I haven't read Gladwell's book, but I would imagine that time spent practicing is only one of several multipliers. Natural talent and the right coaching at the right time would be too others.
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An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
11–20 of 101 posts
Re: An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
#12I feel like there is some confusion between being successful and being professional. You could deliberately practice a sport or music for ~10,000 and be really damn good, but that doesn't mean you will go pro. That part is about luck and connections. Just because you are very skilled doesn't necessarily mean you will be "spotted" or "discovered" for example.
golf has open tournaments. no need to be spotted
it's literally just up to your ability and nothing else
Re: An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
#13Going pro shouldn't be the mark of success on this endeavor. There are a very limited number of seats and very likely pros have committed well more time. The fact he got to a 2 handicap is evidence you can become a master. Especially since he suffered a physical limitation after about 6k hours. Talent matters. Age matters. The ability to "get it" faster matters. Access makes you get it faster. But to go from no game…
Folks who decide to do a 10,000-hour challenge are probably already in some kind of elite group, in terms of wealth and free time (nevermind patience and perseverance). The average person isn't able to spend ~7 hours a day, every day for 4 years, on a non-salaried activity.
Re: An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
#14Would have been a different story and probably had a better chance if would have started at 20. You'll find kids in high school and younger that have 2 handicaps, alot of physical abilities but less mental aspects for the game.
Steph Curry (basketball star) carries a 2 handicap so just having athletic talent can really make a difference, give him <2000 hours of practice and I'd bet he could play on the web.com tour.
Re: An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
#15Going pro shouldn't be the mark of success on this endeavor. There are a very limited number of seats and very likely pros have committed well more time. The fact he got to a 2 handicap is evidence you can become a master. Especially since he suffered a physical limitation after about 6k hours. Talent matters. Age matters. The ability to "get it" faster matters. Access makes you get it faster. But to go from no game…
Folks who decide to do a 10,000-hour challenge are probably already in some kind of elite group, in terms of wealth and free time (nevermind patience and perseverance). The average person isn't able to spend ~7 hours a day, every day for 4 years, on a non-salaried activity.
Maybe having one's future life at stake plays a role in one's effectiveness in practicing?
Re: An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
#16I wonder how much the back problem mattered here. Because you see the same, in fighting sports. Every 3 years or so someone comes and starts intense practice, thinking they can just do this. And you can ...
But not if you practice hard enough to dislocate your knee in (the current record is) 2 months. Unless you're a kid, you need regular, long (as in a week minimum) breaks in practice. Every few months.
Re: An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
#17Going pro shouldn't be the mark of success on this endeavor. There are a very limited number of seats and very likely pros have committed well more time. The fact he got to a 2 handicap is evidence you can become a master. Especially since he suffered a physical limitation after about 6k hours. Talent matters. Age matters. The ability to "get it" faster matters. Access makes you get it faster. But to go from no game…
Folks who decide to do a 10,000-hour challenge are probably already in some kind of elite group, in terms of wealth and free time (nevermind patience and perseverance). The average person isn't able to spend ~7 hours a day, every day for 4 years, on a non-salaried activity.
>The average person isn't able to spend ~7 hours a day, every day for 4 years, on a non-salaried activity.
I basically did this over 6 years, 3-5 hours per day on a non-earning activity to eventually launch the business I now run. In the last 3 years I've averaged 60-70 hours per week at work, only recently earning close to my last salary (about 65% as of last check) as a Data Scientist.
It's doable enough. Just very hard. Can only really be done if it's your life's calling, which this was and I correctly identified it as such in year 2.
Re: An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
#18I highly recommend people reading a similar story by Lyle McDonald, called No Regrets [0]. He drops everything to become a world-champion short-track speed skater, which is miles and miles less competitive than professional golf.
[0]: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/no-regrets-part-1....
Re: An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Folks who decide to do a 10,000-hour challenge are probably already in some kind of elite group, in terms of wealth and free time (nevermind patience and perseverance). The average person isn't able to spend ~7 hours a day, every day for 4 years, on a non-salaried activity.
>The average person isn't able to spend ~7 hours a day, every day for 4 years, on a non-salaried activity. I basically did this over 6 years, 3-5 hours per day on a non-earning activity to eventually launch the business I now run. In the last 3 years I've averaged 60-70 hours per week at work, only recently earning close to my last salary (about 65% as of last check) as a Data Scientist. It's doable enough. Just very…
Also the "10,000" hour rule (which has obviously been debunked) isn't really about 10,000 hours of focused practice on the task alone. Focused work and previous experience in other domains transfers into the activity/goal you chase.
Being a Data Scientist gave me a huge leg up about understanding data structures and statistical analysis, huge in my field.
Formerly a software developer, I was able to install, configure, and hack together a workable WooCommerce/WordPress PHP/MySQL CMS that generated content and still is our main shop, selling millions of dollars of merchandise per year.
I used to work retail and retail management when I was young and putting myself through high school and college. Lessons about stocking, shipping, marketing, sales, logistics - all transferred into my online retail business.
None transfer perfectly, but all make an impact. True, I knew nothing about "sports science" at the outset. But I had a big leg up from my limited college education and my extensive work history. That cut the "10,000" hours down significantly.
Re: An Average Guy Who Spent 6,000 Hours Trying to Be a Professional Golfer
#20Going pro shouldn't be the mark of success on this endeavor. There are a very limited number of seats and very likely pros have committed well more time. The fact he got to a 2 handicap is evidence you can become a master. Especially since he suffered a physical limitation after about 6k hours. Talent matters. Age matters. The ability to "get it" faster matters. Access makes you get it faster. But to go from no game…
Folks who decide to do a 10,000-hour challenge are probably already in some kind of elite group, in terms of wealth and free time (nevermind patience and perseverance). The average person isn't able to spend ~7 hours a day, every day for 4 years, on a non-salaried activity.
TV? The stats are that the average person watches 5 hours and 4 minutes of television per day, every day, for decades.