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STATE PAPERS RELEASED today under the 30-year rule provide new details about the events going on behind-the-scenes during the hunger strikes of 1981 and other events.
Among the revelations are that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made attempts to end the strikes by offering concessions to the IRA through a secret intermediary. It is also reported that Bobby Sands was said to have made an offer to end his strike, a week before he died.
The year was also notable for the fire at the Stardust nightclub in north Dublin in which 48 people died. A senior adviser to Charles Haughey accused RTÉ of undermining the tribunal investigating the cause of the fire by airing an in-depth report into the tragedy.
Here’s a selection of pictures and new revelations from the year:
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And Andre Agassi had an obsessive father who made him bat at balls when he was still in his pram, then when he was 7 had a machine fire 1000 balls a day at him to return. It was all down to practice.
Except that Agassi has an elder brother who got exactly the same treatment but never won anything. You can bias a sample to prove anything you like.
True in most cases, but Mozart was no normal kid who just practiced a lot and happened to be surrounded by music , he was a prodigy.
A child is defined as a prodigy based on what they do, not on what they might do. We regularly confuse the attributes of talent, skill, knowledge and intellect. Ultimately none of these will deliver achievement without coaching/education, practice and commitment.
Agreed ben, though I’d add having an interest as an alternative to commitment, as the former drives the later in many cases.
But where talent comes in, is that some folk deliver with far less of that coaching, practice and commitment. Some people catch on to certain things far quicker, and see the big picture – and that in its own right is talent. In the same way that the best sportspeople read a game and execute a plan (with flair to back it up), so to does natural talent in the workplace spot problems before they happen, troubleshoot as they happen, or clean up efficiently after things have happened.
Certain things aren’t taught, and that’s why we speak about leaders, in every context of life.
Talent has to be there in the first place….without it practice is useless
This whole thing is a bit misleading! For most athletes they are genetically superior to your average person! A business leader I could believe but the reason top pros make it in their sport is because they stood out from the field from a very very young age! Hard work will cover some gaps but you need a certain physical structure in the first place!
Ted, look at the YouTube video I posted. You’ll change your mind! Talent, though VIP, is only one factor. Environment, access, peer influence, coaching (education) and opportunity are essential parts of the mix.
This is bullshit, the Kalenjin tribe has physical attributes that suit them to distance running. The Sports Gene gives an interesting, fact based insight into this.
Eh some people are just lucky ba$tards in life.
People can be unlucky but most successful people make their luck. They were in the gym at 6 and/or the office at 7 and do it for life!
True Story
The more you practice the luckier you get
Listen to the man and get proper insight rather than read ill informed comments. Essentially talent is only part of the requirements for success and he believes it is wrong and damaging to young people to peddle the myth that talent is the only requirement.
“it is wrong and damaging to young people to peddle the myth that talent is the only requirement.”
In that case, it’s a happy coincidence that nobody is peddling that myth.
Someone is, on the other hand, peddling a book – to people who want to hear that there’s a path to success for everyone, regardless of their aptitude.
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