Life is choices, and they are relentless. No sooner have you made one choice than another is upon you.

Over time I learned that there are two very different satisfactions that you can have in your life. One is the satisfaction of becoming skilled at something. It almost doesn't matter what the terrain is. There is a deep, soul-feeding resonance in mastery itself, whether in teaching, writing a complicated software program, coaching a baseball team, or marshalling a group of people to start a new business.

Good checklists, on the other hand are precise. They are efficient, to the point, and easy to use even in the most difficult situations. They do not try to spell out everything--a checklist cannot fly a plane. Instead, they provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps--the ones that even the highly skilled professional using them could miss. Good checklists are, above all, practical.

In one study, old people assigned to a geriatrics team stayed independent for far longer, and were admitted to the hospital less.

We recruit for attitude and train for skill.

What about regular professionals, who just want to do what they do as well as they can?

Courage is strength in the face of knowledge of what is to be feared or hoped. Wisdom is prudent strength.