Key ideas from Josh Waitzkin

• "Not taking on my weaknesses was outside of my conceptual scheme" - Josh, describing how being the target from age 6 forced constant self-improvement
• "The most heartbreaking, devastating moments ultimately were the ones that catalyzed the most growth" - Josh on how major losses became his greatest teachers
• "People who are at the pinnacles of different arts are often doing things that are much more similar than people in the same art at lower levels" - Josh on cross-disciplinary performance principles
• "If you're not falling enough during a foil session, then you're not pushing your turns hard enough" - Josh on living at maximum stretch without snapping
• "I drowned on the bottom of a pool for four and a half minutes after blacking out" - Josh on a near-death experience that catalyzed his move to Costa Rica
• "The Gap between me at eight years old (1,800 ELO) and world champions is the same as world champions and the strongest AI engines (3,800+ ELO)" - Josh on AI's dominance in chess
• "We're either practicing sloppiness or practicing quality. If we do something shitty, then we're practicing shitty" - Josh on quality as a way of life