Hard work vs talented: 10000 hours of practice to succeed

Following on from my last blog regarding Athlete Selection and if it’s got a lot to do with when you are born that determines your success. This is true, if your on the right path at the right time to be able to succeed but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to put in hard work.

Bill Gates work ethic and opportunity

I have been reading about Bill Gates and how he managed become one of the most successful computer programmers in the world. It all comes down to relative time and effort. Bill gates was young when he started working with computers and writing code for companies. However, the time of when he was born and the time one of the first computers came out gave Gates the opportunity to work up more than 10000 hours computer coding. He new that there was one off the only computer in the world at a local college to his home. Which was open 24 hours a day, but it was expensive to use at the time. He managed to find out a code that would enable him to code for hours without paying the price. This means he was able to code all the time but wasn’t able to do it during busy times. So he would wake up early in the morning. He would wake at 2am and get back before his parents got up. This mother has mentioned in an interview of how tired he was in the morning when he was 16. Now she knows what he was out doing.

Having the opportunity and putting in the hard work go hand in hand to find success. He didn’t have to wake up early in the morning and go out and code. He could of slept in, but that would have meant I wouldn’t be typing up this blog on Microsoft word. You can be given the opportunity but its your will to take it that drives you forward.

Success in Sport, academics, music and art

The 10000 hour rule applies to almost everything that we want to get good at. If we put in the hard work we will get better at that subject or sport. However, you have to have certain amenities to guide you towards becoming a professional. For example in England everywhere you turn there is either a football field and in American on most street corners you will find a basketball hoop. Thats why we turn out so many football players and America has lost of basketball players. It’s because of those amenities that the local kids in communities around the country are able to better themselves everyday.

Last thought:

As a personal trainer in Windsor, I see that practice is the key to success. The more time you dedicate to something the more you are going to get out of it. The more you get out of it the more praise you will receive from peers and that means you will get more determination to do even better. The hard work therefore pays of when you have a great ability and success.