Gladwell tells many stories of greatness that include The Beatles and their early club days where they would play 8+ hours at a time '8 Days a Week.' Bill Gates is also cited. His early years were spent on a computer writing code. Both of these examples go toward the idea that at least 10,000 hours dedicated to one task can make you great.
Dan McLaughlin is putting this theory to the test. He's attempting to practice and play golf for 10,000 hours and see if it takes him to the professional level and the PGA Tour. Dan has no golf background and has yet to play a full 18 holes. But so far he's committed and determined. He says getting to the PGA is a goal, but not necessarily how he views success in this endeavor. As long as he finishes his 10,000 hours, which he'll accomplish by playing 6 hours a day for 6 years, he wins.
This brings up interesting questions, like can you become good or great at something you don't like? Will people be pushed into things they don't have a passion for and encouraged to spend 10,000 hours doing it? What does this do for parents? What does it do for kids? What about school and the subjects we learn.
We'll have to see how Dan makes out and go from there. To track his progress and see how he started, visit his website www.thedanplan.com
