The third key to mastery is perhaps the most counter-intuitive. It’s the importance of restoration. Many of us fear that taking time for rest and renewal will brand us as slackers. More, bigger, faster, for longer, remains the prevailing ethic in most corporate cultures. In fact, rest is a critical component of achieving sustainable excellence over time. This insight leads to one that’s even more surprising. When Ericsson asked the subjects in his study to name the second most important factor in improving as violinists, the near-unanimous answer was sufficient sleep.
