The only real "brain training" is reading, learning practical and technical skills, and perhaps living a healthy lifestyle.
Other than that, forget it. Brain power and being a quick-witted genius is all about GENETICS (like most things in this life)
Other than that, forget it. Brain power and being a quick-witted genius is all about GENETICS (like most things in this life)
They were talking about cognitive decline and "brain power," not life outcomes as you seem to think.
The reason I ask is that I personally find I am passionate/hardworking for certain things but for others I'm completely disinterested/lazy.
Likewise I have seen other people who are typically lazy and not hardworking, but get them on the one thing they are interested in (e.g. a specific sport) and they can quote match and player statistics stretching back decades. It's like they have this amazing ability but they've only applied it to a relatively useless part of their life (I say relatively useless because if they'd applied themselves with the same fervour to their work they'd have a much better quality of life).
I'm not sure how that connects that with genetic personality traits.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014299900...
If you want more:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=personality+genetics+pubmed
Scientists are still primitive in the understanding of the human brain, but as you can see, one factor in your behavior and personality (ie. motivation, persistence, ease-of-anger, compulsion, etc) is the complex relationship between neurotransmitters and their receptors (and millions of other factors of which we have no clue) These relationships are largely genetic, they are inherited to us.
I have something to add of my own: Every characteristic about us, every move or action that we make, has a relationship (or is a byproduct) of some sort of gene(s) working together. You can even call it FATE if you want.
Luck
I won't discount genetics.