Skill is knowing all of the details related to complete a particular task and being able to execute them well. Expertise--deep skill--goes beyond knowledge and execution. It includes timing, the ability to perform the skills under pressure, in adverse environments, and the ability to improvise when necessary. 

Specific activities quire specific conditioning. This observation is most evident to us in sports. Training for a diver is different than it is for a tennis player. Conditioning is a form of tending. Buildings have a lifespan. The lifespan of a high rise has different needs than a single-family home. It's the same with businesses, social causes, and other inanimate things. Everything in the world needs conditioning and tending. 

Between hard work and enthusiasm is us and how we interact with one another. When trying to get something accomplished, most managers, under the pressures of the business, will offer the advice, “You don’t need to like each other or be best friends to accomplish a goal.” That might be true, but study after study indicates that trust is a crucial ingredient to effective teams. It is also the foundation of friendship. 

Enthusiasm is about genuine enjoyment. We will only succeed if we have some excitement for what we are doing. It is what gets us through the hard times. When we genuinely enjoy what we do, if we have enthusiasm for it, we’ll do better and come closer to reaching our potential.

Like a seed, we are equipped with everything we need to succeed. We don't require perfect conditions. In fact, persistence amidst challenge and change is what serves as the catalyst for growth.

People with challenging personalities get us to react to them by threatening our Ego. When we are belittled in some way—real or imagined—we feel destabilized. Vulnerable, our natural instinct is to strike back or lash out. This is one reason, but not the only reason, that it’s dangerous for our Ego to be in the driver’s seat.