In Malcolm Gladwell’s book “The Outliers“, he introduces the concept of 10,000 hours. He tells his readers that it takes 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to achieve mastery. My question to you is “How are you going to spend your 10,000 hours?”
While there is some debate about this concept, I believe the debate is focused on the wrong thing. The debate is focused on the 10,000 hours but “deliberate practice” and “mastery” are the true key words of the concept. It doesn’t necessarily matter if it is exactly 10,000 hours—the point is that it takes a lot of time focusing on the subject that you want be to a master at. The second part of this is that “mastery” doesn’t mean “popularity”. No one needs to know that you are a master painter. That is not the goal. The goal is mastery for mastery’s sake and for your sake.
So, the question I ask is; What do you want to spend your 10,000 hours on?
If I practice one hour a day on playing trombone, it will take roughly 27 years to be a master. If you write for two hours a day, it will take roughly 14 years to achieve mastery. Again, the point is not to stay locked into the 10,000 hours but understand that if you are going to achieve true greatness, it will take time and it will take work.
Find something in your life in which you are passionate about. Set aside the time. And practice. Intentionally practice. Over time, of focused practice, you will begin to develop in the passions of your life. Over a period of time, you will realize that you are becoming a master.
What will be that for you?
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