For those with exceptional abilities, there are often multiple pressures - from family, the culture, oneself - to continuously achieve.
Alissa Quart is the author of Hothouse Kids: The Dilemma of the Gifted Child. A recent newspaper article [Prodigies and the push to excel, by Debora Vrana, Los Angeles Times Sept 30 2006] noted Quart is [...]

Q. What advice can you give us nongeniuses to help us be more creative?
A. Take risks, and expect to make lots of mistakes, because creativity is a numbers game. Work hard, and take frequent breaks, but stay with it over time. Do what you love, because creative breakthroughs take years of hard work. Develop a [...]

[Photo: Robin Williams enters rehab for alcoholism, August 2006]
“So is the world better off without people with a biological susceptibility towards becoming addicted? If the answer is yes, bioethicist Dr. Tom Koch points out that people like Dylan Thomas, William S Burroughs, and Miles Davis might not have existed and brought their art and music [...]

In his book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker talks about the value of living with distress and discomfort, and using it positively: “The first time you tried something new, was it comfortable or uncomfortable?” he writes.
“Usually uncomfortable. But what happened afterword? The more you did it, the more comfortable it became, right? [...]