Bounce

As Arsène Wenger, one of the most successful soccer club managers of recent times, puts it: “To perform to your maximum you have to teach yourself to believe with an intensity that goes way beyond logical justification. No top performer has lacked this capacity for irrational optimism; no sportsman has played to his potential without the ability to remove doubt from his mind.”

youngsters train with devotion; they undertake physical training as if it is a privilege, not a chore; they eat food like it is fuel

This is Bollettieri’s published creed, which must be signed by all residents: “Every endeavour pursued with passion produces a successful outcome regardless of the result. For it is not about winning or losing—rather, the effort put forth in producing the outcome. The best way to predict the future is to create it—therefore, we believe we have the best training methods to help each athlete achieve their dreams and goals and ultimately reach their ability level in the arena of sports and life.”

In the growth mind-set, you don’t feel the need to convince yourself and others that you have a royal flush when you’re secretly worried it’s a pair of tens. The hand you’re dealt is just the starting point…. Although people may differ in every which way—in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments—everyone can change and grow through application and experience

you can purchase access to this prime neural real estate only by building up a bank deposit of thousands of hours of purposeful practice.
That, if you like, is the price of excellence

Excellence is about stepping outside the comfort zone, training with a spirit of endeavor, and accepting the inevitability of trials and tribulations. Progress is built, in effect, upon the foundations of necessary failure. That is the essential paradox of expert performance

world-class performance comes by striving for a target just out of reach, but with a vivid awareness of how the gap might be breached. Over time, through constant repetition and deep concentration, the gap will disappear

playing as if it means nothing when it means everything

The best way to predict the future is to create it

How to avoid praising talent rather than effort when she has just accomplished something without breaking a sweat? Here’s Dweck’s advice: “When this happens, I say, ‘Whoops, I guess that was too easy. I apologize for wasting your time. Let’s do something you can really learn from!’”