10,000 Hours…

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Outliers and one of the points that he makes early on is that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become a expert in any particular subject.  Considering that it takes at least 3+ years to get a doctorate, earn a black belt, learn a language, etc., this number seems intuitively reasonable…But if it is true, does it even matter?  How many jobs have you held for three years? Heck, how many marriages last even three years? In an age of instant gratification and self-aggrandizing expertise, is mastery of a subject a prerequisite for success?  Is mastery an out-dated notion?