The 10,000 Hour Rule

All great success stories have similarities, and one of them is that successful individuals spend a lot of time practicing and working on their craft. In fact, Gladwell cites studies and sociologists who claim that for an individual to become an expert in any skill, they need to spend about 10,000 hours practicing or working on it. Overwhelmingly, statistics show that all successful people in their fields had at least 10,000 hours of experience before they made it big.

Gladwell makes the point that to get 10,000 hours of practice, which usually takes a decade, you need a lot of luck and extraordinary circumstances. Bill Joy, a renowned computer programmer and pioneer for internet technology, worked at the University of Michigan, which was one of the few places in the country at the time that was equipped with a computer lab that was capable of time sharing, an invention that allowed programming to go much faster. Additionally, Joy found a way to log hours in the lab for free. From then on, he was hooked and able to accomplish his 10,000 hours, an opportunity most people would not have had.

Gladwell describes the same phenomenon occurring with Bill Gates—a series of fortunate, very lucky events allowed Gates to gain 10,000 hours of practice at a very young age. Gladwell also describes the Beatles, who got a lucky break and were invited to play in Hamburg, where they spent seven days a week playing for 8 hours or more a day. It was through that experience that they gained the time needed to become a great band.

Gladwell also covers how combining skills with a certain period in history enables many to succeed. For example, most of the wealthiest Americans throughout history were born within the same time frame in the late 1800s, which allowed them to take advantage of the Industrial Revolution.

Gladwell’s assertion is that most people do not have the fortunate or lucky circumstances that allow them to pursue their passions in such dedicated time blocks. Many successful people share the similar story that because of circumstances, luck, and chance, they were able to spend time doing what they loved doing most, and that aided their ability to succeed.