In 1501, the Church of Florence commissioned Michelangelo to sculpt a marble statue of David the Biblical shepherd boy. Because the statu...

In the last twenty years we’ve learned a tremendous amount about how expertise is created. Scientists like K Anders Ericsson from Florida...

What is a leader? The simplest and perhaps most literal definition is “someone with followers.” But the presence of followers alone doesn...

What’s the best way to gear up for a new habit? There are two common approaches. One is to imagine the positive outcome of solving a give...

Irrational behavior is commonplace in sports. Michael Jordan wore his "lucky" University of North Carolina practice shorts under his Chic...

The concept of studying is at the core of our learning institutions. It's what you're supposed to be doing in college. Still, just how yo...

When you think of inventors, the iconic example might be Thomas Edison, who brought us the electric lightbulb. In the process, he discove...

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 2500 BC. Its individual stone blocks weigh up to 50 tons, and its base contains roughly 2,300,...

When you think about Seinfeld, it's likely you think of his perpetually rerun TV show by the same name. His comedy was built on seemingly...

Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, in examining the lives of Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, T. S. Elio...

The idea of a life in sales can have a greasy connotation, summoning the mental image of a slick insurance or car salesman pitching you s...

Susan Polgar is considered a chess genius; at 21, she was the first woman in the world to become a Grandmaster. Her chess skills are so e...

When we think of legends of comedy, the Marx Brothers might come to mind. In the years leading up to World War II, they were the toast of...

Swimmer Michael Phelps, now retired, is one of the most decorated Olympic athletes of all time. Of his 22 medals, 18 are gold. Phelps tra...

Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between a virtuoso like Ray Charles and the guy putting in his piano set at your local H...

In last week’s post, we learned how Walter Mischel’s famous marshmallow test demonstrated that preschoolers with a willpower strategy far...

Although he didn’t realize it then, when Walter Mischel and his team turned their attention to preschoolers at the Bing Nursery School on...

General George B. “Little Mac” McClellan was the Union force commander during the Civil War. Beloved by his men, and a stickler for train...

When it comes to Carol Dweck’s concepts of mindset, northwestern Alabama might not be the first region that leaps into your mind. And yet...

In sports, it’s called being in the zone. I’m talking about those moments when self vanishes, time seems to slow down, and you are operat...