MousePotatoPower

While I was living in Japan, I wondered why Japanese housewives were such good cooks. My mind wandered through other topics like “why are most American housewives such good cooks”, “why can’t a lot of men cook”, etc…

When the light bulb went off in my head, I was positive that it was simply because of practice. If you are a Japanese housewife and you make breakfast for your 2 kids and husband each day, pack a lunch for the same 3 family members, then prepare dinner every night for 10 to 20 years, how can you end up being anything except GOOD?!

This is an old article about the secrets of greatness, I have seen links to it twice from different sources, so it’s about time that I share it with you. Everybody speaks with envy of “naturals”, individuals that just seem to have been given extreme talent without having to work for it.  The truth appears to point in the direction that there aren’t very many people born with prodigal talent.

People like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Warren Buffett weren’t born as geniuses. They practiced. Then they practiced some more. After everybody else quit, they probably practiced more. Even though they became the greatest in their field, they did not stop practicing.

Naturally, prodigies exist. There are very real instances of people that are BORN with superhuman skills, but they are few and far between. Have you ever wondered why prodigies are well-publicized when they are kids, but then you never hear about them continuing to be successes as adults.

Some researchers believe that practice really does make perfect (or at least it can hone your skills). If you practice enough of ANYTHING, there is a good chance that you will become great at what you do. The bad news is it may take 1o years.

“The ten-year rule represents a very rough estimate, and most researchers regard it as a minimum, not an average.”

There is hope for the rest of us…the normal people who were not born as prodigies.

The critical reality is that we are not hostage to some naturally granted level of talent. We can make ourselves what we will. Strangely, that idea is not popular. People hate abandoning the notion that they would coast to fame and riches if they found their talent. But that view is tragically constraining, because when they hit life’s inevitable bumps in the road, they conclude that they just aren’t gifted and give up.

Maybe we can’t expect most people to achieve greatness. It’s just too demanding. But the striking, liberating news is that greatness isn’t reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone.