I read an blog post this week, by Penelope Trunk, that has got me thinking.  The post, Being an expert takes time, not talent, sites a Harvard Business Review article from 2007 which takes-on our commonly-held ideas and explains how expertise is often not what we think it is.

“…there is no correlation between IQ and expert performance in fields such as chess, music, sports, and medicine. The only innate differences that turn out to be significant—and they matter primarily in sports—are height and body size.” So what factor does correlate with success? One thing emerges very clearly is that successful performers “had practiced intensively, had studied with devoted teachers, and had been supported enthusiastically by their families throughout their developing years.”

Today the standard for being an international success at anything is so high that the authors say you need to spend at least ten years working in a very focused, everyday way on the thing you want to be great at.

I have some things I want to be an expert at; I hope you do too.  I have a few other things that I’d like to be really good at, if not an expert.  I’ve started asking myself: “What am I going to do today to become an expert?”

Maybe its not revolutionary thinking, but it’s silly for us to assume that we can be great, or even good, at something we’re unwilling to invest a large amount of time into.

Someone might find this insight demotivating; You mean I have to work HARD and do it EVERY day to be an expert? To me though, the insight is encouraging; even the most gifted have to work LONG and HARD to become experts… and it’s time and dedication that often trump inclination in becoming an expert.

What are you intentionally investing a lot of time into?

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