How To Become a World Champion by Stacking Your Skills
What you can learn about success from people who have been there.
Laszlo Polgar is an unassuming man. In his old age, his white beard and round face make him look like a green-eyed Fidel Castro, but otherwise, if you crossed him on the street, you probably wouldn’t take a second look.
What distinguishes Laszlo from other people is his methodological drive. As a young man, he had read the biographies of 400 extra-ordinary people to find out what made them special.
He concluded that the secret ingredient was starting very young and studying hard.
“When I looked at the life stories of geniuses, I found the same thing. They all started at a very young age and studied intensively.”
— Laszlo Polgar
He identified a common theme among all these stories of supposedly “gifted” people: early specialization and intensive training in one particular subject.
He became a big proponent of nurture over nature as the determinant of a genius.
“A genius is not born, but is educated and trained. When a child is born…
