10 000 hours is what Malcom Gladwell said, right?

I was thinking the same thing, Dennis. (If anyone hasn't read Outliers yet, I strongly recommend it.)

I love this post, Penelope, because it's timely for me. I had the most amazing supervisor who moved a couple of months ago and I am very aware of the growth I've achieved since she left (minimal to fair) and the growth I would have seen if she hadn't left (much more significant), especially because I'm new to my field.

I want to be more diligent about finding a mentor to help me grow, outside of my supervisor.

Malcolm Gladwell made it famous Dennis.

But, the bulk of the discovery was done by Anders Ericsson through several social psychological experiments. Most notably, the violinists, who all seemed to share 10,000 hours of experience before they were considered world-class.

If you want further reading about this, you should check out his article "The Making of an Expert" which was written back in 2007.

I think you are an expert at talking about uncomfortable issues. You are like a talk show host, you ask the right questions and you share with your readers interesting findings.

But I'm not sure if "generation Y in the workplaces" is the topic you should be spending your talent on.

I think your interesting posts are not on young professionals (I am one and I don't find them insightful) but rather, on identity. You write about being a female(at work), being an asperger(in love), being a Jew(in Madison), and being a person struggling with confidence and success. These posts inspire me because they are very relate-able, they give me ideas on how I should fit (or not care about fitting) into my social/cultural circles. And that in the end is what existence is all about.

Naomi,

I wholeheartedly agree that P's pieces on identity are where she shines, but I'd encourage you not to write off her Gen Y stuff as non-insightful.

Us Gen Ys may not find them groundbreaking (goodness knows that most of the time when she writes something about us I think "um, we needed a post for that?"), but I led my Gen X boss to a few of them and he sang their praises for insight into our ilk.

What's insight to some may be the mundane to others. Maybe show the mundane stuf to your boss ;-).

Fabulous post!

Agree with you that expertise requires time. Look at how many social media experts have been created in less than 1000 hours – Gladwell be damned!

I read that article, but I like Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours rule. If you get too entrenched, you transform, get brainwashed. (It can still happen in an hour as well!) I think expertise is when you develop enough knowledge to understand and foresee the experts views but retain enough sanity to challenge it. BTW Harvard is good at brainwashing (as some people call it – intellectual capture).

If you ask me, I think you are doing great! I am sure you are getting good feedback. Keep your critics close and you will be fine. I think you have healthy self-doubt and super sharp brain to be expert at anything.

Any time I see "Harvard" and "business" in the same sentence, I cringe. Their MBA program is good only because of the connections. Their expertise…well, I just don't find it particularly accurate. Some of the more famous people that either went to school there or are from there have led us into fiscal disaster.

Not only being an expert but as well making a tough decision especially when it comes to going for a new job, moving to an other city or quitting a relationship. Many things in live just take time to think them over well.

You have to consider the significant effects of chance in becoming an expert. You need a certain set of parameters even before you're born:

- A mentor in your formative years (Mozart's father)
- Opportunity to practice rather than work (a rich father)
- A coincidence of your ability with society valuing that skill (born at the right time).

One of the great tragedies of life is the people born out of their time and place:

- The ice-skating champion bought up in the tropics.
- The html coding genius born to Amish parents.
- The blogging sensation born in 1260AD.
- The farming trailblazer living in New York.
- the World Sprink Champion born in 2008, 40 years before Sprink was invented.

That isn't to say you shouldn't try to become an expert at something, just that some people have a much better opportunity to become experts than others.

I've read all the opinions and agree. It takes practice, practice, practice to become an expert. I was a successful swimmer in high school. I had the body type and dedication, but never had access to the coach that could have taken me to the next level. I got frustrated and quit.

The book "Trust Agents" discusses how contacts and networks in combination with skill and expertise lead to success. By getting "good enough" experts combined with the right marketing, for lack of a better word, you can achieve that Tipping Point effect. If you want a bit more on this, the article The Key to Job Seeker Happiness…Think It's Money?? explores aspects of this idea further.

That's what I thought reading your piece – that your audience members were your "coaches." I know I learn more from mine than anything I can impart to them.

