There’s one rule that almost anyone references when it comes to learning something or becoming great at one particular skill. We all call it the 10,000 hour rule, which was popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers . While I like Gladwell’s writing, it’s important for people to understand the problems with his 10,000 hour rule. It sends a great message that practice is important, and does include “deliberate” practice. However, it ignores a lot of factors and sets a standard that lots and lots of practice are all one ever needs…read more

If there is one thing we should learn during our childhood, it should be that taking a lot of chances is a good thing. However, I think this is actually beaten out of us throughout our education system. We’re trained to think that failing is a bad thing, which in turn makes us play it safe. This relates to my last post on a risk-averse middle class . We’re trained not to take chances, because when you take chances, you may fail. The problem is, taking chances is the only way…read more