Debunking The 10,000-Hour Rule: The Truth About Achieving Mastery
What comes after you have invested 10,000 hours to learn and master a particular craft?
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Introduction
Malcolm Gladwell in his book titled Outliers mentioned an idea/ theory/ principle that says when a human being invests 10000 hours in any area of expertise, they end up earning world class experience in the domain.
However, the book (which is an excellent read and a strong recommendation from me) was released in 2008.
May I suggest we revisit the 10k hours principle, because I genuinely believe this principle needs a solid upgrade.
The 10000 hours principle, 2025 version
I believe, investing 10000 hours in your area of expertise makes you an expert and brings you in the top 10% of your league among all the people in your area of expertise across the world.
However, the journey from the top 10% to being at the top 1% of your industry is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Invest another 10000 hours and by the time you clock 20000 hours in your industry, you will reach the top 5% of your domain.
Add another 30000 hours and you cross the top 2% mark of your industry when you clock the 50000 hours mark.
To achieve the top 1% mark in your industry, be prepared to give your 100% to your area of expertise and clock in 100,000 hours in your career/ business.
This is why most people just end up dreaming about success of the top 1% but don’t end up reaching anywhere close to the periphery of their success.
Look at the most successful people who are the top 1% of their game. More often than not, you will find them engrossed in their work, and they are not doing this by being miserable in any shape/ form.
They love their work. They end up dedicating their life to a mission, and they achieve success far beyond the realm of possibility for most humans on the planet.
I hope you now get a glimpse of why I write two daily newsletters, operate multiple podcasts, create content on Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and repurpose it across multiple platforms.
I’m just clocking in the hours by creating more content. The idea is simple. I want to create more quality content in a week, than most content creators dish out in a month, or maybe even a quarter of a year.
Conclusion
This is why I always keep insisting that you put a lot of time, effort and energy in finding a business/ career that makes you truly happy on your soul level.
Because, unless you’re ready to give your best to your work, you can’t really expect to live the life of the best of the best.
There are going to be 2 kinds of feelings that people will experience after reading this note. 99% people will feel so overwhelmed that they won’t even reach this stage of reading this. If you have reached till this spot in the note, it tells me that you’re genuinely serious about building something big in your life. I’d be delighted to be a part of your journey, if you’re looking for help in the form of 1:1 consultation. Interested to know more? Feel free to reach out to me and let’s connect.Your Thoughts!
If you’ve reached till this point of the post, I’m sure you must have some thoughts/ feelings/ opinions about what you’ve just read.
I’m done sharing what’s on my mind, and now is your turn to share your POV.
Tell me how you are processing the information that you’ve just read?
Do you agree with my thoughts?
Do you think I missed something important?
Do you disagree with something in particular?
Let’s continue this conversation (or ask your questions about the post) in the comments below.
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Prompt used to create the image for the note
P.S.: Image made on Meta AI using the prompt, “Imagine a drummer performing in front of a large crowd but the eyes of the drummer are shut because they're in a trance as they play for the crowd”