GREG MCKEOWN

Thinking - the mixture of initiative, faith, willingness to win, and resilience - is more conducive to success than any other feature. 

Attention-getting messages are simple, unexpected, and concrete.

The mention of an object creates a visualized idea in our minds--we form an image of the thing, and retain it in our memory. This doesn't happen at the mention of abstractions, like "value" or "memory."

The tried and tested, familiar format is often repetitive and has the narrative inevitability that people are accustomed to. Much like a football match, it is the small variations that provide the entertainment in an otherwise repetitive TV programming.

The sameness of con...