What is the 10,000 Hour Rule?
If you've ever had an experience where you said to yourself during a task: "Oh, I am actually pretty good at this thing." There is a big chance that you probably have spent lots of time and effort but you are still yet to realize that.
The 10,000 hour rule is the simple idea that we all can be great at anything as long as we put our minds into that particular task.
Imagine if you could become the best at something in just 10,000 hours. It’s a common misconception that our journey to success is down to luck, something we are born with or the right connections. But it’s not - it’s hard work. Talent doesn’t exist. Knowledge doesn’t exist. Inspiration doesn’t exist. Anyone can become great at something given enough time and dedication. These 10,000 hour rule examples will inspire you to succeed at anything you put your mind to.
Malcolm Gladwell uses several examples in Outliers when introducing this rule: one is the research done by Ericsson that focused on violin students at a music academy in Berlin. The study found that the most accomplished of the students had put in 10,000 hours by the time they turned 20. Gladwell also estimates that the Beatles put in 10,000 hours of practice playing in Hamburg in the early 1960s, and that Bill Gates put in 10,000 hours of programming work before founding Microsoft. Hence the 10,000 hour rule was born: put in your 10,000 hours of practice, and become an expert in a given field. Pretty easy, right? As long as you dedicate your time and effort, it surely is.
We like to pride ourselves on our talent, but great achievers aren’t born with talent; they make themselves talented by working obsessively toward their goals. Achievers often spend even more than 10,000 hours working on what they want to achieve.
If you’re an entrepreneur, freelancer or simply looking for ways to improve your skills, you should definitely read more about the 10,000 hour rule by grabbing yourself a copy of Outliers. The 10,000 hour rule is about how to become world class in your field of interest by investing the right amount of time to learn.