“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”
—Henry Ford
Have you given up on learning new skills, even though you know they will bring great value to you, just because of the time and effort involved? Do you use the I-don’t-have-any-time excuse for justifying stagnancy in your learning and knowledge? Chances are that you believe that you can never get good at something unless you put in hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of practice. Perhaps you know about (or have heard of) Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours rule, which states that one needs at least 10,000 hours of practice to become proficient at something.
Well, that may be true if you want to achieve a level of unparalleled mastery. For example, if you want to be able to compete with Tiger Woods, you will likely need to spend hours on the golf course daily, for years together. But for most of us, the goal is to get good enough to enjoy doing it and to make it work for us, says Josh Kaufman, the author of The First 20 Hours. According to him, we don’t need loads of time and effort to learn anything new: a new sport, a foreign language, computer programming, music instrument or whatever else you wish to learn.
Josh believes that you can get good at anything you set your mind on; all you need is 20 hours of focussed work that includes research, understanding and practice. In this candid interview with Jonathan Fields, founder of Good Life Project, he outlines five steps that can take you to a reasonable level of proficiency. Watch the video now, then embark on an exciting new learning trip.
About Josh Kaufman
Josh Kaufman is an acclaimed business, learning, and skill acquisition expert. He is the author of two international bestsellers: The Personal MBA and The First 20 Hours. Josh’s research and writing have helped millions of people worldwide learn the fundamentals of modern business.