In
his book Outliers, sociologist Malcolm Gladwell introduces his
conception of the mythical “formula for success.” An integral motif
thereof is what Gladwell calls the “10,000-Hour Rule,” which posits
that 10,000 hours of practicing a given task--such as programming
computers, playing music, or writing--is requisite to achieving
greatness in any field. He states that the ideal way to achieve this
quota is to spend 20 hours a week on said task over a 10-year span,
which, by no accident, is the path Gladwell took with his sociology
work.
Gladwell’s
formula is, on the surface, a valid one. Arbitrary though the 10,000
figure may seem, the logic behind it is sound, as 10 years is a
reasonable incubation period for an up-and-comer in any profession one
cares to name, and 20 hours a week--likely 1 out of every 5 or 6 waking
hours--represents a suitably high level of dedication to achieve
stardom. (Yes, there’s more to achieving lofty goals than this,
Gladwell concedes--the opportunities provided by one’s upbringing and,
to a lesser extent, innate talent, are also identified as crucial
elements of success in Outliers--but those topics warrant
investigations unto themselves.) This level of practice extended over
such a long period of time represents a mammoth investment for whoever
aspires to it. Of course, this is obvious, so why is this important?
Because this fact means that the activity being practiced must be a
passion--better, the passion--of the practitioner, or else the level of
commitment demanded by Gladwell’s postulate will be unattainable.
Passion for one’s profession is one of many ingredients requisite to
attaining high levels of success.
But is it really so simple? Is anyone, assuming they possess all the other aforementioned prerequisites, guaranteed success by spending 10,000 hours on basic activities pertaining to a desired profession? As a matter of fact, it’s even simpler than that. This arbitrary factor, though reasonably on point, is extraneous to the other driving forces behind success: passion, dedication, opportunity, and some measure of talent. Don’t worry about filling the quota Gladwell prescribes--one who truly possesses the attributes key to major success will have no trouble devoting even multiple tens of thousands of their hours to achieve their dreams.
Post by Jason Cigan
