A Note to Company Leaders

Moving forward, the companies that survive and prosper will be those which hire creative people and encourage their growth. They will be companies that have a place in their annual budget for the development of their most valuable asset—their human resources. And the message for every person who aspires to leadership is also very clear…
It’s no longer enough to have a college degree, or be crafty, shrewd, or popular.

The clear winner will be the person who can handle complex problems that are created by the increasing speed of innovation. It will be the person who has exceptional originality.

Moving Forward from Here…

Let’s let Bob be our example of how to stay on top even when the world is changing all around us. Let’s strive for excellence in everything we do. That means maintaining the highest of standards and doing more than is expected. It’s always looking for ways to be and do better, to give our very best.
People who prosper today aren’t satisfied with doing things the way they’ve always done them. They are always looking for ways to do them a little better. They continually push their knowledge, skills and performance a little higher up the ladder.
Use the simple tactics above to help you adapt so you can stay ahead of the curve in our ever-changing environment. They’re effective whether you want to work at a place where you can make a difference, or you want to create a business that has a positive social or environmental impact on the world.

To more and better,
Sandy Gallagher