Anyhoo, moving on, here's a piece of trivia your kids might get a kick out of: Did you know Mozart wrote twelve variations for piano on the melody to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"?

Penelope,
I fully understand the impulse to want to become great at what you do (and definitely share it), but in a field in which greatness is partially subjective (writing, or the arts in general) it's difficult not to have moments when you look at your stuff, your perspective shifts, and what you thought was great, or even good, suddenly seems like crap. It's the years of practice that can bolster you against the attack of your own insecurities. Believe in the standards you apply to the writing of others and to your own. You are your own unique voice and obviously at least tens of thousands of people (one of them being me) think your writing is excellent. It may not be the "best" but in the field of writing, the "best" doesn't exist. As long as you're continually challenging your own weaknesses, you'll grow, and in growing, even if you don't try, your writing will get better and better.

http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/2009/08/30/in-search-of-the-mythical-best/

A big YES to this post! As there's a readable number of comments at this early stage, I have a chance of reading them all, but couldn't wait to comment.
Very timely for me. Thanks for sharing this. I've always known my goal was not power, money, or even control – it's expertise. I want to be an expert. So I guess there's some desire for status or recognition, but it's more a question of mastery, knowledge, depth of knowledge, and the idea of continually learning and growing. AND
I've been longing for a mentor for so long in my professional life. But they are hard to find. I haven't worked for someone I could look up to and learn from for so long, and I work at a place that seems to think feedback costs money and we can't afford it, so it emanates rarely if ever from anyone.
I was typing my despairing and hopeful thoughts into a word doc today to keep myself sane. Feedback was the word I ended with.
Thanks again – going to look up the links and ponder this some more.

Thanks for posting this. The links alone were worth the read. It's important to note that developing expertise can happen with people in there 30's, 40's, 50's, and even if your 60+ years old.

The intention to learn, with a plan and the willingness to develop the effort in a structured way are the most important ingredients.

There is some much wasted human potential. When I visit my daughter's public grade school I see such low levels of enthusiasm from her teachers. Having just one inspiring teacher in any subject can make a big difference.

I was lucky enough to have (3) wonderful teachers in high school and a few in college. They instilled a desire to learn and ignited my curiosity about many subjects I thought I had no interest in.

Great post!

I've used this article a lot with new teachers. Inspiring to learn and validates clearly a lot that you have written. Can't say it enough… http://wimse.fsu.edu/media/expert-mind.pdf

thanks for the thoughts that come on dove's wings. Those are the ones that matter.

David

pull out the pictures from you ice skating. that would be a treat. great post, PT!

If you are a fan of that article you will probably like "The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How." by Daniel Coyle. It's a quick read well worth you time, and there's plenty of references to follow up on if you want to dig deeper. He visited talent hotbeds all around the world and wrote about them and what they do. Unsurprisingly the coach interferes less with the soccer players practice in Brazil than the coach interferes with the practice for the classical violin players.

My writing teacher began the semester by making us write a poem about something at which we were the experts. One young man, who had grown up in a rural area, struggled. In desperation, wrote a poem about stacking wood. It was an awesome poem. I like the idea that we are ALL experts at something.

Also, chiming in with the others about the confounding absence of Gladwell and his book Outliers in this post. I read the rationale, but I still don't understand why he's not in there.

Not trying to be snarky or nitpicky but I'd like to offer a correction. Mozart's father's violin book (1756) was not the first. It was written in response to an earlier published work by Francesco Geminiani (1751). There were other published violin "instruction" books prior to that (ex., Muffat 1698, for example, covering known French violin technique). Most "instruction" was in fact written in the form of actual music which was played in order to learn the techniques being taught. (I spent a year writing a paper on this very topic as an undergrad.)

I enjoy reading your blog, and thinking about the many interesting, common sense ideas you put forth. Your title is spot on! I don't remember how I got here in the first place, but it's a helpful place to sit and think.

JGS

Ahh, the Malcolm Gladwell perspective . . . put in your 10,000 hours and you'll be a star almost regardless of anything else.

It makes lots of sense, and it's the closest thing to a "formula" for success anyone's come up with (thanks, Malcolm!). But talent still matters.

The issue becomes what you're talented (or trying to be talented) AT.

