But it is the coming generations who have the most to gain. The most important gifts we can give our children are the confidence in their ability to remake themselves again and again and the tools with which to do that job. They will need to see firsthand—through their own experiences of developing abilities they thought were beyond them—that they

you can take charge of your own potential.

One of the most exciting times in my life was when I worked with Herb Simon and he received the Nobel Prize. Everyone in our group had this sense of being at the frontier of our area of science and feeling really lucky to be there. I imagine it must have been the same sort of excitement that the Impressionists felt as they were working to

But that realization is not enough. We need to give people the tools they need to harness that adaptability and take control of their own potential. Spreading the word about deliberate practice—as I am doing with this book—is

That revolution starts when we realize that the best among us in various areas do not occupy that perch because they were born with some innate talent but rather because they have developed their abilities through years of practice, taking advantage of the adaptability of the human body and brain.

Our schools should give all students such an experience in some domain.

They need to try and fail—but with ready access to models that show what success looks like.

Once they do understand what is necessary to get there in one area, they understand, at least in principle, what it takes in other areas.

subjects. Students who develop mental representations can go on to generate their own scientific experiments or to write their own books—and research has shown that many successful scientists and authors started their careers at a young age in just this way.