To reach expertise, you need 10,000 hours of practice. This concept emerged from Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and was popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, which puts the accent on time and repetition.
James challenges it. We have only one life and many passions. Could we dedicate 10,000 hours to just one thing? So he searches for shortcuts, for ways to skip the line.
Chess player, writer, podcaster, entrepreneur, investor, stand-up comedian…
James developed many techniques to quicken the learning path based on more than 700 podcast interviews with successful people and his own experiences. If you are interested in how to learn faster, how to create, how to start new adventures… this book is for you.
Who are you? Why are you? Why now?
In his podcast, James interviewed guests with one idea in mind: how to learn faster and reach peak performance. He distilled the knowledge he gains throughout the book.
Danica Patrick is the highest-ranking female race car driver. She disclosed her techniques to find purpose in three questions. Ask yourself:
- “How would I structure the ideal day?” I liked this question. We do have this tradition in our family. Regularly, we organize a “perfect day.” One child with one parent only. The whole family. My wife and I. And sometimes I also do it for myself. So I have plenty of material to work on. 😀
- “What photos are on your phone? The thing you take the most photos of might contain a clue about your purpose.”
- “What energizes you the most? List everything you did this past month, and then rank each activity by how happy you were when you were doing them. These all contain clues about your purpose.”
James had a fourth point. “What were you most interested in between the ages of twelve and fifteen?” This question resonates, and I already observed that it works for me. From 12 to 15, I was passionate about, dare I say even obsessed by karate. By the way, when no one asks you to do something but you are captivated with it, it might be a passion.
Today, when I add karate to my daily life, such as in my 7-min workout, it brings me instant joy. And, as I do my exercises in the morning, it’s an excellent way to start the day.
But what lies behind karate is the learning experience. It’s a general area. You find it everywhere. The meta-learning, learning languages, learning to play chess, learning to build businesses, teams…
The 10,000 experiments rule
Photo by Levi Jones on Unsplash
So, instead of putting 10,000 hours into one activity with the hope to become the best one, why not switch to 10,000 experiences to fail and learn fast? You can then combine a few experiences to build a unique area of expertise that could even be monetized.
“Conducting 10,000 experiments, or even far fewer, can lead to great knowledge and great success, and it’s the quickest way to skip the line to the top of any profession with as few downsides as possible.”
The criteria for a good experience:
- EASY TO SET UP AND DO?
- FEW DOWNSIDES?
- HUGE POTENTIAL UPSIDES?
- NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE?
- LEARN SOMETHING?
James multiplies them. As soon as he realizes that a certain activity meets these criteria, he tries it. Become what he calls the “scientist of your own life.”
Have you ever dreamed of working in R&D? That’s your chance. It’s your laboratory. And we all have one.
“You’ll make discoveries that reflect your unique view of the world and, more importantly, that work for you.”
One size fits all does not work. Whatever the quality of the “how-to,” the magic happens when you personalize it.
Jim Collins attributes part of his success to his ability to study himself. He called it Jim’s Bugs.
For his learning path in his new career as a stand-up comedian, James had many experiences. Do the opening, be the last comedian in a show. Go before or after a star. Test the crowd. Test 20% new material on every set…
They are no limits to your creativity, and each experience teaches you something. If you then adopt the following technique, “The 1% rule,” you become a progression machine…
The 1% rule
Will you sign up for being 38 times better at the end of the year in some of the skills you’re working on?
I do. 😀
That’s what the 1% rule is. It’s the magic of compounding. As with interest, it grows exponentially.
But how could you measure your 1% progress?
It’s essential to create a feedback loop. You can do that by writing in your journal every day, teaming with a peer, a boss, a friend.
As Anders Ericsson shared in his book, deliberative practice is the key to progress. In a lot of cases it’s not possible to assess if you are 1% better, but the mindset you adopt is crucial. James suggests this question at the end of the day.
“Did I improve at least 1 percent in my career or skill or whatever I am trying to improve today?”
People who adopt this view grow. And who cares if it’s 5 times or 40 times better? At the end of the year, they are headed in the right direction.
Build Micro Skills
What is the one skill you need to develop for business purposes? There isn’t one.
