photo credit: Shadow becomes White

Do you want to become a professional sports player and compete on the world stage? Perhaps you want to become a concert pianist and perform at Carnegie Hall. Or maybe meditation is more your thing and you would like to tame your mind and get closer to enlightenment. Regardless of the dream, the method is the same. Practice. A hell of a lot of practice. In fact, 10,000 hours of practice is what it takes to become an expert at any given field. So do you have what it takes?

10,000 hours, the magic number

Many studies have been done on the topic of becoming a professional sports player or a great musician. And almost all of them have concluded that the magic number is somewhere around 10,000 hours of practice. Let’s do the math on that. If you practice in your chosen area for two hours a day you are going to get in 730 hours of practice per year. At that rate it will take you 13 years to reach the 10,000 hour mark. Using that equation, let’s imagine that you want to become an expert guitar player. Imagine you start a little late in life, say around 30. If you put in the hard yards, perhaps practice before and after work everyday and more on the weekends, you will be an expert by the time you are 40. It doesn’t seem so bad when you put it like that. After this you will have the rest of your life to play your guitar like a pro.

Why 10,000 hours?
Good question. It does seem a little random. But the more you look at it the more you start to see it is true. Most people need to continually work at something for around 10 to 20 years to become great at it. And the studies done on this topic have shown that it is usually around the 10,000 hour mark that they “graduate” from amateur to professional or from good to great.

Not everyone needs 10,000 hours
Let’s remember that some people do not need 10,000 hours to become great at something. You might have grown up in a family which exposed you to your chosen discipline from an early age which might mean that you have a more “natural” propensity for it. It might take you a lot less time to catch on. Or the opposite might be true, you might have a physical or mental block that requires you to put in a lot more time to become an expert.

Good genes vs practice: the ongoing debate

photo credit: j_bischoff

Here is a subject that really grates on me. Many people think that the deciding factor is genetics, not practice. There are those sneaky and ever so depressing souls out there who would have us believe that not everyone can become great in any field. And they might be right. I often wonder if I could become a maths expert if I put in 10,000 hours. I’m not sure I could; my brain just hates maths. But there is a key word there – hate. I hate maths because I never had a good teacher and as such I lost confidence. Now when I need to do it I put up all sorts of emotional blocks that prevent me from advancing. And that is conditioned behavior, not genetic. My father is a maths whiz. My brother is a doctor. Its obviously not a genetic thing.

So how much of a role does genetics play in this debate? Obviously quite a lot. But at the same time not so much. Let me give you an example. I am under six foot tall. I have played soccer since I was young and have some small talent. The same goes for martial arts. But I am genetically disadvantaged when it comes to basketball. I am just too short. Does this mean I could never have become a professional basketball player? No. It just means it would have been harder. There have been lots of short basketball player – Muggsy Bogues was shorter than me and did quite well for himself.

Genetics is a head start but it is by no means the final stretch of the race. I would much rather be the guy with a genetic disadvantage and a good practice discipline than the naturally talented guy who doesn’t think he needs to work. Scientists now talk about genetics as a potential but not a deciding factor because they are always switching on and off. The factor that will determine whether or not you become great at something is practice. Over 10,000 hours worth.

Do you have what it comes to become great? Some tips.

photo credit: nerd.reynolds

So the question is not whether you have the potential to be great but whether or not you have the guts. Now that you know you need to practice hard, will you shy away from the task? If you believe you have the stomach for greatness there are a few tips you need to know in order to get to your goal.

1. Routine is your only friend
When it comes to practice there is only one word you need to know – routine. You need to make a regular time for your practice sessions and stick to it like you do eating dinner. You would never (rarely) go to bed without dinner and in the same way you should never miss a practice session. As soon as you miss one you will find reasons to miss another and before you know it a whole week has gone since you practiced. That time starts to add up. Make a routine and stick to it.

2. Define a solid goal with a time line
Sure, you might have a pie-in-the-sky dream about becoming a professional soccer player but do you have a goal with a time line? Do you know where you want to be in ten years time? If your dream is just some vague hope then it will never get done. You need to lock on to a target and fix in your mind what you want to achieve. Without that time line you are kidding yourself. I promise you will never make it. Add a time line to that goal, however, and you have a good shot.

3. Micro steps towards the goal
Okay so you have a goal with a time line. How are you going to get there? What steps do you need to take to make sure you are in the right place at the right time? Here is an example. Let’s say you want to be a professional soccer player by the year 2020 and you want to play for Barcelona. First of all you need to get really good. Then you need to get really fit, fast, agile, elements that will set you aside from other players. Then you need to be in the right place for the scouts to see you; Spain or perhaps playing in a team that Barcelona is associated with. That might mean saving up to move to Spain. These are all the steps you are going to need to take to achieve your goal. Write them out too. Make them specific.

4. Reinforce good habits
A few months ago I wrote a post about the habits that help cultivate greatness. These are things you need to pay attention to. Things like eating healthy, avoiding alcohol, sleeping regular hours, etc. are essential for your long and arduous journey. You have to give yourself every advantage and without these “extra” bits you are going to find it tough. Practicing for four hours a day is hard if you didn’t get a good night’s sleep.

5. Get an inspiring mentor
Almost all good behavior is learned. You get better at tennis by playing against better opponents. You get good at music by learning from an expert musician. And you stay on the path by being reinforced and inspired by a good mentor. Now, a mentor does not have to be someone you have personal contact with (although that is preferred). You might just pick a great athlete like Muhammad Ali or Michael Jordan and try to emulate them by copying their sense of discipline, work ethic and training routines. That is a good start. You will need this inspiration when you don’t feel like getting out of bed for training on those early mornings.

6. Train smart
When I was playing state soccer in high school my coach said something that hit me like a tonne of bricks. He came up to me during drills and said, “Son, you are damn good at that right foot shot.” I looked at him, smiled and said thank you. His demeanor then changed dramatically and he barked, “So why the hell are you still practicing it? Work on the left”. And from that point on he would make me do laps if I shot with my right foot, even if it was the best option at the time. Now, his method might have been extreme but his lesson was priceless. Why spend your valuable time practicing what you are good at? You need to push your comfort zones and improve on your weaknesses. That’s what great players do; they find their weakness and then they train it until they are bleeding and sore.

Conclusion

As you can see, becoming expert or great at something takes a lot of time. But it also means a lot of other things like being in the right place at the right time, having a disciplined work ethic and being mentally tough when obstacles arise. I wonder how many people will be put off by the idea of putting in 10,000 hours work. Does that seem like a lot to you? Or has it inspired you to know that there is a specific target to aim for? I would love to hear your thoughts about the genetics argument as well so please leave a comment.

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