The Truth Behind the 10,000 Hour Rule
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This week, I spoke with my friend, Dr. Scott Allen, about what it really takes to become great at something new. We talked about the “10,000 hours” rule—the popular idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery. And like many, we agreed: Malcolm Gladwell made it famous, but he missed the point. Time alone doesn’t lead to mastery. Deliberate practice does.
Deliberate practice combines four essential ingredients: time, repetition, real-time coaching and feedback, and focused effort on skills that are just beyond your current ability. It’s uncomfortable work by design. You’re not reinforcing what you already know, you’re stretching into what you don’t.
It got me thinking about the process of writing my second book, Unignorable. It’s not my first rodeo. But it is a whole new level.
I hired an awesome coach, Patricia Wooster, because I didn’t want to just write another book. I wanted to become a better writer. And let me tell you: it’s uncomfortable. It’s humbling. And it’s exactly the work worth doing.
Whether you want to write a book, launch your own venture, or grow professionally, deliberate practice and a focus on mastery will help you get there.
Here are five things you need to know to help you do that:
I.
You won’t feel ready. Start anyway.
Mastery doesn’t begin with confidence. It begins with commitment. If you wait to feel qualified, you’ll never begin.
💡Try This:
Define one small action that would move your dream forward. Not a perfect plan. Just the next step. Take it today.
II.
But true growth lives just beyond what you can do today.
Deliberate practice means choosing the hard version on purpose. It’s not comfortable. It’s developmental.
💡 Try This:
List three things that feel just outside your comfort zone. Now choose the smallest one, and do it badly. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s getting in motion.
III.
Reps beat research.
You can read all the how-tos, but nothing replaces doing the work.
💡 Try This:
Block off a “practice hour” this week. No books. No podcasts. Just doing. Set a timer, start the thing, and treat it like a workout: sweaty, messy, and non-negotiable.
IV.
But reps without feedback is just motion.
You can’t improve in isolation. You need peers, sounding boards, and trusted truth-tellers to reflect back what’s hard to see alone.
💡 Try This:
Ask someone you trust to review your work-in-progress—whether it’s a keynote, a website draft, or even your story. Ask: “What’s landing? What’s not?”
V.
Accelerate with formal support.
Mentors are great, but sometimes you need someone whose job is to push you. Coaches, editors, advisors—they’re not luxuries. They’re multipliers.
💡 Try This:
Invest in one professional guide who can help you go farther, faster. Even a few focused sessions can shift your trajectory and build serious momentum.
Your Unignorable Move
Mastery isn’t reserved for the chosen few. It’s available to anyone willing to show up, stretch, and stay with the work. Whether you’re writing a book, launching your own thing, or just stepping into your next chapter—you don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to begin. Deliberate practice will take it from there.
Your coach,
Chris
P.S. If you’re standing at the edge of Chapter 2—ready to leave behind the job that no longer fits and build something more balanced, fulfilling, and you—I can help.
I’ve built a 4-week process that helps high-achieving professionals create radical clarity about what’s next.
Email ‘Clarity’ to chris@peoplebeforethings.co (not .com). I’ll send you the details.