It was a great post, Penelope. But . . . I believe we need to be reaching people about the course of their development, not just the manner.

Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Business Change Coaching

Gladwell's point — supported by an enormous amount of research — is that talent does not matter. Practice matters. But not by itself. One's practice must have certain components to be effective. You can spend 10,000 hours and not achieve mastery, having wasted your time on non-deliberate practice. Likewise, talent without 10,000 hours of deliberate practice will not yield mastery. And the research is quite clear on another point: there are no shortcuts.

Talent is irrelevant.

How funny! I was just thinking about this same topic, prompted by a discussion on LinkedIn. I became a writer because, in college, I was a good writer. Looking back now, of course I wasn't a good writer. I might have been better than some, but I wasn't good. Now, the occasional well-turned sentence thrills me no end (mine or anyone else’s), and I can still see that I can get better – by writing more. That’s the only difference between the writer I was and the writer I am.

Great post. My mind immeadiately went to Gladwell, but this article precedes him. Thankfully, I'm a grad student so I'll use my library to pull a copy of his article. Thanks for the recommendation.

I agree that being an expert takes time, but I think the real question is whether it is that important to become an expert.

I look at things a bit differently. As a business owner, entrepreneur, and mother of 3 young kids, I don’t want to become an expert at anything. I NEED to be well-rounded, able to juggle multiple projects, and lead entire teams of people all with differing goals.

Nobel Prize winners typically have spent their entire life in a narrow industry, pursuing a very focused objective. They have definitely honed “expertise” to have earned such a grand prize. Similarly, so have lauded athletes, Olympic medalists, and world-wide chess champions.

But for myself (and my children) I would much rather introduce a wide variety of interests – including four or five sports, cooking, art, history, and literature. I would rather learn, and let my children learn, while enjoying a fuller life, than have my son practice 5 hours of tennis every single day for 6 consecutive days, 52 weeks of the year.

"doing a single thing, with a defined process, and lots of repetition and singular focus. The exact opposite of parenting."

Wow, actually, that sounds a LOT like parenting to me. I mean, how varied can it get to play Thomas the Tank Engine games or help someone get to sleep Every. F-ing. Night. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's the sameness of parenting day-in-day-out that kills me, not the novelty.

Exactly, Tzipporah. Parents become experts on their particular kids. I've certainly put in more than 10,000 hours by now. I'd probably be no good at parenting anyone else's kids, but I've got at least a grasp on what to do with mine.

Not sure about the repetition thing. I want mastery, but also variety.

When my brother played soccer, my dad always said, "The team with the most hustle can beat the team with more talent every time."

I've never really wanted to be an expert. That is, people do see me as someone who knows about a lot of things, and I'm a resource for them on a wide range of subjects. But I also know that I'm not an expert in them, and I'm okay with that. However, it means that I can collect and draw on a huge range of information, and direct people to more detailed resources. Maybe that's what I'm an expert in.

This post really spoke to me because I was also a figure skater when I was young and decent at it until I went through puberty. I'm never going to be able to do a double axel or a triple anything, but I still skate for the joy of the sport.

I'm still pretty fresh in the workplace so I'm not aspiring to be an expert at anything – yet. I think it's more important to keep doing the things that make you happy, even if you aren't as good as them, while searching for that thing that you can be an expert at and be happy while doing it.

Here's a question for whoever: is it ok to be "average"?

I think I read at one point that there have been in total about 6.5 billion people, prior to the 6.5 billion alive today. For convenience, let's say that there have been 10 billion people on the planet since we swung down from the trees.
Over 100,000 generations, and billions of people, the list of "memorable" artists, composers, etc. might number a few or several hundred.
This might tell us something about average.
As in, that's what the vast, vast majority are. And that's OK.
Especially in the last couple of generations, parents have shoveled the "Susie, you're so special" line. And Susie is special, to her parents and family, and is unique to herself. But not likely special to "the world."
I'm thinking that rather than trying so hard to be special, one might seek to be an expert about one's self – through self knowledge, self awareness, and self responsibility.
Perhaps less "special-ists," and more experts at being real.
That might give a whole new meaning to average.
And helping others to be fully and completely, without excuse and equivocation, who they are, well, that's a vocation worth living.

