10,000 Hours

10,000 hours. If you are looking to be not just good, but elite, in what you do, this is a key.

I first saw this figure in Bo Sanchez's article about fulfilling your purpose. I thought it was just some random big number until yesterday. I was browsing the Phil Star when I saw Bill Velasco's column titled: Secret of success: 10,000 hours. In that column, he outlined the study that showed how elite athletes, musicians, even criminals logged more than 10,000 hours in order to become world-class in their field.

One thing that stood out for me:
GOOD = 8,000 hours
ELITE = 10,000 hours or more.

You can read Bill Velasco's article here.

I've always wondered what makes great men great. I knew it wasn't just luck or sheer talent that pushes them. I've read stuff about how Michael Jordan used to practice hours and hours everyday to be that great. Kobe too.

But 10,000 hours...That's a big price to pay. That's like practicing 3 hours per day for 3,333 days (9.1 years). Consistently. Even on Sundays. Wow, no wonder I never got close to good at playing the guitar.

This was really a big answer for me. It tells me, there's a price to pay to shine. And that price is TIME. Time you put into whatever you do. And it tells me, I got to have a 10 year plan (or a 9.1 year plan) to be elite and if I want to be world-class at anything, I have to start now.

Putting it together, Bo says you have to:
1. Do What You Like
2. Do What You're Good At (or Excel In).

And do it for 10,000 hours.

Time to go to work!