I found this book to be intterguing and interesting. It captured my attention right away from the start. It talks about success and it's a topic that I am very interested. Gladwell points that "The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert-in anything"(Gladwell 40). He revels the the amount of hours that Mozart and the Beatles which is 10,000 hours that is equalievent to 10 years. This was very surprising and I was amazed by this discovery. Now I know that many legends become successful within years and more specially 10 years. It shows that commitment is needed for success in everything. Many people should learn from this chapter that anything they want to succeed is based on the commitment that they show. Now from me personally learning this I am going to be more patient on my success because it comes within years of commitment. Gladwell illustrates clearly that doing what one wants to be successful in is not the same as showing the commitment towards what one is doing. Commitment is a key to success and I have lost over the years and now that it has been pointed out I have found it again.
I completely agree that this book teaches you the ideal of patience being a key to success. The beginning of the book also hooked me from the start because I was bewildered by "The Roseto Mystery" since it didn't quite add up with statistics. When I kept reading, you realize that patience and prosperity is what actually kept everyone happy. I think more people need to read this book to actually understand that success is more than working hard but it requires patience, luck and coincidence.
ReplyDeleteThe opening chapter interested me a lot and I found the story about the success of an Italian settlement really bewildering. No statistics or numbers could prove that the Italians lived a healthier, happier life than most Americans at the time. When it came to proving that their success wasn't based on any factual evidence it was difficult, how does one convince a group of people that the Italians at the settlement were very lucky for their success?
ReplyDeleteThe chapter mentioning 10,000 hours both inspired and deflated me a bit. I felt inspired because 10,000 hours means proficiency in a skill but I felt discouraged because that is ten years at most. I understand that it takes dedication and patience but 10,000 hours is so much! And with success being circumstantial or coincidental it gets even more difficult! Although, this book did teach me that those 10,000 hours are completed by the really committed people who strive to succeed.