People are successful when they do business for many different reasons. It’s a basket of skills: sales, negotiation, idea creation, execution, leadership, management, marketing, selling the business, project management, follow-ups, networking, delegating, etc.
Generally, the more the competence is valuable, the more sub-skills are linked to it.
If you can perceive them, it gives you additional motivation to learn and improve. It’s difficult to state that you don’t like business. You may not be super interested in some sub-skills. So focus on what interests you, make it relevant for you and become better.
Plus Minus Equals
James learned this one from Frank Shamrock, one of the best MMA fighters. In anything you want to achieve, follow the Plus, Minus, Equals system.
Plus: Get a mentor.
It’s not always easy to find a mentor. James suggests using the power of digital mentors through books.
“You have all the memories and even some of the skills of every author of every book you’ve read.”
Having read more than 300 books, I couldn’t agree more. My best mentors were books.
Let’s assume I had dinner with James Altucher. I’m sure that would have been interesting. But could he give me the same advice I got from his book?
I don’t think so. Why?
He had to think a lot when writing this book, structure his ideas, choose the proper sequence, the right words. He produced multiple drafts before he came up with the final version, the one I can read at my pace, comfortably installed in my living room.
So, being able to read, reread, take notes, think, rethink around a book is a great advantage. You connect with the minds of many mentors.
Minus: Teach it.
“If you can’t explain something simply, then you don’t understand it.”
– Albert Einstein
Teaching it to someone else makes you better. The process of transforming something complicated into something comprehensive helps the one who receives and the one who gives the information.
Equals: Challenge yourself.
In any field, you have peers with whom you collaborate, work, and challenge yourself. This relation helps you to grow and develop.
Exercise the possibility muscle
That’s my favorite idea in the book. I was touched again by this powerful but straightforward idea. I say again because I already made an entry in my journal in May 2019 based on a blog post written by James. I used this technique from time to time, but I missed a critical point — the discipline of implementation.
So what is the technique?
He calls it “THE POSSIBILITY MUSCLE,” and it is deceptively simple, as it often is with good ideas.
Take a topic you are interested in and ask yourself a question. Just write your ten ideas. And from there, start to execute your best one.
The advantage is that you move quickly on to the next action, and that supports the concept of the whole book. Experiment, fail fast, and keep what works.
A few examples from the author…
- 10 people I can send ideas to
- 10 businesses I can do related to coronavirus
- 10 ways I can save time
- 10 things I’m interested in getting better at (and then 10 ways I can get better at each one)
“The point is not to have good ideas all the time. The point is just exercise. Exercise that idea muscle. Then you will be more creative.”
“After using these techniques for just three months, I felt as if my entire brain had been rewired. It was like seeing the world in dimensions and colors I didn’t even know existed — a world colored with possibilities that were always there but that I’d never noticed before.”
James has been doing it every day for 18 years… What about trying it for a week?
What are your ten ideas to implement this new habit?
But wait, don’t jump on your first idea before reading his next trick…
Find the conspiracy number. (or how to know if an idea is good or bad)
“Whenever we have ideas — sometimes too many ideas — without constraints we can’t figure out how to move forward.”
Constraints are a secret to productivity. Have a look at the success of the Pomodoro technique. The constraint of time makes you more productive.
We often perceive constraints as an issue when, in fact, they are an ally of our creativity and productivity.
How to know if an idea is good or bad?
- Don’t jump to your first idea.
- Instead, write all your potential ideas.
- Then for each idea find how many things need to happen to make it a success.
- The best choice: highest potential with the lowest number of things that need to work out. That is your conspiracy number.
Conclusion
There are many other ideas in this book, such as the anchoring bias, how to develop your network, the 50/1 rule, say yes, propose improvement, and more…
As James wrote, reading is a superpower. You can absorb and benefit from the experience of many mentors. And this book is a great example. I’ve learned a lot.
More book summaries…
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. How it has transformed my life, and why it can change yours.
What I’ve learned on happiness and success from Scott Adams in his book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life.
What I’ve learned from Seth Godin in his new book “The Practice: Shipping Creative Work”
What I’ve learned from Naval on wealth and happiness.