I really like this comment, Wayne. I think I spent way too much time trying to be good at things and really thriving on the feeling of congratulatory feedback, because it was always encouraged in my house growing up, but recently, I've started to see where I was sacrificing being real and recognizing my human faults in the interest of trying to be great. But great was defined by success. And success was defined as winning. But the goal was not always well-defined, and winning for the sake of winning is actually an asshole move, so I was really losing. Now I am trying to focus on things like genuinely listening to people and being in the moment, or being emotionally proactive instead of emotionally reactive, and it's great. I'd love to be an expert at myself. I think that'd be pretty Zen. It would mean I could devote more time to helping other people, because I'd have me figured out.

I asked that because I was going through a bit of an identity crisis. It's hard to know that even though your IQ is higher than…we'll say 3/4 of the people…it doesn't mean jack when applied to the "real world." I want to say it's about working hard, but since I also have a learning disability, I can promise you I worked very, very hard at getting things into my head and working on social skills (this weblog has helped a lot with that).

Especially in the last couple of generations, parents have shoveled the "Susie, you're so special" line. And Susie is special, to her parents and family, and is unique to herself. But not likely special to "the world."

I come from a large family where several of my siblings have been very successful. I didn't even get a job that paid more than $10 an hour until 4 years after I graduated. I keep thinking of where I went wrong. Did I? Does it matter?

Some things need to be done well.
Some things just need to be done.

Wisdom is knowing how to tell the difference.

What matters to you might not matter to me.

I don't care if the Christmas presents are perfectly wrapped with tight corners and pretty bows. Mine are wrapped. Others like to have their gift wrap perfectly aligned, no bent corners, no visible tape. No right answer.

very true, most people over estimate what they can achieve in one year but under-estimate what they can achieve in ten, the best way to learn is to take action!

Greatness is overrated: goodness is huge. Inspiring post.

Marty Nemko recently wrote an article about how dabbling in different areas kills your career and he also refers to "Outliers" (http://martynemko.blogspot.com/2010/01/scanning-dabbling-is-career-killer.html)

I partly agree and disagree with you regarding the statement of the requirements of being an expert. I do agree with you that being an expert takes a great deal of time. It also need coaching to provide feedback and mentoring for continual improvements until the relationship breaks down. However, I disagree with you stating that becoming an expert does not take significant amount of talent. In my mind, I think all three major components of time + effort, coaching + mentoring, determination, and talent. The reason for my statement is that if a person who's talent in learning certain skills are so deficient that s/he would need 10000 hours to learn them as compared to a normal person (let's say around 50 hours), wouldn't that person become so discouraged to learn that particular skill?

Loving this conversation. Talent is a hot topic right now in the UK at least for HR and learning professionals.

I think it is partly experience that makes you an expert but without the talent you wouldn't want to do all those hours in the first place!

Talent is using those strengths in a way that you would willingly do for free, it's effortless, part of you and makes you feel rewarded – Mihaly Cziksentmihaly in 'Flow' and the positive psychology guru, Marty Seligman (www.authentichappiness.org) – offers a free online test to find your signature strengths if you are interested?

Finally – a good coach is for a project (I have used some for writing and some for work) whereas a good mentor is for the bigger picture and maybe decades if you get it right. Asking someone is incredibly flattering for them and I'm sure they'd say 'yes.'Just think of who would be a perfect mentor for you and pick up the phone.

Not sure I've ever commented on your blog before, but this post really resonated with me.

In my college "physics for poets" class, the professor said something that stuck with me. "Become really really good at something"

I have switched careers a lot–first acting, then TV ad sales, a masters in social work, stay-at-home-mom..

And now I'm a humor writer. Part of my obsessive fast-pace is that I yearn to have mastery over this craft. I want to excel, and enjoy the fulfillment that comes from staying the course.

In therapy I recently discussed this very wish–of having a coach who is well versed in freelance writing, the specific challenges of humor writing, and building your platform through publication and social media. Someone could coach me on one of these aspects–but not the whole package. I'll probably end up doing it for others eventually.

So, I relate.

