Less Than A Decade

6 days ago3 min read

They say it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at your craft.

For perspective, that's just over a year of intense and solid training towards one specific study, investing every minute of every day for the next 365 into deliberate practice.

Realistically, no one will ever do that.

But say you invest twenty hours weekly towards your dreams for the rest of your unspecified career.

Those 10,000 hours now become just over nine and a half years of training.

It takes less than a decade to reach your dreams.

We all know it takes time to get good at a craft. That a master was once a student and that there is no shortcut to skill.

Most “success principles” can be distilled down to consistency, discipline, proper and intentional practice, and the increased luck that comes from rolling the dice so many times.

Out of these moldings comes the “10,000 Hours” rule popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, a Canadian speaker, journalist, and author of five New Your Times Best Selling books (Yes, FIVE!)

In his text “Outliers: The Story of Success,” he introduces this principle and demonstrates how it came into play through the lives of wildly successful groups and individuals such as Bill Gates or the rocket-fueled career of the Beatles.

Now, so much time after its release, this makes for a great pull quote or inspirational wall poster, but practically speaking, it's quite lofty.

What “really” is the weight of 10,000 hours, and how would you implement this principle right now if you wanted to start today?

This takes reframing 10,000 hours into a digestible size—something manageable most of us could do, something most of us ALREADY do.

Just under three hours a day equals 20 hours a week, which results in the mastering of any craft in just under a decade.

If this scares you, take a deep breath and consider this is WAY LESS than the 2024 average screen time in America of 7 Hours and three minutes or even the global average of 6 hours and 40 minutes!

Now, while you are not average, I strongly suspect your screen time may reveal you have more time than you realize, and while this is not a “fix your phone addiction” article, it is worth considering in pursuing any skill or dream that your greatest asset (time) may be being invested improperly.

If you have ever wondered why so many people seem to be living La Dolce Vita in their 30s, it’s because it took the 10 years of their 20s to get there. Are you confused about why people have so much peace in their 50s? It's because they put in the difficult work in their forties.

That said, It should be noted that the choice of “10,000” is arbitrary, and therefore, this “rule” works as a long-term motivation tactic rather than a hard fact of life. The number is a rough and estimated average of the time it takes to become great at something, and it does not consider other critical interconnected factors such as genetics, culture, and childhood (to name a few).

Regardless of these other factors, if we were to imagine them as levers, it's “time” that we have the most “control” over, and it’s the combination of intentional practice and consistency throughout this time that sharpens you.

While change is the only constant, time is the closest investment vessel to track success.

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The “10,000” hour rule may not be a precise science, but, by many other metrics, it is an incredible mindset to employ.

It’s one of those mental positions that prove to be “literally” untrue but “practically” useful and, therefore, arguably more beneficial than “only true.”

The idea that something can be “literally” false but “realistically” true, is something we employ every day whether we realize it or not. (A perspective shared by writer, entrepreneur, and host of the Modern Wisdom Podcast, Chris Williamson)

In the long run, holding this mentality will prove far superior and beneficial to thinking the contrary.

If you don’t have time, remember you make time for what matters, and if that doesn't work, then remember this:

“You find time the same place you find spare change: in the nooks and crannies.” - Austin Kleon, New York Times Best Selling Author of Steal Like An Artist and Show Your Work.

Put in the time. Walk the road. And Stay Curious throughout.

- Making The Most Of Being Curious

Daniel J. Cuesta