“You don’t believe in natural talent?”
“The premise can be insidious. If we find something doesn’t come naturally, we might conclude we have no talent for it and abandon the pursuit, even if it’s to our detriment.”
“So what causes success?”
“If you believe in deliberate practice, artfully designed hard work and always stretching beyond your abilities. It’s not as simple as ‘Practice makes perfect.’ It’s continually focusing on your weakest elements and trying to improve them. Those who persevere are high achievers.”
“…The key lies in knowing what you deeply want. The more you want something, the easier it is to sweat through the deliberate practice.”
“So you make your own luck?…”
Kerry Reichs in Leaving Unknown
Kerry seems to be describing Gladwell’s Rule of 10,000. The concept is quite simple. If you put 10,000 hours into something–anything–you will be successful. Whether you begin with ‘natural talent’ or not, those hours (3 hours a day for ten years apparently) will turn you into a master. If you aren’t willing to put in the time, you’re not going to have the success.
This might explain who so many first time novelists are in their 40s. If you’ve been raising kids, you probably haven’t been able to get in your hours!! I tend to think there is something to this. You have to apply yourself to your passion. Luckily, passion makes the hours go quickly.
So what do you think?
Shawn L. Bird 
Ah, but if one doesn’t have the talent, why would one bother? On the other hand, perhaps that is the difference between passion and talent. It is more than spending the time on something as well, as one has to learn and grow.
Even with talent though, if one doesn’t put the time in will one be successful, and what is success. But I guess that’s a different topic, like when I asked someone what “good progress” was.
Because according the rule, you CREATE YOUR TALENT by putting in the time! If you want it, and you work on it, you will develop the skills and the talents. It is a fallacy to presume you have or have not got talent in something, You’re either interested enough to put in the time to become good at it, or you’re not. Diligence in the reward.
More on how to hone your talent here:
http://the99percent.com/articles/7059/Training-Genius-The-Learning-Secrets-of-Polyglots-and-Savants
Reblogged this on Shawn L. Bird and commented:
A thought worth re-visiting. What do you think about this concept? Is it about talent or perseverance.
Hmmm, interesting…there’s quite a bit to unpack in this but sure, hard work and 10,000 hours will certainly create a huge level of skill, and who would put those hours in without loving what they do? I wrote a post on talent a while back, but from a very different angle. In case it may interest you: http://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/but-what-is-talent/
Thanks for sharing!
Reblogged this on Icanbeatit.
I have done this is my way. I give 30 hours a week to my writing and reading. It is hard to maintain. I use three sites. Hard to keep up. But my writing had improved and I have met great people who had assisted me. 3 hours a day is hard when you work. I do most of my reading and writing on my days off. I like the concept of the blog.
Yes, having a blog can be a really good way to give yourself outside pressure to keep to your goals, can’t it?
Yes. But I get help from talented people. A good writers never stop learning. We can learn from all types of writing.
My students need to hear this. Too often, also, they confuse “talent” with “easy.” They think if they have a natural talent then they don’t have to try. Talent is just the foundation. My gifted kids have been told they’re gifted for so long, and by the time they get to me their giftedness is almost gone because they haven’t honed it or developed it.
Absolutely! The others will catch up. Sometimes knowing they’re smart can cause kids to shut down. Then it gets compounded in their heads with the concept that they should understand everything easily. They expect themselves to be perfect, and shut down (or act out) if something challenges their perfect vision of themselves.
I’m think of a particular young man I know with a genius IQ who didn’t finish high school…
Reblogged this on elizabethacieri and commented:
This is an interesting topic, especially when you think about children as writer’s. Kids are often more willing to put time into something they think they are good at (not always the case). When is it we discover our “talent” for something? Or how is passion for something developed so that we stay at it until we are successful?
In the LR room of the school where I work now, the saying is painted, “Do you best, because you are the best.” That LR teacher praised those kids, some of them with profound intellectual disabilities, that they were smart and capable. They bought in, and achieved great things with her. Listening to her ‘discipline’ someone was an inspiring thing. She made everyone believe s/he could do better, be better, and achieve his/her dreams.
Behind the scenes, she fixed, manipulated, ran interference, and figured things out so that things worked well for her kids. They adored her. 🙂 (I”m really sad she’s no longer at the school!)
Personally, I believe in natural talent. I’ve met sooo many people who do certain things so easily when most people struggle with them. You can cultivate a strength but if you don’t have a natural talent for it I don’t think you can match someone who has the ideal combination of talent and perseverance (hard work)
I see so many talented kids that are able to do well without trying, but who don’t learn the self-discipline to work through something complex. The kids with the work ethic, will fight through the challenges and succeed, while the brains shut down if they’re not perfect at something, and so the ones who work, go farther in the end.
The kids who have the talent/intelligence (I’m thinking in terms of academics in the above example) and the ability to work when things are tough are, as you say, the ones most likely to succeed, though there is also a healthy dose of luck- timing/connections/etc- that can be the final arbiter.
yes. Perfectly said!
this is an interesting concept. I do believe some people have real talent, these people are rare and few and then there are the people that succeed through perseverance which is the majority and then there are the people that never get it no matter how much they try.
I disagree with the 10,000 hours concept. 10,000 hours alone will not make one a better writer if one does not make a conscious effort to improve upon the previous. An example is word count exercises, or timed writing exercises which in of themselves do not significantly improve the quality of the writing. Feedback I perceive as more important. In knowing what works and what doesn’t work we are able to improve. Also 10,000 hours will not make anyone a Master. To be a Master one must fully understand their craft and where writing is concerned it is a lifelong learning process.
Yes, I think inherent in the concept is the ‘observing, modeling, practising, reviewing’ cycle of improvement.
I like it. talent is something your born with and skill is what you gain form hard work and just given’ er. If its your passion then it will be your compass. but sadly ppl have forgotten the bliss that comes with the struggle. “to live is the most rarest thing in the world. most people exist, that’s is all” Oscar Wilde
Ah yes. Overcoming the challenge brings a special kind of satisfaction, doesn’t it?
of course it does. knowing that you pushed yourself to evolve in a aspect that is a passion of your life.. nothing is better then that.
heard about this 10000 hours – this is the thing I need to do – wish I could – narrow the focus down to one discipline, and stick with it. But I can’t figure out which.
Well, it takes longer that way, but you could peak with 10,000 hours in several things at one, somewhere in your late fifties or early sixties! lol
there’s an interesting debate surrounding the rule, stemming from the different definitions people have for “success,” and whether one kind of success — which I’ll call elite success — is determined by genes or practice. http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/08/malcolm-gladwell-defends-disputed-10000-hours-rule/68624/
but yes, I agree with you that hard work will always make you better at what you do (also I agree, that “hard work” must include a truly honest review of your weaknesses), whether it is writing or basketball or hopscotch. I’m in the phys ed world, and I can definitely attest to this being true!
All those sad little boys who have a crisis of identity when they realise that they are just not good enough to make it into the NHL…
hehe I actually had a friend growing up who currently plays the NHL, but his dad was a pro hockey player, the right genes and a lot of practice I guess are a potent combination, haha
I teach in a hockey town. Some of my former students are in the NHL now, but lots who thought they would be, aren’t.
I hope it’s right. 🙂
If we invest ourselves entirely, empowered by passion and conviction – I don’t think any obstacles, be they foundational or otherwise, might hinder us in our course. There is no limit to our capacity to achieve, I think, with the invigorating well of cathexis as our succour and sustenance.