If I have learned anything in a lifetime of world-class competition, it is that learners and performers thrive when their growth process is uniquely tailored to their own personal nuance of character. Teachers must listen first. Students should gain a keen introspective awareness of their natural strengths and weaknesses, and build a game, a career, a way of life around that awareness. In my careers in chess and the martial arts, and in my life as a teacher, I have seen too many learners—both adults and children—jammed into cookie cutter molds into which they just don’t fit. The result is a brittle, unsatisfying relationship to the growth process.
My philosophy of learning is based on maximizing each individual’s unique potential. The JW Foundation will reach out to as many children as possible, inspiring resilience, creativity, and a passion for the road to mastery. My systematic methodology for achieving this aim is the subject of my book The Art of Learning.
I have been approached by numerous educational groups who want to put the philosophy of The Art of Learning at the center of their organization. It is my intention, with the JW Foundation, to help that process. I will focus on public school systems, urban youth centers, “Gifted” Organizations, Teachers Groups, Parenting Groups, Psychological Institutions, etc. In time, we will develop a comprehensive online learning environment that will be a resource for teachers, parents, and students alike. While the top priority of the JW Foundation will be under-served communities, it is my ambition to support all children, teens, and young adults on their unique paths to excellence.
• Learning Principles •
(Click on each to learn more)
• Resources and Further Reading •
- The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr
- The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
- Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
- Lila: An Inquiry Into Mortals by Robert Pirsig
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi v
- Tao Te Ching trans Gia Fu Feng and Jane English
- Chuang Tzu: Inner Chapters trans David Hinton
- Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard
- Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac
- Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
- Vimalakirti Sutra trans Robert Thurman
- Mulamadhyamakakarika of Nagarjuna: The Philosophy of the Middle Way by Nagarjuna and David Kalupahana
- Chandogya Upanishad by Swahananda
- The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics by Gary Zukav
- Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World's Greatest Physicists by Ken Wilber
- Inner Revolution by Robert Thurman
- A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
- Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
- hantaram by Gregory David Roberts
- Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
- Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
- http://www.lgeperformance.com
- http://www.scilearn.com
- http://www.normandoidge.com
- http://www-psych.stanford.edu/~dweck
- http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/february7/dweck-020707.html
- http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/21/magazines/fortune/talent_colvin.fortune/index.htm
- http://www.sharpbrains.com
• Listening First •
"When I made a bad move, Bruce asked me what my idea was and then helped me discover how I could have approached the decision-making process differently. Much of the time in our lessons was spent in silence, with us both thinking. Bruce did not want to feed me information, but to help my mind carve itself into maturity? the most important factor in these first months of study was that Bruce nurtured my love for chess, and he never let technical material smother my innate feeling for the game." p 10
Further reading: Chapter 1: Innocent Moves, Chapter 8: Breaking Stallions, pp 45-47, 69-70, 96-100
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Entity vs. Incremental theories of intelligence •
This is the research from Dr. Carol Dweck, a developmental psychologist: "Children who are "entity theorists"...are prone to use language like 'I am smart at this.' And to attribute their success or failure to an ingrained and unalterable level of ability. They see their overall intelligence or skill level at a certain discipline to be a fixed entity, a thing that cannot evolve. Incremental theorists, who have picked up a different modality of learning, are more prone to describe their results with sentences like 'I got it because I worked very hard at it' or 'I should have tried harder.' A child with a learning theory of intelligence tends to sense that with hard work, difficult material can be grasped- step-by-step, incrementally, the novice can become the master." p 30
Further reading: Chapter 2: Losing to Win, Chapter 3: Two Approaches to Learning
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Resilience or The Soft Zone •
"The nature of your state of concentration will determine the first phase of your reaction- if you are tense, with your fingers jammed in your ears and your whole body straining to fight off distraction, then you are in a Hard Zone that demands a cooperative world for you to function. Like a dry twig, you are brittle, ready to snap under pressure. The alternative is for you to be quietly, intensely focused, apparently relaxed with a serene look on your face, but inside all the mental juices are churning. You flow with whatever comes, integrating every ripple of life into your creative moment. This Soft Zone is resilient, like a flexible blade of grass that can move with and survive hurricane force winds." p 54
Further reading: Chapter 2: Losing to Win, Chapter 5: The Soft Zone
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Losing to win/investment in loss •
"In my experience, 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. In the long run, painful losses may prove much more valuable than wins." p 33
Further reading: Chapter 10: Investment in Loss, Chapter 18: Making Sandals, pp 33-39, 43-47
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Give your all •
"The fact of the matter is that there will be nothing learned from any challenge in which we don't try our hardest. Growth comes at the point of resistance. We learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies at the outer reaches of our abilities." p 47
Further reading: Chapter 19: Bringing it all Together, Chapter 20: Taiwan, pp 33-34, 44
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Loving the game: follow your passion •
"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." p 80
Further reading: Chapter 4: Loving the Game, Chapter 8: Breaking Stallions
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Intuition: developing the internal compass •
"Much of what separates the great from the very good is deep presence, relaxation of the conscious mind, which allows the unconscious to flow unhindered. This is a nuanced and largely misunderstood state of mind that when refined involves a subtle reintegration of the conscious mind into a free-flowing unconscious process. The idea is to shift the primary role from the conscious to the unconscious without blissing out and losing the precision the conscious can provide." p 142
Further reading: Chapter 13: Slowing Down Time, Chapter 14: The Illusion of the Mystical
