I’ve heard it said somewhere that hard work ends up looking a lot like talent.
I have this deep admiration for dancers- ballet, modern, salsa, but in particular- hip hop dancers. When I watched America’s best dance crew and saw Kaba Modern or the Jabbawockeez- I was blown away. It was like seeing someone fly for the first time (which I haven’t seen yet, but I am sure I’d be pretty amazed.)
Here is a video of a Kaba Modern’s amazing audition:
Anyways, I was pondering over the talents that I’d like to possess (which includes dancing) and began to ask myself: Are some people just born that talent???
According to Malcom Gladwel’s book, Outliers, he discusses the “10,000-Hour Rule”. Gladwell claims that greatness requires enormous time, using the source of The Beatles’ musical talents and Gates’ computer savvy as examples. The Beatles performed live in Hamberg, Germany ver 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time, therefore meeting the 10,000-Hour Rule. Gladwell asserts that all of the time The Beatles spent performing shaped their talent, “so by the time they returned to England from Hamburg, Germany, ‘they sounded like no one else. It was the making of them.'” Gates met the 10,000-Hour Rule when he gained access to a high school computer in 1968 at the age of 13, and spent 10,000 hours programming on it. In Outliers, Gladwell interviews Gates, who says that unique access to a computer at a time when they were not commonplace helped him succeed. Without that access, Gladwell states that Gates would still be “a highly intelligent, driven, charming person and a successful professional”, but that he might not be worth US$50 billion. Gladwell explains that reaching the 10,000-Hour Rule, which he considers the key to success in any field, is simply a matter of practicing a specific task that can be accomplished with 20 hours of work a week for 10 years. (Taken from Wikipedia)
Thus, hard work -10,000 hours which is about 3 hours/day of practice a day for 10 years will help you develop your talent, but talent coupled with opportunity leads to great acomplishments.
Are you willing to put in 10,000 hours?
Hard work ends up looking a lot like talent.
