Picture yourself playing for your country: The pinnacle of cricketing achievement.

How realistic a dream is it to you?

If you are anything like me no doubt you still think it's possible. It might be the faintest hope going (I'm 31 and never played first class cricket) but it's still secretly in there.

Ignoring that crazy pride and looking at the facts: 99% of people who play cricket will never go on to represent their country. Does that mean you can only succeed if you are in that lucky talented 1%?

Talent is an important factor, but even with a lesser ability you can achieve by applying hard work, patience, self-discipline, and a long term outlook. You may not have the talent of Viv Richards, but you can put yourself way ahead of most club players (and many first class players) with a little bit of knowledge about how we master skills.

Brain researchers have found that almost anyone can master almost any skill given enough time:

"Actress Geena Davis nearly qualified for the US Olympic archery team in a sport she took up at the age of 40, less than three years before the Olympic tryouts."

The problem is not that people are intrinsically bad at something (although some have more natural flair for things than others); it's that most people give up when they fail.

Maybe not the first time, or the 10th, but eventually it's one failure to many but still several years from mastery and success. It's a natural reaction of course, but when you know that all you have to do is stick at it you can get through the hard times and the inevitable failures.

The difference between success and failure for most people is simply a matter of commitment. So set yourself some realistic but achievable goals for the next few months, the next year, the next 3 years and 5 years.

Then use your new found knowledge to make those cricket goals 100% successful.

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