10,000 hours to greatness

I’ll begin touching on what it takes to be a successful investor. Very lightly at first, but gradually getting much more in depth.

Success in this business begins with a commitment. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, the second chapter is about  what he calls the 10,000-hour rule. His conclusion is it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become really great at most things worth pursuing.

From This Is Your Brain On Music, by Daniel J. Levitin…

“The emerging picture…is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert—in anything. In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again.”

Gladwell cites several examples of the 10,000-hour rule. One is the Beatles. Before they were rich and famous the Beatles performed live about about 1,200 times. Sometimes they performed eight hours a day, seven days a week. They started out about as good as you and me and evolved into something extraordinary. I think it’s safe they put in their 10,000 hours.

Many say that Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams is the best hitter that ever played the game of baseball. He used to bristle when someone would call him a “natural.” His retort was he only became a natural after swinging a bat 200 times a day, every day,  for years.

I know I have over 10,000 hours invested in the markets when you consider everything  I’ve done over the years related to trading and investing. The good news is I’m slow. I think it can be done in a much shorter period of time. But the specific number of hours is not the point. The point is, just like becoming a master at anything, you have to put in the work. You must be committed.

I’ll write a lot more about commitment in the future because it’s been my observation that most people who fail in this business never gave themselves a chance to succeed. They were never really committed in the first place.

There is a tendency to think you can read a financial book or two. Maybe subscribe to a few blogs. Make a few paper trades. And, presto, you’re good to go. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. You have to commit your time and go through all the steps — steps that most people never even think about.

However, you very well may find it’s a labor of love. You would be hard pressed to find an endeavor that offers as much intellectual and emotional satisfaction as the “money business.” It’s fascinating and a lot of fun. If it gets in your blood, it won’t seem like work.

So you might as well get started. An hour today and you only have 9,999 hours to go