The 10,000 Hour Rule by Malcolm Gladwell

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

'Outliers,' by Malcolm Gladwell is one of the classics and contains an extremely important message for budding experts.

I absolutely love this book! Have you read it yet? I recently read Tipping Point by the same author, and enjoyed that but this one is even better. It is completely fascinating.

Although it makes perfect sense to me that to be an expert you need to practice your chosen craft A LOT I had never really thought about it in statistical or scientific terms. (Being more of a creative type, science and stats usually send me cross-eyed)

There is a difference with this book though. It's a social study of the secret of success and is like a modern twist on Think and Grow Rich. It is as you might imagine full of amazing true stories but rather than just relating inspirational 'rags to riches' stories it actually investigates the nitty gritty of where people have come from and how their upbringing affects their success.

One of the fascinating case studies in the book is, 'What does Bill Gates have in common with the Beatles?' Shall I tell you or let you read it and discover for yourself? It is an incredible case study so go on treat yourself to the book - it is one for your success library.

If money is tight or you read as many as me why not join the library? It was just sitting waiting for me on the shelf at the little Stowmarket Library so I guess it was destined for me.

This book has really created a serious shift in my thinking. One of the main concepts in the book is that all experts have practiced for approximately 10,000 hours before reaching the level of being world class. (The 10,000 Hour Rule)

This is something we can apply right now. If you're struggling to achieve success and wondering why others have made it 'quicker' than you, take a look at how long they have been energetically practicing your type of business.

If you're a writer - have you actually written or done the things that writers need to do for 10,000 hours?

For Network Marketers this is particularly useful I feel, because people often come in thinking they will get rich in a couple of years. (or less!)

Some do but let's be honest - they are freaks of nature! But take a look at how many hours they 'practiced,' before those 2 years. Perhaps they are new to Network Marketing but what did they do before?

Maybe they were coaches, teachers or marketers. That means they clocked up A LOT of hours doing some of the activities that you need to do to be successful in Network Marketing.

Are you getting the picture? I find this strangely comforting because it means that although your background and upbringing does have a major impact on your success; you can make up for this by putting in your 10,000 hours.

The other thing to bear in mind is that this emphasises the need to specialise in something. If you're trying to be brilliant at too many things you may not be able to get your 10,000 hours in to achieve real success in any particular field.

I did a quick calculation as follows:

If you do 10 hours per week for 10 years you still only reach 5,200 hours and that's with NO weeks off!

So if you do 20 hours per week for 10 years or 10 hours per week x 20 years you hit the target. Wow. That is a lot of time and practice right?

Don't panic though. Apparently it takes about 10 years for your mind to absorb all that you need to become world class anyway.

So based on these figures you can see why it takes many people years and years to be truly successful and why people like Randy Gage who are now world class talk about the 5 years or more that they 'failed.'

Was Randy world class after 5 years then? No I don't think so. He started to reach the first levels of success, so you don't need the full 10,000 hours to earn a great income but you do need to be clocking up those hours of practice if you want to shoot for being one of the best.

This is why he has been the top earner in the company I work with for 5 consecutive years. He was out of the business for many years but had already clocked up his 10k hours and was staying sharp as a business consultant, prosperity guru and author.

A word of caution though! The book also talks about the importance of being in the right place at the right time so be sure to evaluate if your chosen profession is in growth mode right now in this rapidly changing economy.

In terms of partnering with a company; the same applies. Timing is as important as your 10,000 hours because if you've missed the growth curve or the company specialises in something that was breakthrough technology 30 years ago this probably isn't the best place to invest your hours now.

I hope you find this rule as inspiring as I do. If you want to be a world class copywriter... start writing every day. If you want to be no.1 in your MLM company you need to practice meeting and connecting with people (on and/or offline) inviting, following up and the other professional skills.

If information marketing is your big ambition start creating your own products and building your list; not next year but right now because you need the 10,000 hours under your belt if you want to be one of the best. You can still make money in the meantime but you know where you're headed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rachel Henke shares the secrets of becoming an expert in your niche to attract perfect clients, publicity & opportunities. For more expert secrets visit: Insider Secrets Report