I recently had a conversation with the guy sitting next to me at the bar where I had gone for dinner. We talked about many things from monetizing college football to salmon fishing to growing up on the water to corporate work vs being self-employed. Three hours slipped right by. One particular part of our conversation stuck with me and I can’t stop thinking about it and the application of it to my current life.
Maybe I’m at a crossroads. Maybe.
If you haven’t read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers this conversation my not be as impactful as it would be if you had read it. Go read it. The general gist is that it takes roughly 10,000 hours to become a master of your trade. The best of the best. Yes, this is an oversimplification of his amazing writing. Seriously, read the book.
As the stranger and I are talking about corporate work versus being self-employed I have this epiphany – a full time job is 40 hours per week resulting in 2080 hours per year. It takes 5 years to make 10k hours. If you have not mastered your profession in that amount of time what are you doing? I know there are a million factors related to personal success, some outside of our control, but most are internal self-imposed restrictions or fears.
This epiphany is about finding your passion. Finding pride in what you do. Giving your best to yourself and your community. Investing in yourself. Thriving.
I am at a crossroads. There are parts of my self-built business that are not thriving and do not bring me joy. It is my time to look within and find my path. There is a bit of sadness, some self-doubt along with a bit of “oh well, what’s next.” It’s time to take an honest look at what I’m doing, how I’m doing it, and if I have the inner flame to light the fire it takes to be top of my profession(s). 10k hours are close. Do I have the energy for the final push to level up or is it time to move on.
