Want to Become a Genius? Here's the Formula

What does it take to become an genius?

                        Bill Gates                                                                  The Beatles

Malcolm Gladwell, in his interesting new book Outliers: The Story of Success put forth the formula is a lot less complicated than you would think.  If it was written as a mathematical equation it would look something like this:

         Genius = 10,000 hours x Practice

Or more simply stated, it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice (assuming you are within an acceptable minimum range of characteristics for the area of expertise you desire — for example if you're 5'0" you likely don't have the minimum height required for professional basketball) to become expert at something....and it doesn't seem to matter much whether the task at hand is programming a computer, photography or playing the piano.

You see, most "geniuses" aren't geniuses at all. They're "grinders". People who put in hour after hour, day after day, practicing their craft until they became extremely proficient at it.  Bill Gates & The Beatles are examples of what Gladwell calls the "10,000 Hour Rule."

Bill Gates was obsessed with computer programming. He did it near round the clock starting in 8th grade....this included working on the University of Washington computers when he was in high school, when they weren't being used between 3:00-6:00 a.m. (His parents always wondered why it was so hard to get him up in the morning.)

The Beatles, unlike most new bands that would only get to play a 1-2 hour "gig" once every week or two, started out working at a club in Hamburg, Germany that required them to perform 8 hours a night, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.  They got more stage time in one night than most bands got in a month. Playing that much put them in crucible where they were able to hone their musical writing and performing skills to legendary status. John Lennon said that the band that first left England for Germany in 1960 was in virtually no way similar to the band that returned back home in 1962.

Let's take this concept and make it applicable to the rest of us in the real world. At 10,000 hours to become a "genius" here's what that amounts to in real time, based on how much practice time you put in:
Practice (Hours/Day)      "Genius" in How Long
1                              27 Years & 5 Months
2                              13 Years & 8 Months
3                                9 Years & 2 Months
4                                6 Years & 10 Months
5                                5 Years & 5 Months
6                                4 Years & 7 Months
7                                3 Years & 11 Months
8                                3 Years & 5 Months  
Most people will look at this chart and be scared away because they know they don't have the willpower to work for years on end to become truly great. This is why most of us are average.

So, what made Bill Gates, The Beatles, and other "geniuses" like them,  able to put in this extraordinary effort? I'd put forth that it's because for them it wasn't really  "work" at all. It was their love. It was their passion. It was a burning desire that made them hop out of bed in the morning and not want to go asleep at night.  And, while undoubtedly at times they suffered and had challenges, for them it was a labor of love. They wouldn't have rather been doing anything else.

What chance do those who chose their profession because it's what their parents did (or what they felt was expected of them) have at reaching genius status in their field? Somewhere between slim and none....and "Slim" just got up and is heading for the door.

Maybe following your dreams isn't bad career advice after all?

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Posted by Larry Genkin at 1/14/2009 2:14 AM
Categories: Miscellaneous
 

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