Quote:
|
Originally Posted by !@#$%!
it's the "10,000 hours" notion from malcom gladwell-- 10,000 hours of practice will make you an expert at anything. great book, and he makes an interesting analysis of the success of the beatles. the value of hard work, etc. which is crucial to any success.
i don't remember the michael jordan ad-- probably never seen it. i do seem to remember reading somewhere that jordan was a mediocre player in high school and he just practiced until he became great.
but see, i don't believe that he became the greatest player with sheer practice. maybe he was lazy before, and the practice unlocked his potential. both have to go hand-in-hand. without practice, you get "wasted talent". with practice you definitely get improvement but not necessarily "genius." I could practice basketball all day and all i'd get is tendinitis.
i had a friend in high school who tried to write poetry on the basis of sheer determination. we were encouraging and never mocked him, but man, he sucked. he just didn't have it. you'd read his stuff and all you'd see is the effort of following prescribed formulas. fortunately for all he quit and got into engineering and business. he always wanted money so that worked out for him. he could have written all day but he was not going to be the next pablo neruda.
anyway, practice is essential to any improvement but don't let people sell you myths that "if you can dream it you can do anything." i mean, the limits of human endurance and ability are not known to anyone yet, so if you enjoy or want something badly definitely give it your best. and if you like rock climbing then consistent practice will make you a better climber.
but know that there are no guarantees that you'll be the michael jordan of rock climbing. maybe you can, hard work does not guarantee it. in the end we can't all beat world records, so the journey should be its own reward-- getting as good as you can for your own enjoyment. you can't wait to enjoy yourself until you become a myth. otherwise it's a waste of life-- right?
|
The first point is something pointed out in the book. Sure he could write all day and everyday but that doesn't mean anything. I spend all day packing boxes but that doesn't mean I'm gonna be a champion packer anytime. You've probably spent countless hours driving a car and you're not lining up to be the next F1 champion. What matters is how he's practising and who's teaching him.
A guy could spend all day on a driving range hitting balls then at the end of the end think "man, I've done well today". Not realising he wasn't being taught right. He wasn't pushing himself to do better. If your guy had actually spent more time reading the greats, understanding the way they used words and all that jazz then
maybe he could have some decent stuff. There's more to it than that, but you got the point.
Hahaha don't worry, I've no qualms about becoming the next star of climbing. Being nearly 30 and having only just started 6 months ago puts paid to that idea. However, a kid who's started at 4 (with all the right factors) is gonna have a damn site better chance. What it was for me was I've been having massive problems with confidence and that I'd never be able to certain things climbing. Now I don't see that. If I keep going and accept failures, then there's reason why I can't keep improving all the time.
There are so many social factors that go into having that extra 'thing' that it is so much more than this idea of 'talent'.