The Key to Success?

Success in life is something everyone wants.

So what’s the key to success? Well that’s the question that Malcolm Gladwell answers in ‘Outliers.’

In this book, Gladwell discusses the common elements that all successful people share. Here he challenges the belief of the “self made man,” saying that all of them achieved success because of two primary factors: Environmental influences and being a master at their chosen craft.

One of the things I found interesting about Outliers was Gladwell’s idea that it takes 10,000 hours to master any skill.

He emphasizes that while successful people have an environmental advantage, they need to have put in the time to take advantage of opportunities. And that time is usually around the 10,000 hour mark.

Success Comes From Practice

The saying really is true. “Practice does make perfect.”

In Outliers, Gladwell gives two examples of the 10,000 hour principle.

The first example is Bill Gates. While growing up, Gates had a unique opportunity to do a lot of computer programming. In fact, he spent most of his teenage and early college years working on a type of computer that wasn’t available to most people. So when Gates saw an opportunity, he already possessed the technical skills to take advantage of it.

The Beatles is the second example. In the early 60’s, they spent month after month honing their musical act in Hamburg, Germany. Sometimes they would play 8 to 10 hours each night, to a crowd who demanded a variety of music. So when The Beatles finally got their “break,” they already had 10,000+ hours of practice under their belt.

What’s Your Key to Success?

“What’s really interesting about this 10,000-hour rule is that it applies virtually everywhere,” Gladwell told a conference held by The New Yorker magazine. “You can’t become a chess grand master unless you spend 10,000 hours on practice.

Maybe one of the keys to success isn’t determination or ambition. Perhaps it’s spending over 10,000 hours mastering one particular skill. Then when you see an opportunity, you’ll have the background to make it happen.

The question is “how can I master a skill?” I guess there’s an easy answer to that. Spend 10,000 hours working on it. That’s roughly ten years of 20 hour weeks spent mastering one skill.

So I guess if I want to become a ‘master blogger’ I’ve got a lot of work to do. All I have to do is spend another 9,900 hours blogging. So when come back in 2020 you’ll find a pretty awesome website.

Well I guess I’ve got some work to do…

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