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Diving in deeply: learning the macro from the micro •
"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. We are bombarded with more and more information on television, radio, cell phones, video games, the Internet. If caught in these rhythms, we are like tiny current-bound surface fish, floating along a two-dimensional world without any sense for the gorgeous abyss below. When these societally induced tendencies translate into the learning process, they have devastating effect." p 116
Further reading: Chapter 11: Making Smaller Circles
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• The power of presence •
"The secret is that everything is always on the line. The more present we are at practice, the more present we will be in competition, in the boardroom, at the exam, the operating table, the big stage. If we have any hope of attaining excellence, let along showing what we've got under pressure, we have to be prepared by a lifestyle of reinforcement. Presence must be like breathing." p 172
Further reading: Chapter 15: The Power of Presence, Chapter 17: Building Your Trigger
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• The downward spiral •
"In every discipline, the ability to be clearheaded, present, cool under fire is much of what separates the best from the mediocre. In competition, the dynamic is often painfully transparent. If one player is serenely present while the other is being ripped apart by internal issues, the outcome is already clear. The prey is no longer objective, makes compounding mistakes, and the predator moves in for the kill." p 172
Further reading: Chapter 5: The Power of Presence, Chapter 6: The Downward Spiral
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Interval training: the importance of rest •
"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." p 184
Further reading: Chapter 16: Searching for the Zone
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Building your trigger •
"The point to this system of creating your own trigger is that a physiological connection is formed between the routine and the activity it precedes. Dennis was always present when playing with his son, so all we had to do was set up a routine that became linked to that state of mind. Once the routine is internalized, it can be used before any activity and a similar state of mind will emerge." p 190
Further reading: Chapter 17: Building Your Trigger
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Breaking down walls: Developing thematic connections •
"Once I recognized that deeply buried secrets in a competitor tend to surface under intense pressure, my study of chess became a form of psychoanalysis. I unearthed my subtlest foibles through chess, and the link between my personal and artistic sides was undeniable..." p 76
Further reading: Chapter 7: Changing Voice, Chapter 18: Making Sandals
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Addressing the technical and psychological aspects of all errors •
"The psychological theme could range from transitions to resilient concentration, fluidity of mind, control, leaps into the unknown, sitting with tension, the downward spiral, being at peace with discomfort, giving into fatigue, emotional turbulence, and invariably the chess moves paralleled the life moment. Whenever I noticed a weakness, I took it on." p 76
Further reading: Chapter 7: Changing Voice, Chapter 18: Making Sandals
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Taking on errors: Beginner's Mind and "unlearning" •
"While I learned with open pores- no ego in the way- it seemed that many other students were frozen in place, repeating the errors over and over, unable to improve because of a fear of releasing old habits. When Chen made suggestions, they would explain their thinking in an attempt to justify themselves. They were locked up by the need to be correct." p 107-108
Further reading: Chapter 9: Beginner's Mind, Chapter 10: Investment in Loss, Chapter 18: Making Sandals
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Master the fundamentals (numbers to leave numbers) •
"It is important to understand that by numbers to leave numbers, or form to leave form I am describing a process in which technical information is integrated into what feels like natural intelligence. Sometimes there will literally be numbers. Other times there will be principles, patterns, variations, techniques, ideas." p 74
"My understanding of learning was about searching for the flow that lay at the heart of, and transcended, the technical." p 95
Further reading: Chapter 7: Changing Voice, Chapter 11: Making Smaller Circles
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Using adversity •
"Left to my own devices, I am always looking for ways to become more and more psychologically impregnable. When uncomfortable, my instinct is not to avoid the discomfort but to become at peace with it. My instinct is always to seek out challenges as opposed to avoiding them." p 60
Further reading: Chapter 5: The Soft Zone, Chapter 12: Using Adversity
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Integrating rather than denying emotional reality •
"The first obstacle I had to overcome as a young chess player was to avoid being distracted by random, unexpected events- by the mini-earthquakes that afflict all of our days. In performance training, first we learn to flow with whatever comes. Then we learn to use whatever comes to our advantage. Finally, we learn to be completely self-sufficient and create our own earthquakes, so our mental process feeds itself explosive inspirations without the need for outside stimulus." p 54
Further reading: Chapter 5: The Soft Zone, Chapter 7: Changing Voice, Chapter 12: Using Adversity
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• Value process before results •
"The issue is fundamental to the pursuit of excellence in all fields. If a young basketball player is taught that winning is the only thing that winners do, then he will crumble when he misses his first big shot. If a gymnast or ballet dancer is taught that her self-worth is entirely wrapped up in a perfectly skinny body that is always ready for performance, then how can she handle injuries or life after an inevitably short career? If a businessperson cultivates a perfectionist self-image, then how can she learn from her mistakes?" p 38
Further reading: Chapter 3: Two Approaches to Learning, Chapter 4: Loving the Game, Chapter 10: Investment in Loss
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
• The middle way: explore the greyness •
"To my mind, the fields of learning and performance are an exploration of greyness- of the in-between. There is the careful balance of pushing yourself relentlessly, but not so hard that you melt down. Muscles and minds need to stretch to grow, but if stretched too thin, they will snap. A competitor needs to be process-oriented, always looking for stronger opponents to spur growth, but it is also important to keep on winning enough to maintain confidence. We have to release our current ideas to soak in new material, but no so much that we lose touch with our unique natural talents." p 88
Further reading: Chapter 9: Beginner's Mind, Chapter 19: Bringing it All Together
From THE ART OF LEARNING by Josh Waitzkin. Copyright © 2007 by Josh Waitzkin LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
