Behind The Scenes

Have you ever seen a play before? You know, a play where there is a stage and there are curtains which can be opened and closed in between scenes, or when the stage needs to be decorated for a particular scene. Probably you’ve seen one on screen. I once saw a picture of a play and as the curtains were being drawn to a close, I got an idea. I started doing my favourite hobby- asking questions.

I started asking questions. The performances we witness on the stage is simply a culmination of tens, if not hundreds of practice hours and sessions for the actors and actresses, which of course, we do not see, right? What really then happens behind the stage? A play isn’t made successful when it’s made available for you to see. That isn’t when the success comes. The success comes as a result of the hundreds of hours that have been put in training, practice and rehearsals. So, let’s talk about this…

THE TEN-THOUSAND HOUR RULE

If you’ve heard about the ten thousand hour rule, then you’ve probably heard of Malcolm Gladwell who made the idea popular in his book ‘Outliers’. According to him, the amount of hours necessary to make a world class performance in any field is about ten thousand. Ten thousand hours of practice in any skill or craft and you become among those who call the shots in that field on a global scale.

It should be noted with care that the ten thousand hours in question is not the number to time that have passed from the beginning of when the training was started. It means the actual time spent on practice. Ten thousand solid hours.

It’s frightening, isn’t it? Ten thousand hours amounts to about 10 years of 4 hour per day practice sessions of five days per week. 

When I learnt this, I now looked at superstars and world class performers in a different light. Earlier, I used to think that these guys up there were lucky. They had the right connections; the right opportunities and enough starting capital. If I had the opportunities they had, I probably would be as popular as they were, if not more.

Foolish me! How would I have known about the ten thousand hours that those guys invested in order to reap the dividends they are now reaping? No one sees a working or practicing man, you know. What we all see is when such a man ascends his height of glory and they we make assumptions based on our opinions and feelings. We even envy them.

According to all the reviews that Gladwell made, intelligence levels, race, colour, physical attractiveness, and any other factor didn’t affect the performance of those top people. Only the 10 thousand hour rule appeared to be the ultimate predictor of how successful they became. Ten thousand solid hours of practice made them veterans and celebrities.

THAT’S WHAT ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ REALLY MEAN

Behind the scenes means the countless hours of work you put in before you become among the best at what you do. It’s not rocket science. What you sow is what you reap. You eventually become what you spend most of your time doing.

If you think about it, it appears as if the ten thousand hours of practice is formidably unattainable, but the truth is that ten thousand hours have probably passed since you became of age. Ten thousand hours are simply an addition of one minute upon one minute; one hour upon one hour.

Today; yes, this hour you’re reading this will one day be ten thousand hours ago. So, it’s not really about the length of time involved. Time passes away continuously and cannot be stopped, slowed down, sped up or even paused. If you do nothing at the end of that ten thousand hour period, you’ll achieve nothing and still the time has gone for good.

It’s what we do with the time that counts. Time should not be an impedance to whatever you choose to do. It’ll pass away anyway. The difference is what you become at the end.

Haven’t you noticed that most geniuses and celebrities started off at a very young age? This enabled them to complete their ten thousand hours quite early and to emerge as stars later on.

YOU TOO CAN BE A STAR

Success is work- hard work. It’s great if you aspire to be a star in any field of life. But stars are not made in a moment (yes, and that includes the stars you see at night). Stars are made out of ten thousand hours of committed practice. Stars appear to have no faults. They are perfect and free from errors. Errors and imperfection have been eliminated through hundreds of practice sessions and through ten thousand hours of work.

So, choose a field- something you’re passionate about. Anything at all. Then start devoting hours each day to learn and practice in that field. It is imperative that you learn from the very best. Let your tutors be veterans themselves. This will make sure you reach your target goal of becoming a star. A teacher can only teach what he knows, so learn from those you wish to be like in the nearest future.

You need focus; you need commitment. In fact, stars and celebrities and top guys don’t really know about the ten thousand hours that they’ve invested. At least not in the way you’re knowing it now. They just live their lives as stars. They just do their thing with passion, and inevitably they shine.

Yes, you too can be a star.

If you started practicing now- today- you could hope to get to your ten thousand hours in 10 years time (that’s if you practiced 4 hours a day, five days a week). So, I won’t really advice you to get into anything that’s not your life’s passion. Why? Because you can’t get there. You may likely not reach the ten thousand hours needed to be a veteran. Stars love what they do. They love practicing and it doesn’t feel like work for them.

So, get in line. There has to be something that you love to do. If you’ve not discovered it yet, take time to do so and start practicing today. I want to assure you that you won’t even know when you’ve gotten there- I mean, you won’t realize how much time and effort you’ve put in. others will envy you and by then, you’ve become a star.

Sure, I know. There are cases where it appears that this ‘ten thousand hour rule’ does not apply. I’m sure you’ve thought of them. But if you do a little analysis, you’ll realize that those cases do not involve skill, dexterity and expertise by the person directly involved.

Some people get the advantage of rich or well-placed parents or family members or family members, but ultimately it’s all man for himself. Just as surely as the sun rising tomorrow, a competent or skilled person will always stand before kings and not ordinary people.

Focus on you. What you can do. Focus on your abilities. Focus on devoting yourself completely to what you love doing. Focus on putting in the necessary effort (I doubt if it will even feel like effort anyway). Focus on ten thousand hours of practice and at the end, give me a ring and tell me how bright a star you now are for it is a law- you’ll eventually become a star.

See you at the top…