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Have you put in your 10,000 hours?

Written by: Ross Fattori

Article Overview: Length of time required to master a skill or craft

Have you put in your 10,000 hours?

We’ve all heard the axiom that practice makes perfect. Well, best-selling author, Malcolm Gladwell, has quantified the amount of practice it takes to achieve mastery of a craft: 10,000 hours.

In his new book, Outliers, Gladwell argues that people who achieve an extraordinary level of success in life have invested at least 10,000 hours of practice. He points to Wayne Gretzky, The Beatles, Mozart and Bill Gates as examples of high-level achievers, who invested at least 10,000 hours of practice in learning their crafts before they became extraordinary.

According to Gladwell, the 10,000 magic number applies to equally to people in any discipline: writing, medicine, music, athletics, business, filmmaking, etc. Without at least that amount of practice time, you’ll never rise above merely proficient, competent or average.

In addition to the 10,000 hours, high achievers have other factors going for them, as well. For some, it’s timing and date of birth. For others, it’s social status and opportunities. In other words, it’s not just a matter of showing up, putting in your time and then claiming your trophy as a gifted performer.

Malcolm Gladwell is one of today’s truly original thinkers. It’s no accident that he’s a sought-after speaker and consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Whether you’re running a small business, leading a sales team or creating a killer ad campaign for a new client, you can always learn something from Malcolm Gladwell.

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Article Tags: ad campaign, axiom, beatles, bill gates, crafts, date of birth, discipline, fortune 500 companies, gifted performer, gladwell argues that, high achievers, magic number, malcolm gladwell, medicine music, mozart, practice time, small business, thinkers, trophy, wayne gretzky



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Unable to continue! - Thanks Kevin for your reply! Its just that I find it sort of difficult that if ever I want out, I must leave the technology behind and I am unable to continue other products using the patented technology. After all, I did invent it didn't I? Now, I know that the management side is just as important as the R&D, but lets face it, if I (the inventor) has invested 10000 unpaid personal hours in developing all this technology, all the good management in the world would be worth nothing without my innitial invested effort which went into the product! I sort of feel a little trapped! Thankyou for your warm greeting and hope to chat with you again! PS thanks for the tip about the clause that would depict really not wanting to work with someone I dislike. with regards Robert
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Re: How Much Money Do You Make Online? - [quote="Kevin Lee":2hdaa23x][quote="Alan Mater":2hdaa23x]Hi Kevin, The answer is dependent on many different factors. But, I would say that if a person took the time to learn and then apply what was learned, and then spent on average just two hours a day, they should start to see some income within the first three months. The amount you make will also be dependent on many factors, and I can't really answer this one. It all depends on how you plan to make your money.[/quote:2hdaa23x] Hi Alan, I know results will very greatly, but how much time SHOULD an online marketer spend on his/her site/business each day? Is 2 hours really enough?[/quote:2hdaa23x] Hi Kevin, Absolutely not. 2 hours should be the bare minimum. It's a good number if you're still holding down a full-time job. Say, for example, you lose your job. You know the job market isn't great, and everyone else is looking for a job (Because they lost their job too). You know it's possible to make money online and want to go that direction. You have all day to spend on your new venture, but you need to be making money soon, not a year or two from now. So, obviously, if you have a lot more time to spend, you should be. You're going to get where you want to be faster, and results will happen sooner. When I'm at home all day, I probably spend anywhere from 6 to 10 hours working. Of course that time includes both work for my own business and work for my clients. Some days it could be more, depending on what I have going on that day. I tend to get more work done in the evening hours, for whatever reason. Everyone is different, so you'll have to determine what hours are going to be more productive for you, and create your schedule accordingly.
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