I read an interview with Malcolm Gladwell in the Wall Street Journal this weekend. Gladwell is one of my favorite writers (he wrote Blink & The Tipping Point & the upcoming Outliers). I heard him speak @ a BlackBerry Symposium back in 2007. Fascinating speaker with great hair. See pic on left for proof on the hair comment.
In the interview Gladwell states that the difference between a professional and a talented amateur is 10,000 hours of practice. Around ten hard years of solid practice. He mentions a chess grandmaster plays for ten years before he achieves that level of excellence, and a classical composer won't be able to create great classical music without this kind of practice. Gladwell states: "it's an empirically-based finding that seems consistent across a number of different fields...an opportunity is a chance to practice."
So you want to get good at something? Practice. A lot.
Most things worth doing require work. Being a great guitarist, or preacher, or artist, or cook, or parent requires discipline and blood, sweat and tears. Prodigies are rare (I do think our Korean son Robin was a prodigy @ Guitar Hero. He could play advance mode quicker than anyone I have ever seen. I suck @ Guitar Hero, but could jump up and down while playing much better than Rob. This might be why I suck).
This got me thinking--have I achieved "professional" status at anything? In what area do I want to excel? I think I have some hard work and practice ahead of me.
How about you...in what area would you like to be a professional? What do you need to practice more? Are you a "professional" at anything now?
Sounds like we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Your pal,
Barry
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