In Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 best seller, Outliers: The Story of Success, he presents his research and conclusions on a common characteristic among successful people. A lot has to do with timing, luck—being in the right place at the right time. These things matter too, but practice—a lot of practice in the craft of choice, is a fundamental requirement to seize the opportunities that serendipity may present.
Even more than 10,000 hours, Gladwell emphasizes that, for those who become true masters of their art, practice ceases to be a chore. It becomes a joy, an obsession, and the central focus of the practitioners life. Work without passion, no matter how many hours logged, will not result in true mastery.
People like to argue about the necessity of this 10,000 hour rule. I have no intention of logging hours towards my goal of becoming a master at my craft. My intention here is to document how I learn to fall in love with my craft, how I frame it in the context of my life to become a passion and a joy, not work that pays my bills.
This is the same philosophy my web development program has chosen. (This is why I chose them.) A quote Avi Flombaum, Dean of Flatiron School used in a recent post that outlines their teaching style captures this spirit perfectly:
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
- Antoine de Saint-Exuprey
