There is the basic notion that if I do something over and over, with enough diligence that I will gain mastery in a particular discipline or practice. This concept was popularized by the famous “10,000-hour rule” that Malcolm Gladwell wrote about in his excellent book Outliers. It has often been misinterpreted that one will become an expert in anything if they put in 10,000 hours of work. In reality, he was referring to “outliers” – people of such talent that they became phenomenal through putting in the hours. In other words, even if I put in 10,000 hours of effort as a child, I’d never become Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant because I lack the intrinsic talent as well as physical capabilities. I would perhaps become really good but not an outlier.
Read MoreI had my monthly catch up with a new friend, who I’ve only ever connected with via Zoom. He’s a designer, he’s also half-Japanese like me, and we are both fascinated with the subject of creativity. The basic conundrum we both aligned on is that there is the seemingly at-odds state of needing to make a living and the need to create. Ideally, we would be making a living from what we love doing but that’s often the exception, not the rule.
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