Ann

Hey there,

This is my favorite article you've written lately. I feel like you read my diary:) I also have that HBR article and wrote a similar post several months ago about this same thing. I actually determined all of the hours and years I spent studying and practicing certain disciplines and was frustrated to find out where I am with all of it. I constantly wonder if I'll ever really be great at anything.

This also reminds me of some research done by Jean Chatzky, Merrill Lynch and Harris Interactive and the study formerly known as the 2008 Merrill Lynch New Retirement Study. A poll was administered to more than 5,000 people and one of the findings was that the wealthiest people (of the 4 groups they identified) were far less likely to switch from major to major in college and were far less likely to have swapped in and out of careers. Many of the wealthy have JDs and MDs – degrees that set them up for one occupation they are likely to stick with over the long haul – again time, and experience devoted to a specific discipline. Many also identify their passions early on and there are of course tremendous benefits to consistency.

As someone who has changed careers often this makes me nervous.

(You can see all of the research in the book The Difference.)

I agree that you need immediate feedback and that can be really hard to find these days. I am always looking for good teachers and people who love to mentor others. In looking back on my education and career(s) those teachers have made all the difference to me.

Thanks!

Hi Penelope,

There are so many thought provoking issues here, I barely know where to begin.

It is true that our society typically rewards people who are very focused and successful at one thing (“the expert”). We like superlatives like best, fastest, youngest, etc. Isn’t it interesting though, that for many of us, our focus growing up was on being well-rounded. We couldn’t go to the best colleges if we just excelled in one subject or activity- no, we had to be excellent (but not necessarily the best) at every subject and be involved in myriad extracurricular activities. This has led many a bright mind down a path of being a successful underachiever instead of a focused expert.

I am one who advocates preparation and experience. To be successful in anything takes time and hard work. Nobody gets to hear about that part of the story because it isn’t sexy, but with some lucky exceptions, most every overnight sensation (whether it is a business, expert, artist, etc.) has been working in a hard and focused manner for years.

I have also learned that for people who are typically in the “advice-giving” role instead of the “advice-getting” role (which, given your blog and writing, I am speculating you are more often in the former), it is hard to find the encouragement you need in casual interactions amongst friends and peers. The best thing that I have done personally is to hire an appropriate advisor or advisors. It could be a coach, strategist, advisor- everyone’s needs are different and dynamic over time, but for an “advice-giver”, since you are paying for it, you get the benefit of actually focusing on your needs 100% of the time, instead of your normal routine of focusing on helping others.

I would be happy to share some outstanding recommendations at any time.

Carol Roth

Penelope and All,
This article and all your comments are like a gold mine for career advice -hungry people like me! Thank you all for sharing!

Pen, Naomi's comments were right on the mark, though Eliz's followups too–what's obvious to some needs relating to others.

You're building a great network here. At some point, you should reach out to one and ask that person to be your coach / mentor. Or ask for suggestions for same.

In my case I've found that making a million little mistakes has been what works. It takes abit longer that way but you start to learn to anticipate what it is you might do wrong eventually. In whatever your pursuit is I think if you know just about everything you shouldn't do, you start to develope expertise, which is the first step, and then you have to be relentless chasing down potential mistakes and converting them because I think part of being an expert is being able to have all the answers. I hope that came out clear, I tend to ramble.

i agree, talent is a myth that they taught us as children

Great post. Yes, the Gladwell stuff of 10,000 hours applies, but so does the first chapter of the book Nurtureshock where they found out that kids learn and respond better when they are praised for their hard work instead of their intelligence. Everyone is looking for a shortcut to success, but it really comes down to rolling your sleeves up and focusing. We've lost that in this country and need to get it back. There is also a fundamental lack of development as we get older. That's why it's important to work for a company that will not only pay you, but develop you. This is always first to go with budget cuts.

That Harvard Review article sounds almost exactly like the Scientific American article from their August 2006 article called "The Expert Mind" (now behind a paywall, but here's a PDF http://wimse.fsu.edu/media/expert-mind.pdf). It comes to all the same conclusions that you outline from the HBR article. The secret to becoming an expert is 10 years of what they call "effortful study", or continually attempting tasks just outside of your ability. Look at any so-called child prodigy and you'll find that they were pushed into a huge amount of practice from a very early age.

