The 10,000 Hour Rule

What is the difference between good and great? Malcolm Gladwell says about 10,000 hours...10,000 hours of practice and serious application. In his outstanding book, Outliers, Gladwell suggests that many of the most accomplished men and women in several fields had to invest that much time into their craft before achieving true excellence:

Bill Gates in programming software
The Beatles in music
Athletes
Teachers
Professional speakers
Bloggers

There is scientific research indicating that to prepare someone for THE opportunity that one day will come, he or she should already have gone through a minimum 10,000 hours of practice. This is roughly equivalent to 3-hours of practice everyday for about 10 years. It makes sense in this way: only those with the determination and focus to stick with a specific mission will be successful, while those who jump around from one thing to another will likely fail. Gladwell reminds us with several examples that raw talent and pure intelligence are only a small part of manifesting success. They only matter up to a certain degree.

Bruce Lee once said, “I’m not afraid of a person who practice 1000 kicks one time, but I’m afraid of a person who practice one kick 1000 times.”

I'll be honest. I don't necessarily know how to measure all the hours I'm involved in the activities most important to my future. However, I know I'm well short of 10,000 hours of speaking, writing and teaching. By this rule, I'm not yet approaching "greatness", but I'm making up for lost time. This blog is proof! My other writings are proof. I'm committed to getting my hours in so I'm ready for those doors that are opening for me.

Need a speaker for your next event? Guess what? I'm more available than you think because I need to get more hours in! Tell me. Are you getting your hours in? Post your comments below!

Mark Anthony McCray helps people live on PURPOSE, achieve higher PERFORMANCE and experience true PROSPERITY. Be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a thing and forward this to a friend if you found it helpful. All material © Copyright, Mark Anthony McCray unless otherwise noted!

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