The 10 rule.000 hours for success

Do you know the 10 rule.000 hours? No? Well, less bad that you are here, because it is a rule that can change your professional life forever, especially if you are young and you are not sure what to do with your life. So ... are you prepared? Let's go there!

Content

• What is the 10th rule.000 hours?
• How we advance and how much we learn according to the hours dedicated
• What's true in this theory?
• So what should I do?

What is the 10th rule.000 hours?

The 10 rule.000 hours is a theory that arose from Malcolm Gladwell's mind, And that put black on white in his book Outliers. The Story of Success, A book in which it is explained what factors influenced some successful people to achieve their success.

And what factors influenced? Well, in the book many factors are explained, such as family, education or culture. But the truth is that the bulk of the book focuses on the 10 rule.000 hours.

This rule comes to say that, If you want to achieve excellence in an area, it is essential that you dedicate 10.000 hours to that area. This implies 10 hours per week over 20 years, 20 hours per week over 10 years, or 40 hours per week over 5 years.

In the book, Gadwell shows Mozart's example, which is considered a great genius. However, the truth is that its great symphonies are after 21 years, moment in which I had already accumulated 10.000 hours of work (He started composing at age 7).

Similarly, we can put the example of Paco de Lucía, whose main works are after 25 years, having started playing the guitar at 9 years. That is, constant work and experience are fundamental.

How we advance and how much we learn according to the hours dedicated

In general, it can be said that, Depending on the amount of hours dedicated to a certain area of ​​knowledge, we can get to know the following:

1. With 1 hour: An hour may be enough to know the basics, but the basics rarely serve for something. A higher degree of learning is needed.
2. With 10 hours: With ten hours, there is a broader notion of basic knowledge. From there, you can learn more and better, because the basics is understood.
3. With 100 hours: With 100 hours an average level is obtained. You can find work of what you are learning, but you will not highlight.
4. With 1000 hours: With 1000 hours you are already a professional with all the letters. You can become the highest rank worker in your company, for example. However, you are not yet a genius in your area.
5. With 10.000 hours: From 10.000 hours, one can be considered a teacher in his profession. This is where many people decide to create their own companies, innovate or create something new with their knowledge.

What's true in this theory?

Unfortunately, Although the theory is beautiful and motivating, the truth is that it is not true. The truth is that, as we can deduce from a meta-analysis of more than 88 scientific studies in this regard, Intensive practice only explains 12% of performance in a specific task.

This study shows that, on many occasions, intellect, age or innate talent is more important than the hours you dedicate to practicing. That is to say, As much as you practice 10.000 hours to football, you will not become Messi.

However… This is something you already knew, right?

I personally believe that That meta-analysis, although useful, forgets something important. I explain it to you in the following section.

So what should I do?

The above could lead you to think that "It is not worth trying anything because that does not make you an expert". But here you have to understand that 10.000 hours are necessary, but not enough. If this is understood, everything is understood.

Can you become Messi just by dedicating 10.000 hours to football? No, Because certain additional characteristics are needed.

Can you become Messi without dedicating the 10.000 hours to football? No, Because practice is essential.

So the key here is to find what you have aptitude (generally, something you like), and then, dedicate 10.000 hours to become an expert.

This is how excellence is achieved, because 10.000 hours are not enough, but they are necessary.

As you can see, the 10 rule.000 hours is a way of saying that, If you want to succeed in a certain area, you will necessarily have to work and strive with all your strength. Of course, it is not something infallible, but it is a good metaphor of the necessary effort for success, don't you think?