I actually think its great that it takes 10 years to become an expert because it is yet another nail in the coffin of the notion of destiny. It gives me a lot of hope to think that if I live an average lifespan that I've got plenty of time to become a world-class expert in one or more subjects.

Hi P,

I think you're good at surviving(!) and succeeding in different situations – figuring out the path to your goals.

@farouk

Talent is not really a myth. Its definately a gift to have talent in a particular way. But talent is nothing if you dont have the WILL to succeed or to achieve something with that talent. Lets take a basketball player for example, playing with his friends in his hood all day long. Hes got great talent and has always been better than his friends. BUT – he will always remain as the talented boy from the neighborhood if he doesnt have the will to make something our of this talent.

Penelope—
I've been following your blog for several months now, but have never commented. I don't read it for the advice. I read it because you're an interesting human being and through your stories, I get a sense of who you are, how you've struggled, and how your struggles and accomplishments are like/unlike my own. I read your blog because you're engaged in the process of becoming an expert on how to live your own life. Just like me.

Coaching and mentoring is so important. But finding a good mentor is very tough. If you get stuck with a bad one, you may not realize it until you are too far down the path to switch. Bad mentors can instill bad habits which you may never be able to get rid of. One example is the "work-a-holic" mentality. The great mentors teach how to work more efficiently so you accomplish more than you peers/competitors. Bad mentors teach people to work longer hours.

In my book you are an expert. You name the subject…you can do it! I like the advice on careers, your love life, your chilldren, your past…

If your name is on it, I believe it!

Which reminds me of Niel Bohr's quote (the famous physicist): "An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field."

Replace "man" with "person"… :)

I partly agree and disagree with you regarding the statement of the requirements of being an expert. I do agree with you that being an expert takes a great deal of time. It also need coaching to provide feedback and mentoring for continual improvements until the relationship breaks down. However, I disagree with you stating that becoming an expert does not take significant amount of talent. In my mind, I think all three major components of time + effort, coaching + mentoring, determination, and talent. The reason for my statement is that if a person who's talent in learning certain skills are so deficient that s/he would need 10000 hours to learn them as compared to a normal person (let's say around 50 hours), wouldn't that person become so discouraged to learn that particular skill?

The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance is where the core of the research is. However, this idea first came up in the 1800s with Nietzsche…

The seriousness of craft
Speak not of gifts, or innate talents! One can name all kinds of great men who were not very gifted. But they acquired greatness, became "geniuses" (as we say) through qualities about whose lack no man aware of them likes to speak; all of them had that diligent seriousness of a craftsman, learning first to form the parts perfectly before daring to make a great whole. They took time for it, because they had more pleasure in making well something little or less important, than in the effect of a dazzling whole. For example, it is easy to prescribe how to become a good short story writer, but to do it presumes qualities which are habitually overlooked when one says, "I don`t have enough talent." Let a person make a hundred or more drafts of short stories, none longer than two pages, yet each of a clarity such that each word in it is necessary; let him write down anecdotes each day until he learns how to find their most concise, effective form; let him be inexhaustible in collecting and depicting human types and characters; let him above all tell tales as often as possible, and listen to tales, with a sharp eye and ear for the effect on the audience; let him travel like a landscape painter and costume designer; let him excerpt from the various sciences everything that has an artistic effect if well portrayed; finally, let him contemplate the motives for human behavior, and disdain no hint of information about them, and be a collector of such things day and night. In this diverse exercise, let some ten years pass: and then what is created in the workshop may also be brought before the public eye.

But how do most people do it? They begin not with the part but with the whole. Perhaps they once make a good choice, excite notice, and thereafter make ever worse choices for good, natural reasons.

Sometimes when reason and character are lacking to plan this kind of artistic life, fate and necessity take over their function, and lead the future master step by step through all the requisites of his craft.

Nietzsche
Human, All Too Human

I agree that being an expert takes time, you really need to work hard on it. However, talent is something that incredibly speeds up the procedure. Most of the experts are the ones who combined their talents with years of hard work. So, we cannot ignore talent, in my opinion.

The importance of hard work over raw talent, hard work can only take you so far. I think of two movies, the firs Rudy the story of a college football player the was too small to slow but worked at it harder then any other player on the team. His wok ethic was off the charts and it only took him to a practice player. Second Movie The pursuit of happiness, Thandie Newton. A struggling salesman worked hard and face hard times and long odds. But in the end had the talent and the skill set to achieve the highest level of success.

Penelope,

This is a great post, but I think that you might want to consider what additional things, the things you don't think of, will blossom from your work. Life is not linear, and neither is personal growth.

As an example, what additional things came of your skating other than being a great skater. i.e. better physical endurance, increased mental toughness? You may be sharpening talents that you are not even thinking of.

Best of luck!

I agree with many of the opinions. It takes ages to become an expert; I have ended up being wel versed in may aspecits of life, marketinf and industry but master of none. I endup running a business, went well but never quite reached the peak due to me not being master of management. I will follow these postes. John

You know, there's a ton of great stuff in this post and the follow-on comments. I guess my own experience as a soccer player and then as a coach has made me who I am, in many ways. Why? Because my coaches always instilled in me a belief and vision that was bigger than I could identify for myself. That I "controlled my own destiny" that if I "think I can – I can". This overriding theme has carried me to the point I was at a few years ago. When I stopped believing in myself and started falling… hard.
Now, a new coach has picked up where the others had left off – now I dream bigger and bigger each day. I set goals and I work my backside off to achieve them. True – my careers have changed over the years, but that's the beauty – I keep learning new things, and yes, it takes a ton of time! But the journey of life is a long one, not to measured in speed, but in the distance traveled. As a final thought – the single longest distance you (or I) will ever travel is that 6-inches between your ears. Give yourself up to that and learn and expand as much as you can – Dream Big and Never Let Anyone Say You Can't.

I'm convinced that becoming an expert at anything takes several years. I read in a book that "mastering" an art such as piano or writing takes around 10,000 hours of work. And then there's something beyond mastery that very few people have managed to accomplish, such as Beethoven.

I must say, I believe that most all of us are experts at something. That is, if all it takes is ten years of doing.

Of course, not all things are worthy of praise, especially those ambitions based on selfish pursuits.

Excellent article

I have always said that you have to be very careful where you get your advice from- never take weight loss advice from a fat doctor. I guess we are all trying to become experts at something. Whether we're just attempting to be a better parent, a better partner or just trying hard to stay in our job through being an expert at it, we're all on a similar path. Real experts however don't need to say that they are, you just know. Whether it's track record, reputation, media interest or some other factor, listen to people who have actually walked the walk. Talk really is cheap

I totally agree with this. People nowadays want to see result fast and tend to miss out on this fact that they need time to become an expert at something that they do.

There is no point in you being talented but do not spend time to put it to practice and you will never be an expert.

Lets talk mathematics for instance, you can be talented in math but if you do not put in time to practice them, you will not be an expert. Conversely a normal student can be an expert in maths if he or she put in time and effort to practice.

Wonderfully thought-provoking post, but it made me a little sad. So many people who can't be experts because they didn't get the right support? I don't think we should limit ourselves by academic theories, even those from the Harvard Business Review. My daughter was told in 4th grade that she was a "kinesthetic learner". The teacher who gave her the test told her that kinesthetic learners have trouble sitting still, learning in traditional classrooms and spelling. She came home telling me she can't spell because she is a kinesthetic learner, which is ridiculous because she is great at spelling as well as learning in traditional classrooms. Sitting still – well she can sit still when she wants to. We have to be careful how we apply limiting theories!

But my main thought was: do we really want to be that much of an expert? Why? When I was in college and there was a guy in my area that was smarter than me in every way I felt like, "why bother?". I took the question to smart-guy and he said the world doesn't just need one smart person (or 10 or 1000), it needs everyone. Everyone has something to give. We would all be happier and more connected and would probably be giving more if we stopped worrying about whether we qualify as experts or not. What does it take to become an expert? — What does it take to become a lover of your art? To become someone who can share your passion and talent and inspire people to learn or think or go and do it themselves? That's more interesting to me now than becoming an expert. I have just written my own mission statement without even realizing that I felt this way! Thank you for provoking thought!